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Elly stood, a frown puckering her brow. “I didn’t realize you changed out of your uniform.”
“I’m off duty.” Technically not, since he planned to honor Rhy’s request to stick to her like glue.
She nodded. “His sketch is going to be on the news tonight, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He knew Assistant Chief Michaels would make sure the press plastered this guy’s face on every news station. “We’ll find him, Elly. You’ll see.”
“I know, that’s not my issue.” She sighed. “I don’t think I should go home to Rhy, Devon, and Colleen.”
He grimaced, having already considered the ramifications of her returning to the homestead. “Rhy has a good security system.”
“Colleen is barely five weeks old.” Elly shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t take the risk, Joe. And you know as well as I do you wouldn’t put your family in harm’s way either.”
His sister and her husband lived in Green Bay, but Elly was right about how he’d never put them in danger. Yet Rhy was his boss and made it clear Joe was supposed to bring Elly to the homestead.
“I’m sure you’d like to grab a few things, though, right?” He figured he’d let her fight it out with Rhy. “No reason we can’t make a quick stop.”
“I don’t like it,” she said with a sigh. “I know we live in Brookland, far from the scene of the parade shooting, but if this guy does an internet search on my name, it wouldn’t take him long to track down the location of our family home.”
That was exactly what he was worried about. “He won’t make a move right away, Elly. I’m fairly certain he’s hiding out someplace, waiting for the heat to die down. Especially with his face plastered all over the news.”
Indecision flashed across her features. He waited patiently, knowing she’d come around. When she finally nodded, he smiled.
“Thanks. My personal vehicle is out back.” He took her arm, steering her deeper into the police precinct. “You might want to call Rhy, let him know we’re on our way.”
“Sure.” Her half-hearted response concerned him.
He stopped at the back exit and turned to face her. “What can I do to make this easier for you?”
“Nothing.” She waved a hand. “Reality is starting to sink in a bit, that’s all.”
“Elly.” He held her gaze. “I know you better than you realize. There’s something more.”
She paused, then nodded. “If you must know, my measly six months of EMT experience did not prepare me for what happened tonight.”
“What do you mean?” Her claim didn’t make sense. EMTs must have some sort of trauma training.
“We had classroom training, but my job mainly consists of transferring nursing home residents to the hospital and back.” She grimaced and ran her fingers through her auburn tresses. “I—blood makes me sick to my stomach.”
He stared, trying to hide his shock. Wasn’t seeing blood part of an EMT’s job description? Then again, it sounded as if she hadn’t been in many acute care situations. “Do you mind if I ask why you chose to become an EMT if you can’t stand the sight of blood?”
“It sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud.” She sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor. “I wanted to be a first responder like my older siblings. And I heard from a friend that EMTs weren’t often called to the really bad medical emergencies, those go to paramedics like my brother Colin. I guess tonight has made me a real first responder. Instead of doing routine transfers, I ran out into the street to take care of a little boy who was hurt.”
“Don’t forget the way you saved my life.” He could appreciate how growing up with the rest of the overachieving Finnegans would have put some pressure on her. But to go into the medical field when you felt sick at seeing blood? That didn’t make much sense. He wondered if Rhy knew, but then decided against saying anything to his boss.
“Yeah, that kinda surprised me too.” She shook her head. “Guess I’m not useless after all.”
“Never useless.” He frowned, not liking that she’d even consider that.
Elly was a twenty-four-year-old adult. Five years younger than he was, but still old enough to make her own decisions. Even choosing a career that didn’t suit her well.
Although she’d been amazing tonight, despite being thrust into a major blood bath.
If he could have spared her the experience, he would have. Rhy would say that this was God’s plan. He wasn’t sure he really believed that, but he wasn’t about to question his boss. Or God for that matter.
“Call Rhy,” he repeated, pushing through the exit. The cold blast of December air hit them in the face. He held the door for her, then gestured to the SUV in the corner. “That one is mine.”
“I remember.” Elly hunched her shoulders against the wind and headed toward it. He walked beside her, scanning the area.
