Free Deer Season by Aaron Stander Page B

sagging couches.
    The first order of business was to calm the girls and reassure them that their mother would be all right; the adults worked on wiping noses and drying tears.
    Both Ray and Sue had met the twins several times before at department picnics and holiday parties, and while they couldn’t distinguish Amanda from Breanne, they knew the girls’ names and had some rapport with them. The twins kept asking for their mother. Ray explained to them that their mother was hurt, and they would see her when things were better.
    Ray shuddered after the words were out of his mouth, not knowing what the next few minutes, hours, or days would bring. He didn’t know how seriously Lynne was wounded, or if she was even still alive. And he wondered how anyone could explain this kind of violence to a child, when it was almost inexplicable to the adult mind.
    With the arrival of several more of his officers, Ray was able to slide away from the girls for a few minutes. He called dispatch, checking on the whereabouts of Dirk Lowther and was reminded that Dirk was on vacation. He asked the dispatcher to try to reach Lowther on his cell phone.
    Then Ray maneuvered Marie Guttard to the side as Sue Lawrence tried to comfort the girls with some cocoa.
    “Where did this happen?” Ray asked in a low tone, keeping Marie within the sight of the twins, but beyond their earshot.
    “At the house, just at the end of the drive,” she responded. “Lynne got out to get the mail. I saw her fall, but I didn’t understand what was happening. I went to help her; I could see blood and thought she must have been shot. I got her in the car, and we’re here.”
    “Did you see the shooter?”
    “I saw nothing. I was just trying to get her away.”
    “Did you see any other vehicles?”
    “None. I think there had only been one car that way. I remember seeing the tracks of the postman, where he had stopped at the box. He must have been there a few minutes before us. It was snowing and difficult to drive.”
    “And you saw no one, no other vehicle?” Ray rephrased his earlier questions.
    “No. I told you,” she responded with obvious irritation. Then she collapsed in tears and sobbed uncontrollably. She reached out, and Ray held her. Slowly she regained some composure, eventually stifling sobs enough that she could answer Ray’s questions. “I saw no other cars.”
    “Where did the shot come from? Do you know where the shooter might have been?”
    “No.”
    “Was she hit in the front, the back?”
    “I do not know. Suddenly she was down. I thought she had slipped. I got out to help her. She was bleeding, going unconscious. I pulled her to the car. I drove fast here. I almost crashed. The girls’ crying was breaking my heart. I was afraid she’d die in the car.” Marie started sobbing again.
    “Before this happened, did she tell you anything? Was she afraid of something?” he asked.
    “She seemed like always. She didn’t tell me anything.”
    “Lynne’s husband, Dirk?”
    “He left this morning to go hunting. He came home from work about six; he had all his gear packed in the mudroom. He came in, got his things, and went away.”
    “And you haven’t seen him since?
    “That is correct.”
    “Marie, the truck outside, isn’t that Dirk’s truck?”
    “When we came outside to go to yoga this morning Lynne’s SUV was gone, and Dirk’s truck was sitting there. We had to find the girls’ car seats and get them in place. That’s one of the reasons we were running late, that and the snow.”
    “Did they trade vehicles often?”
    “Not often, but Lynne would use Dirk’s truck when she was getting gardening supplies or other things too big or messy to carry in her car.”
    “Marie, I’m going to have you and the girls driven to my office. You will be safe there. People will be staying with you and looking after your needs. I’ll be back in a few hours and we’ll figure out what to do next.”
    Ray and Sue moved off to a corner