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“Then you got me. What’s your name?”
Suddenly, she heard him screaming, his voice not in the receiver. “Shut up. Shut the fuck up over there. I’m talking.”
“Hey, buddy, okay if I call you Buddy? Who’re you yelling at? Are you mad at me?”
“No. It’s the criers and whiners in the room, they won’t SHUT the fuck up.”
“Don’t get mad at them. They’re scared and hurt. Look, why don’t you go into another room. The cops have emptied them all out now. You can have some peace and quiet. I can visit with you if you like.”
Lori felt Beau stiffen and saw him empathically shaking his head. She ignored him and kept listening.
Both Beau and the commander had been given earphones so they could follow the conversation from both ends. Lori knew they’d figured out her ploy. Calm the kid, work to separate him from the room so the paramedics could start collecting the injured, and one of the snipers in place might have a clean shot when he moved positions.
Silence.
“Hey, Buddy. Think it might work?”
“I can’t. I’m sorry.” The next gunshot sounded very, very loud.
Chapter Nineteen
Lori knew she’d done her best given the circumstances, but her heart plunged to the floor when that final blast rang in her ears. She knew what had happened, and the significance ramped up the bile juices in her already stinging stomach.
Doubled over, she sensed when Beau and Dutton rushed forward in tandem toward the tenth-grade classroom. Watching on the monitor they had in the office, the one they were able to switch to view every hallway, she saw when the door slammed open and some of the less injured frantically pushed their way out.
As the panic and chaotic consequences increased, medics flowed into view and cops seemed to be everywhere. Lori stayed back to help the teachers and school authorities to deal with the aftermath. Shock held everyone in its tenacious grip and the overall tension existed like a dense fog. Sensitive to the undercurrents surrounding her, Lori took more hits than she could handle.
Still experiencing the trauma and bearing the brunt of everyone else’s, time passed in a fog of pain and horror. She hugged many people and listened to the ravings of others, doing her job on autopilot. Finally, Beau came to find her.
She looked into his hard features and asked, “How bad is it?”
“Could be worse. As far as we could tell, no one else is dead but altogether ten are wounded, including the teacher. I understand the teens huddled in a bunch under some desks. He did one sweep and then shot up the classroom. Christ Almighty, Lori. From what the kids are saying, the shooter wasn’t more than sixteen, maybe seventeen. It seems he complained about the gun being new and that he didn’t like it. Made too much noise.” Beau’s face paled with each word he spit out. “My God, what we doing letting kids that age have access to these guns? How has it come to this?”
“He wouldn’t have been old enough to buy it himself, would he?”
“Sure. If he had a false ID that would pass at one of the gun shows here in Texas and enough cash. We’ll look into it. But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s dead and a lot more are in the hospital, many critical.”
“And… none of them will ever forget the fear they faced when he came into their lives. They’ll be forever changed by this nightmare, Beau. Poor babies.” Her voice broke, and he put his arm around her back to lead her outside.
“Come. I’ll take you home. It’s late.”
She looked at her watch and had a hard time believing what she saw. “I didn’t realize so much time has passed. I must have zoned out.”
“No doubt. With this freakshow all around you, cops everywhere, people screaming and crying, parents trying to force their way inside, it’s been a real shitshow. Right now, it’s about coroners and forensics… not a pleasant scene. We’re free to leave if you want.”
“Yes, please. Let’s go.” With both hands shaking, she shoved the wisps of hair away from her face. “Let’s end this horrible day. I just want to go straight home and calm down. I can’t face anyone else right now.”
“I know what you mean. Everyone’s got questions. And we have no answers.”
“Ray has them.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ray, the person Buddy talked about over the phone. I believe it’s too far-fetched a coincidence that Tyler’s online pal was also called Johnny Ray.”
“And both were school shootings. I’d say it’s highly probable their Johnny Rays are one and the same.”
“I need to talk to Tyler myself, see if I can’t shake something loose.”
