She could see he was talking to someone, giving rapid instructions. But, as she approached, Skunk looked up and saw her.
He stared incredulously at her, taking in who she was, and Owen's presence as he walked in front of the car to prevent Skunk from driving away.
Then, he did something they hadn’t expected. He yanked open the car door with a scream of hinges, jumped out, and took off running as fast as he could.
CHAPTER TWELVE
"Hey! Stop! We're the police!" May yelled at the fleeing dealer. Of course, Skunk ignored her, zigzagging at top speed along the dusty roads that led through the trailer park.
His skinny legs looked like they were going to fly off his body, but he was fast, and May was struggling to keep up.
He didn't look like a man who would go down easily, and she was glad that Owen was there to help her. For a start, he had more chance of keeping pace with this fast-moving criminal. But so far, Owen hadn’t even caught up with her. Where was he? There was no time to look for where he’d gone, because if she did, she’d lose sight of her suspect. She could only hope that Owen was calling for backup, or doing something else that would save the situation.
Skunk darted through the gateposts and into the street, trying to get away from her. His demeanor was panicked and he was keeping his head low.
Cries of encouragement, jeers, curses and catcalls filtered into the dusty air from the trailer park that was now behind them. Clearly, the residents had mixed feelings about this chase, but all had an opinion.
May's only focus was on catching up with this dealer, who could well be the killer they were hunting.
He clearly knew the area well. He dodged down an alleyway leading through a broken building, that had narrow passages branching from it. The alleyway was littered with cigarette butts, and stank of urine.
The walls were covered in graffiti, and broken glass crunched underfoot as May plowed through the passageway after him.
Which way had he turned? For a heart-stopping moment, she thought she'd lost him.
The pounding of footsteps clued her in. She veered down the nearest cross-passage and followed him at top speed.
Then, suddenly, they were out of the ruined building, and Skunk began running along a wide, open road. On one side was a vacant, littered plot of ground that led into the back of the trailer park, and on the other was a warehouse and a junkyard. It was so dark now that she could barely see him. He was little more than a shadowy figure in the gloom.
Ahead of them gleamed a low-slung, metal fence that Skunk vaulted over as if he were a gymnast.
May ran as fast as she could and let out a cry as she vaulted after him. The fence was about five feet high, and she managed to grab the top with both hands and fling herself over, using her speed to propel herself upward, landing on the other side with a thump.
Skunk had gained a little distance on her, and was running as fast as he could along the fence line.May's heart sank. She couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. Skunk was either powered by adrenaline, or else some other probably illegal substance.
Was she going to lose him? she wondered with a flare of fear as the distance slowly, inexorably widened.
And where was Owen? She hoped nothing had happened to him.
Then, suddenly, May saw what he'd been up to.
As soon as he had seen which way Skunk was headed, it looked like her deputy must have doubled back and run through the trailer park itself. His strategy had worked.
Now, the thud of footsteps clued her in, and she recognized his tall silhouette. He was racing toward Skunk from the other direction.
Skunk couldn't get away – he was trapped between the two officers.
The fence line was coming to an end. Veering desperately to the right, Skunk turned and started running across the junkyard. But they had him boxed in, and there was nowhere for him to go.
Skunk started running straight for a pile of garbage that was heaped up on the other side of the fence. He looked as if he was going to try to scramble over it.
"Stop! Police!" Owen shouted, in a voice that carried over the distance. "If you try to climb that pile, I will shoot!"
But Skunk leaped for the pile.
Owen was close behind him now. He dove for the man's leg and managed to grab hold of it.
May could see Skunk kicking out at him, and she could hear her partner grunting with the effort.