Today's Reading
Which, as Marybeth knew intimately, was very rare. If a game warden requested backup in the field, it meant he was in serious trouble because backup could take hours to get there in the remote Bighorn Mountain country.
"Let me ask you another question," Marybeth said. "Did you take any calls today about violations or situations in Joe's district? Do you know if he was responding to anything?"
"I'm really not supposed to divulge that kind of information, I'm afraid," Luce said.
"I know that. But I just talked to a sheriff's deputy here. Someone called in a Game and Fish pickup that's all shot up. We don't know if it is Joe or someone else. Or if the whole situation is a false alarm."
"Oh my God," Luce said. "Why didn't you say that in the first place? No, we didn't send Joe out on anything this morning. I know that for sure because I've been here the entire shift. It's been quiet this morning. Oh, I hope he's okay."
"Thank you," Marybeth said. "I hope so, too."
* * *
Marybeth sat back in her chair and looked at the ancient clock above her door. It was 10:42 a.m.
She heard a siren outside and immediately recognized its distinctive whooping sound. It was the lone local EMT ambulance emerging from its bay next to the county building two blocks away from the library. She swiveled around in her chair in time to see the vehicle speed past her window, its flashers on.
It was headed west.
Antler Creek Road was also west.
* * *
When her cell phone burred, Marybeth nearly knocked it off her desktop lunging for it. But when she held the screen up, it didn't say Joe. The call was from Deputy Frank Carroll.
"It's Joe's pickup, Marybeth," Carroll said with emotion in his voice. "He's inside."
Marybeth gasped. "Is he...?"
"I don't know yet. I called for the EMTs and they said they're on their way."
"What does he look like?"
After a pause, Carroll said, "There's a lot of blood."
CHAPTER TWO
Marybeth grabbed her handbag and jacket. She didn't take the time to close her door as she left her office. She strode through the nonfiction stacks and made a turn at the endcap displays and headed for the lobby doors. As she passed the front desk, she suddenly stopped. Judith looked up, concerned.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"I don't know. Joe might be hurt. Please cancel all my calls and meetings for the rest of the day."
Judith gasped and raised both of her hands to her mouth. Her eyes got big. "What happened?"
"I don't know yet."
"But isn't the budget hearing tonight?"
Marybeth glared at her, and Judith dropped her eyes to the top of the desk. "Sorry," she said. "I wasn't thinking."
Marybeth let it go. Several of the newly elected county commissioners were dead set against increased funding for the library, and there were rumors among the staff that they may try to defund it entirely. One of the commissioners had even recently speculated in an article in the Saddlestring Roundup, "Why do we need libraries when we've got the internet? Besides, I've never even set foot in the place."
Which was true, as far as Marybeth knew. Her staff was nervous, and she didn't blame them. But now was not the time to discuss it.
* * *
As she pulled out of the library parking lot, Marybeth inadvertently intercepted a convoy of two sheriff's department SUVs, a Saddlestring Police Department cruiser, and a Wyoming Highway Patrol car. They were headed west with their wigwag lights flashing and their sirens on. She pulled over to the side of the road to let them pass.
As she did, she nearly foundered in a deep bank of snow that had been plowed into a furrow several days before. Remnants of a surprise November blizzard were all around her: furrows on the sides of roads, and mountains of plowed snow slowly melting in the centers of parking lots. The high-altitude sun would make short work of the snow that remained—until another blizzard hit.
Marybeth eased back onto the street and followed the officers with her cell phone on her lap. She wished she had a radio tuned to the mutual aid channel, like Joe did in his pickup. She'd like to hear what the law enforcement officers were saying to each other, and to hear the first reports from the EMTs when they arrived at the scene.
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