Page 62 of Unseen Danger
He certainly could have put the knife in the poster at Wilton High. He didn’t seem like the type to have set up the gate attack and knocked out James, though. He’d probably be physically capable of it, especially if fueled by the rage Branson witnessed after the concert. But his rage was so personal. If all he wanted was to make D-Chop pay for the death of his son, wouldn’t he go after D-Chop more directly, as he had at the high school?
And how could he have accomplished things like the disappearance of D-Chop’s mic or the smashed turntable? He couldn’t have. Though maybe those incidents weren’t connected to the others.
The fire probably was. Would the father of a high schooler, owner of a local laundromat, have had the knowledge and access to sabotage the pyrotechnics and prep the set pieces to burn?
Branson rubbed the back of his neck as the questions he couldn’t answer swirled in his brain. Maybe he should—
Pops rent the air.
“Get down!”
Nineteen
Branson charged for the kids, rapidly assessing as he whipped out his Glock.
The pops came from the garage.
Darren grabbed Destiny and laid her flat as Branson reached them.
He swung the two boys in his arm, bringing them to the ground as gently as he could, lying them in the leaves. “Stay down.”
More pops. Not gunshots. More like…fireworks?
Something smashed. Shards of glass flew as the window burst at the side of the garage.
Sparks spewed from the opening.
Branson caught Darren’s gaze, signaled with his hand he was going to check it out.
Darren jerked a nod and stepped between the kids, crouched as he took Branson’s forward position.
Branson stayed low as he moved out. He darted at an angle away from the garage first, then headed back, zigzagging in case the culprit was in there with bullets to add to this party.
He used tree trunks as cover when he could.
Still no activity. No signs of movement.
But bushes lined the garage. And there were a few objects around the house someone could hide behind.
He’d kept a close watch, so it wasn’t likely anyone had gotten into position without his knowing.
But he didn’t know how someone could’ve started fireworks in the garage either.
The pops stopped for the last several seconds it took him to reach the structure.
He inched along the bushes at the side of the building. His height meant he could see through the opening that had been the window.
A sound like a rain shower caught his ears just before he saw the reason for it.
The sprinkler system was dousing the entire garage, giving the lineup of cars a wash.
If there was someone in there, they were probably huddled somewhere trying not to get wet.
He turned back and headed for the door at the front of the garage. Typing in the code on the keypad, he waited for the lock to release, then reached for the knob.
He turned it. Took in a breath.
Pushing the door open with one hand, he raised his weapon and scanned the left side of the garage.