CHANGE OF LIFE - Chapter 24

On Sunday morning Willard arose from sleep and dressed. Instead of breakfast he decided to go to the bakery for his “Sunday treat” which he usually only had on the Sundays he had to work. He walked out of the bakery grinning, carrying a big coffee and a bag with a large overstuffed jelly doughnut with real berries in the jelly filling. He took them home, ate the doughnut, drank the coffee, and was anxious to go to Sunday School and Church. He really had something big for which to thank God. If he was able to do so, he wanted to share his good news with the pastor.

He was excited about Sunday School also. He had been reading through the Gospels like the pastor recommended. He hoped the Sunday School lesson was about something he had read. The men in the class were talking about the baseball standings and about politics. The teacher had a hard time getting any of the lesson presented.

In the church sanctuary Willard talked silently to God. He had so many questions to ask, but today he was occupied with thanking God for another chance to make his marriage succeed. He thought about Trey Mulcahey and Lance Simpson. He didn’t know why he hadn’t invited them to Sunday School. He asked God to work in their hearts and keep them from turning toward delinquency and crime.

Going out of church several ladies were keeping the pastor occupied so he went home. He warmed up a can of chicken and dumplings, opened a can of peaches, and made a cup of instant coffee. With Dolores coming home he knew that he wouldn’t have any more Sunday dinners out of a can.

After he ate and washed the dishes, he sat in the living room reading his Bible. Why had he stayed away from church, from reading the Bible, and from praying all these years?  Would things have been better if he and Dolores had gone to church together and prayed at home together?

On Monday, as soon as roll call was over, he went to the lieutenant.

“Lieutenant Hageman, I know that this is short notice but I need the rest of this week off. Dolores called Friday night and then again Saturday night. She is coming in on the train to Little Rock about 3 AM tomorrow morning. I booked a room in one of the hotels in Little Rock. We are going to walk and talk and try to work things out. If we can work things out, she will come back here with me.”

“You are correct in saying that it’s short notice. On the other hand, I can’t think of anything more important. I’ll find someone to fill in for you.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Thank you.”

Out in the squad car he told Ginger his good news.

“That is wonderful, Sergeant O’Reilly.”

As they were going by the school yard, they saw two boys breaking bottles on the basketball pad. He stopped the car and stood up outside the door,

“You young men come here right this minute!”

Instead they took off running and Willard ran after them. They had too much head start on him and he soon returned to the car.

“While you were out of the car we had a call from the dispatcher. There was a report of gun shots on County Road 2. A Sheriff’s Deputy was near there and drove up Route 2 to investigate. He reported that he saw at least four pickup trucks and he saw bodies lying on the ground. He said two men were loading packages from one pickup into another one. The one they were loading is a green Ford pickup. (Willard was already underway)

“He said it looked to him like the men in the other three pickups shot out the tires and radiator of the truck that was being unloaded, probably to hijack it. However, the two men in the truck they stopped somehow overpowered them and killed them all in a gun battle. That was all and the last they heard from the Deputy.

“The dispatcher said for us to go to Eagle Lake Crossroad and block Route 2 from that direction. A State Policeman is being sent out Patsville Road to where it crosses Route 2 from that direction. A Sheriff’s Deputy is going down US 63 to Hilo where Route 2 crosses US 63 and will turn onto Route 2 and go toward the crossroad with the Patsville Road in case they have gone beyond the crossroad before the State Trooper gets there. Several ambulances are following the State Trooper. They will wait until the crime scene is all clear before they move in.”

“Tell the dispatcher that when we get to Eagle Lake Crossroad we are going another mile and a half on Route 2 to where there is a junction with a Potlatch Road. The shooters could turn off County Road 2 onto that road and they would then have a choice of two roads that lead out to State Route 160. We will pull into that junction and will be blocking the Potlatch Road and in a good position to ambush them if they come running down County Road 2.”

Ginger repeated all that to the dispatcher.

When they arrived at the Potlatch Road, Willard pulled the patrol car into the road. He said to Ginger.

“You get up in front of the car so that you have the car shielding you. If you see the green Ford pickup roaring down the road, fire at it from the left hand side, then move to the right hand side and try to fire again. Hopefully, I’ll be there to help you.”

Willard got out of the car and took the shotgun with him. He stayed off the road and worked his way toward the green pickup which was beyond him. The two men had a map spread across the hood. They grabbed it up and jumped into the truck.

“Did they see me or hear me?”

Then he heard one of them yell,

“Where’s the f****** keys?  The driver must have them in his pocket.”

They both got out and started going from one man to the next lying on the ground searching through their pockets. They were shielded from Willard by the other trucks.

“Here’s a set of keys.”

“Give ‘em here. Let me try them”

As he was going to the truck, Willard had a clear shot and hit him in the back with a shotgun blast. The back of his shirt turned crimson and he stumbled to the ground. The other man circled around behind the other trucks toward Willard. Willard could see what he was doing and circled in the same direction. He was aiming in the direction where he thought the man was so that when he came up to take a shot he could get him.

Suddenly, a shot of pain went through his back and out his side. He turned and saw the man he had shot had rolled over and had a pistol pointed at him ready to shoot again. Willard let go another shotgun blast. He saw the other man rise to take a shot at him. He would have to reload the shotgun. He didn’t know if he could manage his pistol. He was on the verge of passing out. He ducked down and heard a shot. The man screamed. There was another shot and he was silent.

Ginger ran up to him.

“It looks like both the bad guys are dead. Hang in there. I’m going to the radio to call for help, then I’ll be right back.”

Running back to the car Ginger called in her report,

“Officer down! Officer down! Sergeant O’Reilly is seriously injured with a gunshot wound into his back and out through his side. He needs help fast. The two gunmen are dead. There are five civilians lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. We are on County Road 2. We are two miles from Eagle Lake Crossroads. I repeat both gunmen are dead. We need help fast.”

Ginger ran back to Willard.

“Hang in there. The ambulance is on its way. I think several ambulances are just several miles down the road waiting for the all clear. I told them that both the gunmen were dead. Hang in there Willard. You need to see Dolores and work things out. Don’t give up on us.”

About that time the State Police arrived along with three ambulances.   While the EMTs from one ambulance were working on Willard, EMTs off the other two ambulances were going from one body to the next. They found two who were still alive, but unconscious.

Meanwhile, the State Policeman was busy clearing a path through the tangle of trucks so the ambulances could go out in the direction of Eagle Lake Crossroad. That was the shortest route to Prattsville and the hospital. He used Willard’s patrol car and his own to push the trucks out of the way enough so that the ambulances could get through. The other ambulances had already left and the EMTs were still working on Willard.

When they left with Willard, Ginger followed in the patrol car. She followed the ambulance to the Emergency entrance. The doctor on duty told the EMT’s to bring him into the ER and he would check him, but that he had already called for the helicopter to evacuate him to the Trauma Center in Little Rock. Ginger waited until the helicopter arrived, and Willard was loaded onto it. Then she went back to the station.

When she walked into the station, everyone crowded around wanting to hear what had happened.

“Excuse me. I have to wash my hands and face and powder my nose.”

In the Ladies room she heaved and heaved until there wasn’t anything inside that wasn’t attached. Then she sat down on a chair that was in the room and she started wailing and crying. She couldn’t stop. Every time that she stopped crying, she started again. Then she remembered the day that Willard threw up on the side of the car and sat on the steps crying. SHE HAD REPORTED HIM!  Then she started crying again.

“Pull yourself together. There are two important things that you have to do. You have to make arrangements for someone to meet Dolores and tell her what has happened. Then you have to write a report so that it will be in writing that Sergeant O’Reilly is a hero. Then you can go home, take a hot bath, and cry on your husband’s shoulder.”

She washed her face with gallons of cold water and then walked out. The crowd had thinned out. To those remaining she said,

“I have to see the Captain, then I’ll write my report. You can all read it.”

She went to the Captain’s office and knocked.

“Captain, I have just returned from that shooting. Sergeant O’Reilly is a real hero. I’ll write my report as soon as I leave your office. First, I want to know that someone will meet that train and let Mrs. O’Reilly know that her husband is in the Trauma Center in Little Rock. If no one else can do it, I will go myself, though frankly I am in no shape to make a trip to Little Rock in the middle of the night. I am looking forward to a long hot bath and a good night’s sleep.”

“Patrolman Colvin, put your mind at rest. I am already working on that. I intend to call the Little Rock Police and speak to one of their majors. I think they will do it as a courtesy for a fellow policeman wounded on duty. If not, I will go myself if there is no one from our department who can go.”

“Thank you, sir.”

With her mind at ease on that point, Ginger sat down to write up the report of the day’s events. She emphasized the bravery of Sergeant O’Reilly and how it was his plan that had brought the gunmen down. She said that while Sergeant O’Reilly had the second gunmen covered, the first gunman, who they thought was dead, rolled over and shot the Sergeant once before O’Reilly returned fire and killed him. In the ensuing confusion she shot the second gunman who was ready to shoot at Sergeant O’Reilly.