The Witness

Gardner.”
    “Studies show adolescent males often make decisions based on sex. Many fail to grow out of it.”
    “Can’t really blame us for genetic makeup. That’s an impressive setup.” He paused to study her target area.
    Where he’d expected a couple of circle targets, she had a trio of police-style silhouettes on draw pulleys backed by thickly padded boards. Ear and eye protection sat on a wooden bench along with spare clips. By his gauge, she had them set at a good fifty feet.
    “I don’t have a second pair of ear protectors or glasses,” she said as she put them on.
    “No problem.”
    He stepped back, pressed his hands to his ears as she took position.
    Cop stance, he noted, and she took it in a smooth, practiced motion. She fired six rounds without a flinch, then holstered her weapon before pulling the target in.
    “Nice grouping,” he commented. All six center mass, in a tight, damn-near-perfect pattern.
    “As you can see, I’m an excellent shot. I’m capable.”
    “No question of that,” he said as she picked up her brass, dropped them in a bucket. “Mind if I try it out?”
    She didn’t answer, but took off the ear protectors and glasses, passed them to him.
    She looked back to where the dog sat, patiently waiting. “Pillow.”
    “What?”
    “I was speaking to my dog. Otherwise, he’d … object when you draw your weapon.”
    “Wouldn’t want that.” Brooks passed Abigail the wine, put on the glasses and the ear protectors.
    “You use a Glock 22,” she noted. “It’s a good weapon.”
    “Gets the job done.” Now he took his stance, loosened his shoulders, fired six rounds.
    He glanced back at the dog as he holstered the weapon. Bert hadn’t moved.
    Abigail drew in the target, stood a moment, studying the grouping that was a near twin of hers.
    “You’re also an excellent shot.”
    “I always figure if you carry, you’d better hit what you aim at. I got a good hand with a long gun. My mother’s got a flower child’s objection to guns, could be why I honed a skill with them. Standard rebellion, I suppose.”
    “Yes.” She looked up at him. “Have you shot anyone?”
    “Not so far. I’d like to go on saying that. I had to draw my weapon a few times, but it never came to firing it.”
    “Could you?”
    “Yes.”
    “How do you know if you never have?”
    “Protect and serve.” He looked at her, those changeable eyes sober now. “Protect comes first. I’ve got no business having a badge if I can’t protect. But I’d be happy if it never came to putting a bullet into anyone.” He, too, picked up his brass. “Have you?”
    “Shot anyone? No. But then, I’d say that even if I had, to say I had would only lead to more questions.”
    “You’re not wrong. Could you?”
    “Yes. I could.” She waited a moment. “You don’t ask how I know.”
    “I don’t have to. Have you got any of that pie left? And before you ask why, I’ll tell you. Now that we’ve shown each other what good shots we are, I thought we could crack that bottle open, have a glass of wine and a piece of pie.”
    “The wine was a ploy.”
    “In part, but it’s still a pretty good wine.”
    He had his mother’s charm, she decided, and very likely the same skill in getting his way. There was no point denying she found him physically attractive. Her hormonal reaction to his looks, his build, his demeanor, even his voice? Completely natural.
    “I can’t eat all the pie. It’s too much for one person.”
    “Shame to waste it, too.”
    She stowed the protective gear in the seat of the bench. “All right. You can have the pie and the wine. But I won’t have sex with you.”
    “Now you hurt my feelings.”
    “No, I haven’t.” Deciding to make her position clear, she started for the house. “I like sex.”
    “See there, we just keep finding common ground. If this keeps up, we’ll be best friends inside a week.”
    “If I wanted friends, I’d join a book club.”
    Loosening up, he thought, delighted with the sarcasm. “I like to read, which is another check mark on common ground. But we were talking about sex.”
    “The act of sex is a normal physical function, and a pleasant experience.”
    “So far, we’re on the same page.”
    She took out her keys, unlocked the door. Once inside, she reset the alarm. “It may be you find me physically attractive on some level.”
    “All of them, actually.”
    “And that may be the reason you came here, with wine. I’ll have a glass