Page 82 of Justice for Samara

“Shooting. Nineteen forty-three Byford’s Ridge Road. Dispatch called for us and an ambo,” Anand yelled as he ran out the door.

“I’ve gotta… What?” He’d turned to find the color draining from Samara’s face.

“That’s Amy and BrookeBurgess’ house.”

He could feel a tremor of fear run through his body. “A woman you interviewed?”

Her voice was nothing but a whisper. “Yes.”

“Okay, that’s it. You stay here. Lock the doors and do not go out.” Michael grabbed an extra go bag just as Carter appeared in the hallway. “You coming?” Michael asked his boss.

“Yeah.” Then he pointed at Samara. “But not you. You stay here.”

“That’s what I told her.”

Samara shook her head. “But I’m partially responsible for this and?”

“You absolutely arenot!” Carter bellowed, and Samara jumped. “You’re in no way responsible for this. You were doing exactly what you were told to do. You were doing your job. Stay here. Keep the door locked. As soon as I find somebody I can spare, I’ll have them drive you to Marjorie’s house. Do not disobey this command. I mean it.”

“Yes, sir.” It hurt Michael to see the defeated look on her face as she backed down.

He couldn’t just leave. Before he ran out the door, he took her chin in his hand and held her face so he could look into her eyes. “I love you. I do not want something to happen to you. Do as we said and it’ll be okay. Take the extra cruiser out there and go to my mother’s house. Promise me, angel. Promise?”

“I promise. I love you too. Go on. I’ll be fine.”

As he ran out the door, he took one glance back to where she stood, wearing a look on her face that he never wanted to see again, an anguish he couldn’t even name.

And he blamed himself.

* * *

The scene was chaos.There was a filled body bag and a gurney with a woman on it. Carter was trying to talk to her, but he couldn’t make any sense out of the odd sounds she was making, and Michael knew who she was. She was a stroke victim whose only caregiver was dead.

After ten minutes of trying to make sense of things, Carter grabbed Michael by the arm and dragged him aside. “I want you here with me for this.” After he’d gone into his contacts and hit one, he put his phone on speaker. It rang three times before a voice said, “Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. This is DeputyHester. Can I help you?”

“Yes, this is Trigg County Sheriff CarterMelton. Could I speak with SheriffThomasson, please?”

“Sure. Hold on just a second.”

They waited and finally a voice said, “Carter! How the hell are you?”

“Bad. Really bad, Phillip.”

“What’s wrong?”

Carter spent five minutes telling the LyonCounty sheriff what was happening, and he finished with, “And I really need some help. I don’t have the manpower to cover something like this. I just don’t. And I sure can’t call Post1.”

“I’ve got four off-duty deputies I can call in for you. Will that help?”

“More than you could possibly know. I’m calling CallowayCounty too. I’ve got locations scattered out all over the county and not enough people to cover them.”

“They’ll be there as fast as I can get them there. Have their duties ready and they’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Phillip, thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

“You’re very welcome. Don’t mind at all. And stay safe.”

“We’re trying. Thanks again.” Carter sighed after he’d hung up. “Well, at least reinforcements are coming.” The sheriff’s phone rang and he groaned. “Oh, shit. Amos.” He hit ACCEPT and said, “Hey, Amos. What’s up?”