Page 56 of Under Ground
I look across at Gareth. “Alex is here now. You can go.”
Gareth grunts, but he stands. He opens his mouth to say something, but a knock on the door stops him in his tracks.
Who on earth could that be?
Alex is still right behind me as I open the door.
“Lana Maitland?” a tall woman with short, dark hair addresses me.
“Yes?”
“Detective Carsons. Can I come in?”
“Please.” I step back. Gareth sits back down on one of the recliners. “Um, this is my boyfriend, Alex. And that’s my boss, Gareth Turner.”
She nods toward both of them. Alex nods in return.
“Please take a seat.” I nod toward the empty recliner, and she sits while Alex and I sit on the couch. “Casey, honey. How about you go and play in your room for a little while?”
“I want to watch Paw Patrol.”
I stroke her cheek. “I know, but I just need to talk with this lady. I’ll get you an ice cream if you do this for me.”
Her eyes widen. “But dinner …”
“Just this once I’ll let you have one before dinner.”
I don’t need to ask her twice. She zooms off to her room without even looking behind her. Beside me, Alex chuckles.
Shifting my gaze to Detective Carsons, I swallow hard. “Do you have an update?”
“The good news is that we’ve found the woman responsible for today’s incident.”
Relief floods my system. The last thing I needed was someone still running around out there who tried to grab my child. “Who is she? What did she want?”
Detective Carsons pauses for a moment. “You told the constable you were concerned about the photos on the TMZ website, didn’t you?”
I nod. My stomach sinks.
“This was related to the photos,” the detective says. “One of Mr Stone’s fans tried to abduct your daughter.”
13
Alex
This is a nightmare.
I’ve never felt so helpless.
“She’s part of an online group who have been debating whether Mr Stone is Casey’s father,” the detective explains.
“Wait. What?” I ask.
Lana’s neck just about swivels 180 as she looks back at me. “It’s those damn photos, Alex.”
“The perpetrator is fifteen.”
I stare at the officer. “What?”