Читать книгу Triple Double - James Lewis - Страница 14

*****

Christian arrived at the farm about ten fifteen—a few minutes late but in time to have possibly saved Abron’s life. The scene was bloody. Christian made the call: “Officer down.” There was no chance of seeing the license plate on the Ford pickup now slamming away from the barn. “Need ambulance and backup. Abron Kelsey has been beaten and shot. Waste no time getting it here.” Christian chanced another quick glance out the side door and saw the outlines of two riders in the pickup, both with baseball-style hats. The perps were hunched over, offering little chance to be identified. Caine knew his Glock would be ineffective at that distance. The amount of blood already soaking his friend’s clothes sent him into a frantic search for the open wounds. There was no time to waste. It was life-and-death.

Christian immediately turned the wounded deputy on to his side, momentarily taking away the chance of Abron choking on his own blood. Worrying about a broken neck or spine in those first few minutes, Christian held the officer’s head as still as possible. Every action taken was to save Abron’s life. Talking to the downed deputy was of no use. Christian pressed his gloves into the stomach wound; there wasn’t even a groan. While trying to cover the wounded man, Christian’s adrenaline rush had subsided. Fortunately, inside the walls, the air was still. Covering Abron with his own winter coat, Christian began to shiver. It took almost thirty minutes for an ambulance and more deputies to arrive. Caine could now testify to just how cold it was in that lightly lit freezer of a barn.