Another excerpt from Shooter Vanished

Just to whet your appetite. 

Jasmine had her keys in one hand and an armful of groceries in the other.  She pushed the button on her clicker.  Her car lights flashed and the door locks clicked open. 

"Jasmine…"  The voice was strained, and came from the shadows on her left.  She turned toward the noise, her thumb moving to the panic button. 

"Jasmine…"  A shape began to emerge from the darkness.  As the light illuminated it, Jasmine realized, with horror, that she was staring at her husband's killer.  She dropped both the groceries and the keys on the ground, and reached in her purse.  She pulled out a can of pepper spray, and stared the man down. 

He looked bad - his eyes were bloodshot, he was pale, there were angry circles under his eyes.  His clothes were disheveled and soaked through, and his hair was a wet, scraggly mess.

"Jasmine…"

"Ok, you know my name.  Do you also know what this is?  It'll hurt a lot if I spray it at you.  Also, I'm about to call the cops."

"But…Jasmine…"

"Ok, this is getting on my nerves."  She screamed, drawing the attention of a nearby grocery store employee, a gangly youth with wide eyes and pimples, who ran to her aid.  "Call the cops," she instructed.  The kid sprinted away.

"Alright you son of a bitch," she said, reaching a decision.  She didn't want her husband's killer getting away again.  She lunged forward and tackled him, bringing him down hard on the asphalt.

"Jasmine…" he croaked.  "I love you…"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Don't you remember me?  Jasmine…"

"You kill my husband, then you assault me in a parking lot?  Not the best way to get on a girl's good side."

The store clerk returned, huffing.  "The cops are on their way." 

"Good."  She had pinned the killer underneath her, although he didn't seem in too much of a hurry to escape.

There was a bright flash, and Jasmine suddenly found she had nothing to pin down.  The asphalt beneath her was empty, and there was no sign of her husband's killer.