If he showed up.
Needing something to do, she moved to the counter against the wall, took a mug off the shelf and made herself a cup of hot tea. Still, she couldn’t get Noah out of her mind.
Alexa didn’t get caught up in her patients’ lives. She wouldn’t allow herself that luxury. No, as a nurse practitioner, she learned the value of keeping a professional distance.
Actually, she tended to keep her emotional distance at all times, professional or not.
The one time she hadn’t had nearly destroyed her.
She shook her head, refusing to give in to the memories that haunted her. Memories that had forced her to leave her home in Downers Grove, Illinois.
A tingle hit her between her shoulder blades. She hunched them slightly, suppressing a shiver. Nervously, she glanced toward the window again. No one was there. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was wrong. The feeling had dogged her all week. Like a dark cloud, always hovering over her head, blocking out the sun. At times, she’d have the sensation of being watched. Sometimes at work. Sometimes at home. Once when she was running errands in town. She’d made a valiant effort to remain positive, but it was starting to weigh on her.
Frustrated, she stirred her tea with more vigor than was called for. She so didn’t need this stress. Hadn’t she made the decision to move to this rural northwestern Pennsylvania town to heal from the tragedy that had devastated her and to rebuild her life? How was she to do that when she was always tense?
The sound of a rough engine outside the building caught her attention. Some of the tension drained out as she noticed Noah stepping out of the van. Finally. A sigh escaped her. Setting her tea mug down on a side counter, she scooped up Noah’s file.
His driver started to drive off as Noah reached the clinic door. His hand was on the handle, and he started to pull the door open. A blast of cold air whooshed inside the busy waiting room, then the glass pane shattered with a loud crash. Everyone stilled, shocked. Noah stood with the door half open. A second gunshot blasted into the silence. Alexa screamed, dimly aware that others were screaming too as the young Amish man at the door swayed, a dark stain spreading across his shoulder. Not again. She wouldn’t lose another patient.
In the midst of the madness, Alexa realized that the other patients were potential targets.
“Get down!” Running across the lobby, Alexa reached the door and grabbed on to Noah as he started to crumple to the ground. Yanking him inside the building, she yelled for help. One of the other employees appeared at her side. Together, they managed to pull Noah across the lobby and behind the receptionist’s counter.
“Noah! Noah. Can you hear me?” No response. Leaning closer, she gently shook his shoulder. Her hand came away wet. A quick glance confirmed her fears. Her hand was covered with Noah’s blood.
“An ambulance and the police are on their way.” Megan fell to her knees beside Alexa, gauze bandages in her hands.
Alexa nodded her understanding. She grabbed the bandages and started to do what she could to stop the bleeding. Noah was still breathing, although there was a rasp to it she didn’t care for. Whether that was from the virus or from the injury, she couldn’t tell.
“Where’s the doctor? Grab me a blanket, will you?”
Megan quickly left, returning in seconds with an armful of blankets.
“I haven’t seen the doctor for almost an hour. He was in the back, treating patients. I’m amazed he didn’t hear the commotion.”
Alexa nodded to let Megan know she heard her. They needed to keep Noah warm. She was worried he could go into shock. “Cover him. I can’t relieve the pressure on his wound.”
On the floor, Noah moaned; his eyes were shut. Alexa encouraged him, keeping her voice calm, not letting on that inside she was a quivering mess.
“Come on, Noah. Fight this. You have a family to take care of,” Alexa told her patient.
What was that? She straightened, closing her eyes to hear better. Yes! Sirens.
“Do you hear that, Noah? Sirens. The ambulance is on its way.”
The next few minutes were frenzied. The ambulance crew arrived in a flurry of activity. Alexa sat back on her heels, letting the paramedics take over for her. She remained alert, ready to help in an instant if they called on her. She’d do whatever they needed to help Noah.
Another siren split the air. Red and blue strobe lights flickered on the walls, glinting off the shards of glass still on the floor. She shivered. She hadn’t realized until now how cold the clinic had become with the door’s window broken. But she could see little puffs emerging from people’s mouths as they breathed.
A LaMar Pond police officer entered the building. He quietly began to talk with the staff and patients. As he worked the room, a second officer arrived. He sauntered in casually, but his bright blue eyes were anything but causal as they canvassed the room. His black hair was dotted with snowflakes, which melted as she watched.
“Parker, what do ya know?” he asked the other officer, his eyes still moving.
“Hey, Jackson,” the first officer, Parker, 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