The Shooting Read Online Free PDF Page B

means her records will be easy to locate. We’re taking her there now. Would you like to ride with her?”
    Tom nodded, still in a daze and then turned to look at Andy who hovered nearby.
    “It’s fine. Go with her, mate and when she wakes up, tell her we’re all here barracking for her,” Andy urged. “Call me, okay?”
    Tom nodded and then closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before slowly blowing the air out again. He needed to be strong and calm for Lily. It wouldn’t do for her to see him looking so stressed when she woke. When , not if. He had to stay positive. The alternative was just too much to bear.
    He glanced around him and his heart fell. He’d been oblivious to the growing number of cars that had parked along the road outside the school fence, but now that he took the time to look around him, he noticed the swelling crowd. Word had gotten out.
    Lane’s partner Jett and a couple of uniforms were holding them back from the school gates. So far, most of them were no more than a little anxious, but that could change in an instant.
    Some of them held phones with the cameras pointed toward the ambulance. Anger surged through him, but he forced himself to keep it in check. What was the point in shouting at them? He’d only give them something more to film. It would make their thirty seconds of YouTube fame even more exciting to have a decorated Sydney police officer and the husband of the victim spewing forth tirades at the curious spectators. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
    Instead, he turned his back on them and climbed up into the ambulance. He sat down on a seat beside the gurney and reached out for his wife’s hand. It was cool and limp and lifeless and sudden tears burned behind his eyes.
    He thought of their kids and then glanced at his watch. It was ten o’clock. Soon, they’d be coming out for their morning break. If he was lucky, it hadn’t yet made the pages of social media. If he wasn’t and they read something…
    Both of them were enrolled in a local high school only a few miles away. He needed to call someone to collect them and tell them what was going on. He pulled out his phone and dialed Brandon. As briefly as he could manage, he filled his brother in on the recent events and asked if he’d collect the kids. Finally, the doors of the van closed, blocking the outside world and he sighed raggedly with relief.
    * * *
    Hannah Sutton pressed her hand against her mouth in an effort to contain her cry of distress. Two heavily armed officers dressed in full combat gear stood on either side of her son and marched him down the corridor toward her office at the front of the school. His hands were fastened behind his back with handcuffs. Another officer followed behind them, carrying what looked like her husband’s old gun.
    They were still a few yards away from her when she ran toward them, unable to contain her anguish a second longer.
    “Brady! Oh, my goodness! Brady! Honey, what have you done ?” She took hold of the lapels of his shirt and tried to draw him close. It was then that she noticed the blood. A fine spattering of it covered his clothes and a little of it was on his bare arms. Shock rendered her mute.
    He’d shot someone! He’d actually shot someone! The thought spun madly around in her head, but she refused to comprehend its meaning. It couldn’t be true. He couldn’t have shot a real person. It was ludicrous to even think it. There must be some mistake. There must be some other explanation.
    “I’m sorry, Ms Sutton, you’re going to have to stand back from the prisoner.”
    A detective who had introduced himself earlier as Lane Black spoke to her, his expression grave. She spied a flash of sympathy in his eyes, but a moment later, it was gone.
    “P-prisoner? But… But he’s my son!”
    The same officer spoke again. “So you said, but right now, he’s under arrest for the attempted murder of Lily Munro. We’re taking him back to Chatswood Police