“No, I hurt whether I’m sitting or walking. I’ll be right there,” and he disconnected.

About five minutes later, Albert heard their old lawn mower start up. He grinned. Daddy just got himself a ride. He watched Tom come over the rise and then down toward the creek.

They were both there waiting when they heard sirens in the distance. Albert ran up the hill, and when the first police cars and an ambulance drove into view, he waved to indicate where they were, then ran back down.

It didn’t take long before they had Slade stabilized enough to transport, and then they were gone.

Albert cleaned up and then took his daddy to the doctor, and Red got a chew bone and a pat on the head for his find.

* * *

Back at the station, chaos reigned. Once the chief was notified of the call, he contacted Detective Inman.

Inman was on his way back down through the heavily wooded hills with his men when his phone rang.

“This is Inman.”

“Detective, this is Chief Pittman. We just got a 911 call that some locals found Hoover Slade on the creek bank below their house.”

Inman held up his fist, and all the men behind him stopped.

“Is he dead?”

“No, sir, but he’s unconscious and has a serious injury to his leg. The ambulance is transporting him from here to the hospital.”

“Boy, did we catch a break,” Inman said. “We lost his trail when the storm hit. We’ll meet up in the ER, okay?”

“Yes, sir. We’ll provide a police presence until you arrive.”

“Thanks for the call,” Inman said, then dropped the phone in his pocket. “We just got lucky. Some farmer found Hoover on a creek bank. He’s unconscious and injured, and as soon as we get back to Blessings, we’ve got our man.”

A small cheer went up as they increased their pace.

The sheriff’s office was officially relieved of further duty, and when they reached their vehicles, they left to return to their regular duties.

Inman and his men left for Blessings.

* * *

Dr. Quick was on duty when the ambulance arrived, but he’d been given a heads-up as to who they were bringing in. Two officers from the Blessings PD were already on hand to stand guard outside Slade’s treatment room.

The EMTs unloaded the gurney and wheeled Slade inside, updating the doctor on his condition when found, the fact that he’d had a tourniquet on the upper portion of his leg above the wound, and what his stats were upon arrival.

Dr. Quick grimaced when he saw the piece of wood in Hoover’s leg and the mark left by the tourniquet they’d removed. A nurse began cutting away the convict’s clothes, and the team went to work.

A short while later, Detective Inman and his men showed up at the hospital. They thanked the Blessings officers for their help and sent them on their way. Then Inman put two of his men on guard and went into the room without an invitation.