Barbara Graham - Quilted 05 - Murder by Sunlight by Barbara Graham

something. She got a little description and gave it to me.”
    “Ambulance needed. I can’t leave him. Backup needed. Now.” Sheila’s voice was clear and concise. “I have no idea where the attacker is now. I can’t reach my weapon and hold this guy. I have to stop the bleeding or we’ll lose him.”
    Tony could hear Sheila trying to calm a man. The sounds were something he’d imagine if two people were trapped in a box with a bear. Growling. Moaning.
    Tony said to Flavio, “Tell Sheila I’m on my way too.” Tony hurried through the hall, raced outside, climbed into the Blazer, flipped on the light bar, and headed out. The address Sheila had given was just past the intersection where Ruby’s Café and the Thomas Brothers Garage sat. It was a major intersection of the highway and the road connecting downtown Silersville to a less-populated residential area. It was possibly the busiest section of road in the entire county. He listened to the radio.
    Sheila’s voice. “Stay still. You’re about to faint. I need to hold this pressed against your wound.” Then sounds like a bull thrashing in a stall drowned out Sheila’s words.
    Tony kept the volume up on the radio and heard bits of the conversation between Sheila and the victim. A man’s voice, barely a whisper. “Bob, he kept calling me. Bob. And he said he knew I was there, like we were on a different planet.”
    “People call you Bob?” Sheila’s voice was muffled.
    “No. Not Bob, and none of my neighbors is named Bob either.” The voice sounded much weaker than it had.
    “We need that ambulance.” Sheila spoke clearly. “He’s out cold now and losing ground fast. So much blood.”
    “It’s on the way. They say five minutes.” Flavio knew every deputy’s location and what they were doing. “Mike’s almost there too.”
    Tony hoped help would get to the injured man and Sheila in time. He pressed the accelerator a bit more.
    Tony heard Flavio talking to Mike. Then there was quiet as Flavio listened to Sheila and relayed the information to everyone on the system, speaking clearly and calmly. “In the neighborhood of the highway and Ruby’s Café, be on the lookout for a white male, five foot six, one hundred and forty pounds, thirtyish, close-cropped black hair, last seen wearing a dirty white muscle shirt and jeans. Carrying a claw hammer and a pipe wrench, neither one new, blood on the shirt. On foot when last seen.”
    Tony watched Mike make the turn ahead of him, his vehicle almost airborne, flying up the road to the next turn and then stopping. Mike jumped out of his vehicle, spotted Tony, and signaled he was going to the back of the property. The ambulance arrived next. Tony held back, staying behind them, and parked just before the ambulance crew headed toward the house. Tony was careful to park well out of its way. He hoped it would leave as quickly as it arrived, with a living patient.
    Hurrying out of the Blazer, Tony glanced around, studying the area, hoping to see a medium-sized man in a white t-shirt. All he saw was a quiet neighborhood. Houses, fenced yards, and assorted vehicles. Lots of shrubbery and tall grass. Nothing moving. A couple of dogs barked, but not like they were frantic, guarding homes from strangers. On the radio, Mike told everyone what he could see from the back of the property, which didn’t take long. Nothing appeared out of place.
    Now running to get ahead of the paramedics, Tony gestured for them to wait for his signal before going into the house.
    He moved inside, keeping his heavy semi-automatic raised. He quickly searched for the intruder and found no one. Inside the kitchen, Sheila knelt next to a large, naked man stretched out on the floor. Blood was everywhere, including on Sheila. She pressed a wadded-up piece of fabric, maybe a t-shirt, against the man’s neck. Her hands and arms were covered with blood. She didn’t look up as she talked. “Sheriff, I’d have chased the attacker, but couldn’t