He nodded and jogged back in the direction of his truck. Christine had managed to walk over to where Ben and Iris were.
I knew I needed to call this in right away, but the urge to check on Iris felt more vital.
I walked back out of the water and made my way to Iris. “You alright?”
“She fell pretty hard and complained her back hurt,” Ben mentioned to me. “She also looks really pale—like she might vomit.”
“Sheisn’t dead and can answer for herself, thank you very much,” Iris responded, wiping a wet, curly strand of hair from her forehead.
I crouched down to get to her level since she was still sitting on the ground. “You need me to call an ambulance?”
“Yes,” Christine answered behind me. “We’re required to if someone gets injured on the job.”
“I’m not at the office, Christine,” Iris shot back before turning to face me. “I’m okay. I think I just landed funny on my back and tailbone when I hit the…the s-skull.”
She stuttered saying that last word, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was chilly from being wet or if the thought of seeing the skull itself freaked her out.
“You landedonthe skull?” I asked.
“I’m not sure if I tripped over it and landed on a rock or tripped over a rock and landed on the skull.”
I mentally catalogued that possibility to mention to the coroner since it could affect the autopsy.
“A boat’s on the way,” Patrick said to me as he walked back up to our area.
Then he glanced down at Iris. “Are you okay? I’m a trained EMT. I can help look you over if you need someone to.”
I knew he was offering to help, but I didnotwant that man touching her, especially knowing he’d already asked if she was single. I had no claim on her, and I knew I never would, but that didn’t mean I had to help another man out.
“Why don’t you call in an ambulance just in case it’s bad and she needs transported,” I told him but turned immediately to Iris, knowing she’d heard me and would fight me on it.
“Hector,” she said, but I held up my hand and spoke quickly.
“If he doesn’t, it appears Christine will,” I told her, which Christine confirmed. “But ifwecall, it’ll get here faster since we know this area and can direct them to exactly where we are.”
She sighed in exasperation. I knew she wasn’t happy, but I would take the win.
I began walking back to my vehicle, making the necessary calls on the way.
Lake Echo technically fell under National Park Service jurisdiction. We handled law enforcement, search and rescue, and body recovery. Many people didn’t know, but rangers were fully commissioned federal law enforcement officers. We had boats, dive teams, and recovery training, but in instances like these, we still needed to go through the proper channels. This skull could be from an accidental death, but it could also be from a murder.
Lake Echo was so large that it spanned nearly two full counties. This made it a bit more complicated because you had to know which county to call for the medical examiner’s office to assist.
I was the head of the visitor and resource protection division for the park, but also, my background in law enforcement and the Army Rangers made it hard for me to back away from these kinds of situations entirely.
After making the proper calls, I moved my vehicle closer to the water’s edge so that it would block access on the footpath to the area where Iris and her team were. Once the sheriff and our team arrived, anytourists nearby would surely take notice, so I wanted to prevent any additional attention if at all possible.
Patrick walked up as I stepped out of my vehicle. “Our crew is here,” he said, nodding behind me to the water.
Damn, that was fast.
“You call the Feds or just the ISB?” he asked.
ISB—or Investigative Services Branch—was a specialized unit of investigators within the National Park Service. The ISB usually focused on investigations into crimes of violence, property crimes, and homicides. However, because national parks were federal land, we often had to involve the FBI, especially if the crime somehow crossed state lines.
“Just the ISB for now since I don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen,” I told him honestly.
He lifted his chin in understanding. “I’m gonna walk down to the pier and hop on our boat to give them the heads-up.”
