Dez thought about it. “In the forehead. ”
JT let out a breath, almost a sigh of relief. “Same thing happened when you shot the EMT. And I hit Paul Scott in the head and that broke his neck. ”
“And the cleaning lady back at Doc’s?”
“I shot her in the cheek and she—”
“No,” he said, “where’d you put your last shot?”
Dez paused. “Right above the eye. ”
“Head shot,” said JT. “That’s it, then. It’s the head. The brain, probably. Definitely the spine. That’s how to put them down for good. ”
“Are you sure?”
JT said, “Think … did any of them get up after you shot them in the skull?”
Dez thought about it. “No,” she said. “Not one. ”
“Head shots,” he said again. “We need to get them in the head. ”
She shook her head. “I’m a good shot, but I can’t guarantee a head shot unless those fuckers are right on top of us. Maybe if I had a hunting rifle with a scope. No … we need SWAT. We need snipers firing from elevated positions. ”
“Try the radio again, Dez. Maybe we can stop this if we get those snipers in here. ”
She nodded. “Or enough people with guns to create a shooting line. Most rounds slow them. Double tap the fuckers back to wherever they came from. ”
JT gave her a troubled look. “Dez … they came from here. That was Chief Goss and Sheldon and Paul…”
“You know what I mean,” Dez snapped, though in truth she didn’t know what she meant. She turned and hurried back to the cruiser and tried to call the station again. Nothing. Dez threw down the mike in disgust and just as the handset bounced off the seat she heard a voice.
“… report your…”
Not Flower.
Dez lunged for the handset and clicked the button.
“Unit Two to dispatch, do you copy?”
The response was immediate. “Unit Two, identify. ”
She recognized the voice. The state police lieutenant, William Henry Hardy.
“Lieutenant Hardy, this is Officer Fox. ”
There was considerable static, but Dez got every word. “Officer Fox, please state your location and status. ”
“My unit is wrecked at the corner of Doll Factory Road and Mason Street. Turk’s Getty. Requesting immediate backup. We have officers down. I repeat, we have multiple officers down. Estimate thirty plus. County and troopers. We have civilian casualties. Estimate fifty plus. ”
“Say again. ”
Dez repeated it. The enormity of it was like a fist against her head.
“Backup is already rolling,” said Hardy. “What is the nature of the emergency?”
“I … don’t know. ”
There was a moment of crackle.