The Shooting
The Shooting
Glenda Yarbrough
The Shooting
By Glenda Yarbough
Copyright 2012 Glenda Yarbrough
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The Shooting
Sunsets in Moulton were nothing special, or so it would seem, but on Tuesday May 3rd, sunset was the time Angel Thompson shot Emit Allen. She said it was an accident, so did Emit, but Sheriff Lou Kent was not buying their story. There was just something that did not fit. Lou was not sure what it was…but something.
When Sheriff Kent arrived at the scene, he found Emit sitting on the porch step with Angel leaning up against the front door frame. The 22 rifle was propped up against the porch wall. Lou walked up slowly. He had known these two for about three years. They were neighbors, lovers, whatever…he wasn’t really sure. He saw them together a good bit around town. He just knew he never really trusted them…no real reason. They never gave a reason not to be trusted, but still…there was just something.
“What happened?” he asked Emit. Since he was the one sitting with a gunshot wound to his side, it was only logical to ask him what happened. He was the one shot.
“Just an accident, Lou.” He held his eyes downward, looking at his bleeding side. The blood oozed through his red flannel shirt. “No reason for you to come out here.”
Lou ignored the remark. “You hit bad?”
“No, he’s not,” Angel interrupted. Lou shot a glance in her direction.
“You the one to pull the trigger?” Was that a smile flickering across her face?
“Like he said, it was an accident.”
“Want to tell me about it?” He waited to see who would answer. Emit never looked up or made an attempt to answer. Lou leaned over to look at Emit’s wound. “I think you need to call an ambulance.” He knew an ambulance was on the way. They were the ones who called him. He just wanted to see what they would say.
“He did—they’re on their way.”
“Helpful aren’t, you?” This woman shot her neighbor/lover—whatever—then let him call 911 for himself. He didn’t believe she was too shaken to call 911 after putting a bullet in his side. If it was truly an accident, why didn’t she call for help? But then, if it was attempted murder, why not finish the job? Something just didn’t make sense.
“Ok, Emit, let’s have this straight. Tell me what happened.”
A deep sigh escaped from his lips. “Lou, I don’t think there’s any point in bringing you into this—it’s just an accident.”
Lou moved toward the doorstep, stepped across the porch to the gun. “This is the gun.” It was a statement. He knew it was the weapon.
“Yeah,” Angel answered.
“Yours?”
“No,” Emit replied, “it’s mine.”
“Let me get this straight. She shot you with your own gun, let you call for an ambulance, but this was all just an accident.”
“Yeah,” Angel said, still leaning against the doorframe. “An accident.”
“How?”
“What?”
“How did this all happen? You just take a gun to your friend and shoot for no reason. You cleaning the gun….what?”
“Really I don’t know…it happened so fast. I had the gun in my hand and it just went off. I don’t know if I hit the trigger or if I jarred it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I just don’t know.” She seemed so distant from the pain she had inflicted upon Emit. There was no remorse. Just the eagerness to have this ruled as an accident.
He leaned down, closely examining the gun without touching it, and sniffed the gun. The smell of gun power was strong. As he smelled the gun, he asked, “Did you hear about the jewelry store robbery last night?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He wasn’t expecting a response. He just wanted to see their reaction. But they didn’t respond at all, which didn’t really matter. The suspects in the robbery had not been shot.
Two men walked into McRay’s Jewelry at five minutes before closing and made off with quiet a large amount of jewelry…well a good bit for Moulton. They even took the items in the backroom that were being either repaired, layaways, everything that wasn’t bolted down. But that was two men, and they weren’t shot. And this gun had recently been fired. But why?
“Why don’t you two level with me. The ambulance will be here soon. I’ll find out the truth… Were you two fighting…Emit, you got a new lover somewhere?”
She laughed. “Just like a man…always thinking a woman shoots over love. I’m telling you like it is. It was an accident!”
“Emit, I would hate to take you in for questioning…what with all that blood…she almost killed you. You don’t want to press charges?”
Emit turned his eyes to Angel. “Not one word,” he said to the sheriff , but with his eyes on the woman on the porch. Lou knew the words were for Angel, but again he was confused. Angel would be the last to speak. What were they hiding?”
He glanced at Angel. “I might have to arrest you for attempted murder.”
She laughed. “Attempted murder. Sheriff, you’re bluffing and you know it. Who’s your witness? Emit? He ain’t gonna say that, and you know it. Maybe you ought to be out looking for those jewelry thieves. You have nothing here but an accidental shooting.” She folded her arms across her chest. She was a pretty woman standing there, in spite of her jeans, hiking boots and flannel shirt. Her short dark hair shone in the setting sun. A smirk spread across her face as she watched the two men.
“Hand me the gun,” Lou said. Angel turned. For a split second, she made him think of a man. The flannel shirt, hiking boots, even the short hair. Two men robbed the jewelry store…or was it one man and a woman dressed as a man. McRay said one of the men was small built, wearing sunglasses with a baseball hat pulled down over his face. Could these two be his robbers? But how could he prove it?
In the distance, the sound of a siren blared. It turned into the long drive as Angel reached down to pick up the gun. When she did, something slipped out of her shirt pocket. The last ray of the setting sun cast a glimmer on a gold bracelet as it fell to the porch. Quickly she grabbed the object, but before she could slip it into the pocket, Lou caught her arm. She attempted to jerk her arm back. He took the gun with his left hand, but did not release her arm from his right hand's grip.
“What’s in your hand.”
“None of your business.”
“Open your hand.” Slowly her fingers unfolded as she revealed a gold bracelet. “Nice bracelet.”
“Yeah, it's mine! I can't have nice thing?” she rebuked. “Let go.”
He still held her arm in a tight gasp as he eased the gun against a porch post away from the two suspects. Then Lou flipped the gold bracelet over. An inscription was on the backside—wee-doggy was written with a tiny heart at each end of the phrase. Instead of turning her arm loose, he pulled his handcuffs out and slapped them on Angel’s wrist. “You two are under arrest.”
“For what?” Emit barked.
“The jewelry store robbery for a start.”
Angel tried to jerk her arm away, but Lou turned her around and fastened the cuff to her free arm. “That’s my bracelet for my wife. Those are the words I had inscribed on the back. That’s our pet saying…something personal. You two shouldn’t have been so greedy. You should have left the backroom items alone.” He led Angel to the patrol car as paramedic walked upon the porch.
As he placed Angel in the car, Lou glanced back at the porch. Emit was being loaded into the ambulance. What was that saying…‘loyalty among thieves’? He still didn't know why she shot him.
>
“You going to tell me what happen? Why did you shoot him? You got away with the robbery. If I had not came out here, you were home free...so, why?”
“He tried to take the bracelet away from me. Said I couldn’t keep it. It was mine—he didn't need it.”
“Should’ve listened to him. You won’t be needing it where you two are going now,” Lou replied as he got into the car. He smiled as he headed back to Moulton. Sure was a pretty sunset today.
The End
Author's Note: Thank you for reading, The Shooting. I hope you enjoyed the read and will consider my other books. Soon I will be releasing other novels. Most of my books are suspense/mystery genre but some will also have a touch of humor as well as romance. Aunt Phoebe's Valley is more of a literary type, but even in this book, there is a murder. As you read my novels, there will be mentions of characters in one book that is in another book. Gladys meets Nathan Oneal when her daughter has mysterious yellow roses left on her doorstep two weeks before her wedding. But Desirea Young never formally meets Nathan, but he knows her very well since he has to investigate her murder in the novel, Back To Midnight. Mary Elizabeth does not meet any of these characters in Courtland Valley 1943, but she meet other interesting characters and I hope you will too as you follow her to the Valley in the novel, Aunt Phoebe's Valley. Again, thank you for reading The Shooting.
Glenda Yarbrough