Up ahead the grass ended at a thin line of trees. Dani couldn’t see what lay beyond but she could hear the roar of fast-moving traffic getting louder with each step. As she neared the tree line she spotted a chainlink fence the other side, separating the grounds from a dual carriageway. The man was at the fence already. He began to climb. This was her chance.

Dani strained and pushed herself forwards. She thought about leaping through the air to catch him. She may even have done it; her mind blurred at that moment. She reached out, visualising grabbing the man and hauling him back off the fence and to the ground. She shouted out and…

Missed him by only inches. At the last second he managed to clamber up and over the fence, and landed on both feet as he thumped down on the other side.

Dani, who’d been focused only on getting there in time, couldn’t stop herself and she slammed into the chainlink fence which crashed and bent and shook. The man, right there in front of her, but out of reach on the other side, looked over at Dani.

Much like hers, his chest heaved from exertion. She could see more of his face now, underneath the hood. His cheeks were flushed red. He had thick stubble that belied his otherwise youthful skin. She stared into his dark brown eyes and he smiled.

What was he doing?

It was an unsettling moment that seemed to last far longer than the fraction of a second it probably really was.

Then the man turned and sped down the bank. Dani grabbed the fence and pulled herself up. Like before, at the road crossing, the man hesitated for a second when he reached the edge of the tarmac, surveying the busy traffic in front of him.

Then he plunged right into the road.

He cleared one of the lanes no problems, but as he was midway through the second lane, a truck blasted towards him…

There was a horrific bang. Tyres screeched. Dani jerked in shock. Her hands let go of the fence and she fell to the ground.

Just like that, the man was gone.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Dani initially froze, unsure what to do, but with her suspect lying in pieces on the road she couldn’t rely on the first response team to do the job. She was already on the scene. She was the first response. Yet, having scrambled over the fence and having begun to walk across the tarmac towards the chaotic mess, she could already sense that what lay ahead would leave her forever scarred.

The carnage in front of her was devastating and absolute. With the braking and the screeching tyres and the smashing at an end, and the smoke clearing, Dani could see that four cars were involved as well as the large articulated truck that had pulverised the man Dani had been chasing.