Page 58 of Jina

Still holding the bomb with one hand, she levered up into a sitting position. “Thanks.”

“What are you going to do with it?” He gestured toward the device.

Good question. She wasn’t keen on holding it indefinitely. As she glanced around, she spied the dumpster. “See if there’s a box in there.”

Cole hurried over to peer inside, then reached inside. He pulled out a small box. “Will this work?”

“Yes.” She stood and closed the gap between them. While he held the box, she carefully placed the device inside. “Now I need this to go back inside the dumpster until the bomb squad arrives.”

“I can do that.” He was taller and had a longer reach, so she didn’t argue. Oddly, she was more nervous for him than she had been for herself. He lifted the box, then reached over the rim of the dumpster to set it down.

“Okay, thanks. The sides of the dumpster should help minimize the damage if it goes off for some reason.” She grabbed Cole’s hand. “Let’s get away from here.”

He looked relieved by that suggestion.

They hurried around to the front of the motel. Two squads were taking the interstate exit to the motel. Several room doors hung open, and in some cases, half-packed suitcases were still lying open on the beds.

Pulling her badge from her pocket, she headed over to meet the responding officers. “MPD Officer Jina Wheeler, I have removed the explosive device and set it in the dumpster behind the building.”

“You removed it?” The first officer was a portly guy old enough to be her father. “By yourself?”

The constant sexist comments never failed to annoy her. Would he have acted so outraged if Cole had done the deed? Doubtful. She swallowed her ire. “Yes. I’m with the tactical team and have some IED training.”

“I’m Peabody Detective Cole Roberts.” Cole flashed his badge as well. “I’ve evacuated the motel, but you may want to close the exit so no one else drives past the place until the device has been removed from the area.”

The officers exchanged a look, then the portly one nodded at the younger guy. “Let’s go ahead and close both exits.”

“I have my teammates coming too,” Jina added. “I’m hoping they’ll bring the IED disposal van with them.”

“We’ll let them through when they arrive.” The portly guy eyed her with a new respect. “Nice work.”

She nodded, then waved him off.

“I don’t know how you managed not to punch him in the nose,” Cole muttered.

Despite the grim situation, that made her laugh. “It’s not easy.” Her expression turned somber. “Where do you think the perp is hiding?”

Cole sighed. “I don’t know. I have a feeling he didn’t want to be too close in case the device did go off. It was close to the brake pads where the friction could have ignited it when we were driving. And it was so close to the gas tank, the entire rear of the SUV would have blown.”

“I saw that.” She didn’t know a lot about car engines but had assumed the decision to locate the device near the rear wheels and the gas tank had been intentional. “I really want to find this guy.”

“Me too.” He glanced at her. “I’m not sure he’s going to fall into your trap, though. The way he targeted the rental SUV makes me think he knew we’d left it here on purpose to throw him off. And his response was to plant the bomb.”

She shared his concern. There was no doubt in her mind this guy was taunting her. Reveling in the way he’d been able to stay one step ahead of them. “I know, but what other option do we have? It’s worth a try.”

“I still don’t like it.”

He didn’t have to like it as long as he went along with the plan. She was about to say something more when she caught sight of Cassidy leaning out her driver’s side window to speak with the officer blocking the exit.

Cassidy and Flynn arrived first, followed by Zeke, and then Grayson who accompanied Gully Sullivan and his black van, which housed Dottie, their robot.

When they were all assembled outside the motel lobby, she filled them in. When she finished, Grayson eyed her with admiration. “Well done. If you weren’t such an ace sniper, we could do more IED training with you.”

“I’d rather be a sniper,” she said. “But the device is in a box sitting in the dumpster. It was the only place I could think of to minimize the damage.”

“That’s exactly what I would have done.” Grayson turned to Gully. “Grab the bomb box from the back of the van. I don’t think we need Dottie for this.”

Gully obliged. She followed Grayson to the dumpster, watching as he reached in, grabbed the bomb, then carefully set it in the heavy-duty bomb box. Once the device was secure, she breathed easier.

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