Invasion USA by William W. Johnstone Page B

could’ve gotten yourself killed, charging in on those bank robbers like that. Then what would I have done for a job?”
    â€œGone to work for SavMart, I guess, like everybody else in the world.”
    Louly rolled her eyes. “No thanks. I like this place.”
    â€œI’ll sell it to you and retire.”
    â€œOne of these days I’ll take you up on that offer.”
    The banter was well-worn and concealed the affection between them.
    â€œHave you found out anything about those guys?” Louly went on. “I’ve heard people say they belonged to that M-15 outfit.”
    Tom’s expression grew more serious as he nodded. “That’s right. Sheriff Gorman identified the one who was captured, and he’s definitely M-15.”
    Louly shivered. “From everything I’ve seen and heard, that’s one scary bunch. They killed poor old Burt Minnow like he was nothing to them, like somebody swatting a fly.”
    â€œYeah, I’ll be staying closer to home for a while, since they may be holding a grudge against me. You think you’re up to working some longer hours?”
    Without hesitation, she nodded. “You’re worried about Bonnie, aren’t you?”
    â€œWell, yeah. More about her than about me, to tell you the truth.”
    â€œThat doesn’t surprise me a bit. I’ll be here whenever you need me, Tom.”
    He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder, a gesture that would have gotten him in trouble a lot of places. Thankfully, political correctness had only a tenuous grip on Little Tucson; people didn’t see sexual harassment everywhere they looked.
    â€œThanks. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble here—”
    â€œIf I do, there’s a baseball bat under the counter.”
    Tom smiled, but he knew a baseball bat wouldn’t be much protection against the likes of M-15. Louly would only be here during the day, though, and he didn’t think the gang would retaliate in broad daylight.
    Then he reminded himself of what had happened this morning at the bank, and earlier in the week to Burt Minnow, and he wasn’t so sure.
    â€œI’m going to see about getting the guys to come in more often, so you won’t have to be working by yourself any.”
    â€œThat’s not necessary, but if it makes you feel better, I won’t argue with you.”
    â€œGood. You shouldn’t argue with your boss.”
    â€œEspecially one as stubborn as you,” she teased back at him.
    He went into the small, crowded office and made some calls. Sal Guerrero, one of his part-timers, agreed to come in and work the rest of the day with Louly, and he and Mitch Hobson would split the shifts until further notice so that Louly would never be alone in the store. That made Tom feel a little better. He left, heading for home.
    Bonnie had planned to stop by Carla May Willard’s house, but she might be home, too, by the time he got there, Tom thought.

8
    Carla leaned her forehead against the cool tile of the wall inside the shower and let the water cascade down over her. She closed her eyes and stood there, soaking in the heat and steam. After a moment the shakes hit her again, and she had to grab hold of the bar that ran around the inside of the shower. Her hands gripped it tightly, squeezing harder and harder, and that helped control the shuddering.
    But it just grew worse, and finally Carla sagged against the wall and let herself slide down it until she was sitting on the floor of the shower. The water hit the top of her head and streamed over her face, plastering down her hair. She kept shaking, her breathing ragged as she sobbed. Tears welled from her eyes and were immediately washed away.
    She wished that the memories could be washed away so easily.
    Even before she had gotten to the hospital, while she was riding in the back seat of Lauren Henderson’s sheriff’s department cruiser, she had been dreaming of a