Mom said quietly, “Mae.”
Cole held the microphone closer. “Shirley Mae Hagen.”
The radio clicked.
“Badge-location code.”
Cole didn’t answer right away.
I had no idea what that meant, but Mom did. I could tell by the way her fingers tightened once around the handle of her handbag and then relaxed.
The dispatcher repeated, “Fourteen, give me your badge-location code.”
Cole’s voice hardened. “County Six, eastbound shoulder, mile marker nineteen.”
“Say the full code.”
His face had begun to redden above the collar of his uniform, though in that heat everybody’s face was red. “Fourteen, C-Six, one-nine east.”
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