Page 54 of Child In Jeopardy

Lana couldn’t tell if her mother had made it or if the sound was one of pain, and again, she had to fight her instincts to bolt toward it. A good thing, too.

Because there was another sound.

A gunshot.

It rang out. A loud blast that tore through the air and sent them to the ground. A second one quickly followed. Then another. Lana couldn’t tell where the bullets were landing, but she prayed they hadn’t hit any of them. Or her mother. Of course, it could be her mother firing those shots.

Lana knew that her mother had firearms training and had even competed in target shooting competitions when she was younger. But that moan had come from the stalls, and the gunfire seemed to be coming from the bleachers.

Oh, God. Did they have two attackers?

Any of their suspects could have hired a henchman. However, there was another sickening possibility that the two of them had teamed up.

But why?

Was this about covering up Alicia’s murder? Taylor’s? Lana didn’t know, but she hoped she soon had the answer so the danger could finally end.

There was another shot, and this time Lana had no trouble figuring out where it had hit. It slammed into the log post right next to Slater. Once again, they had to drop down and wait out the next flurry of gunfire.

Slater looked back at her, their gazes locking for a couple of seconds, and Lana saw the storm of emotions and worry in his eyes that was no doubt in hers as well. She didn’t want any of them to die, but it could happen. It was obvious the shooter wanted them dead.

After what seemed an eternity, the gunshots stopped, and the silence that followed allowed Lana to hear another moan. Again, it’d come from the stalls, and Slater began to inch his way there. He stayed close to the partial wall, and with Duncan and Lana right behind them, they were only a few feet away from the stalls and those moans when another shot rang out.

This one smacked into the ground, so close to Slater that Lana saw the dust that the bullet had kicked up land on his arm. Cursing, Slater moved back, but Lana reached for him, pulling him away from the stall. Just as another shot came. And another.

“The shots are coming from there,” Duncan said, tipping his head to the top of the bleachers on the far side of the arena.

Lana pivoted in that direction, automatically taking aim, but she didn’t see anyone. The shooter had likely dropped down into the footwell space below the seats.

The anger roared through her, and she cursed this person who wanted them dead. And why? Because the shooter didn’t want to have to pay for crimes that he or she had committed? Well, she wanted this snake to pay, and somehow she would figure out a way to make that happen.

“I’ll shoot into the bleachers,” Duncan said, keeping his voice at a whisper since any and every sound seemed to echo in the arena. “The two of you go to the stall and find out who’s moaning. Be careful,” he added. “It could be a trap.”

Yes, it could be, because the person in the stall might be lying in wait for them and possibly didn’t even need help.

Slater stayed in front of her as they began to move, and behind them, Duncan started shooting. Lana could hear the bullets slamming into the metal seats of the bleachers, and she prayed his gunfire was pinning down the shooter so he or she couldn’t get off more shots.

It seemed to work.

No bullets came at her and Slater as they hurried toward the stalls. There were at least a dozen of them, and it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they’d heard those moans.

Slater kicked open the first stall gate and then immediately moved back in case there was an attacker inside. But it was empty.

Behind them, Duncan continued to fire, pausing only long enough to reload, and she and Slater went to the next stall. The gate to this one had already fallen off so they had no trouble seeing that no one was inside it.

They moved on to the next stall with the same results. Empty. And Lana began to wonder if the person who’d moaned was no longer there. Was this part of the ruse to kill them? Maybe. But she and Slater kept moving. Kept checking, and they made it to another stall. Slater kicked in the gate, darted to the side.

And Lana heard the moan.

Neither she nor Slater rushed in. They stayed put a couple of seconds before Slater peered into the stall, and because Lana was pressed right against his back, she felt his muscles tighten even more than they already were.

She looked over his shoulder to see what had caused that reaction. And Lana saw the person lying on the ground. Not Pamela.

But her father.

Chapter Seventeen

Slater definitely hadn’t expected to find Leonard in the stall, and a whole bunch of questions immediately began to fly through his head.