Goss pulled his walkie-talkie out of its holster and keyed it. “Dispatch … we have officers down, I repeat officers down. ”
“W-What?” exclaimed Flower. “Who’s hurt—”
Goss cut her off. “I need paramedics and additional units. Expand the call out another tier. Send everyone you can get … and give me an ETA on the state police. ”
Flower stumbled over her words for a second before she could organize an answer. “State police are eight minutes out. Two units are—”
“I don’t want to hear that shit, Flower. Tell them to roll every available unit because we’re going to need roadblocks and a lot of feet on the ground. I want choppers, too. And get on the horn to the Zimmer boys—Carl and Luke. We need them and their dogs out here. And get me somebody to handle crowd control. ”
“What’s happening?” Flower demanded, her voice rising to a screech.
“Just do it,” Goss snapped, and turned off the walki
e-talkie. He was sweating badly and there were starbursts of red on his cheeks. Damp winds blew up the slope and rifled his sweaty hair.
“Rain’s coming,” said JT, still pitching his voice to keep things in neutral. “And with these winds … I don’t think we’re going to be able to use helos or spotter planes. ”
“Rain and wind won’t stop the dogs,” said Sheldon. “The Zimmers have hounds that can track a weak fart in a hurricane. ”
Dez looked at the chief, whose expression was that of someone a short step away from screaming. Dez could understand it. Like most of these officers, Goss was a career cop in a town where there just wasn’t any serious action. Bar fights and DUIs don’t instill the same combat awareness that big city cops and veteran soldiers have. This was way beyond Goss’s experience and he was losing control of the details. “Chief,” she said, pitching her tone to match JT’s, “we have people all over the place and we don’t know if this is the end of this. Shouldn’t we get a head count?”
Goss blinked at her for a few moments as if she had asked the question in Swahili. Then understanding flicked back into his eyes, and he nodded. “A head count. Good, good…” He looked around as if he expected everyone to be there ready to be counted.
Christ, thought Dez, he’s really losing it.
She glanced at JT, whose brown face seemed to be carved from an inflexible hunk of mahogany though his eyes were bright and almost unblinking. He was trying to keep his game face in place, but he was at the edge, too. Even Sheldon, who had been in Afghanistan, was freaked.
Dez swallowed. I guess we all are. All of us.
Then Goss grabbed his walkie-talkie again and keyed it to the team channel. “All officers report in. Name, location, and status. ”
One by one the calls came back. Paul Scott, two paramedics, and another forensics collector were in the mortuary. Five officers—all from other towns—were here with Goss, JT, and Dez. That left two unaccounted for.
“Wait—who’s missing?” asked JT.
Dez said, “Wait, who was it that went up to check on Doc’s sister and her kids?”
Goss cursed and keyed the walkie-talkie again. “Hold the air. Officers Gunther and Howard, report your location and status. ”
Then there was sharp hiss of static and a voice spoke intermittently through the squelch.
“We’re at the Hartnup place. Nothing to report. I thought I heard shots. I called Flower but she—”
Goss cut him off. “Did you tell April about her brother?”
“You said not to. ”
“Good, because he might not be dead. ”
Gunther paused. “Say again?”
“It’s not confirmed, but be aware that Doc Hartnup’s body is missing and there is a strong possibility that he is injured and in shock, maybe delirious, and somewhere in the Grove. ”
“How? Chief … I thought Dez and JT said he was—”
Goss cut him off. “Don’t ask me how ’cause I don’t know. Just keep your eyes open. Doc might be trying to head to his sister’s place. I want one of you on the porch and the other inside with the family. Do not let April see her brother if you can avoid it, and definitely not the kids. You see him—or anyone—call it in right away. ”
“Yeah, okay, Chief. ”