Shotgun Sheriff

by Fossen, Delores

  Reed realized then that he was staring at the bagged glove with what had to be an expression of gloom and doom on his face. “I was just hoping the killer was someone else. Someone I didn’t know.”

  “I understand.” She touched his arm with her fingertips. A gesture no doubt meant to soothe him.

  And it might have worked, too, if there hadn’t been a sound. A slight rustling from outside the house.

  “Probably the wind,” Livvy said under her breath.

  “Probably.” But Reed set the bagged glove aside in case he had to reach for his gun. “It’s not Kirby. We would have heard the cruiser drive up.” Besides, it was too soon for the deputy to have arrived.

  There was another sound. One that Reed couldn’t quite distinguish, but it had come from the same direction as the first.

  “I’ll have a look,” he insisted, and drew his weapon.

  Livvy put down the trash can and did the same. “You think Billy’s out there?” she whispered.

  Someone certainly was—Reed was positive of that when he heard the next sound.

  Footsteps, just outside the window.

  He turned, aiming his gun.

  Just as the lights went out and plunged them into total darkness.

  Reed saw the shadow outside the window and reached for Livvy to get her out of the way. But he was a split second too late.

  The bullet tore through the glass and came right at them.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Livvy heard the shot, but she wasn’t able to see who had fired at them. That was because Reed shoved her to the floor. She landed, hard, and the impact with the rustic wood planks nearly knocked the breath out of her.

  Thankfully, Reed didn’t have any trouble reacting.

  He rolled to the side, came up on one knee, and using the desk as cover, he took aim. She couldn’t see him clearly, but she heard the result. His shot blasted through what was left of the glass on the far right window.

  “Who’s out there?” she whispered, getting herself into position so she could fire as well.

  “I can’t tell.”

  Well, it was obviously someone who wanted them dead.

  That hadn’t been a warning shot. It’d come much too close to hitting them. And worse, it wasn’t over. Reed and she were literally pinned down in a room with three large windows, any one of which could be an attack point. But it wasn’t the only way a gunman could get to them.

  There was a door behind them.

  Livvy rolled onto her back so she could kick it shut. At least this way the culprit wouldn’t be able to sneak up on them. And that led her to the big question.

  Who exactly was the culprit?

  “Billy Whitley,” Livvy mumbled under her breath. Livvy scrambled to the side of the desk as well.

  Another shot came through the window. Not from Reed this time. But from their attacker. Reed immediately returned fire, but Livvy held back and tried to peer over the desk and into the night. She hoped to get a glimpse of the shooter’s location, but the only thing she saw was the darkness.

  The next shot tore through the oak desk and sent a spray of splinters right at them. Reed shoved her back to the floor, and she caught onto his arm to make sure he came down as well.

  More shots.

  One right behind the other.

  Livvy counted six, each one of the bullets slamming into the desk and the wall behind them. A picture fell and smashed on the floor next to her feet. The crash blended with the sounds of the attack. The chaos. And with her own heartbeat that was pounding in her ears.

  Then, the shooting stopped.

  Livvy waited, listening, hoping the attack was over but knowing it probably wasn’t.

  “He’s reloading,” she mumbled.

  “Yeah.” Reed glanced over at her. “How much ammunition do you have on you?”

  “A full magazine in the gun and a backup clip. You?”

  “Just what I have here. The rest is in the truck.”

  The truck parked outside where the shooter was.

  Livvy didn’t need to do the math. She knew. Reed and she wouldn’t be able to go bullet-to-bullet with this guy because he probably had brought lots of backup ammunition with him. However, that was only one of their problems.

  There was Kirby to consider.

  The deputy would arrive soon, maybe in twenty minutes or less. The shooter might gun him down if Reed and she didn’t warn him.

  “I have to call Kirby,” Livvy let him know.

  Reed kept his attention nailed to the windows and passed her his phone. “Request backup, too, but don’t have them storming in here. Tell him to keep everyone at a distance until they hear from me. But I do want lights and sirens. I want this SOB to know he’s not going to escape.”

  Livvy agreed and made the call. She’d barely got out the warning when the shots started again. Obviously, the gunman had reloaded, and he began to empty that fresh ammunition into the room. He was literally tearing it apart, and that included the desk. It wouldn’t be long before the shots destroyed the very piece of furniture they were using as cover.

  “Kirby’s calling backup,” she relayed to Reed and tossed the phone back to him.

  “The shots are getting closer.”

  Because of the noise, it took a moment for that to sink in. Livvy’s gaze whipped in the direction of the windows again, and she listened.

  God, Reed was right. The shots were getting closer, and that meant the shooter was closing in on them. If he made it all the way to the windows, he’d have a much better chance of killing them.

  “He knows we don’t have enough ammunition to hold him back,” Reed explained. “We have to get out of this room.”

  Livvy didn’t have any doubts about that. But what she did doubt was they’d be able to escape without being shot. The gunman might already be at the windows.

  Of course, Reed and she could fire right back.

  And they would. Until they were out of bullets. After that, well, they’d still fight. Livvy had no intentions of letting this goon get away, and Reed no doubt felt the same.

  With the shots still knifing all around them, Livvy crawled to the door and reached for the knob.

  “Be careful,” Reed warned. “He might not be alone out there.”

  Mercy. She should have already thought of that. If this was Billy firing those shots, then he could be working with his wife. Charla could be in the house. Not that there had been any signs of that, but it was something Livvy had to prepare herself to face.

  She aimed her gun and used her left hand to open the door. Just a fraction. She peered out into the hall. Thankfully, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness so even though the lights were off, she didn’t see anyone lurking outside the doorway.

  “It’s clear,” she relayed to Reed.

  That got him moving. With his back to her and his attention still on the windows, he made his way to her and fired a glance into the hall.

  “I’ll go first, and you come out right behind me,” Reed explained over the thick, loud blasts. “Stay low, as close to the floor as possible. You cover the right side of the hall. I’ll cover the left.”

  Livvy’s heart sank lower because the shots were even closer now.

  Reed came up a little and fired a bullet in the direction of those shots. He didn’t even aim, because it was meant to get the guy to back off. It might buy them a second or two of time, but that was all they needed.

  Livvy didn’t bother with the equipment bag. It was too big and bulky to take with them. She only hoped that it would still be there at the end of this attack. Just in case it wasn’t, she snatched the bagged glove and shoved it into the waist of her jeans.

  “Now!” Reed ordered.

  Livvy didn’t waste any more time. She scrambled to the side so Reed could get by her. He practically dove into the hall but as he’d instructed, he stayed on the floor. Livvy did the same, and she landed out in the darkness with her back to his.

  She had the easy end
of the hall to cover. Only one room that was directly at the end. Probably a bedroom. And the door was closed. However, that didn’t mean the shooter wouldn’t go through one of the room’s windows to get to them and try to stop their escape.

  “I don’t see anyone,” she reported.

  “Neither do I.”

  Livvy didn’t exactly breathe easier because that side contained all the main living areas. There were multiple points of entry, and if the gunman was indeed Billy, he would know the way to get in that would cause the biggest threat to Reed and her.

  “This way,” Reed instructed.

  He remained crouched, with his gun aimed and ready, and he began to inch his way toward the front of the house where they’d entered. Livvy did the same while keeping watch on the bedroom. She didn’t want anyone blasting through that door.

  Then, again, the shots stopped.

  Reed and she froze, and Livvy tried to steady her heartbeat so she could listen. But the only thing she heard was their breathing.

  “Let’s move,” Reed insisted.

  Yes, because they were still in the line of sight of the office windows, and Livvy couldn’t risk reaching up to close the door. The last thing they wanted was for the shooter to have a visual on them.

  Reed began to move again, and Livvy followed. She kept watch on both the office and the bedroom door, but there were no sounds coming from either.

  Mercy.

  Where was the shooter?

  She doubted he’d just give up. No. He was looking for a place to launch another attack.

  Reed stopped again when they got to the end of the hall, and she glanced at him as he peered out into the living room. It was just a quick look, and then he whipped his attention to the other side, to the kitchen. He didn’t say anything, didn’t make a sound, but Livvy figured he didn’t see anyone or else he would have taken aim.

  She heard it then. The knob on the kitchen door rattled. Reed and she both shifted in that direction, but she continued to watch the bedroom and now the office.

  Another rattle. Someone was obviously trying to get in, but the door was apparently locked because the third try wasn’t just a rattle. Someone gave it a frantic, violent shake.

  Livvy had just enough time to wonder why Billy hadn’t just used his key to gain entry when she heard another sound.

  A siren.

  Kirby or one of the backup deputies had finally arrived. Or would soon. Reed and she wouldn’t have to hold out much longer.

  But that brought a new concern. A new fear.

  The gunman might get away.

  That couldn’t happen. Reed and she couldn’t continue to go through this. They had to catch the killer and get him off the streets. If not, this wouldn’t stop.

  Reed obviously had the same concern because he moved out of the hall so he’d be in a better position if the gunman did indeed come through the kitchen door. The siren might scare him off.

  Or not.

  The or not was confirmed when someone kicked at the door. Hard. And then it sounded as if someone was ramming against it.

  Livvy considered shooting at the door. Reed likely did, too, but this might not be the gunman. It could be Charla who was trying to get away from her now deranged husband. Or maybe it was someone from backup responding.

  “This is Sheriff Hardin,” Reed called out. “Who’s out there?”

  Nothing. And the attempts to get inside stopped.

  Livvy couldn’t hear if the person moved away because the sirens drowned out any sound the person might have made.

  Reed cursed and scurried to the snack bar area that divided the living room from the kitchen. He kept his aim and focus on the door while Livvy tried to keep watch all around them.

  “Call Kirby.” Reed tossed her his phone again. “Make sure he’s locking down the area.”

  But it might be too late. The killer could already be on the move and escaping.

  “Smoke,” she heard Reed say.

  She lifted her head, pulled in a long breath, and cursed. Yes, it was smoke, and she figured it was too much to hope that it was coming from some innocent source.

  Livvy pressed Redial, and Kirby answered on the first ring. She relayed Reed’s message and told the deputy to await further orders. She’d barely managed to say that before there was another shot.

  This one, however, hadn’t been fired into the house. It’d come from outside but in the direction of the driveway.

  Reed and she waited for several long seconds. Breaths held. With her pulse and adrenaline pounding out of control. Livvy didn’t take her eyes off the bedroom just up the hall, and she was primed and wired for an attack when the cell phone rang.

  The unexpected sound caused her to gasp, and she glanced down at the lit screen. It was Kirby.

  “There’s a fire on the back porch,” Kirby shouted. “You need to get out of there.”

  Maybe Reed heard the deputy because he motioned for her to move toward the front door.

  “Do you see the shooter?” Livvy asked Kirby.

  “I think so. He’s on the west end of the house.”

  By the driveway, just as she’d expected. “Is he trying to get in?”

  “No. He’s just sitting there, leaning against the wall.”

  Sitting? Or maybe crouching and waiting? “Can you see who it is?”

  “No,” Kirby quickly answered. “I’m using my hunting binoculars. They have night vision, and I’m getting a pretty close look, but he has a hat covering his face.”

  So if it was Billy, he could be trying to conceal his identity. “How bad is the fire?” The smoke was starting to billow into the living room.

  “Not bad right now, but I wouldn’t stay in there much longer. Uh, Sergeant Hutton?” Kirby continued. “I think the guy’s been shot. He’s got his hand clutched to his chest, and his gun is on the ground beside him.”

  Shot? It was possible. Reed and she had fired several times, and any one of the bullets could have hit the gunman.

  “The shooter might be wounded,” she told Reed. “He’s by the driveway.”

  Reed didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Tell Kirby to cover us. We’re going out there.”

  Livvy told Kirby their plan while they were on the move toward the front door. Reed opened it.

  Nothing.

  Certainly there was no gunman waiting just outside.

  Reed went first, and Livvy followed him. As they’d done inside, they moved back to back so they could cover all sides. At the end of the road, she saw Kirby standing next to a cruiser. Covering them. She hoped they wouldn’t need it.

  The night was sticky and hot, and the smoke was already tainting the air. Livvy heard the high, piercing buzzing of mosquitoes that immediately zoomed in on them.

  Reed batted the mosquitoes away and hurried to the back of the house. He paused only a few seconds to check the area where the last shot had been fired.

  Then, Reed took aim.

  And fired.

  Livvy tried to scramble to get into position so she could assist, but Reed latched on to her arm and held her at bay. “I fired a warning shot,” he told her. “The guy didn’t move an inch.”

  Which could mean the gunman was perhaps too injured to react. Or this could be a trick to lure them out into the open so he could kill them.

  “Cover me,” Reed insisted.

  He stood, braced his wrist for a better aim and started toward the shooter.

  Livvy eased out so she could fire if necessary. She saw the shooter then. Dressed in what appeared to be jeans, a dark shirt and a baseball cap that covered his face. His back was against the exterior of the house. His handgun on the ground beside him.

  The guy certainly wasn’t moving.

  Reed inched closer. So did Livvy. And thanks to the moonlight she saw the man did indeed have his left hand resting on his chest.

  She also saw the blood.

  Ahead of her, Reed stooped and put his fingers against the man’s neck. Livvy wa
ited and didn’t lower her guard just in case this was a ploy.

  “He’s dead,” Reed relayed.

  “Dead,” Livvy repeated under her breath.

  She walked closer and stared down at the body. Though she was more than happy that this guy wasn’t still taking shots at them, it sickened her a little to realize that she might have been the one to kill him.

  Reed reached down with his left hand and eased the cap away from the man’s face.

  Livvy’s stomach roiled.

  It was Billy Whitley.

  “We have to move the body,” she heard Reed say, and he reached for Billy’s feet. “The fire’s spreading fast.”

  Livvy took hold of Billy as well and glanced at the flames that were eating their way through the back of the house. Reed was right—they didn’t have much time. The fire had swelled to the wood-shake roof, and there were already tiny embers falling down around them.

  They had dragged the body a few yards when she saw something fall out of the pocket of Billy’s jeans.

  A piece of paper.

  Since she was still wearing a latex glove, she reached for it, but reaching was all she managed to do. The cabin seemed to groan, the sound echoing through the smoke-filled night. Livvy looked up to see what had caused the sound.

  It was the heavy wood-shake roof.

  And a massive chunk gave way.

  Falling.

  Right toward them.

  She let go of the body. Reed did the same. And they both dove to the side as the flaming wood came crashing down.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What was the cause of death?” Reed asked the coroner. He had his office phone sandwiched between his ear and shoulder so he could use his hands to type the incident report on his computer.

  “The obvious,” Dr. McGrath answered. “Gunshot wound to the chest. The single shot hit him in the heart, and he was probably dead before the bullet even stopped moving.”

  Yeah. It was obvious, but Reed needed it officially confirmed. All the i’s had to be dotted and the t’s crossed. Behind him at the corner desk, Livvy was doing a report as well. He glanced at her and saw the same stark emotion in her eyes that was no doubt in his.