I reached for my radio and called in my location and let the dispatcher know I was taking the call myself and to have my deputy, Alex Miller, on standby in case things went to shit.
There was a beat of silence on the radio, then a crackly voice said, “Sheriff Wells, please confirm address.”
“812 Maple Street,” I responded.
Another moment of silence. “Negative. Correct address is 814 Maple. Confirm?”
814 Maple? Ford’s address was 812. My heart stuttered as I realized it wasn’t Ford’s house that I was being dispatched to, but his neighbor’s.
Walter.
“Confirm, 814 Maple Street. What’s the complaint?” I asked.
“It was a call for EMS. Possible medical emergency.”
“Is Walter… Mr. Pascal… the one making the call?”
“Caller is a… Ford Cornell.”
“Copy. I’m en route to 814 Maple Street,” I rattled off automatically. The calls from Walter about hearing domestic altercations at his neighbor’s house had always gone through my secretary instead of through 911 dispatch. I’d been so on edge about getting the next call about Ford that not only had I heard the address incorrectly, I hadn’t even noticed that it hadn’t come through Sally-Ann.
That, in itself, was clear proof of how wound in knots Ford and his situation had left me.
I inwardly cursed as I raced to the scene. I only saw Ford’s car in front of his house. But in front of Walter’s was an ambulance. I pulled up behind it and threw my car into park. Just as I started up the walkway toward the house, the door flew open. It was Ford and in his arms was Walter’s little white dog, Puddles.
I drank in the sight of Ford and automatically began scanning him for fresh bruises. I only had a profile view of him, but the part of his face I could see looked free of any new black-and-blue marks.
Ford didn’t notice me as he held the door open for the paramedics as they maneuvered a stretcher through the opening. Ford was clearly shaken. I made my way carefully up the un-shoveled walkway, which had at least a few inches of snow on it. Since we hadn’t had snow for a few days, I knew that meant the walkway had gone at least that long without being cleared. I figured the bitter cold we were having could have contributed to the fact that the walkway had gone unattended, but it seemed unlikely, since Walter had told me that Ford always shoveled Walter’s driveway and sidewalk the second the snow ended, no matter how cold it was.
“You’ll be okay, Walter,” Ford said shakily as the stretcher was carried past him. He seemed completely freaked out. Walter’s hand came off the stretcher to pat Ford’s, but whatever Walter said back to him was muffled by the oxygen mask strapped to his face. I moved out of the way so the paramedics could get past.
Ford only noticed me when he nearly ran into me in his haste to follow them.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I… I…” Ford began, then shook his head. He was so visibly upset that I found myself reaching out to put my hand on his shoulder. He had no coat on and his hair looked wet. So did his boots and jeans.
“Ford,” I said as I grabbed both his upper arms to force him to focus on me. Puddles whined and pressed her nose into Ford’s chest. “What happened?” I asked.
“I didn’t check on him all week… I thought if I stopped talking to him, he wouldn’t call you every time—” Ford snapped his mouth shut and pulled free of me. He ran past me and rushed to the ambulance where they were loading Walter up.
“I’m sorry, Walter,” he called. I wasn’t sure if Walter responded because I was too far away to hear, but by the time I reached them, the paramedics were closing the doors.
“Where are you taking him?” I asked as I held one of the doors.
“Greenville General,” the female paramedic said.
I nodded and caught a glimpse of Walter. When he saw me he tried to speak, but once again, I couldn’t make out what he was saying with the oxygen mask covering his mouth. Pain was etched into every line of his face, but when his frantic eyes went from me to Ford, I knew what he was trying to tell me.
My admiration for the veteran jumped about a thousand percent. I didn’t know what had happened, but to know his first concern was for his young neighbor and not his own suffering confirmed what an honorable man he was.
The paramedic closed the doors and hurried around the vehicle. It pulled away from the curb and disappeared around the corner. The second it was out of sight, Ford dashed past me and back toward Walter’s house. I quickly followed him.
“Ford!” I called after I lost sight of him.