“I see him. He looks like pretty much everyone else on the crew.”
“His jeans are the only ones that aren’t grass-stained. Also, no perspiration on the back of his shirt.”
The man looked up and locked eyes with her.
“That’s him!” Kendra said.
Powers jumped to his feet and bolted toward the backyard.
Kendra unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door. “Stop the car!”
“For what?”
“I’m going after him. You circle the block and try to cut him off.”
Lynch hit the brakes. “And if you catch him?”
“We’ll beat the hell out of each other until the cavalry arrives. You’re the cavalry. So get your ass in gear.”
Before he could object, she jumped out of the car and took off running.
The landscape crew stopped their work and stared as she ran past them and bolted down the side of the house. She bent over and grabbed a shovel as she ran, barely breaking stride.
Powers had pushed through the gate and was making for the back fence. He was a big man, probably not the most agile. Maybe she could catch him before he made it over.
He gripped the top of the wrought-iron fence and swung his leg up. A miss. He tried again. Another miss.
She extended the shovel before her, aiming the blade for his lower back.
This is going to hurt, buddy.
But with a burst of energy, he managed to swing his leg up and catapult himself over the fence.
Dammit.
He landed on his feet and was already running through the opposite yard by the time she got within striking distance. She threw down the shovel and climbed up and over the fence.
By the time she made it over, he was already sprinting down the side yard toward the street beyond.
Good. With any luck, Lynch and maybe half the Downey PD would soon be on top of him.
She ran down the side yard and emerged on the street beyond.
What the hell…
The man had vanished.
She glanced around. She suddenly felt extremely vulnerable. He could strike from any direction, especially since he now knew she was alone.
Where the hell could he be?
Maybe on one of the porches.
In the tall shrubs to her right.
In between some cars on the street.
He was inside one of the cars, she realized. Which one?
Powers’s head bobbed up in the driver-side window of a Dodge SUV. Either he owned it or he’d just completed the fastest hotwire job she’d ever seen.
The tires spun hard against the pavement, and the SUV rocketed down the street.
Shit!
She heard a familiar roar and turned to see Lynch’s Ferrari rounding the corner. The cavalry was here. She yelled and pointed at the SUV. “That’s him!”
He nodded and sped after Powers.
She stared dumbfounded at his Ferrari as it roared away. She’d expected Lynch to stop long enough for her to jump in, but of course it made more sense to stay on Powers’s tail and not risk losing him.
Fine. She’d make her way back to Powers’s house and see if there was anything there she could-
Another familiar roar. Behind her.
Jessie Mercado’s motorcycle rolled up and screeched to a stop just inches away. Jessie flipped up her visor to reveal those huge dark eyes and a broad smile. “Need a lift?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Even though I’m a little annoyed with you right now. I thought we were working together.”
“I really didn’t know that-”
“Relax. Just kidding. There’s a helmet strapped to the back. Take it and hop on. Hurry!”
Kendra put on the helmet and threw her leg over the seat of Jessie’s motorcycle.
“Ready?” Jessie asked.
Before Kendra could reply, Jessie squeezed back the throttle and rocketed down the street.
Kendra leaned around Jessie to see that Lynch’s and Powers’s cars were still within sight.
Jessie shouted over her engine. “Are we chasing one of the guys I put down the other night?”
Kendra shouted back. “Yes, the one who dragged me into the office.”
“He pissed his pants, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good! I’d love another crack at him.” Jessie put on another burst of speed.
Up ahead, Powers turned right, almost taking out a streetlight pole as he went wide on the busy cross street. They were heading deep into a congested retail district, with four lanes of traffic and traffic lights stretching to infinity.
“Hang on!” Jessie shouted.
She took a hard right turn into the intersection. Lynch was now only a few yards ahead. Powers was half a block beyond him, weaving in and out of traffic.
“Wave to your friend,” Jessie shouted.
While Kendra was still trying to figure out what she meant, Jessie passed Lynch on the left. Kendra smiled. She didn’t have to be a skilled lip-reader to pick up the curses tumbling out of Lynch’s mouth.
With another burst of speed, Lynch was behind them. Kendra looked forward. They were now nimbly weaving between the few cars that separated them from Powers.
Almost there…
Dozens of taillights flashed, and Kendra realized they were approaching a stoplight. Powers turned left into the lanes of oncoming traffic, where he narrowly missed a pickup truck and a Lexus convertible.
To Kendra’s horror, Jessie stayed on his tail, dodging the same vehicles. Kendra wanted to look away, but she felt compelled to watch as if that would somehow stave off a deadly collision.
Powers turned left at the next intersection, where Jessie hurtled through and shortened the gap.
“What’s your plan?” Kendra gasped.
“Keep the pressure on until he crashes,” she said calmly.
“Or until we do.”
“I’m way better than he is.”
“Modest. I like it… I think.”
“Hang tight. I’m going to try something.”
Jessie gunned the engine and drew alongside Powers’s car.
Powers glared at them. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and sweat poured from his face. Jessie was right, Kendra realized. The man wasn’t comfortable in a high-speed pursuit. He abruptly pulled the wheel, in an attempt to hit them, but Jessie sped past and cut in front of the SUV.
He bore down on them. Kendra could hear his engine roaring in her ears.
“Uh, Jessie…”
“I see him. I need you to reach into my right jacket pocket.”
“What?”
“I have some ball bearings in there. Reach in and grab a few.”
Kendra reached into the pocket of Jessie’s leather jacket and pulled out a handful of shiny little orbs. “Who rides around town with ball bearings in their pockets?”
“I do. Now throw them at his windshield as hard as you can. Aim for the driver’s side. Do it!”
Kendra hurled the metal balls with all the force she could muster.
Contact!
Kendra glanced back to see that three of the ball bearings had made contact with the windshield, creating webs of cracked glass in Powers’s field of vision.
The car swerved erratically.
Jessie fell back alongside the SUV long enough to grab another ball bearing from her pocket and hurl it into the driver’s side window, shattering it completely. Again the SUV swerved crazily.
They dropped farther back until they were once again following the SUV. Kendra looked behind her to see that Lynch had caught up. He was talking, she realized, communicating their location to the police.
Jessie beeped her high-pitched horn several times. Powers glanced back, and Kendra could see that he had a fine mist of blood on the side of his face. Likely a casualty of the shattered driver’s side window.
Jessie beeped again.
Kendra thought she was doing it to rattle Powers, but she quickly saw that it was a warning for a supermarket delivery truck slowly pulling out of the alleyway ahead.
Powers saw it an instant later. He swerved to avoid the truck, but overcompensated and jumped onto the sidewalk. He tried to correct his course, but it was too late. He plowed into the brick wall of a diaper factory.