Page 106 of One Final Target

Jodie saw the time anyway and almost panicked. They had less than a minute. There were four pairs of cuffs to go. Jonah had attached everything to Sam.

Biting her bottom lip, she bent to the task. One, two, three, four, and Sam was free of the vest. They pulled each other up, Sam holding the vest in his hand.

“Quick—into the house.” He heaved the vest to the right and then pulled Jodie into the house, closing the door. “On the floor behind the sofa.”

They’d barely hit the floor when a largeboomsounded. Two windows blew out and the whole house shuddered, then went still.

Sam rolled to a sitting position. “You okay, Jodie?” He looked her over as he asked the question. Other than being disheveled, with her wrists cut up a bit, she looked fine.

“I’m good. You?”

“In one piece. I did call 911 before you got here, talked to Smiley. They know where we are, and they should be here soon.”

“But Jonah is getting away.”

“He won’t get far.”

“I know where he’s going.”

“Where?”

“Jonah is a licensed pilot. He’s going to the airport in Big Bear. We have to stop him, but we don’t have a phone to tell anyone.”

“We both almost just died. Remember sometimes discretion is the better part of valor?”

Jodie faced him and grabbed both his hands in hers. “Yes, I do believe that, but now is not the time. Suppose he has time to set more booby traps? Suppose a cop who doesn’t know what a monster he is gets in his way? Sam, he’s a fleeing felon who is very likely to hurt someone else. We need to stop him.”

Sam looked into those clear blue eyes, so earnest and committed. He agreed with her but he had no idea how they could stop Jonah.

“With what?” he asked.

She got up and left the house, calling out, “Follow me.”

Sam jogged after her. They went to the shed. Inside were three more dirt bikes and an assortment of ski gear.

“We go after him.”

“He’s got a head start,” he said, “but if he’s heading to Big Bear, there might be a way to cut him off.”

Jodie pushed aside some skis and pulled at the doors of a padlocked cabinet. “Jonah kept guns in here. This is his place. I thought he’d sold it, but everything is just as I remember it. Find something to break the lock.”

Where at first Sam had been reluctant, he could tell he was not going to talk Jodie out of this course of action. And if they went after Jonah and Collins, they would need to be prepared. He found an axe and went to work on the lock.

“What makes you think he left the guns?”

“It’s a hunch.” She went to work clearing gear away from two of the remaining dirt bikes.

After three swings, the lock broke free. Sam pulled the doors open and found two hunting rifles, a shotgun, and a .22 pistol. The pistol was loaded, but there were no extra shells. The shotgun was empty but there was one box of shotgun shells. He grabbed the pistol, stuck it in his belt, then loaded the shotgun. He kept hoping to hear the cavalry arrive, but Jonah was right—the booby trap slowed them down.

“There’s gas in both these bikes,” Jodie said. “I think it’s enough to get over the mountain.”

Sam checked. Green Valley Lake was roughly the same elevation as Big Bear, but Butler Peak stood between them. A designated dirt road traversed the mountain and dropped down into Fawnskin, the community on the other side of the lake from Big Bear. From there it was a short jaunt to Big Bear Airport. Sam bet Jonah was on the road right now. It was twentysome miles to the airport from here on the highway, roughly forty minutes. On dirt bikes, over tough terrain, it would take a lot longer.

Sam considered the shortcut. If Jonah and Collins were on 2N13, there was a chance he and Jodie could intercept them before Fawnskin. They might just be able to do it.

“All right, this is crazy, but I think it’s possible. Follow me closely.”

Sam kept the handgun and secured the shotgun to Jodie’s bike.They put on helmets and started both bikes and took off after Jonah and Collins. Sam prayed for his memory to hold. This area had been his backyard growing up, but it had been years since his last camping trip. He found the road and they traversed it for a few minutes before he veered off onto the faster but rougher trail that would enable them to cut Jonah off.

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