Garcia nodded. ‘Is your mother’s name Mariela Duron Esqueda?’
Emiliano’s eyes widened at both detectives. ‘Did something happen to my mom?’
‘No,’ Hunter was quick to try to calm him down. ‘Nothing like that at all.’
‘So why are homicide detectives asking me about my mother?’
‘Just confirming that we’re talking to the correct Officer Esqueda, like you asked,’ Garcia said. ‘That’s all. We’re not here about your mother.’
Emiliano let go of a breath so deep it was almost palpable. ‘All right, so how can I he—’
They were interrupted by a piercing beeping sound coming from the front door to Smart & Final – someone had triggered their tag-alarm. As all three of them turned to see what the commotion was all about, they saw a tall man shoot out of the main door like a bullet train. The man wore white, high-top sneakers, blue jeans and a black hoodie jacket with the hoodie fully pulled over his head, hiding his face. He also had a dark-blue backpack strapped to his back.
A couple of seconds behind the man came two of Smart & Final’s security officers.
‘Stop!’ the one in front called out. He already seemed to be out of breath. ‘Stop!’
The second security officer was fitter than the first one, but not by much. It didn’t take an expert to see that the cat-and-mouse chase was already lost. For every step the officers took, it seemed like the hooded man in front of them had taken three.
‘Damn!’ Emiliano said, with a subtle headshake. ‘Not again.’ A split second later, he turned on the balls of his feet and set off after the man in a mad sprint.
‘Stop… LAPD.’
Hunter and Garcia glanced at each other.
‘Seriously?’ Garcia asked, as he watched Emiliano put some distance between them. ‘A foot chase? In Watts?’
‘To protect and to serve… I guess.’ Hunter nodded at Garcia, looking down at his boots. They definitely weren’t made for running.
‘Fuck!’ Garcia breathed out the word before both detectives took off in pursuit.
Thirty-Seven
The morning downpour had stopped hours earlier, but the intensity of it all was still reflected in the never-ending puddles and wet streets that could be seen just about everywhere in Downtown LA, and that included the parking lot to Freedom Plaza, in Watts.
Once the hooded man exited the front doors to Smart & Final, triggering its tag-alarms, he turned right and made a run for it. As he did, his high-tops smashed against a number of rainwater puddles that had formed just as the parking lot met the curb. Water splashed up like a kids’ game, but that didn’t slow the hooded man’s pace. In fact, he seemed to be picking up speed – Aquaman style.
The two Smart & Final security guards were completely out of it even before the man had reached the end of the block, but Emiliano Esqueda was still pretty much in the game. And so were Hunter and Garcia. Despite their late start, all three of them had overtaken the two security guards within a dozen steps, but they still had some ground to make to get to their target.
The man cleared the last shop on the mall façade and veered hard right, taking East 99th Place, heading north.
More puddles.
More water splashing everywhere.
It was a short run to the end of E. 99th Place, which the manreached in no time. Once he got there, he took the next street along – East 97th – and quickly crossed it to the other side to reach an alleyway sandwiched between two shops.
Emiliano was a fast runner, there was no doubt about that, but with shoulder comms, a fully loaded police belt and officer shoes, he was making no significant gain on the hooded man. Hunter and Garcia on the other hand, despite the boots, were eating ground like two dragsters. They had just caught up with Emiliano when the man entered the alleyway.
‘I’ll try to cut him off,’ Emiliano called out, swerving left and gesturing for Hunter and Garcia to carry on after the subject.
The two detectives crossed East 97th Street and proceeded into the alleyway. They were definitely gaining on the man.
‘Stop,’ Garcia shouted. ‘LAPD.’
Instead of stopping, the man increased his pace.
‘LAPD,’ Garcia shouted again. ‘Stop or I’ll shoot.’
