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The question ould he shoot? Would he blow Vic’s head off his shoulders, or his own? Both options held a lot of appeal to him

Real serious appeal

He walked downstairs carefully and quietly, not wanting to be heard He was pretty sure Vic was still at work, but he did sometimes come home for lunch The house was quiet Mom was asleep in front of the TV in her rooin and fresh lime even this early in the day Mike was lucky: Vic was at work, and Mike hoped that a car would fall off the lift and crush hiht made him want to smile, but his face hurt too much to make him dare flex those pulped muscles

As Mike fished in the closet for his nylon windbreaker, he heard the TV rattle on about some no-​fly zone somewhere in a country he never heard of He was at the door when he heard the words "Pine Deep" Mike stopped in surprise and listened

"…in Bucks County, where authorities are investigating a shoot-​out that left at least one person dead and three wounded, including two police officers"

Mike held his breath and strained to hear every word

"According to Pine Deep Police Chief Gus Bernhardt, at about nine o’clock last night, an unknown assailant broke into the farmhouse of Henry Guthrie, one of the town’s most prosperous farmers, and attempted to rob Mr Guthrie and his family The police department has not released complete details yet, but what is known is that the intruder physically assaulted several members of the Guthrie household When local officers arrived, the intruder opened fire After a short but intense exchange of shots, the intruder fled, leaving behind a scene of devastation Mr Henry Guthrie, sixty-​four, a well-​respected member of the Pine Deep Growers Co one hand to his bruised lips

"Wounded in the exchange of shots were Officers Rhoda Tho intern ith the Pine Deep Police Department, and Malcolm Crow, forty, a local businessman who had recently been reinstated as an officer Ms Thounshot wounds and is listed in serious condition at County Hospital Mr Crow also sustained a pair of gunshot wounds, a other injuries, and is listed in stable condition Also injured during the break-​in were Mark Guthrie, thirty-​six, son of Henry Guthrie, his wife, Connie, thirty-​one, and Valerie Guthrie, forty Ms Guthrie, the daughter of the murdered man, is the fiancée of Officer Crow Mark, Connie, and Valerie Guthrie are all listed in fair condition Sources in the chief’s department claim that the intruder e of shots Chief Gus Bernhardt is conducting a full investigation as well as a ht such heartache and pain to the Guthrie family

"In other news…"

"Crow…" Mike breathed "Oh no!" He left the house as fast as his battered body couldto count the tiny holes in one selected panel of acoustic tile for want of soits when there was a tentative knock on the door "Come in," Crow called "Please!"

The ers to Crow, but he knew their type They had the cop look, despite stubble-​covered chins; eyes sed with sleep deprivation, and badly co, and had the dour face of a er, brawnier, and looked h that was erlimply from the corner of his mouth Both men wore rumpled suits that looked as if hoboes had slept in the man with the mournful face

"What’s left of him"

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Since I’m bored out of my mind, I wouldn’t er rinned at that; the older one did not They both pulled up orange plastic chairs of the type that had aluned for the sole purpose ofin unison with obvious weariness

Crow looked at theuess," he said, "Philly cops?"

"Right the first tieant Frank Ferro"

"Did I ht?"

"Yes, sir We were out at the house"

Crow’s hands were bandaged, and one was hooked to an IV, so they just exchanged nods, and Croas even careful about that His head still felt as if it had been used in a soccer an Ferro, "first, I want to say that on behalf of myself, my partner, and the other law-​enforcement officers, I want to thank you and coht"

"Aw, shucks," Croled "’Tweren’t nothing"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>