Gun Shy

by Lori L. Lake

  Another cruiser was already on the scene. One officer lit flares to redirect traffic while the other crouched down in the hollow below the road, trying to make his voice heard over screams coming from a car upside down in the wet gully. The crashed vehicle was sunk down in a muddy depression, and shallow moving water surrounded the car. Jaylynn and Dez scrambled down the embankment to join the other cop who acknowledged them with a nod.

  “Hello, Reilly, Savage.”

  “Hey, Coombs,” Dez said. “What’ve we got here?”

  Coombs stepped out of the ankle-deep water to drier land next to them and tucked his cold hands under his arms. “Single car rollover. Four-door Ford Explorer SUV. Seems to be at least two occupants. I can’t quite tell. The car is sitting upside down in maybe three inches of water. I stuck my arm in, tried to feel around, but the roof is crushed in too much. No way to get these people out.”

  A piercing scream came from the car. “Help me! Help—oh, God, help.me.” The voice trailed off into moaning and went silent.

  Coombs shook his head. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  Dez stepped back, then took three quick strides forward and abruptly leapt from the drier ground over onto the undercarriage of the overturned vehicle. Kneeling on cold metal, she leaned over the far side and saw the driver’s side was mashed completely into the gully. She couldn’t even see the windows on that side. She moved back to the side nearest her colleagues and squatted down. Leaning over the side, she kicked her legs back, and lay flat on the undercarriage, letting her head dangle over the side and into the broken-out rear passenger window. “Hey in there,” she called out.

  “Help me,” was the plaintive cry.

  “This is the police. We’re here. We’ll get you out.”

  “It’s cold. Please. Help me.”

  “We’re working quick as we can. What’s your name?”

  “Cassie.”

  “Who else is in the car with you, Cassie?”

  “Jordan and Francie.”

  “Who’s driving?”

  “Jordan.”

  “I can’t see you very well,” Dez said. Actually, the night was so dark she couldn’t see anything in the car at all. “You’re in the back seat, right?”

  “Yeah. And it’s cold.”

  How to ask the next question without scaring the girl? Dez decided being direct was best. “Are you able to crawl toward me?”

  “No,” wailed the girl. “I’m stuck.”

  “Are you upside down or not?”

  “Yes, upside down.”

  Dez slid farther over, bracing herself by grabbing something that felt like the axle, so she could peer into the rear passenger window. Still she couldn’t see anything. She took her flashlight off her belt and shone it on her own face. “Cassie.” No answer. “Cassie, can you see me?”

  “Um hmm.”

  “Okay, so you know I’m here, and we’ll get you and your friends out as soon as we can.” She shone the light into the car and scanned the contents. The roof was compressed most in the front and on the driver’s side. Dez couldn’t tell for sure, but the two kids in the front seat didn’t look like they could be alive. She couldn’t see their heads at all, only their torsos. They made no movement, and the roof was pressed into both bodies, so she didn’t hold out much hope for them. Cassie’s section of the car was less crushed, but the girl was resting upside down on her shoulder and neck in a painful looking position. A couple inches of water pooled around her, and rivulets of blood dripped down her neck and face and into the water.

  Too much blood, Dez thought. We need to get her out of there. “Cassie?” No answer. “Cassie!”

  She stretched an arm in as far as she could and tried to grab the girl. Even straining, she couldn’t quite reach her. Using the flashlight Dez punched out the few remaining shards of glass in the rear window. “Hang on there, Cassie. Okay? You hear me?”

  A quiet voice answered. “Uh huh. I’m . . . so . . . cold.”

  Dez raised her head. Across the way on the bank stood several figures. “Savage! EMTs here yet?”

  “Yes, just arriving.”

  “We need blankets. We need the fire department’s jaws of life. Anyone call them?”

  “Yeah,” Coombs said. “I did.”

  Two burly EMTs came over the rise and stumbled down into the gully carrying their tackle boxes of equipment. “Whaddya got there?” one shouted to Dez. A light rain dripped into his face, and he wiped his eyes with a big paw.

  Dez shifted from lying on her stomach to a kneeling position. She held up three fingers. “Three, I think, stuck in the car. We can only get to the one in the back seat.” She stood and jumped off into the pool of water surrounding the car and waved the paramedics over. “We need to get in there and extract her. Soon.” She shone her flashlight in the window and gave a nod of her head.

  The first EMT peered in, stood up and nodded. “May have to wait for the Fire Department. No way can I get in there.”

  Dez said, “Me neither.” She looked up the hill, but figured Coombs was also far too big. “Savage! Get over here.” Jaylynn waded out into the water, cringing from the cold. She stepped on an uneven spot and staggered, but Dez grabbed her arm to help her regain her balance. “Sorry to do this to you, but you have to crawl in there.”

  “Okay.”

  “You’ll get pretty wet.”

  Jaylynn shrugged. She looked up as drops of rain fell, scattered at first, and then more heavily.

  “I’m not even sure you can squeeze in through the window, but I know I won’t fit. I think you can do it if you get down to your T-shirt.”

  “Okay. What do I do when I get in there?”

  “Unhook her seatbelt, work her free from what’s holding her, and slide her out. If you get her close enough, we’ll remove her as carefully as we can.”

  Jaylynn took off her warm patrol jacket and gave it to Dez. She unhooked her gun belt and set it on the car. She tried to hide the fact that her hands were shaking as she untucked her uniform shirt, unbuttoned it, and handed it over. She removed her bulletproof vest and was embarrassed to display and remove two layers of long underwear underneath that. Dez peered at her quizzically but didn’t say anything. That left only a scoop-necked tank top. Lowering herself to her knees, she winced as the ice-cold liquid hit her legs and saturated her uniform pants.

  “I’ll help you in and out,” Dez said as she piled all the clothes on top of the gun belt.

  The two paramedics stood on either side of the window. Dez climbed on top of the car and lay on her stomach on the undercarriage, her head directly over the window, with her arms hanging down. Jaylynn poked her head through the misshapen window frame and squeezed her shoulders in. She grabbed at something with the texture of wet plastic and strained forward until she felt herself lifted slightly by the back of her pants belt. The frozen metal doorframe dug into her thighs. With another hard yank, she was in far enough to feel the fabric of the car seat above her and the cloth of the jacket Cassie wore.

  The cold water hit her chest and she nearly shrieked. Biting her lip, she pushed with her legs to leverage herself further into the opening and twisted halfway onto her side. She shivered as she fumbled around to locate the seat belt. Without warning the interior was flooded with light. She squinted and saw the upside-down outline of her partner’s head in the window. She looked back at the young girl, unconscious nearby.

  Dez said, “Try to let her down real easy. Look, there’s the latch for the seat belt. Kind of get under her and cushion her when it releases.”

  Jaylynn rolled onto her back, flinching from the chill of the frigid water. She squeezed under the girl’s torso, further soaking herself. She reached up and fumbled around to find and press the red button. Released from the harness, the girl slid onto Jaylynn, emitting a groan and a mewling whimper before going limp.

  A deep male voice said, “Is she stuck on anything? Can we get her out?”

  Jaylynn said, “Yeah, I think yo
u can.”

  Dez said, “Okay, you hang onto her, and we’ll pull you both out, okay?”

  “Yeah. Go.”

  Jaylynn felt a vise grip on her ankles and she was dragged through the water toward the window. She clutched at the girl feeling the heavy weight.

  She heard Dez’s muffled voice say, “Let her go now,” and the girl drifted away from her as though by levitation. “Let’s get you out now, Jay.” She was lifted again by her belt as Dez powered her, face up, through the window. She felt the edge of the window frame scrape across her chest, and she put her hands over her face to avoid any sharp edges. Once she got her feet back on the ground, it was like doing the limbo. She wiggled and squirmed her way out into the cold rain with the help of Dez’s strong hands.

  Jaylynn said, “How is she?”

  “We got her,” said a deep male voice. Jaylynn stepped away, her feet numb, and trembled as she watched the two men carry the girl away. Outside the car, Cassie was clearly a slender slip of a thing, hardly more than a girl. The burly men slogged through the water and up the embankment carrying the slight bundle and were over the top and out of her sight when she finally shook herself out of a daze and staggered toward dry land. Water splashed next to her, and she looked up as Dez, holding her gun belt and shirts, took hold of her arm and guided her up out of the water. Dez held out the silk long underwear shirt, then the cotton one. She slipped the Velcro vest over Jaylynn’s head and helped her put on her blue uniform shirt, then wrapped the insulated patrol jacket around her shoulders.

  “Quick,” Dez said. “Zip this thing up.” Jaylynn fumbled with the zipper with hands of ice. “Here. Let me do that.” Impatient fingers pushed Jaylynn’s hands aside and zipped up the jacket. Dez took Jaylynn’s hands into her own warm ones. “Geez, your hands are cold. We’ve got to get you into the car and get the heat on.”

  Through chattering teeth Jaylynn asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

  “Yeah, freezing! But I’ve had my coat on and I’m not nearly as wet as you.” Keeping hold of one of Jaylynn’s hands, Dez hustled her up the embankment as firemen suddenly dashed past and down to the car, dragging ropes and equipment.

  As they hastened to their cruiser, the ambulance doors were shutting Cassie in. They watched it tear away, siren blaring.

  “Uh oh,” Dez said. Lieutenant Andres stomped toward them, a rapidly wilting unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. He had the start of a day’s growth of beard and his bloodshot eyes snapped and flared at them. He held a hand up to stop them in front of the patrol car.

  “Reilly! What the hell did you think you were doing? Who told you to effect a rescue?”

  “Nobody, sir.”

  Jaylynn watched as Dez’s face became cold and impassive, her eyes small slits.

  Andres said, “If anything happens to that girl, the department could be liable.”

  “She was bleeding to death, sir,” Dez said.

  “You’re not an EMT—how do you know?”

  “I’ve got enough training to know that, sir.”

  “You patrol cops don’t know shit.” He continued to harangue them, emphasizing departmental liability. Dez knew Andres had never liked her and was probably squeezing his lucky rabbit’s foot with the hope she’d made some sort of mistake for which she’d be found liable.

  After a couple of minutes, Dez glanced over at Jaylynn and did a double take in concern. Shaking with cold, Jaylynn stood dutifully, her lips nearly blue. Dez unzipped her own jacket and slipped it off. “With all due respect, sir, Savage here is soaked through. She could go hypothermic if we don’t get her warmed up. In fact, our shift ends in a few minutes. With your permission, I’ll send her home to a hot tub.”

  Grudgingly he stepped aside. “There’ll be hell to pay if you screwed up, Reilly.”

  “Yes, sir.” She opened the cruiser door and stuffed Jaylynn in. She covered Jaylynn’s legs with her own coat, slammed the door shut, and ran around to the other side. When she drove away, she left a spray of gravel behind. “Fuckin’ asshole.”

  “What?” Jaylynn muttered. Her teeth chattered and she shivered from head to toe.

  “It figures my least favorite lieutenant would have to venture out on duty tonight.” She cranked up the heat as high as it would go. Once she was several blocks away from the accident site, she activated the siren and lights and floored it. “Maybe we should have the paramedics look at you.”

  Jaylynn shivered so hard, she was shaking. “I’m . . . okay.” She forced the words out. “I’ll . . . be . . . fine.”

  Dez looked over at her, worried. She stopped in front of Jaylynn’s house, wrenched her door open, and flew around to the other side of the car to help Jaylynn struggle out.

  “I’m fine,” Jaylynn choked out. “Just need a hot bath.”

  “No no no.” Dez steered her up the front walk toward the dark house. “You don’t get a hot bath. You have to warm back up slowly. You can actually go into shock if you’re hit with hot water—Jay? Jaylynn? Where are your keys? Your house keys?”

  Jaylynn looked at her blankly.

  Dez fished through Jaylynn’s jacket, patted her front pants pockets. “Jay!” She leaned down and tipped Jaylynn’s face up so she could look her in the eye. Jaylynn shook uncontrollably and stared, her eyes unfocused. Her skin was unnaturally pale, even whiter than Dez’s. “Jay, do you have your house keys?”

  “In . . . my . . . locker.”

  “Shit! You should have gone with the EMTs.” Dez banged on the door and rang the bell. She waited, then took Jaylynn’s arm and dragged her back to the car.

  “I’ll just go—take a hot bath—”

  Dez paid no attention. She ripped open the passenger door and shoved Jaylynn in, not bothering to buckle her up. She ran back around to the driver’s side. Inside, she hesitated long enough to crank up the heat before she peeled away. “Jay, listen to me. Don’t go to sleep. You’ll be warmed up soon. Come on, stay with me!” She smacked Jaylynn on the thigh. No response other than trembling.

  She screeched to a halt in front of Luella’s and got Jaylynn out of the car. Twisting Jaylynn’s arm around her own neck and with one arm around her waist, Dez hauled her along. Jaylynn stumbled beside her in a daze. Dez went right up the stairs and beat on the front door.

  In a few seconds Luella’s nervous face peered out the side window, and the front door popped open. She stood in her nightgown and fuzzy slippers, a pink wrapper tight around her. “Why Dez—”

  “Emergency, Luella. She’s wet, probably hypothermic. I need your help.” Dez grunted as she half-dragged Jaylynn into the house.

  Luella stepped aside to let them through. “What do you need, honey?”

  “Need to borrow your guest room.” Dez didn’t wait for an answer as she lurched down the back hall with Jaylynn staggering. Over her shoulder Dez said, “And will you go make some hot cocoa or cider, something like that?”

  “Sure,” Luella called out. “There’s extra blankets in the bottom drawers of the dresser.” She headed for the kitchen. “Two mugs of warm cocoa coming up in a jiffy.”

  Dez stumbled into the dark room and swatted an arm up the wall to flip on the light switch. A lamp on a bedside table blinked on and cast a warm glow on the pale tan walls, illuminating a small room, neatly organized with a full-sized bed, maple dresser, and kid-sized writing desk under the window. Dez moved Jaylynn over in front of the bed and steadied her shaking figure. She wrestled Jaylynn’s zipper down and slipped her jacket off, stripped away the rumpled blue uniform shirt, and ripped off the Velcro strips of the vest. Jaylynn’s lips were blue, her eyes vacant and drowsy. She leaned back against the edge of the bed.

  “Wait. Don’t sit yet. Help me out. Help me get those wet things off.” She made Jaylynn stand, half-supporting her with one arm while she reached down and pulled back the bed covers. Dez yanked at the damp vest. She had to wrestle with it a bit, but she removed it and tugged the other three layers over Jaylynn’s head, finally stripping off
the bloodstained tank top last. She undid Jaylynn’s belt and the water-soaked blue pants, slid them down, and pushed her back onto the bed wearing only her bra and panties. Dez fumbled at shoelaces until she got them untied and removed the duty boots, then socks. Her feet were like frozen blocks.

  “S-s-s-so cold.” Jaylynn shook uncontrollably.

  “I know, I know. Lie down. We’ll get you warmed up soon.” Jaylynn tipped over to the side. Dez took hold of her ankles and swung her legs up on the bed. She pulled the covers over and tucked her in.

  Luella appeared in the doorway. She held an empty hot water bottle under one arm as she unraveled the long cord of a heating pad.

  Dez moved closer to Luella. In a low, worried tone, she said, “Maybe I should have taken her to the emergency room?”

  “She’s still shivering, so she’ll be all right. It’s when you stop shivering that there’s trouble.”

  “Can you keep an eye on her for a few minutes, Luella? I have to return the squad car and sign us out. I’ll be right back.”

  “No problem, dear. Hurry up.”

  Dez disappeared from the room as Luella bent slowly and plugged the heating pad cord into the wall outlet. She opened the bottom dresser drawer and tugged two wool blankets out to spread over Jaylynn. She moved out into the living room to the thermostat and turned it up several notches. Returning to the guest room, she sat on the edge of the bed, humming to herself, her hand patting the shivering rookie. Before Luella knew it, Dez was back.

  “That was quick,” Luella said.

  “Speeding is one of the few benefits of driving a cop car.”

  Luella stood and inspected her tenant. Hands on hips she said, “Are you as wet as she is?”

  “No. No, I’m fine.”

  “Don’t lie to me, girlie. I can see you’re wet. Look at those pant legs.”