Ten seconds later, they were outside the store and mall, crossing a pedestrian bridge toward the parking garage. From every direction, Nathan heard multiple sirens. He couldn’t distinguish the difference between fire, medical, and police, but he knew they would arrive within minutes, maybe seconds.
Just ahead, a second bridge would take them in the direction of the trolley station, Nathan’s original destination. They hadn’t gone ten steps when he heard the female guard’s voice directly below them.
“Did anyone see a man and a girl come out here?”
Nathan lowered his voice to a whisper. “Lie down. She won’t be able to see us.”
In the middle of the bridge, they both assumed a facedown position.
A loud crackling startled him. The radio! He hadn’t turned down its volume. He reached down to the utility belt and twisted the volume knob until it clicked off. He knew his saving grace was that the guard’s radio had also crackled at the same time, masking the sound.
The guard repeated her question, not as forcefully. “Did anyone see anything?”
No one responded. The guard cursed, and Nathan heard her footsteps move laterally below them. Supporting the wrought-iron handrail, the bridge’s curb didn’t measure more than twelve inches, but the guard wouldn’t be able to see their prone forms. Until the guard left, they couldn’t traverse the bridge over to the parking structure without risking being seen from below. He didn’t think the guard would hang around long. She’d likely return to Macy’s to search the ground floor. With a little luck, they’d be clear of the parking structure before any SDPD units arrived.
A few seconds later, the guard’s steps receded back to Macy’s entrance. He stood and helped Lauren to her feet.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re going to walk fast.”
Waiting for a trolley was now out of the question. Perhaps if he hadn’t introduced himself to the security guards, the trolley might’ve worked, but the police were going to focus on Macy’s, and the close proximity of the station meant they couldn’t linger there. There might be a taxi nearby, but this wasn’t the Vegas strip. Taxis were a rarity outside the downtown area of San Diego, especially at this hour.
The connecting bridge led them onto the second level of a brightly lit, three-story parking structure. There weren’t many cars present, maybe a couple dozen or so. The outer reaches were completely void of vehicles, and therefore void of cover as well. There was no sign of the college women. They must’ve gone down or up a level.
Since he and Lauren had entered Macy’s on the ground level, Nathan decided to stay on the second level. Most fugitives wouldn’t climb higher in buildings while being pursued, so staying on this level made tactical sense.
Fugitives? Was that what they were? In the eyes of the law, that was exactly what they were. They weren’t only fugitives, they were armed and dangerous fugitives.
Every arriving police officer would be informed a handgun was involved. Nathan shook his head, thinking he should be at home, finishing his movie. He added the assault of two security guards to his cocktail. What was next, armed robbery? Fortunately, he didn’t need money — he carried close to two grand in his wallet at any given time — and tonight he just might need it. He reflected back on his decision to enter Nordstrom for a change of clothes. Anyone who’d witnessed the drive-by shooting on Friars Road would describe them as a tall man dressed in khaki-colored pants with a dark long-sleeved shirt, and a young girl in jeans and a light purple T-shirt. Nathan wasn’t just tall, he towered over Lauren by at least eighteen inches. They’d be hard to miss. A change of clothes had been tactically sound, and since he believed no one on the street had tracked their movements into Nordstrom, they should’ve been in and out of there in under five minutes. Encountering the security guard had been bad luck, nothing more. For now, he needed to stay focused on getting out of here without drawing any more attention. He also needed to extract information from Lauren without stressing her. Aside from her mother’s role in all of this, he needed to know how she had ended up in the custody of her kidnappers.
They stayed on the north side of the parking garage and worked their way west until they arrived at a stairwell. Down to street level or up to the top? Nathan chose up. He knew there was a pedestrian bridge at the southwest corner of the structure, connecting to the elevated trolley station. He and Harv had once parked up there for a Chargers game and taken the trolley over to Qualcomm Stadium. Given their current predicament, waiting for the trolley was still out of the question but they could take the stairs down to street level and slip away.
A siren closed on their position. He looked west toward its source and saw the red and blue flashes of an SDPD cruiser. It turned into the mall’s parking lot and accelerated straight toward them.
Chapter 8
“What do we do?” Lauren asked.
“Stay calm. He doesn’t know where we are.” Mixed with the siren, Nathan heard the cruiser’s engine roar. “Stay behind me.” They ducked deeper into the stairwell’s shaft and hugged the wall.
Ten feet below, the cruiser sped past, its howling scream reverberating off every building in the area. Nathan had to admit he was feeling a strong sense of urgency take hold, but he needed to stay calm for Lauren’s sake. The cruiser’s siren went silent as it stopped a mere thirty yards to the east. He hoped the arriving officer believed they were still inside Macy’s. He thought most SDPD cruisers were single-officer units, so if the cop went into Macy’s, they’d have a chance.
“Come on. We’re going up another level.”
They hustled up the stairs and were greeted by a vast expanse of concrete. Trellises with high-intensity lights marched along its length. It was damned bright up here. There weren’t any cars present. Zero.
“Let’s see how fast you really are. Ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Here we go.”
They began an all-out sprint to the far corner. It looked to be about a football field distant. He heard another siren closing and believed it was coming from the south end of Fashion Valley Road. He couldn’t see its source, because the Town & Country Resort Hotel’s tower and convention center blocked his view. But if he couldn’t see it, at least the reverse was also true. They arrived at the bridge just as the second cruiser came into view on Fashion Valley Road. It turned onto the road paralleling the trolley station, and for the second time in twenty seconds, they found themselves with an SDPD cruiser barreling toward them.
Nathan saw what they needed to his left and didn’t have to tell Lauren what to do. They hurried over to the structure’s perimeter wall and hunkered down. Its three-foot barrier offered them visual protection from the street below. He made eye contact with Lauren and took her hand. He knew there were a few people waiting at the elevated trolley station, he’d checked during their sprint over. Right now, the intrusive cruiser had everyone’s attention. He hoped no one noticed them. He stood with Lauren a little early so anyone who did see them wouldn’t think they were hiding from the cruiser. It screamed underneath and kept going.
The elevated station was lower than the top level of the parking structure, so the pedestrian bridge sloped slightly downhill. He looked east along the trolley’s tracks, saw the twin headlights of an approaching train, and changed his strategy. It was about time they had some good luck. Waiting for a trolley wouldn’t have worked, but the arriving train provided a good opportunity to clear the area. From where they were, they shouldn’t have any problem making it aboard. Running would now look perfectly natural — a father and daughter hurrying toward an approaching train.
They began a medium-paced jog.
Entering the platform, Nathan smelled it right away: a homeless stench for the record books. Its source was an elderly woman sitting on the bench. She looked to be trouble, her eyes narrowed and accusatory.
She spoke loudly. “You runnin’ from the po-lice.”
Several bystanders on the platform looked at them.
N
athan lowered his voice to a whisper. “Ignore her.” He led Lauren a few steps away.
“Hey, I’m talkin’ at you!”
He knew from the angle of her voice that she’d stood up.
Of all the cardboard-carrying fakes and frauds, why did they have to encounter the genuine article? And why now, of all times?
Lauren pivoted and faced the woman. “Leave my dad alone!”
“Is that what he tell you to say? You can tell me the truth, child.”
“It is the truth.”
“If he your dad, then why you runnin’ from the po-lice?”
Nathan raised his voice a little so everyone would hear. “We weren’t running from the police, we were running to catch the trolley.” He pointed down the tracks to the oncoming headlights.
“You runnin’ from the po-lice! I saw you.”
“Believe whatever you want — please, just leave us alone.” He turned his back and willed the train to speed up.
“Hey, I’m talkin’ at you.”
The trolley was still a good half minute away.
“Look, we don’t want any trouble.”
The woman was now yelling. “I’m making it my trouble. Look at your face. You’re a monster! You got no right to steal this innocent child!”
Hopeless. This woman saw demons around every corner, lived in a disconnected world without rules of etiquette or conduct, and acted purely on impulse. Ironically, she was actually close to the mark. Maybe she had some sixth sense or a finely honed intuition, but whatever the case, she’d created exactly what he didn’t want.
Nathan considered his options. Ignoring her wouldn’t work. They’d already become the singular focus of her deluded reality. This woman would likely follow them onto the trolley and continue her tirade. What then? They sure as hell couldn’t sit through five minutes of verbal assault without every passenger focusing on them. Rendering her unconscious — tempting as that was — would only make things worse. Nathan looked beyond the woman and saw a middle-aged man tap the keypad of his phone three times. No doubt the man thought he was doing them a favor. Just the opposite.
Time to go.
They hurried over to the steps leading down to the street. The woman continued her rant, screaming at the top of her lungs while sirens howled in the distance. Nathan felt his stress level skyrocket and consciously relaxed his hands and jaw. Deal with it. React and overcome.
They couldn’t go west toward Fashion Valley Road, because every arriving police cruiser came from that direction. Going back into the mall was out of the question. They were essentially trapped. He wanted to head south into the Town & Country Resort Hotel complex, but the San Diego River blocked their way. They could swim or wade across, but immersing themselves in the collective runoff of a major city wasn’t at the top of his bucket list, not to mention being soaking wet in their clothes would draw attention.
Despite his best efforts, it seemed likely they would end up in police custody. What a can of worms, he thought. No good deed goes unpunished.
Descending the stairs, he saw a godsend. Fifty yards to the south, a narrow pedestrian bridge stretched across the San Diego River. Outstanding! He hadn’t known it was there. “Come on,” he said quietly. “We’re going across.” Their bad luck had just turned.
Above them, the woman’s tirade trailed off. Without a visible enemy, she probably felt less threatened. Despite the hassle she’d caused, he actually felt sorry for her.
Knowing the 911 caller on the platform would describe him and Lauren, it wouldn’t be long before the police connected the dots and focused their pursuit on this location. Their descriptions would match with the security-guard incidents in the mall. Nathan had also seen security cameras on the trolley’s platform. With some luck, they’d find a taxi near the front of the hotel and clear the area for good.
The trolley pulled onto the platform just as they stepped onto the bridge. The opposite side dumped them into a three-acre parking lot serving the convention center and hotel tower. Nathan believed the hotel’s registration desk was on the south side of the property, so they’d head in that direction. Looking over his shoulder toward the trolley station, he saw a police cruiser’s flashing lights. The newly arriving officer would undoubtedly head up to the platform to investigate the disturbance call. Nathan didn’t think anyone had seen them cross the bridge, but if he were a cop, that’s where he’d start looking. Fortunately, the green belt along the San Diego River screened them from view from the elevated station. If they could make it into the Town & Country Resort Hotel complex, disappearing would be relatively easy.
“All the police? They’re because of us?” Lauren asked.
“Yes.”
“Where are we going?”
“To find a taxi.”
“I saw one back at the trolley station.”
Impressive. Lauren had a good sense of her surroundings. How many stressed-out kids her age would have the presence of mind to notice a waiting taxi?
“I saw it.”
“But the homeless woman wrecked things.”
“Exactly. Are you up to answering some questions?”
“I guess.”
“You guess?”
“It depends on what you’re going to ask.”
“It isn’t negotiable.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’ll have to answer my questions. You can’t hold anything back.”
“But what about the witness security program?”
“What about it?”
“I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
They continued south across the parking lot. He diverted to an adjacent aisle to avoid a businessman who was pulling a suitcase from the trunk of his car.
“Lauren, let’s recap the last thirty minutes. On the freeway, you asked for my help because you said you’d been kidnapped. I followed your kidnapper and rammed my fifty-thousand-dollar Mustang into the side of his seventy-thousand-dollar Cadillac. I shot two men who may or may not be federal law enforcement officers, then put a bullet into your abductor’s thigh just for sport. Minutes later, the very same man I shot attempted to gun us down in cold blood on a crowded public street with a fully automatic machine gun. I then assaulted two security guards, restrained them with their own handcuffs, and stole their equipment. I also threatened an unarmed civilian by pointing a gun at his chest. Have I missed anything?”
“It’s not my fault.”
“I didn’t say it was. I’m just telling you what kind of trouble I’m in for helping you. I hear the food is lousy in prison.”
In reality, Nathan wasn’t worried about doing time, but he wanted Lauren to understand the depth of this mess. As a reminder, sirens continued to wail, seemingly from everywhere. The entrance to the north tower loomed just ahead. Set in the middle of the ten-story building, the entry foyer should take them into the interior of the hotel complex.
“But you were helping me,” Lauren said. “Doesn’t that count?”
“Afraid not. In the eyes of the police, I’m an armed and dangerous gunman who’s taken a girl hostage. The police will shoot first and ask questions later.”
“The police will shoot you?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Nathan sensed her stiffen a little. He didn’t like manipulating her like this, but he needed information. Come to think of it, turning Lauren over and ending this before anyone else got seriously injured or killed didn’t seem like an altogether bad idea, but he’d already given his word he wouldn’t do that, and threatening her would undermine his credibility. Besides, he never broke his word. Ever.
“So what’s it going to be?” Nathan sensed her reluctance, but he knew she wanted to open up and tell him more. The trick was not pushing too hard.
“Are you sure it’s okay to tell you?”
“Lauren, I have the highest security clearance available. Technically, I could sit in on presidential briefings. So, yes, it’s okay to tell me.”
br /> “You mean like the president of the United States?”
“Yes.”
She cocked her head to the side and hesitated again. “Tell me something secret about you first.”
“I like taking bubble baths.”
“Come on — I mean like really secret.”
“You want some dirt? Okay, I’ve killed sixty-two people.”
“No way.”
“Way. Now, you tell me how you ended up being kidnapped by those men.”
“They came to my house.”
Lauren and Nathan passed through the tower and proceeded into a landscaped area. A young couple nodded hello as they walked past an oval pool.
Looking over his shoulder, he lowered his voice. “Step by step, what happened?”
“The guy you shot in the SUV came to my door and said he needed to ask me some questions. He said he was with the witness security program and would protect me.”
“Is that when he showed you his badge?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Did you ever see him before that?”
She thought for a moment. “I think so, in my stepdad’s office.”
“How long ago?”
“Maybe a month.”
“What did he want to ask you about?”
“The dead girl.”
“What dead girl?”
“I saw a dead girl in my stepdad’s warehouse.”
Chapter 9
Nathan pulled her aside, just off the main walkway. “You saw a dead girl? When?”
“Last night.”
Nathan tried to absorb what Lauren just said. “Did you see her before your stepdad was murdered?”
She nodded.
“What did the girl look like?”
“It was horrible. Her stomach was all cut up. There was blood everywhere.”
“Was it a young Hispanic girl about your age?”
“Uh-huh.”
The border murders. Nathan had been following the front-page story for months. A psychopath was stalking, murdering, and mutilating the torsos of young girls along the San Diego border with Mexico. Had Lauren seen the latest victim in that string of slayings? It seemed likely. Could her kidnapper be involved? Worse than that, could he be the serial murderer of seven girls? If so, Lauren was fortunate to be alive. She could’ve been victim number eight. Nathan didn’t know too much about serial killers but believed they selected their victims based on certain physical criteria. Lauren wasn’t Hispanic, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have been chosen.