Sandra Robbins - Yuletide Defender

She tried to speak but her vocal cords felt useless. She shook her head in denial. “Matt? What are you doing here?”

Matt blinked in disbelief and lowered the gun he held. He didn’t know if he was more surprised at the two bodies lying on the pavement behind him or Rachel’s presence at the scene of a murder. He rammed his revolver back in the holster and advanced on her with fists clenched.

Every expletive he’d ever heard came to mind. With a shake of his head he tried to banish old habits from the days before he turned his life over to God. Besides, if David had been right about Rachel’s commitment to her job, nothing he said would faze her.

“What am I doing here? I’m a policeman doing my job. Do you realize you could’ve been killed?”

Her chin quivered. “I—I’m doing my job, too. I w-was following a lead for a story.”

Matt leaned forward. He could smell the perfume he’d come to associate with her presence. The familiar reminder calmed his racing heart. “And did you just happen to pick this spot out of all the other streets in town?”

“No, of course not.”

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Tell me now, or so help me, I’ll call your editor and tell him you’ve just interfered with a police stakeout. I don’t think he’ll like that too much.”

At the end of the alley, police cruisers screeched to a stop and their blue lights bounced off the brick walls. Voices rang out as the officers converged on the shooting scene and shouted commands to search the buildings for the shooter.

Her shoulders slumped and she released a long breath. “All right. If you must know, there was a call to the office yesterday. The man said he wanted to meet with a reporter. We met last night and he told me there was a policeman taking payoffs from a Ranger. He said their meetings take place on this corner. I just wanted to see what I could find out.”

His heart beat faster with each word she spoke. He raked his hand through his hair and stared at her. “You should’ve called me right away and told me about this. I warned you about the danger. Whoever shot these guys was shooting at you, too.”

Even in the dim light he could see the fear that flashed in her eyes before she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “He was firing at you, too.”

“His aim would’ve been better if he’d intended to hit me.”

Rachel nodded. “He probably could have hit me, too, if he’d really wanted to kill me. Why do you think he did that?”

Matt shrugged. “Probably just wanted to scare us.”

Sirens wailed in the distance. Matt took her by the shoulders. “Did you call the police?” She nodded.

“Oh, great. Now we have other officers pulled off patrol to join the ones already here.”

Her lips curled into a sneer. “Well, excuse me for trying to report a crime. I thought that was the right thing to do.”

If she thought the mocking tone of her voice would anger him, she was wrong. He’d observed her fiery temperament and her competitive spirit at the other crime scenes. In fact, they were what had attracted him to her the first time he saw her. As much as he hated to admit it, she fascinated him.

“It was. But as I tried to tell you earlier today, I don’t want you to end up dead right.”

Several more police cars screeched to a halt at the entrance to the alley. Rachel tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear, took a deep breath and hugged her purse against her body. “I suppose I’d better go talk to them.”

Matt stepped aside and made a sweeping bow. “After you. I think it’s time you met my partner.”

Rachel hesitated a moment before she stepped from the alley. Several policemen were bending over the bodies. She could hear them talking but her mind was on Matt and how shocked she’d been when she stared at the gun pointed at her.

An unmarked police car stopped at the curb, and the man Rachel had seen with Matt at the shooting scene the day before climbed out. Matt led her over to where the man stood and stopped beside him. “Philip, this is Rachel Long, a reporter with the Beacon. Rachel, this is my partner, Detective Philip Nolan.”

The man smiled and held out his hand. “I’ve seen Miss Long at some of the crime scenes before but we’ve never been introduced. It’s good to finally meet you. I read all your stories. But how did the Beacon get a reporter down here so quickly?”

Matt glanced at Rachel. “Actually, she was here when it happened.”

The detective pursed his lips and looked over at the bodies on the sidewalk. “Since Miss Long was here, why don’t you get her statement and I’ll talk to the first responders?”

Matt nodded, took her arm and led her down the sidewalk away from the bodies. “Now tell me about this call you got yesterday.”

“I’ve told you all I know. I was just following the lead I was given.”

Matt leaned against the brick front of a boarded up café. “Did you get a look at the informant?”

“No, he wouldn’t let me turn around. He told me to refer to him as my confidential source.” Rachel glanced up and down the street. “Where were you standing? I didn’t see you until you ran to the car.”

Matt pointed to a deserted building that had once housed a grocery store. “That doorway over there. I saw someone cross the street and go down the alley, but in the dark I didn’t realize it was you. I thought it was one of the neighborhood residents taking a shortcut through the alley to the apartments on the next street. If I had recognized you, I would have gotten you out of here before anything happened.”

She shook her head. “You couldn’t have stopped me. I was determined to follow that lead. I just never expected to see two men killed.” She glanced back at the crime scene. “Do you know who they are?”

“I can’t release their names until their families have been notified.”

Matt’s reserved tone warned her that he didn’t want to discuss the situation with her. Maybe her source had been right. If a policeman and a gang member had met for a scheduled payoff, someone had put a halt to their plans.

A cold wind blew down the street and Rachel pulled her coat tighter. “How long do you think I’ll have to stay here?”

“You’ll be able to leave soon.”

Philip Nolan, who’d been talking with two of the crime scene investigators, turned and walked toward them. He stopped next to Matt and stared at Rachel.

“Miss Long?”

Her heart pounded as she nodded.

The man smiled and nodded in Matt’s direction. “I know Matt has your statement but is there anything else you didn’t tell him that might be important? We’ve got two dead bodies here, and we need something to help us find a killer.”

Briefly, Rachel recounted the events of the previous night and continued until she ended with the arrival of the police at the shooting scene. “I never saw the shooter but I think he must have been in an upstairs window of one of the buildings across the street.”

Matt’s eyebrows arched. “That so? You didn’t tell me that before.”

She shrugged and pointed to a building across the street. “I just now thought of it. The sound seemed to come from that direction.”

Reaching into his pocket, Philip handed her a card. “If you think of anything else, give us a call.” He shoved the notepad in his pocket and turned to walk back toward the crime scene. Suddenly he stopped and spun around. “One more thing about this anonymous source. Be careful, Miss Long. I’d hate to see you get caught up in something dangerous.”

Rachel smiled. “Matt’s warned me about that. I thank you for your concern, also.”

Philip studied her before he and Matt returned to the crime scene.