No Alibi. Valerie Hansen

under her station, then leaped to his feet. “Stay put. Don’t move a muscle. Do you hear me?”

      Not waiting for their answers, he bolted for the door, straight-armed it, and raced across the street toward the area where he was positive the shots had originated.

      

      Julie Ann was breathless. Speechless. What had just happened? Could Smith have been right? It seemed impossible, yet he was the one with combat training and he did act totally convinced.

      She peeked out far enough to look at her front window. There were two distinct holes in it now, separated by several feet. She gasped and ducked back under the counter.

      Lying beside her, her employee was sobbing hysterically into cupped hands.

      “It’s okay, Sherilyn. We’re fine,” she said before realizing that the girl might have been injured. “Are you okay? Did it hurt you?”

      “N-no.” She stifled a sob. “What happened?”

      “I don’t know. But at least nobody was hit.” It suddenly occurred to her that Smith’s back had been to the glass when it was hit the second time. She’d assumed that his actions had merely been tactical. Perhaps he had been shot! If he’d been hurt because she had failed to follow his instructions to stay away from the window, she’d never forgive herself.

      Julie Ann patted the weeping girl on the shoulder as she raised up and edged partway out from under the counter. “You’ll be safe if you stay here.”

      “No! Don’t leave me!”

      “I’m not going far,” Julie Ann said, beginning to crawl away. “I’m just going to grab a phone to call the sheriff.”

      “He must have heard the shots.”

      “Not unless he was close by. I was right here and I didn’t realize what was happening.” But thank the Lord Smith did, she added silently. If he hadn’t been with them, hadn’t reacted so quickly and gotten them out of the line of fire, no telling what shape they’d be in right now. That thought tied her stomach in a knot.

      She raised up just enough to reach the portable phone, grabbed it and slid back under the overhanging shelf where she displayed the shampoos and conditioners she offered for sale. Hands shaking, she punched in 9-1-1.

      It seemed to take forever for the dispatcher to answer.

      When someone finally said, “Nine-one-one operator. Please state your emergency,” Julie Ann was trembling so badly she could hardly get the words out.

      “This—this is the Serenity Salon. We’ve been shot at,” she stammered. “Right here on Main Street. It came from the courthouse.”

      “Ma’am? Are you injured?”

      “No. No, we’re fine. Smith Burnett went across the street after them. Please hurry!”

      “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