Page 89 of Refuge for Flora

“Copy that, MCDS unit twelve forty-nine.”

It wouldn’t be long and Frankie and LeeLee would be crossing the line between McCracken and Ballard counties. Past that, they’d be unable to do anything. That wasn’t the point. They weren’t going to arrest anyone. They were just following to get a location, nothing more, and they weren’t in a department vehicle, so there was really nothing anyone could say or do. The old guy at the vegetable stand had said the men were from Barlow, so that was definitely outside the two deputies’ jurisdiction. Once they crossed that line, they’d maintain radio silence until they came back across the county line into McCrackenCounty.

As he drove, Barrett thought about what the success of their endeavor would mean for Flora. She’d be able to go where she wanted to go, do what she wanted to do. Would she want to stay with him? Or go back to Pikeville? He didn’t know, and right at that moment, it didn’t matter. He’d do whatever he had to in order to keep her safe. And that was just about the time his phone rang. “Hey, babe.”

“Hi. Listen, there’s somebody out front in a truck. Mrs.Murphy says they’ve been sitting there for two hours.” He could hear the fear in Flora’s voice.

“What?”

“Yeah. What do I do?”

An almost blinding panic set in. “You call 9-1-1 and tell them to send a deputy. And you tell them I told you to do that. Okay? Right now.”

“Okay. I will. Thanks. Wish you were here.”

“I wish I was there too. I’ll be done in a little while, but everything is going to plan. It’ll all be over soon.”Try not to let her hear you panic, he told himself. Everyone had to keep a level head.

“Good. Please hurry.”

“I will. Driving as fast as I can. See you in a bit. Bye, babe.”

He spun around the corner onto his road, tires squealing. It was almost dark when he pulled in Mrs.Murphy’s driveway, and the hair on the back of his neck began to rise as he took a look around. There were no lights on in the house. Not a single one. And the front door was standing open.

Barrett slammed the gearshift into park and hit the ground running. The silence inside the house was eerie as he stepped inside, and then he stepped on something?and it grunted. As soon as he hit the light switch, he saw her there. “Mrs.Murphy! Oh, god! What happened?”

The old woman lay on the floor, blood all around her. “I… She run, Barrett.”

“Flora?”

Mrs.Murphy nodded. “Yeah. Out the back. He… He come lookin’ for her, but I weren’t lettin’ him take her without a fight. I think I shot him, but he got me too afore he tried to track her down.”

“You hang on, okay?” Barrett yanked his phone from his pocket and hit the contact.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“This is KDFWR unit four twelve. Need immediate assistance at eight forty-two MagruderRoad. I have a gunshot victim, female, approximately ninety years old. She’s also a cardiac patient. I don’t know how long she’s been lying here, but I need helpnow. Over.”

“Roger that, KDFWR unit four twelve. All emergency responders en route. Is she breathing?”

“Roger. She’s been talking to me a little. I’m not sure where she’s shot. Mrs.Murphy, where does it hurt?”

“In my damn leg.”

“She reports it’s her leg. Over.”

“Unit four twelve, can you ask her if she knows how long she’s been there?”

“I been here since five forty-five!” Mrs.Murphy bellowed toward the phone.

“Roger that, unit four twelve. Not a femoral nick or she would’ve already bled out. Apply pressure to the wound until EMTs arrive. Repeat, apply pressure to the wound until EMTs arrive. Over.”

“Roger, dispatch.” He tried to get a look at Mrs.Murphy’s wound. “Let’s roll you a little bit, okay? Ah. There it is. Let me grab a towel and?”

“Don’t you go ruinin’ one-a my bath towels!”

“I don’t want you to bleed to death, so for once, hush!” Barrett grabbed a towel from the bar in the bathroom and ran back. “Let’s press this right here, okay? You feel okay?”

“Yeah. Just kinda weak. Is Flora okay?”

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