Page 56 of Witness To Murder
The back door behind Leah opened, and someone got in. Leah turned to see and gaped.
Louise Douglas.
“What is going on?” Leah demanded of the woman behind the wheel.
Alyssa handed the gun to Louise. “Better buckle up.”
She slammed on the accelerator. Leah braced herself, hands against the dash, rather than bothering with the seat belt.
“Did you send that man to kill me?” Leah demanded, turning to look over her shoulder at the woman now sitting in the middle of the back seat.
“I did.” She grinned. “Too bad he failed. I never could tolerate a man who failed on the follow-through.”
The two of them, Louise and Alyssa, laughed.
“Did you kill Raymond too?” Leah asked, fury pounding inside her. She should have been afraid, but instead she was furious. Her head didn’t even hurt anymore, or maybe she just couldn’t feel it.
“No,” the driver said, “that was me.” She grinned at Leah. “Don’t feel bad for him. He deserved it. He was a womanizing pig.”
Leah suddenly realized one thing with complete certainty: they weren’t sharing all this information to build comradery…they intended to kill her.
“They’ll know it was you.” She looked from her former friend to the woman in the back seat.
“Not me,” Louise said. She showed off her gloved hands, the gun in one of them. “I was never even here.”
Alyssa slowed to look back at her accomplice. “What does that mean?”
Leah took the opportunity to open the door and launch herself out. The jump might gravely injure her, but at least she’d have a shot at surviving. If she stayed in the vehicle, she was certain to end up dead.
She hit the ground hard, rolled to a stop. Then she scrambled to her feet and started to run. Her head was spinning, but she didn’t slow down.
Tires squealed as the car started to back up.
Leah had to find a way out of its path before—
Her thought was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.
OWEN BRAKED TOa stop. “They turned off somewhere?”
Lambert looked over the seat to stare out the rear window. “Back that way, on the left.”
Owen slammed into reverse, and the car rocketed backward. When they reached the turn off, he hit the brakes, then shoved into drive, lunging down the narrow road.
The first thing he saw was Leah diving for the ditch.
Then a bullet struck the windshield.
“Get down!” Lambert shouted.
Owen pushed into park and shot out of the car before it stopped rocking. He skirted around to the back of the vehicle for cover. Lambert did the same.
“Cover me.” Owen went for the ditch.
Lambert laid down fire to keep the shooter on the other side ducking.
The air didn’t fill Owen’s lungs again until Leah was within reach. “Keep down and move toward the car. I’ll be behind you.”
They headed for the car.
