responded. “The witnesses I’ve talked to so far said that the victim was entering the clinic when the window was shot out. There was another shot, and he was hit.”
The second officer, Jackson, stiffened. “A sniper! We need to have the area searched. Have there been any more shots since the victim went down?”
She had been listening as Parker brought him up to speed on the situation. At this question, she spoke up. “I didn’t hear any.”
Both officers looked her way. “Nurse, we need to talk with everyone and get the area checked out. Then we’ll be back to talk with you.”
She nodded. They started to walk away. “Wait! The man who was shot...do you know how he is?”
“Unknown at this point,” Parker said kindly.
Alexa frowned as a thought occurred to her. Someone needed to let Noah’s family know what had happened. His wife should be by his side at a time like this. She bit her lip. She couldn’t call her. The Hostetlers were Amish. The Amish didn’t use modern technology, including telephones, inside their homes. As soon as the officers came back, she’d mention it.
Her attention was drawn back to the room as the officers began questioning the witnesses. More police arrived. Officer Jackson directed them to start a sweep of the rooftops and surrounding area, searching for their sniper. They briskly set about following his orders. Then he headed her way.
A shiver worked its way down her spine. Small towns were supposed to be safe. LaMar Pond was proving to be the exact opposite. Her glance flickered toward the broken window. Once again, her peace had been shattered, just like the glass. In her mind, the image of the Noah being shot replayed in her mind like a horror movie. She would remember that sight for the rest of her life.
Who would commit such a crime?
Sergeant Gavin Jackson shook his head as he surveyed the damage. What a mess. A crew had arrived to clean up the broken glass in the entranceway. The crime scene had been hopelessly compromised, but that couldn’t have been helped. Not with a waiting room full of patients. Plus, the injured man had been dragged through the scene, leaving a trail of melted snow, glass and blood.
It had saved his life, so it was worth it.
Gavin made his way across the room to the nurse practitioner. Her name was Miss Alexa Grant, the janitor he’d just interviewed had said. She was watching him, her blue-gray eyes wide and uncertain. Her blond hair was pulled back into a clip, revealing high cheekbones and a perfect oval face. She was probably the prettiest woman he’d seen in a long time.
What was he doing? He was here on police business. There was no reason for him to be noticing if she was pretty or not. Besides, pretty on the outside meant nothing. He knew that too well. And nothing would tempt him to get caught in the emotional trap of romance.
Not again. The price was too high to pay. His goal here was to find a sniper and protect these civilians. That’s what he’d do.
“Miss Grant,” he said, halting before her. “I’m Sergeant Jackson with the LaMar Pond PD. I would like to talk with you about what happened here this afternoon. I understand that you helped move the victim.”
A slight shudder shook her slender frame, but her eyes never wavered. She had courage. He admired courage.
“Noah Hostetler is a patient here. He had an appointment, but he was late. He’s never late.” She hurried on, a concerned wrinkle forming on her brow. “Please, Sergeant Jackson. Noah has a wife. Naomi. And children. She won’t know what’s happened.”
“I’ll make sure she’s notified, ASAP.” Gavin shifted the clipboard he was holding. With his thumb, he clicked the pen in his hand several times. He hated standing still. “His driver said the van had slid off the road. They needed to be pulled out of the ditch, which got them running late.”
“I wondered,” she whispered. “If he’d been here on time, he would have been fine.”
“You can’t know that,” Gavin said, even though he thought she was right. It did no good to dwell on what might have happened. It couldn’t be changed. No matter how much he wished it could.
Alexa sighed. It was a small sound, but it contained a wealth of hurt and confusion. “I just don’t understand why anyone would shoot at him. He’s a young father. A husband. His wife makes the best cookies.”
He blinked at the last comment. “It is possible that the shooter wasn’t specifically targeting Mr. Hostetler. It could have been random. Maybe someone had a grudge against the clinic. It’s fairly new, right?”
“Yes.” She drew out the word slowly. “I have only been here for a few months. But it was opened within the past two years. The doctor who started it wanted a clinic that those who lived too far from the hospital and those in the Amish community could visit.”
Gavin talked with the pretty nurse for another few moments before moving on. No one seemed to have noticed anything. The doctor on call had been in the back room doing his dictation. Two of the nurses were out sick. The patients were a mixture of townspeople and Amish, mostly elderly or children with their mothers.
“Jackson!”
Hearing his name called, he turned and moved to where Parker was motioning to him. “What’s up?”
Sergeant Ryan Parker smiled, a slight lifting of the right corner of his mouth. Gavin knew his buddy well enough to know that the smile was practically an announcement that he’d found something important.
“I just got off the phone with the hospital. The man who was shot?” Gavin motioned for him to continue. “Well, he said something in the ambulance about catching a brief glance of a man with a gun as he was falling. Not a clear glance, mind you. But maybe we’ll be able to glean enough from his statement to get a real lead.”
That sounded promising. He wasn’t going to get his hopes up, though. If the man hadn’t gotten a good look, well, it might not help at all. It wasn’t as if a man would stand out carrying a gun during hunting season in Pennsylvania.
“How’s he doing? Our victim?”
Parker shrugged. “I’m not sure. He was being prepped for surgery. The person I talked with did feel that it was a good sign that he was conscious and thinking clearly. His wife has been contacted and is being brought to the hospital. We should know more later on today.”
“Did you get the scene on your body cam?”
Parker gave him a thumbs-up. “Done. I already sent it to the station. We can go through it there. See if anything stands out.”
“Okay. I guess we’re done here then. Meet you back at the station.”
Parker smiled and departed. Gavin zipped up his coat. He hesitated before leaving. Surely that nurse, Miss Grant, would appreciate hearing that her patient was still alive. Before he could talk himself out of it, he walked over to her. She was talking to the men who were covering the broken window with plastic. When she saw him, she halted her conversation and moved away from them.
“Sergeant?”
“Jackson. Or Gavin.” Now why had he said that? It wasn’t like they needed to be on a first-name basis. And besides,
