was the parent that Diane resembled the most physically. His face was taut and impassive as he joined the women. Less than a half hour had passed since the first call for help in the parking lot. Springfield's "Morning Watch" begins at 11:00 p.m. The shift's briefing takes place from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m. Officer Rich Cha_
SMALL SACRIFICES 27
neau had been summoned out of that "show-up" and disn^tched to the hospital.
When Charboneau walked in, Diane looked up at him and
ried angrily, "It's about time you got here! There's some maniac Suit there shooting people."
It was now 10:48 p.m. Eight minutes since Judy Patterson's callDiane told Charboneau basically the same story she'd told Judy Patterson. A stranger had demanded her car and then shot her children when she refused to give it to him. No, the children hadn't been awake; she recalled now that they had all been sleeping.
"I wasn't going to let him have my new car!" she murmured angrily. "I just bought it."
Diane appeared frantic with worry over her children. To
compound matters, the wrong department had responded to the call for police assistance in the confusion over the location of the incident. When Diane recalled landmarks she had observed, Charboneau realized that the shooting had taken place outside the Springfield city limits. He called the Lane County Sheriff's Office. Sergeant Robin Rutherford responded.
Rutherford and Charboneau were horrified as Diane outlined her encounter with the gunman. The trouble might not be
over. Old Mohawk Road was only a few miles long, a curving, two-laned road that paralleled the main road between Marcola and Springfield. The river edged most of its west boundary, and there were vast fields, but near Springfield a score of homes huddled along the road. If a maniac was out there with a gun, they had to find him. Rural Springfield residents would open their doors to a stranger in need of "help." They had to be warned. Someone had to verify that Old Mohawk Road was indeed
where the gunman had last been seen. No one but Diane could do that. Rutherford asked her if she would come with him back to we shooting scene. It was a lot to ask. Diane explained that her arm was injured, ^"d that she hadn't much more than a Band-Aid for it. Rutherford
ked one of the nurses to evaluate Diane's wounds. -, I'm sorry," she called as she ran past.
"I have no time. ^Ke her to Sacred Heart."
fc p^1"^^' ^dy Patterson wrapped the arm again, but she wasn't "tident about it. Rosie Martin stopped, looked askance at the
28 ANN RULE
arm, and unwrapped the gauze. She quickly put a less flexible bandage on it.
"How are my kids?" Diane asked.
Rosie answered that everyone was working on them--that
they were still very serious. "We have four doctors doing their best for them."
That much was true. Neither Rosie nor anyone else had time yet to come out and tell the family just how bad things were. |
Diane and her parents conferred with the deputies. They
decided that Wes and Diane would go with Rutherford to show him where the shooting had occurred.
Shelby Day knelt down in front of Diane and said softly,
"One of your girls is really bad. She may not be alive when you come back." |
Diane nodded. She drew a deep breath and turned to Rob
E Rutherford. She would go with him. She couldn't save her chil-tt I dren just sitting there in the waiting room anyway. Judy heard
Diane murmur something else, but she couldn't understand it, the i| words didn't make sense; she turned back toward her post at the 1' I I front desk. ,„„ , | s1! H i.^-|
"' When Diane and her father walked out of the emergency room with Rob Rutherford, the sheriffs sergeant noted that though Diane was clearly in pain, she seemed to have tremendous will power. She appeared calmer now that she had something to do, something that might help find the gunman.
^|]|iii|||i| They walked past Diane's red Nissan, guarded by Rich Jljlll Charboneau. She looked it over. "I hope my car's OK.
SMALL SACRIFICES 27
neau had been summoned out of that "show-up" and disn^tched to the hospital.
When Charboneau walked in, Diane looked up at him and
ried angrily, "It's about time you got here! There's some maniac Suit there shooting people."
It was now 10:48 p.m. Eight minutes since Judy Patterson's callDiane told Charboneau basically the same story she'd told Judy Patterson. A stranger had demanded her car and then shot her children when she refused to give it to him. No, the children hadn't been awake; she recalled now that they had all been sleeping.
"I wasn't going to let him have my new car!" she murmured angrily. "I just bought it."
Diane appeared frantic with worry over her children. To
compound matters, the wrong department had responded to the call for police assistance in the confusion over the location of the incident. When Diane recalled landmarks she had observed, Charboneau realized that the shooting had taken place outside the Springfield city limits. He called the Lane County Sheriff's Office. Sergeant Robin Rutherford responded.
Rutherford and Charboneau were horrified as Diane outlined her encounter with the gunman. The trouble might not be
over. Old Mohawk Road was only a few miles long, a curving, two-laned road that paralleled the main road between Marcola and Springfield. The river edged most of its west boundary, and there were vast fields, but near Springfield a score of homes huddled along the road. If a maniac was out there with a gun, they had to find him. Rural Springfield residents would open their doors to a stranger in need of "help." They had to be warned. Someone had to verify that Old Mohawk Road was indeed
where the gunman had last been seen. No one but Diane could do that. Rutherford asked her if she would come with him back to we shooting scene. It was a lot to ask. Diane explained that her arm was injured, ^"d that she hadn't much more than a Band-Aid for it. Rutherford
ked one of the nurses to evaluate Diane's wounds. -, I'm sorry," she called as she ran past.
"I have no time. ^Ke her to Sacred Heart."
fc p^1"^^' ^dy Patterson wrapped the arm again, but she wasn't "tident about it. Rosie Martin stopped, looked askance at the
28 ANN RULE
arm, and unwrapped the gauze. She quickly put a less flexible bandage on it.
"How are my kids?" Diane asked.
Rosie answered that everyone was working on them--that
they were still very serious. "We have four doctors doing their best for them."
That much was true. Neither Rosie nor anyone else had time yet to come out and tell the family just how bad things were. |
Diane and her parents conferred with the deputies. They
decided that Wes and Diane would go with Rutherford to show him where the shooting had occurred.
Shelby Day knelt down in front of Diane and said softly,
"One of your girls is really bad. She may not be alive when you come back." |
Diane nodded. She drew a deep breath and turned to Rob
E Rutherford. She would go with him. She couldn't save her chil-tt I dren just sitting there in the waiting room anyway. Judy heard
Diane murmur something else, but she couldn't understand it, the i| words didn't make sense; she turned back toward her post at the 1' I I front desk. ,„„ , | s1! H i.^-|
"' When Diane and her father walked out of the emergency room with Rob Rutherford, the sheriffs sergeant noted that though Diane was clearly in pain, she seemed to have tremendous will power. She appeared calmer now that she had something to do, something that might help find the gunman.
^|]|iii|||i| They walked past Diane's red Nissan, guarded by Rich Jljlll Charboneau. She looked it over. "I hope my car's OK.
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