Chapter Sixteen
Slater cursed when he caught glimpses of the body through the breaks in the fog. Or rather what was left of the body, anyway. Not all the bones seemed to be there, but there were enough of them for him to know it was human remains.
The skull was evidence of that.
The cop part of him warned him not to jump to any conclusions. That this might not be Alicia Monroe. But with the emails and the tow truck that’d picked up a vehicle here, it was hard for him not to look at those bones and see the young woman that Alicia had once been.
Duncan was muttering some profanity, too, and he fanned his flashlight around the grave, no doubt looking for any footprints that didn’t belong to any of them. Slater didn’t immediately see any, but the weeds and grass likely would have prevented deep impressions into the ground.
“It’s true,” Pamela sobbed. “It’s all true.” She buried her face against Lana’s shoulder when Lana pulled the woman into her arms. “Leonard killed Alicia and buried her here.”
Maybe, but no matter who this was, the scene had to be preserved. Of course, it had already been compromised. And recently. Slater looked at the mounds of dirt around the sides of the grave, and he was pretty sure someone had attempted to dig it up.
But why?
To remove the body?
If so, the person had failed because the body was still there. Maybe the digging had been step one, and the person was coming back to finish the exhumation. Again, though, he had to ask himself why. The immediate answer that came to mind was that Buck had realized the location was about to be compromised and had dug it up, only to die before he could finish the job.
Was that it?
Slater continued to mull that over and was about to escort Lana and Pamela back to the cruiser so that he and Duncan could start the necessary phone calls needed in a situation like this. But Slater stopped when the glint of something caught his eye. Duncan stopped, too, fixing the flashlight onto the upper torso of the skeleton.
And Slater saw it then.
A silver heart pendant on a thick chain.
“What is it?” Pamela asked, trying to get a look at what had caught their attention.
Lana must have thought they’d seen something ghoulish, because she gathered her mother into her arms and started leading her away from the grave. Slater was all for that. In fact, he wanted Lana back in the cruiser where she’d be safer, but first he used his phone to take some photos of the skeleton and that necklace.
A necklace he thought he remembered seeing before.
But where?
“Let’s go with them,” Duncan instructed, taking out his phone. “We still need that warrant, because anything we find here might not be admissible without it.”
True, and it could mean a killer could walk. No way did they want that to happen. Not when they had perhaps finally found Alicia’s body.
While they kept watch around them and started back toward the parking lot, Duncan made a phone call to the county district attorney so he could give a push on that warrant. The fog had gotten even thicker now. Even if they managed that warrant in the next couple of hours, the CSI team might not be able to start right away because of visibility. Still, they had to try, and they might be able to set up enough fans and blowers to keep away the fog while they at least set up something to secure the grave and remains.
“Will you arrest Leonard for murder?” Pamela asked. It took Slater a moment to realize she was directing the question at him.
“I’m not sure what will happen,” he answered honestly as Lana helped her mother into the back seat of the cruiser. Duncan got behind the wheel, and Slater took shotgun.
“He’ll be arrested,” Pamela concluded, breaking into another sob. “He must have killed Taylor. And Stephanie. I know it was Buck who smothered her, but Leonard would have been part of that, too.”
Yeah, he would have been if Leonard was actually Buck’s accomplice. It meant Leonard had also been responsible for the attacks on him and Lana.
Hell.
If Leonard had truly done all of this, then Slater would make sure the man paid and paid hard.
Lana kept her arm around her mother, but she pinned her gaze to Slater. “What did you see in the grave?” she mouthed.
Slater went through the photos he’d taken and enlarged the one that showed the heart pendant. Lana studied it, frowned and shook her head. “It looks familiar,” she said, again mouthing the words.
He nodded an agreement and tried to force himself to think. And then Slater recalled the party photo of Alicia, Leonard, Buck and Marsh that Taylor had shown them. After Taylor’s murder, the phone she’d had with her had been taken into evidence, and Slater was hoping that photo was still on the phone and that Taylor hadn’t moved it back to the storage cloud the woman had mentioned.
Slater called the lab and said a quick thanks when someone actually answered. Better yet, it was a tech, Mark Gonzales, who Slater knew well.
“I need a favor,” Slater said to Mark after they’d exchanged greetings. “I need you to check the photos on Taylor Galway’s phone. I’m looking for a picture taken twenty years ago at a party. Leonard Walsh is in the shot. So is Buck Holden,” he added, knowing that Mark would likely recognize those two faces.
Slater was hoping that Pamela wouldn’t be listening to the conversation, but when he glanced back at Lana and her, he realized Pamela was now staring at him.
“Taylor sent me a picture of Leonard and Buck at a party,” Pamela muttered, and she began to fish her phone from her pocket.
“Got it,” Mark said just as Pamela started scrolling through her own photos. “I’m texting it to you now.”
Slater’s phone dinged, and the picture loaded. Yeah, it was the one all right, and he immediately saw what he’d been pretty sure he remembered.
The heart pendant.
Alicia was wearing it.
Hell. Slater doubted that was a coincidence, and it was yet another piece of evidence pointing to it being Alicia’s body in the grave.
“Thanks,” Slater told Mark, and he ended the call. Since Duncan had finished talking to the DA, Slater passed him his phone so he, too, could take a look.
“Here it is,” Pamela said, lifting up her own phone for them to see.
It was the same photo all right. The one that had convinced Slater that Alicia and Leonard had been having an affair. It was also the one where Marsh had seemed to be mooning over Alicia. And where Buck and Leonard had appeared to be very friendly.
“Why did you want to see it?” Pamela asked, but she didn’t wait for an answer. She turned the photo back toward her, and her gaze combed over it. Anger flashed in her eyes. Raw, vicious anger that she quickly shut down. “Leonard was sleeping with her, and then he killed her.”
“Why would he have done that?” Duncan came out and asked.
Pamela lifted her shoulder in a shrug and kept her attention on the photo. “Maybe because Alicia tried to blackmail him or something. He opened himself up to blackmail when he got in bed with her.” She stopped and gasped. “The necklace,” she muttered.
Slater and Duncan exchanged surprised glances. “What necklace?” Lana asked, taking the phone from her mother so she could see.
“That one. The heart,” Pamela blurted, but then she made another of those sobbing sounds. “It’s the same one. I’m sure of it.”
Lana took hold of Pamela’s arms and turned her mother to face her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, your father bought that necklace. Or one just like it. I found it in a little gift bag in his car—” Pamela stopped when her voice broke. “He said it was a birthday gift for someone who worked in his office. I thought he was lying, but I never thought...” She stopped again and began to cry while sucking in loud, jerky breaths.
Slater looked at Lana. There was no anger in her eyes. Just a deep sadness that seemed to go all the way to her heart. She had to be thinking that she’d lived under the roof of a killer. One who’d killed his lover and had her buried here.
“Oh, God. I’m going to be sick,” Pamela blurted, and before Lana could even reach for her, she bolted from the cruiser.
Pamela ran toward the arena, catching on to a thick log post that had once framed the entry. She lowered her head, and Slater heard the retching.
On a sigh, Lana got out, no doubt so she could go to her mother and try to offer her some comfort. Slater and Duncan got out as well, and even though Pamela’s life seemed to be falling apart right now, they kept watch around them.
Lana took slow steps toward Pamela and was still a good twenty feet away when Pamela’s body lurched. It was as if she’d either dived forward or had been yanked by someone.
Pamela screamed. A blood-curdling sound that echoed through the arena. And then the woman disappeared into the darkness.
F OR A MOMENT , Lana stood there frozen in shock over what she’d just seen and heard, but she quickly shook it off and bolted toward the arena. Or rather that’s what she tried to do when Slater darted in front of her.
“You could be gunned down if you go in there,” Slater said, using the warning as they continued to move with Duncan right next to them.
Slater was right, of course. It looked as if someone had grabbed hold of her mother, and if so, that person could be Buck’s accomplice. And this could be a setup to draw them out of the relative safety of the cruiser and into a building where they’d be easier prey.
Lana considered calling out to her mother, but she decided against it. She’d heard her mother’s scream well enough, and if Pamela was capable of doing that again, she likely would have.
Which meant she could be gagged. Or hurt.
Or worse.
Lana didn’t want to consider the worst. Couldn’t. She had to stay focused on whatever danger they were about to face inside.
Duncan and Slater were clearly ready for the danger. In the sprint toward the arena, they had both stayed low while drawing their guns. Lana did the same, and when they reached the building, none of them rushed in. They stood there for a moment and just listened.
Lana thought she heard some footsteps, but the sound that stood out the most was the creaking of the roof. She prayed it wasn’t about to collapse on them.
Slater stepped into the darkness first, and he moved even lower, practically to a squatting position, no doubt so he wouldn’t be an easy target. Duncan moved in behind Lana, shielding her, she realized. She didn’t want or expect him to take that kind of risk, but Duncan would likely consider it his duty to the badge.
A few seconds passed before Slater moved even deeper into the arena. Lana and Duncan were right behind him, and now that her eyes had had time to adjust to the darkness, she was able to better see the place. It wasn’t a closed-in space but rather had walls that went up about six feet, allowing for the night breeze to rush through. It felt cold and damp, and the entire place smelled of mold and things she’d rather not smell. There was a sense of death here.
The dirt-filled center area, where once the performances and competitions had taken place, was huge. The weeds had made it into this part of the arena, too, but they weren’t nearly as thick as they were in the parking lot and on the grounds.
The roof had indeed collapsed on one side, but a good portion of it was still intact. As were the bleachers that stretched out most of the length of the competition area. To the right were the stalls. Again, a large space where the horses and bulls would have been contained.
Lana didn’t see her mother in any of those spots.
So where had the person taken her? There had to be exits, and it occurred to Lana that might be the plan. To drag her mother in here, only to hurry out to a waiting vehicle so she could be taken elsewhere.
But why?
Was it because the accomplice wanted to silence her? Maybe. If so, then her father or Marsh could be here.
Or it could be something else .
As much as Lana hated to consider that something else, she knew she had to. If Pamela had been the one to work with Buck, then it was possible the only threat she, Slater and Duncan were about to face would come from her mother.
Following Slater’s direction and pace and while keeping their footsteps soft, they moved even deeper into the building. Lana focused on keeping watch on the stalls and the bleachers where there were plenty of spots for someone to hide.
Slater stopped, motioned toward the floor, and Lana saw the scuff marks in the dust and dirt on the ground. And there were more of them in the direction of the stalls. They started toward them, but the sound stopped them cold.
It was a moan.
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.