Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Even though it was an outdoor mall, it all seemed claustrophobic to Trixie as she rushed through the space.
That feeling didn’t have anything to do with the mall’s design—a large, multi-level oval cut out among a cluster of buildings. It had everything to do with the two men that were chasing her.
No, make that four men.
Somewhere along the way, two others had joined in the fray.
They were dressed similarly and had that same look, making her think they were all part of a team of some kind.
The mob? Mobsters didn’t really wear matching outfits, right? But these guys all had on jeans and tight t-shirts that stretched over their muscles. The clothes weren’t exactly the same color, but they were close enough to where it seemed coordinated or something.
She couldn’t concern herself with their fashion choices right now. What she needed to worry about was the fact that they all seemed hellbent on getting to her!
She used the stairs to descend to the third level. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she could no longer see her pursuers. Had she lost them? It had been a mad dash through that last floor of the mall. Perhaps she’d given them the slip in all the commotion.
After skidding to a stop along the railing, she looked down to the next level.
Ground floor.
Well, sort of.
It was really level two, but the last floor with shops. From there, you descended the big, main staircase that split the mall right down the middle and took one out to Hollywood Boulevard.
“That’s it,” she said. “I’ve got to get to the street.”
It was such a beautiful evening that she assumed the Boulevard would be teeming with people. She could get lost in the crowd.
“There!”
The new voice calling out sent panic surging through her. She looked over her shoulder again to see the four men coming for her.
Shit!
Surveying the path before her, she saw a large group of shoppers, nearly taking up the entire corridor. They looked to be some kind of school group or something, full of teens and just a few adults trying to herd them.
Looking below again, she grinned.
It wasn’t that far down to the next level. Not even a full story, really.
Directly in the center of the next level was a large green circle of artificial turf, some seats arranged around it, and towering palm trees in planters ringing the circle.
I can probably reach one of those palm trees, she thought.
“Well, Trixie,” she told herself as she climbed onto the railing, “if you get hurt, maybe the hot fireman will come back to help you.”
People were screaming now as they realized a young woman was about to jump.
“Help her!” someone yelled.
“Security!” another person called.
Trixie ignored them all and leapt off.
She had figured it would seem like an eternity as she soared through the air, like on a movie where someone is falling and it all unfolds in slow motion.
But this was fast. She hit the palm tree before she knew it and slid right down it, like a firefighter down a pole.
John would be proud, she thought with a wry grin.
The gasps and cheers of people reached her ears. She assumed they were now taking video and pictures and all that. Let them. That didn’t matter.
Staying alive did.
She came off the tree right in front of a Victoria’s Secret and collided with two women who had just exited the store. One of their bags went to the ground, spilling lingerie.
“Sorry! Cute outfit, by the way,” Trixie told them as she scrambled to her feet and charged to her right.
She didn’t waste too much time looking around, but it was evident from a quick scan that her pursuers had not been brave enough to make the same jump she had.
So that gave her a precious few seconds to hurry down the main staircase and out to Hollywood Boulevard.
As she suspected, it was alive and busy, as was the case more often than not.
Directly across the street was the El Capitan Theater and the old Shriners auditorium that now hosted the Jimmy Kimmel Live. She thought about crossing to blend in with the crowd that was gathered out front, but decided to stay on that side of the street and turn right.
“Excuse me,” she said as she cut through the throng. “So sorry. Pardon me.” She heard a few “Heys” and caught a couple of angry glances, but no one tried to stop her as she made her way past the Dolby Theater and the Hard Rock Café.
There were even more people gathered around the Chinese Theater, taking pictures of the footprints set in the concrete out front. Closer to the street were vendors, selling everything from sausage sandwiches and fresh fruit to knock-off-brand-name clothes and accessories.
Trixie blew right past it all, and then the wax museum and a few other shops until she hit a Target store that was close to the corner of Hollywood and Sycamore.
She ducked inside.
The building was compact, so instead of being one level all spread out it was two floors. The entrance was actually on the top floor, and Trixie avoided the escalator that would take her down. A back door probably wasn’t down there, she reasoned.
She stopped and spun a slow circle to look at her options.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” an employee asked as she stood from where she’d been stocking a bottom shelf.
The question had drawn the attention of an armed security guard who was standing against the wall near the row of self-checkout machines. He strolled over, concern registering in his eyes. “Do you need any assistance?”
Trixie could feel them before she saw them. Goosebumps sprang up on her arms and a chill traced her spine. She turned around and saw two of her four pursuers had entered the store.
She prayed she hadn’t put all these people in danger. The mob was cutthroat, though. At least, that’s what she’d heard and seen in the movies.
Would they gun down innocent people there in a Target on Hollywood Boulevard?
The security guard had a weapon, too, but he wasn’t any match for four guys—assuming the other two were around there somewhere, watching and waiting just in case they were needed.
Probably covering the exits, Trixie realized.
She was trapped.
Tension filled the store. At least for Trixie. Seemed to be tense for the employee and the guard too, as their eyes darted from her to the two men who were now slowly approaching.
Most of the shoppers seemed unaware, thankfully.
Trixie just hoped this would all end without anyone getting hurt. Perhaps she should surrender. No innocent people would be harmed that way.
Of course, she could run again. That would probably draw the thugs away from everyone else. They didn’t care about the store’s employees. This was all about Trixie.
She was still weighing her options, knowing she had to pick something quick, when she was nearly mowed over by the shock she felt at the unexpected turn of events.
One of the men held up a shiny badge and said, “LAPD! You’re coming with us!”