A Flawless Defense by C.E. Tidswell

“What was I supposed to do?” The middle-aged woman sobbed to the exhausted officer. The gun had still been in her hands when the police arrived in her blood-soaked living room. The corpse of man lay not yet cold on her floor. The neighbours had heard the shots and called for help. Nobody had tried to remove the weapon from her, though she quickly handed it over. They all knew she wouldn’t fire on them anyway. She was smarter than that. “He broke into my home. I thought he was going to attack me. I panicked.”
“You panicked five times?” The officer grumbled, indicating to the bullet riddled body.
“He took a while to go down.” The woman admitted. “I had to be sure I was safe.”
“That’s all very well, mam.” The officer huffed. “But according to our evidence, this is the third time you’ve ‘panicked’ in the last month.”
“I seem to be a magnet for danger.” The woman nodded.
“One was a dog walker who came nowhere near your house.”
“He could have easily set that dog on me.” The woman scowled.
“The chihuahua?” The officer raised his eyebrow.
“Yes. Vicious little things they are.”
“The one that was still on the leash when you shot him? It seems you shot from him the side too, likely taking him completely unaware.”
The woman sighed and her gaze dropped to the ground.
“You’re not buying any of this, are you?” She muttered.
“Not really, mam.”
“Fine.” She shrugged before stretching out her arms for the inevitable cuffs. “It was fun while it lasted.