Shelby bent forward and tucked the ball of fur against her, shielding it from the falling glass. A cold fear gripped her and she remained frozen amidst the sounds of screams and running footsteps.
Bits of conversation drifted across the parking lot.
"Did you see that? Someone shot at her."
"Is she okay?"
"I don't know..."
"There she is!"
Shelby could hear people gathering around her and felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at a mall policeman.
"It's okay, Miss. Whoever fired that weapon is probably long gone. Some of the other mall police are searching just to make sure and the Fairfax police are on the way."
Shelby slowly stood up, still hugging her living parcel and wondering which of them was shaking the most.
CHAPTER 3
SHELBY SPENT THE next hour giving statements to both the mall and Fairfax police. There was little she could tell them though, for she hadn't seen anything suspicious and had no idea why she'd been singled out for the attack.
One of the Fairfax policemen offered to call animal control to take the kitten to a local shelter, but Shelby was unwilling to turn the kitten over to such an uncertain fate. She would find a good home for the tiny creature that had almost certainly saved her life.
Shelby took some comfort in the fact that the police seemed to think the near miss was either a stray bullet or a random attack by a nut case, but remembered the parting words of the investigating officer.
"The chances of finding the perpetrator aren't very good. If we do, you may be required to come down to the station to eliminate the possibility that it's someone you know."
His words sent a chill down her spine even though she knew it couldn't be anyone she knew. He must have seen her concern because, he added, "Don't worry. You were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens."
Shelby didn't find that particularly comforting as she walked away from the police and bystanders still milling around the crime scene toward her Sable, a little further down the parking lane. Hanging onto a squirming kitten was no easy feat, and she sighed with relief after depositing her shopping bags in the trunk. She got into her car, closed the door, and set the kitten on the passenger seat knowing that the likelihood of the gray fuzzball remaining there was slim to none. However, Shelby had no intention of spending one minute longer than necessary in the mall parking lot. Better safe than sorry.
She drove into the parking lot of a large pet store that allowed pets inside. Coaxing the kitten out from under the passenger seat, she carried her small friend into the store. Shelby selected a small teal colored carrier and immediately placed the animal inside before quickly adding litter, food, a collar and some toys to her cart. Glad for the distraction after the harrowing events of the evening, she spoke softly to the complaining kitten as she maneuvered the cart through the store.
Shelby parked her car and carried her temporary companion inside before going back to retrieve her other purchases. She decided to put an ad in the paper to find a home for the tiny stray. It would be two days before it was listed, allowing her time to take the animal to the vet and get its shots. It was too young to spay or neuter. Shelby chuckled when she realized she hadn't even looked to see if the kitten was male or female.
The refugee just about inhaled the small can of food she'd put down, and Shelby wondered where it had come from, knowing the kitten couldn't have been born on the streets, it was too friendly. A half-hour later, she finally settled into her chair and watched the kitten explore her small apartment.
Shelby heard a noise and jumped before realizing that it had come from an adjoining apartment. Oh, I'm in rare form tonight. Just get over it, already. But doubts still roamed the darker corridors of her mind. The shooting could be random coincidence, but why now? Why on my first day working a case involving field operatives?
She suddenly noticed the light was blinking on her answering machine and pressed the playback button. "Hi, Shelby. It's Mom. Call me later."
"Sorry, Mom, but not tonight," Shelby decided as she hit the delete button. Her mother let her know in no uncertain terms what she thought of her daughter working at the CIA, and none of it was good. She knew her mother was just worried about her, but no matter how many times she'd explained that she was not a spy, it hadn't made any difference. Her mother firmly believed that you are whom you run with and in her mind, that included work, too. And Shelby knew if her mother ever found out about the shooting, she would hound her relentlessly with "I told you so's" and exert even more pressure on her to find "more suitable work."
Instead, she picked up the phone and called Kim. "Hey."
"Hiya. What's going on? Kinda late for you to be calling isn't it?"
"Sorry, Kim. I never even looked at the clock."
Kim's voice changed from teasing to concerned. "You know me better than that. I'm always up late. I was just surprised that you are." She paused. "You sound kind of funny. You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. I had an interesting evening at the mall."
"You went shopping and didn't tell me? Did I ever tell you paybacks are a bitch? What was so interesting?"
Shelby began to relax at the sound of her friend's teasing, nonstop chatter. "Well, if you'd quit asking so many questions, I could tell you."
Kim chuckled, pleased that Shelby was sounding more like herself. "Okay, I'm all ears."
Unable to think of any way to break her news gently, Shelby said simply, "Someone shot at me in the mall parking lot."
"What!" Kim's voice was incredulous, but not disbelieving. "Are you okay? I'm coming right over."
"No, Kim. Wait. I'm fine. It's too late to come over. We've both got to work tomorrow. I just wanted to talk to someone about it."
"But, Shelby, I think I should come over. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Kim, please calm down. There's no need, really. I'm fine.
"Calm down!! My best friend gets shot at, and you want me to calm down. How can you be calm?"
"I'm not. That's why I called you. You're supposed to be calm and make me feel better."
"God, woman, not asking much, are you? Okay, tell me what happened. And don't leave out anything, okay?"
Shelby got off the phone a half hour later feeling much better until, mulling over the police officer's suggestion that it might be someone she knew, she suddenly remembered thinking that she'd seen Kris at the mall. Her mind refused to explore that line of reasoning. I don't want it to be her. The implications were too unthinkable. She wouldn't do that.
Upset that the idea had even crossed her mind, Shelby knew it was just an indication of just how shaken she'd been and thrust the thoughts from her mind. The incident was purely coincidental, just as she'd conveyed to Kim, and it wasn't the least bit fair to Kris to suspect her of having anything to do with it.
Shelby went to bed a short time later, but her sleep was fitful as she was awakened repeatedly by odd sounds. She knew that the kitten was responsible for the noises, but Shelby could normally sleep through anything, and knew the underlying cause of her restlessness was the shooting.
Kris arrived back in her hotel room after eleven. Her business had taken longer than she'd anticipated because she'd been followed. That in itself irked her, but what was even more troubling was that she wasn't sure who it had been and could only speculate. She could think of two possibilities, but Kris had been in the business too long to limit the possibilities to only the obvious.