Collin was actually glad to be on traffic patrol for
a change, though his thoughts constantly tried to sort through what action he
should take to be closer to home and Beth.
So it took a couple seconds longer than normal to
realize traffic wasn't moving when the light turned from red to green, and the
reason was a hunched-over woman wandering in the crosswalk. Collin flipped on
his top light bar to keep traffic stopped. Was she hurt or mentally
confused?
A few horns tooted as Collin notified dispatch of his
location and stepped out of the car. As he approached the woman, he recognized
her as Sally Harris, who had shown up on several earlier calls and wanted
bloodthirsty details of the incidents. The woman didn't seem stable then.
Perhaps her mental condition had worsened.
Collin updated dispatch and moved forward to help the
woman.
"Get out of the street, old lady!"
As motorists grew more impatient and more vocal, the
woman looked around in confusion. Her gaze finally settled on Collin with a
desperate hope. "I knew you would help me."
"Let's get you some place safe." Collin
slipped his hand under the woman's elbow and steered her toward his cruiser. He
couldn't leave her wandering around.
"Hey, you can't arrest an old lady!"
From the corner of his eye, Collin caught a hurried
movement on the sidewalk.
The glint of silver in the sunlight.
His survival instincts kicked in a split second late
as he curled his body protectively around the old woman. The force of the
burning pain at the side of his head pushed them the rest of the way to the
ground.
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