No Alibi

“Stay right where you are and don’t hang up,” the dispatcher said. “We’re sending a unit.”

Sherilyn grabbed her arm. “What did they say?”

“To stay here and wait on the line.” Julie Ann thrust the phone at the girl. “Here. You do it.”

“Why? Where are you going?”

“After Smith,” Julie Ann said, starting to crawl away. “I’ll sneak out the back door and circle around.”

“No! Don’t go. I can’t stay here by myself. I can’t!”

“You’ll be fine. The sheriff’s office is on the phone and someone will be here in a few minutes,” she called over her shoulder.

“You’re crazy!” The younger woman was shouting, sobbing and screaming hysterically. “We’re all going to get killed—just like Denny!”

There was no way Julie Ann could force herself to sit there and twiddle her thumbs when Smith might be in worse danger. Or wounded. Or both. He could very well have been on the receiving end of that last bullet and had managed to give chase in spite of it.

That thought cut her to the quick. She hesitated only long enough to peer out the rear door, then threw it open and darted into the alleyway.

Staying close to the brick wall, she crept far enough to spy the courthouse before hesitating. A black-and-white cop car was pulling up to the front of her shop while another slid to a stop across the street. That was good enough for her.

Running, she made it across Main and reached the courthouse door mere seconds after the sheriff. His gun wasn’t drawn but he did have his palm resting on the holster.

“Smith Burnett’s in there, Harlan. Don’t shoot him,” she warned hoarsely.

He stopped, stiffened. “Get back.”

“No way.”

Although he didn’t turn, he was clearly aware of who she was because he countered with, “This is a job for me and my deputy, Miz Julie. If you get in the way I’ll arrest you. I mean it.”

She gritted her teeth. “It was my shop somebody was shooting at.”

“All the more reason to stay clear,” Harlan said. “I won’t fire unless somebody points a gun at me. I promise.”

What could she do? She’d known Harlan all her life and doubted that he’d actually arrest her if she defied him, yet anything was possible in a crisis situation. Which this clearly was, she added, chagrined.

The urge to know for sure that Smith was all right was so strong she almost entered anyway. Only the fact that he suddenly appeared at the base of the stairs leading to the upper floors stopped her.

Seeing him alive and well brought tears to Julie Ann’s eyes. She blinked them away rather than let on how moved she was. She’d made the mistake of throwing herself at the poor man once and it had taken her years to live that down. She still cherished the photo of them that had been taken at her senior prom though she rarely looked at it. Her days of mooning over the image of the handsome Marine standing beside her in his dark blue dress uniform were over.

She sobered, remembering the moment when her brother had confessed his part in arranging her prom date. Smith had been doing a favor for Ben, not escorting her because he cared for her. And, because Smith had been so polite, so gentlemanly, she had reacted as if the good-looking Marine had suddenly fallen madly in love with her.

Now, there he stood, out of breath and speaking privately with the sheriff. If he had even noticed that she was present, he hadn’t let on. Well, fine. Now that she knew Smith was all right, she’d go back to her shop and pretend she’d never left it.

Turning, she saw the idling patrol car and shivered. Since she was now thinking more clearly than she had been scant minutes ago, she realized that stepping into the street might very well make her a target. Preserving her pride was not worth that risk. She’d stay. And take the consequences. Even if Harlan didn’t arrest her she knew she was in for a talking-to because there was no way Smith would let her actions slide. Not after he’d given her specific instructions to stay put.

When she looked back and saw the fire in his eyes, she knew her assumption had been correct.

He started toward her.

Julie Ann stood her ground, chin up, spine stiff. If he asked her why she was there, she was going to tell him the truth. Well, most of it, anyway. The embarrassing details regarding her personal concern for him she’d keep to herself.

Smith was so angry, so frustrated, he almost didn’t trust himself to speak. “What are you doing here?”

“I called the sheriff and got you some help.”

“I told you to stay in your shop.”

“Did you catch the shooter?”

“No. There were a couple of shell casings on the roof but that’s all.”

“See? It was safe to come out.”

The absurdity of her statement hit him in the gut and made him want to shake some sense into her. Clenching his fists instead, he said, “You know better than that.”

“This isn’t the inner city and it isn’t a combat zone, either,” Julie Ann argued. “Lighten up, Smith.”

He took a deep breath to help him regain his composure. In a way, she was right. He couldn’t expect a civilian to understand what it felt like to come under fire; to wonder if the next second was going to bring instant death or if your buddies were going to be blown to bits right before your eyes.

Demonstrating a calmness he didn’t feel, he reached out and gently cupped her shoulder, turning and guiding her as he did so. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to your shop and we can tell the deputy what we saw while Harlan checks out the courthouse.”

“I wonder why somebody is mad at me?”

Smith pulled her closer, determined to keep himself between her and any perceived threat. When he’d promised Ben that he’d look after his little sister for him, Smith hadn’t dreamed things would take such an ominous turn.

Alert and scanning everything along the street as they crossed, Smith echoed her question. Who could be doing this to Julie Ann? And why? She didn’t seem to have an enemy in the world, let alone one who would shoot at her.

Praise God they had lousy aim, Smith added, wondering if the assailant had actually meant to miss. He sure hoped so, because he couldn’t stick with Julie Ann 24/7 and if that person wasn’t caught, there was a good chance something like this would happen again. Maybe with worse results.

THREE

“I think you should tell the judge what happened,” Smith said on their way back to the courthouse after a grilling by Harlan and his deputy, Boyd.

Julie Ann rolled her eyes. “And accomplish what? Make him think I had somebody shoot my window just so I could be excused? If I hadn’t had to send Sherilyn home to calm down, the shop would still be open.”

“Well, you can’t serve and that’s that.”

She stared at him, incredulous. “What?”

“It’s going to be too dangerous.”

“Phooey. Do you think a couple of little holes in a window are going to stop me from doing what the Lord wants?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. God has nothing to do with all this.”

“Oh, no? Don’t you believe in God?”