The Morning Of

by S. B. Cody

  The footage kept rolling, and they arrived at Michael and Jason’s uniting downstairs. “Who the hell is that?” Kara belted out at the sight of the second masked shooter. No one had mentioned this.

  Devin paused the footage. All three of them looked on, all of them wondering how to proceed. Kara and Brody communicated silently again. This is a whole new wrinkle to it. “Let’s proceed from here. See what happens. We’ll go back,” Kara said. The tape continued. Jason wrestled his way into what was Connor’s room. The struggle played out and Jason went to the ground. From there they watched as Michael and Jason made their way and invaded what would be their final room. They saw nothing, but they could imagine what unfolded inside. And from there Michael came and waved his goodbye. Neither of the shooters showed up again.

  “That it?” Brody asked. “They get out through the classroom?”

  “It would appear so,” Devin replied.

  “You have cameras out there?”

  “Some.”

  “Pull them up.” A few outside shots came on screen, but no masked killers came into frame. “Shit,” Brody muttered when it became clear that there was nothing to see. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and hailed one of the uniforms outside. “A couple of you head around back. Shooters escaped that way. Look for any signs.”

  “Roger that,” a voice squawked back.

  “Go back and find where the goalie came into play,” Kara said. A search back through revealed Jason bursting out of the bathroom, taking out two of Kristin’s students. “The fuck?” Kara let out. “Go back further.” The tape rewound, and Kara looked on, not blinking, waiting to see when it was that Jason had headed in. But eventually they got to the image of a surge of students in the halls, with random kids heading in and out of the bathroom. “Goddammit!” Kara exclaimed. “What the hell happened here?”

  “He must have headed in there during the passing period. And waited,” Brody offered.

  “Are students allowed to carry backpacks during the day?” Kara asked.

  “No,” Devin answered.

  “Well, that means the gun and clothes were already there. Had to have been dropped off. Go back further. See if someone heads in there with a package or something.” The tape rewound until the timestamp read 6:30. At that point someone stumbled into the building with a bag around their shoulder, a black hoodie draped over his head shielding him from view. He stalked through the halls, down the stairs, and into the bathroom from where Jason would emerge in a couple hours. He came out without a bag and slipped out the back door. “And there it is,” Kara whispered.

  All three of them turned and headed back outside. Brody still had his head in his pad and was scribbling away as he and Kara conversed in hushed tones.

  “Is there a record of which students are issued a bathroom pass during class?” Kara asked.

  Devin nodded as Brody tore off a piece of paper and handed it to Devin. “This is what we need,” he told him. Devin grabbed the paper and took a look at it. It read:

  Class roster and teacher names for Rooms 117, 15, 123, and 19.

  Sign-in sheet for library

  Attendance records for the day

  Discipline records

  Bathroom Pass Records

  Devin looked at it for a minute and then replied, “We can do most of this. Discipline records, I don’t think can happen.”

  “Why not?” Brody asked.

  “Those are confidential. I believe you would need a warrant for that.”

  “Dammit,” Kara muttered. “But the rest will do?”

  “I don’t see why not. But why would you need a record of bathroom passes or the attendance record?”

  “First shooter came in from the outside. So we need to know which students weren’t in class at the time.”

  “So it was one of our students?” Devin choked out, sounding petrified at the idea.

  “It usually is.”

  “But is it possible it was someone from the outside?”

  “We’re going to explore every possibility.” The trio descended the outside stairs as a uniform cop hustled up to them, a book bag hanging from his arms.

  “What do we have here?” Brody said as he peered inside. “What the fuck?!” he cried out as he threw his head back. A stench of bleach shot up out of the bag, stinging his eyes.

  “Found it in the woods out back. Group of guns and some clothes,” the uniform said.

  “Well, I guess we know which way they went. Take us back there,” Kara said as the group headed around.

  They found the path the shooters took, but little else. The forensics team scoured the area, but discovered nothing of any use. Some slight indentations in the ground seemed to be where they had stepped, but not enough to get a print. From there they traced the steps of the shooters, seeing the bodies and carnage firsthand. They went to the library where they saw the deep stains of red in the carpet, enough to the point that one may think it was the natural color. They walked the halls where blood smeared the floor and lockers. They went to each of the classrooms that had been attacked. Bodies lay among a jungle of toppled desks. Bullet holes dotted the walls, some still hot to the touch.

  Their journey ended at the room which marked Michael and Jason’s escape, where the pools of blood seemed to be a couple of inches thick.

  “Jesus Christ,” Brody muttered, his typical wit having abandoned him at the sight of the slaughter. He and Kara tiptoed around, taking it all in. The air whistled as it came in through the open window. “How the hell did they get out of here anyway?” Brody asked.

  Kara didn’t respond, as she wondered the same thing herself. Then a glance over at the window revealed the answer. A rope had been tied around the window frame. She approached and looked out. The rope trailed down the side, ending right above the ground. “Looks like they climbed down.”

  Brody came over and saw for himself. “Who the hell are these people?” he asked to no one in particular.

  “I don’t get it. Why come up here just to climb out a second-story window? There’s plenty of places to get out from down there. What’s so special about this room?” Neither said a thing because neither had the answer.

  From there, Kara and Brody took up residence in a conference room, the large table covered with various papers filled with all the information they had gotten from Principal Devin. They compiled a list of everyone that they needed to interview, which grew longer and longer with every passing minute.

  “This is gonna take forever,” Brody said. “Where do you even start with a cluster-fuck like this?”

  “We’ll get some uniforms to take statements from some of the students. We’ll focus on the ones who were out of the classroom.”

  “Doesn’t seem likely to me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That the shooters were kids who ducked out under the pretense of taking a shit. They would have to have known we could track that.”

  “Well… they’re kids. Kids are stupid.”

  “Does this look like the work of someone who’s stupid?”

  Kara sat for a moment in thought. “True. But we need to start somewhere.”

  The door to the room swung open and Captain Barron stepped in. “Brody. Smalls,” he uttered in a cursory greeting. His eyes lingered on Kara for an extra second, annoyed at her presence. “Where are we at?”

  “Somewhere around fuck all,” Brody groaned.

  Kara added, “We’re making a list of who to question.”

  Barron glanced at the list which was forty names long and growing. “Looks like you have your work cut out. Lots of mistakes you could make along the way.” His eyes settled on Kara. She wanted to curse him out but knew that her career wouldn’t appreciate it.

  “We’re gonna do this right,” Brody said.

  “You better. This department has been reamed enough as it is.”

  “You usually have to pay extra for that sort of action,” Brody blurted, not able to stop himself. Kara stifled her laugh.
>
  “You about done? Cause the vultures are circling outside. We need to give them something.”

  “Give them the usual BS. We’re pursuing all leads. We’ll get the sons of bitches.”

  “I don’t really think that’s gonna cut it this time.”

  “Well, dealing with the press isn’t really our job,” Kara snapped. She zipped her mouth, wishing she hadn’t said it. Brody looked around wishing he could be elsewhere.

  Barron took a step back and regarded her. “No,” he replied, “it’s not. Your job is to find the killer. The right one.” From there he whisked his way out of the room. “Come on!” he yelled behind him. “I’m not facing those bastards alone.”

  Kara and Brody shared a mutual look of disgust, and followed him outside. Along the way they passed a group of parents who were in a line of chairs. They were the ones who hadn’t seen their kids outside. They prayed that their children had escaped. Prayed that they just hadn’t made it back yet. A uniform would call them back into an office where he’d take down their information and in the rare instance that a victim had been identified, the bad news would be delivered. As the two passed, an unearthly shriek sounded from that office. A woman burst through the door, collapsing to the ground.

  Kara turned away, this being one part of the job she struggled with. They arrived outside, the herd inside the impromptu hospital having thinned. Barron headed to the barrier where the media still stood at full force. As he stepped forward, reporters hurled question after question at him.

  “Quiet down, everyone.” He spoke with ease. Everyone obeyed. This was where he shined. “I will make a quick statement and then take a few questions.” They all looked on in rapt attention. “At approximately 8:30 this morning, two masked gunmen took the school by force, resulting in the death of multiple students and faculty members. At around 8:50, a group of responding officers arrived and cleared the building. In the process it was discovered that the two shooters escaped prior to the officers’ arrival.” A murmuring began among the crowd. This was a horse of a different color. “We are launching a full investigation and hope to make an arrest soon.” Barron’s pause at the end signaled that he had finished. The questions unleashed yet again. Barron boomed his voice out again to add, “Any questions can be directed to our two lead investigators, Detectives Smalls and Morgan.” He took off without looking back, but Kara could swear that she heard a chuckle as he passed. That son of a bitch.

  “Detective! Do you currently have any suspects?” the first question came quick-fire.

  “Can’t comment on that at the moment,” Kara said, trying to play catch-up.

  “Do you believe the shooters were students?” came another.

  “We won’t speculate on that.”

  “Is there any reason to believe that this is related to the protests that were being held this morning?”

  “Won’t speculate,” she repeated. The reporters continued to throw questions, and Kara realized that she couldn’t dodge them all. “Listen!” she yelled. “We will be providing updates as the investigation proceeds, but we cannot comment on it at this time. Please respect that and the victims and families during this time. Thank you.” Kara spun around and headed back towards the school, Brody nipping at her heels.

  “Thought you handled that well,” he said, catching up with her.

  “Yeah. Thanks for all your help,” Kara retorted.

  “Looked like you had it taken care of.”

  “If that bastard is so pissed at me, he never should’ve brought me back.”

  “Are you complaining?” Brody asked.

  Kara leered over at him. He shut his mouth. The two headed back into the school, hoping to find the needle at the bottom of the haystack.

  Kara slugged her way back into her house, every detail of the case wheeling around in her head. She ticked off her mental list of things to do. Long list of interviews to conduct. God knew how long that could take. Track the serial number of the guns that were found. Wait for the forensic results of the clothes. But based on the smell of bleach that smothered every inch of it, that would likely result in jack shit.

  While she thought it all over, the image of that mother writhing around in agony swam in front of her. She crashed onto her couch, trying to rid herself of the picture. She hated the view of it. Even now, hours later, it made her twitch. The sight of someone in that amount of pain made her feel so powerless. When she had been five years old, her grandmother had died. At the time, she didn’t really understand what it all meant, so when it came time for the funeral, she was really just along for the ride. While the casket was lowered into the ground she looked around and smiled at the birds that flew from tree to tree. She wanted to go chasing off after them, but her parents had instructed her to be on her best behavior, so she stayed put. Her smile soon vanished when she heard the weeping coming from above her. She looked up to see her mother sobbing into her hands. Seeing her mother like that forced everything into upheaval. She cried plenty. When she fell and hurt herself. When someone took her toys. But her parents, her mother… They were grown-ups. Grown-ups didn’t cry. They were strong. So now that her mother stood here in tears… it didn’t make sense.

  Kara threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her legs. “Mommy! Why are you sad?” She got no response. Her mother simply folded an arm around her and held her there. Kara began to cry herself now, heartbroken to see her mother like this. Confused by her inability to do anything about it. Of course, as she got older, it all began to make sense, but one thing that didn’t change was the sense of helplessness that she felt.

  9

  All around Stanford that night people sat down stunned by it all. Eyes were glued to the television, taking in every bit of information that could be squeezed out. That evening, shots of Stanford could be seen on every news channel.

  The main paper in Stanford was the Stanford Tribune. The story about the shooting took up the entire front page the following morning, the picture showcasing the parking lot jam-packed with people.

  Tragedy struck at Stanford West High School yesterday, October 15. The school day had just begun when an emergency lockdown was called over the intercom. At 8:30 in the morning, two masked assailants charged into the school with firearms. For the next half hour the school was at their mercy as police response was delayed due to the protest being held concerning the shooting of fifteen-year-old Noah Spaulding.

  Once authorities arrived, they conducted a full sweep of the building. However, the perpetrators could not be found, possibly having fled the scene. Authorities have made assurances that a full investigation will be made into the incident. However, they would not comment on any aspects of the investigation. Meanwhile, they have requested that citizens remain calm and allow them to proceed with the case.

  Christopher Devin, principal of Stanford West High School agreed to speak to the Tribune. “The entire community here at West is devastated by this incident. While we pray that nothing like this would ever happen, this occurrence is something that we always make sure to prepare ourselves for. Several lockdown drills are held every year in keeping with federal and state standards. With this tragedy, we will definitely be looking into strengthening our security so as to make sure that nothing like this will ever happen again. But for right now, we just ask that everyone keep the West family in their prayers.” The School Board for Stanford Public has announced that they are suspending classes for the entire district until further notice in order to ensure the safety of all their students and allowing families time to grieve.

  By the end of the massacre, twenty-eight lives had been taken with fifteen more injured. The injured were rushed to Eternal Hope Hospital where they are currently being treated for injuries. Three of them are currently in critical condition. The rest are expected to make full recoveries. The names of the victims have not yet been released. The Tribune will provide updates as they become available.

  The story stretched far beyond Stanford, and as i
s always the case with these incidents, it quickly became national news. A story would also appear on the front page of The Washington Post.

  The eyes of the nation are now on the town of Stanford, Missouri, after it has suffered one of the worst mass shootings in recent history. With twenty-eight dead, many are waiting to see what effect, if any, this will have on the national debate surrounding gun control.

  President Harris is expected to deliver a statement to the press later this evening. Many are speculating on whether or not she will address the issue of gun control in her statement, which was a major part of her platform when she was elected. There has already been a wide call for legislation involving firearms from both sides of the aisle. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued a statement: “There is no reason that twenty-eight people had to lose their lives in such a senseless fashion. Unfortunately, tragedies such as this will only continue to happen if serious action is not made to limit access to dangerous firearms.” The National Rifle Association also issued their own statement saying: “This shooting is only further evidence that teachers need to have access to firearms within their classroom. Had they been available in Stanford, someone could have prevented this tragedy before a single life had been taken.” It remains to be seen if any meaningful legislation concerning guns will result from these events.

  * * *

  The evening of the shooting, President Danielle Harris stood at the podium of the White House Press Briefing Room. Just prior to her entrance the place had been abuzz with a barrage of shouted questions, but it immediately ceased once her presence was known. What follows is a transcript of this press conference:

  Good evening. I will be making a brief statement regarding the events that transpired today, and then I will take a few questions. The nation was shocked by the events that transpired in Stanford this morning. The loss of any life is tragic, even more so when it’s the lives of children. Our hearts go out to all those who were affected by this tragedy. We ask that your thoughts and prayers go out to the entire town of Stanford. Each and every time that this happens, we pray that it will be the last time. And I wish that I could promise you that it will be. However, no one can promise you that. All that can be promised is that we will come back stronger than before. I know that many people may be especially afraid since in this case the identity and motive of these killers are unknown. But I want to remind the entire nation that no criminal, no matter how violent, keeps their identity a secret for long. We will hunt this criminal down and see that justice is served. For as long as a single person in this nation feels unsafe in their homes and communities, then we are not truly free. And as we have always done, we will rally together. And as we have always done, we will look towards the future. And as we have always done, we will make our schools and communities stronger and safer. Thank you. I will now take a few short questions.