Mark gave me a reassuring smile. “You did great, Ms. Black. You were heroic.”
“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. I’m not sure I’d ever felt less like a hero. My phone vibrated in my palm. Numbly, I looked down. Gilly. Oh, gosh. The kids.
Ezra must’ve read something in my expression because he said, “They’re safe. Mason called me from the antique shop. I sent a patrol car to get him and Ari and take them home.”
I nodded with relief and answered the phone.
“Nora,” Gilly hissed. “What the heck happened?”
“I’m... I’m not sure.”
“Was there someone shooting a gun in the streets?” She made a choking sound. “Is Ari?—?”
“She’s safe,” I promised. “Ezra arranged for a patrol car to take her and Mason home.”
She sobbed with relief. “And you. You didn’t get...”
“No, no,” I assured her. “Nothing like that. I heard some?—”
Ezra put his hand on my wrist and gave a slight headshake.
“I’m sorry,” I told Gilly. “I can’t say more until I’ve given the police my statement.”
“Can we come out of the store?” she asked. “A handful of people ran into the shop, and we’re all hunkered down in the kitchen. Pippa locked us in. Oh, Nora. I’ve been so afraid. I tried to call you over and over, but you didn’t answer. Same with Ari.”
I glanced at one of the chairs behind the display table and noticed Ari’s bag was in the seat. In her panic, she’d left it behind. Good. Hesitation in a crisis could get you killed. “Ari left her backpack in the booth when she and Mason cut through the alley, and I was on the phone with 9-1-1.”
“Is it safe for us to leave?”
“I’ll ask.” I glanced at Ezra. “Is it safe for Gilly and Pippa to exit the shop?”
His brows knitted in consternation. “They’re still in there?” He posed the sentence as a question.
“Yes. They locked themselves, along with a few panicked stragglers, in the back room.”
“Damn it.” He shook his head. “Not about that. I’m going to have to talk with my team about what it means to clear a street and its businesses, is all. Tell them to sit tight, and I’ll send someone over to help evacuate them safely.”
“I heard him,” Gilly said. “Nora... thank you. Thanks for getting Ari out of there.”
“She was my first and only priority,” I said. “Well, her and Mason.”
“Why didn’t you go with them?”
The paramedics were strapping Edgar onto the gurney, readying him for a trip to the hospital.
“I can’t say until after I talk to Ezra, but I’ll tell you all about it tonight over a thirty-two-ounce glass of wine.”
She chuckled. “It’s a date.”
I disconnected the call and slid my phone into my pocket. My fingers ached as I flexed them. I’d been gripping the device as if it were a lifeline long enough for my hand to stiffen.
Ezra ushered me to the chair, and I moved Ari’s bag before I sat down. He gestured to a dark-haired officer, Anthony Broyles, a new addition to his special unit. “Take Nora’s statement, then see she gets home.”
The man, who looked to be in his late thirties, medium height and build, nodded and came over. Ezra squeezed my shoulder. “If I don’t see you before you leave, I’ll see you tonight.”
I gave him a tightlipped smile and inclined my head with a nod.
After Ezra left the area, Broyles asked, “Did you see a gunman?”
