No Alibi

“I think we’re being watched,” Smith said.

Harlan reacted immediately. “Both of you get in my car and wait while I lock up for Miz Julie Ann. I’ll order a drive-by patrol for here and for her house.”

Smith helped Julie Ann into the front seat of the sheriff’s car. He’d started to close the door when movement on the shop’s roof caught his eye. It was just a fleeting shadow, yet it impressed him as being the size and shape of a grown man. A potential sniper. Just like the ones he’d encountered so often in battle.

Glare from the setting sun over the top of the block building made Smith’s eyes water as he shaded them and tried to make out more details.

He had almost convinced himself that his imagination was working too hard until he looked at Julie Ann. Her hazel eyes were wide, her expression revealing. She was clearly afraid. And she was no longer trying to hide or deny it.

For the first time since she’d inherited the old, isolated farm, Julie Ann wasn’t happy to be coming home. The pastures which lay to the sides and back of her white-painted frame house seemed too wide and desolate. And the forest of oak, hickory and cedar flanking them was filled with dark, forbidding shadows. If she felt this uneasy in daylight, how was she going to feel once the sun set?

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in and check the house for you?” Smith asked as he pulled into the circular, gravel driveway and stopped. “I don’t mind.”

Julie Ann almost said yes before she gritted her teeth and shook her head. She was not going to give in to irrational fear. And she certainly was not going to let Smith think she needed babysitting.

“No, thanks. That won’t be necessary,” she told him. “I have an enormous dog inside. He’s very protective. If anybody gets past my Andy, they belong here.”

Smith started to get out just the same, so she insisted. “I said, I’ll be fine.”

Though he didn’t look convinced, he did back off. “Okay. I’ll watch till I see that you’re safely inside. And lock the door.”

Satisfied that that was as good as the situation was likely to get, she climbed out of the SUV and paused for a moment, hoping her shaking knees weren’t going to give her away. “Okay. Thanks for the ride.”

“You’re quite welcome. I still wish you’d let me…”

Dismissing Smith with a shake of her head, she reached the porch quickly and without faltering. The instant she opened the door and was greeted by her dogs, she relaxed. Thank goodness she was a sucker for sad eyes, cold noses and floppy ears.

Julie Ann turned in the doorway and waved, waiting till Smith had driven off to close the door. Both her dogs had apparently sensed her unusual anxiety because they were acting apprehensive, each in its own way.

Big, stalwart Andy, the black Labrador-Shepherd crossbreed, stationed himself right inside the front door. Bubbles, a nondescript, dusty-colored mop of dog hair with an attitude, ran loops through the house before leaping and landing next to Julie Ann when she plopped onto the couch.

She ruffled the dog’s wiry hair. “I’m glad to see you, too, girl.”

Panting and looking very pleased with herself, Bubbles wiggled in response to her master’s voice, wagging the entire rear half of her stubby little body.

Julie Ann sighed. “I wish you could talk. Then again, maybe it’s just as well you can’t. I’ve had plenty of unasked-for advice already today.”

Picturing Smith Burnett’s handsome face, she felt comforted yet penitent for being so gruff with him when she knew he was merely trying to help. The fact that he had volunteered to stand guard all night, if need be, made her feel better even though she had sent him away. Any possible source of tranquility was nice to ponder, especially given the kind of day she’d had.

Bubbles jumped down, circled the sofa at a run and bunched a throw rug into a pile when she cut a sharp corner in and out of the archway leading to the country kitchen.

“I know. You’re hungry. Come on. Let’s go see what we can find for you to eat.”

Julie Ann rose and started to cross the small living room. She sensed Andy’s bulk at her side before she reached the tiled kitchen floor and heard the click of his nails on the vinyl. He seemed to be mirroring her restless mood a lot more than the other dog. She didn’t mind one bit. The closer he crowded, the better she liked it.

She laid her hand atop his broad, dark head and petted him without having to bend down. “Yes, you too, you big lummox. What would I do without my furry buddies?”

Andy’s cold nose nudged her hand in response to the loving tone. Julie Ann knew her dogs couldn’t understand every word but she also knew they weren’t totally clueless.

Picking up their food dishes, she mixed softer food into hard kibble, then set both dishes on the floor the way she always did.

Bubbles immediately dug in. Andy, however, approached his dish as if he were expecting the food to bite him back.

“It’s okay, boy. Go ahead. Eat.”

Still, the big, black dog refused. He tensed. The hackles on his back rose and Julie Ann heard a throaty growl begin to rumble deep in his chest. Bubbles was impressed enough to pause and glance at him but only for a moment.

Heart racing, Julie Ann scanned the kitchen. Nothing looked out of place. “What is it? What’s the matter, Andy?”

The dog was staring at the back door the way a hungry wolf eyed a juicy meal. Had she locked that door? Of course not. She didn’t usually bother with such silly precautions. Nothing had ever happened in Serenity to make her fearful or to cause her to change her habits. Until today.

Andy’s low, menacing growl continued. Julie Ann thought she saw the doorknob turn. She froze. Her breath caught and she held it, hoping, praying that her overactive imagination was responsible.

No. The knob actually was turning. What now? What should she do? If she ran to the door, would she have time to throw the dead bolt? And even if she accomplished that, would it be enough deterrent, or would it merely make her prowler mad and cause him to force his way inside?

Time stood still. Julie Ann’s whole body was trembling. So was Andy’s. What began as another growl ended as a deep, warning bark. The movement of the knob ceased.

That was enough incentive for Julie Ann. She lunged toward the door.

Andy, barking louder in response to her affirmative actions, was right beside her. Even Bubbles finally joined in with rapid yaps and frantic, scrambling dashes back and forth across the slick kitchen floor.

Julie Ann put out her hand. Grabbed the dead bolt. Twisted it locked.

Just then, the doorknob quivered and made a half turn. Julie Ann knew she’d locked the door just in time because if she had not acted, whoever was outside would now be standing in her kitchen, facing her.

By this time, Andy was in full attack mode. Barking and growling, he hit the wooden door with his front feet, making the whole thing shake.

Julie Ann didn’t try to stop or restrain the dog. She wanted her prowler to be good and scared, hopefully enough that he’d go away or at least answer when she shouted, “Who’s there?”

All noise and movement suddenly ceased. Andy cocked his head. His ears lifted. Then, he suddenly wheeled and raced back to the living room with Bubbles in scatterbrained, halfhearted pursuit.

By the time Julie Ann realized the new avenue of threat, her protective dog was already barking at the front door, once again ready to defend her.

Smith had told her to lock that door. Had she? She didn’t remember. And now Andy was clearly warning her. How long would it take a person to circle her house and reach the front porch? Longer than it took her to go directly there from the kitchen, she reasoned. But not that much longer.

With trembling hands and a shaky grip, she engaged the locking mechanism on that door, then proceeded to the windows that were the easiest to access from the porch and secured them, as well.

She hadn’t actually spotted anyone prowling outside but they were there just the same. She felt it. And once the sun set, she wouldn’t be able to see any farther than the circles of illumination cast by her porch lights.

Andy stayed close beside her every step of the way, often so near that she had to nudge him aside to reach the windows.

“What’s this world coming to when a person has to lock everything just to feel safe?” she muttered.

Andy’s only response was to nuzzle her hand.

She paused just long enough to give him another pat, then finished with the windows that sat higher off the ground than a man could normally reach. If her prowler had a ladder and tried to open one of those, he’d be thwarted then, too.

The whole scenario was beginning to make her angry. How dare anyone try to get into her home? How dare they frighten her this way? She didn’t deserve to have her salon window broken or her tires flattened, and she certainly wasn’t going to allow herself to become a further victim. Not if she could help it.