The sheriff cursed under his breath and hung up the phone. How could one prisoner take down three deputies? This was not good.

He had gotten a call last week about the state needing to keep a prisoner in his holding cell for a few days.

“This man is crazy,” they had warned him, making sure that his department was ready to handle him.

And now he was gone, leaving no clues as to where he was headed.

The dispatcher came over the sheriff’s radio, and the usual formality gave way to urgency.

“We need all units out to old market road. There’s been a murder.”