He flipped on his siren and picked up the microphone for the radio. As they raced down the road, he requested assistance and gave his location.
She stared at him in numb silence. He had refused assistance from Officer Lucas, and yet he was asking for backup minutes later. Why? There was more to this than he was letting on. Was he working with Barrett?
They made it back to her house faster than she could imagine and raced by it, headed for the drive to the trailer, siren still screaming.
When they reached the trailer, he shut the siren and car off. "Show me where they are."
"They have guns."
He nodded and pulled a shotgun from the back of the seat. "So do I."
"But my brother is with them - and Barrett."
His smile was wry. "I'm trying to buy a little time, here. I'm sure the sound of the siren gave them pause already."
She had no idea what he was trying to do, but she climbed out of the car and started to run towards the place where she left the ATV's.
"Slow down. They aren't going anywhere and they won't hurt your brother and Monroe as long as they might be able to use them to negotiate."
Wasn't a hostage situation something police tried to avoid? Of course, it was better than a corpse situation.
Ma ran to the door when she heard the siren. A patrol car raced by the house. Her first instinct was to follow it, but she might get in the way. She had seen Monroe's vehicle going the other way, but it didn't stop. Where was he going? If he had Mary Jo and Billy Ray with him, why didn't he stop?
She turned back to the room and resumed her nervous pacing. Was there a wreck? Had she lost all of her children now? She turned back toward the door. She had to know. She walked out on the porch and listened. The siren had stopped and there was no sign of lights. What was happening?