5 Conditioner and a Corpse by Cindy Bell

step or two as Bekki ducked to the side. The gun fell from his hand as he gasped for breath. Bekki lunged for it and held it tightly in her hand, but did not fire it. She could see the blood spreading through the shoulder of his dress shirt. Someone had shot him through the front window. Bekki stayed low as she had no idea whether it was the drug dealers who had shot Jeff, or the police.
    “ Bekki,” Nick called out from outside the broken window. “Unlock the door, I can't get it open,” he said quickly. Bekki sighed with relief and headed for the door. As she walked past Jeff he reached for her ankle, but she easily evaded his grasp. She had to struggle to unlock the door, it was still sticking, but when she did, Nick pushed inside followed by several uniformed officers.
    “ Are you okay?” he asked her with urgency in his voice. “Are you hurt?”
    “ No,” Bekki shook her head quickly. “Not really,” she tried to keep her breaths shallow and held out the gun by the butt of it. “Just get this thing out of my hands, will you?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with a hint of hope.
    “ You're amazing!” he exclaimed with a slight chuckle and took the gun from her.
    She glanced over her shoulder to see Jeff subdued on the floor. It looked like he had only been hit in the shoulder, but the way he was writhing and moaning, Bekki could tell that he was in a lot of pain. She felt a little guilty for feeling happy about that, but all she could think of was Jasmine's murder.
    “ I had no idea if you could hear me or not,” Bekki said with a sigh of relief as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I didn't even know if you had answered.”
    “ You have your mom to thank for that,” Nick replied. “But I'm afraid,” he paused as the paramedics moved past him to tend to Jeff's shoulder. “I might have gotten you into a little trouble with her. Apparently, I was supposed to be helping you close up the salon. When she called me to check, I told her I hadn't heard from you. When I hung up the phone, it rang right away, and it was you. I heard you talking in the background. I've recorded the entire conversation, so we have Jeff's confession.”
    “ That's great,” Bekki said as she wiped a hand across her forehead and tried to clear her mind. “I hope he never gets to walk the streets again.”
    “ The judge will make sure of that,” Nick said with a solid nod. His gaze shifted past Bekki to Jeff who was now handcuffed to a gurney. “With his confession there's no way he's going to wiggle out of this one.”
    “ Bekki, Bekki, are you okay?” Morris called out as he jogged up to the salon. “I'm so sorry, I went to check on Sammy, because she said Nick was on his way, I'm so sorry!”
    “ Don't be,” Bekki assured him. “It's okay Morris, everything's fine.”
    Morris felt relieved and then bear hugged her, which caused Bekki to cry out in pain.
    “ You're not okay,” Nick accused and then noticed the deep, dusky bruise on the side of her head. He noticed the way she was carrying herself slightly tilted to the side. He reached for her shirt and began to tug it upward.
    “ Don't,” she winced as even the slight movement of the shirt shot a new wave of pain through her.
    “ Bekki, we have to get you some medical attention,” Nick insisted as he waved to the paramedics who were nearby.
    When the paramedics inspected the large bruise on her side they confirmed that it was likely a broken rib.
    “ Let's get you to the hospital for some scans,” one suggested.
    “ No,” Bekki shook her head and held tightly to Nick's hand. “I just want to go home.”
    “ Bekki,” Nick warned with a sigh. “Remember that time you fell off the dock?” he asked her. “You hit your head on the side of it and got tangled up with the cooler underneath. You wouldn't let any of us tell your parents.”
    “ But you did anyway,” Bekki reminded him with a subtle glare.
    “ And?” Nick asked one brow