Page 43 of One Final Target

Tara sat up. “Me too. I have to go meet this superhero.” She stood. “You sure you’re okay?”

Jodie nodded, wanting to say she was better than she had been in three months.

Estella poked her head out of the kitchen. “Tell him there’s food here if he’s hungry. I had a batch of lasagna in the fridge I’m heating up. It will be ready in a few minutes.”

“I’ll let him know,” Tara said as she walked to the front door. “But he’ll probably smell it as soon as I open the door. What a great aroma.” She opened the door and was gone.

“I have to agree,” Jodie said. “It smells awesome, and I’m starved.”

CHAPTER25

AFTER ESTELLA USHERED JODIE AWAY,Sam watched as the bomb squad sergeant took firm control of the situation, tasking Mike King with setting up a safe place for the arriving news crews. Darkness had fallen but you wouldn’t know it in this section of the block. Police lighting had everything bright. Once the sergeant finished setting up a perimeter, he walked to where Sam and Smiley stood. The name on his utility jumpsuit read TJ Barstow.

After introductions were made, he said, “I run the bomb squad for Long Beach. And I worked hand in hand with the Feds on the IED investigation, so I’m up to speed on the situation. Right now, the two of you need to tell me what happened in that house.” He faced Sam and Smiley.

Smiley deferred to Sam. He explained everything he’d seen and done.

“C-4? You’re sure?”

“I was an explosives disposal technician in the Army—I’m sure.”

“And it was wired?”

“I defused it.”

Barstow raised an eyebrow and stared at Sam. The sound of a large diesel engine broke his concentration.

“That’ll be the explosive disposal truck. I’ve got to get a team in there. Don’t go far.” He left Sam and Smiley to mobilize his team.

C-4 was generally very stable, so its removal shouldn’t be a problem. The disposal team would still take extra precautions. The last thing anyone wanted was an explosion in a residential neighborhood because someone made a mistake.

“Looks like we’ll be here for a while,” Smiley said. “I’m calling our boss.” He stepped away to phone headquarters.

Sam brushed off as much dirt and dust as he could from his clothes, noting a tear in the knee of his pants. Fatigue had now set in. It had been a long day, physically and emotionally. The last thing he wanted to do was fall asleep on the job. He leaned against the emergency response motor home and watched everyone go about their jobs. He prayed for everyone’s safety.

He reviewed the investigation so far in his thoughts, concentrating on what was similar and what was different about the two IEDs. The one in the mountains had been incredibly complex, while the one here, incredibly simple. It was almost as if this one had been set up by another person.

Sam went still with the thought. Two killers instead of one would turn the investigation on its head. Especially if the second killer were a cop. He hated even thinking the thought, buteverything pointed to someone with inside knowledge of law enforcement.

He decided to keep his thoughts to himself until Barstow made his observations. Barstow had studied what was left of the first device; he was the current expert.

Sam watched as Barstow and his team walked to Collins’s house and went inside. Sam expected they would survey the crawl space and then decide upon the safest way to remove the explosive.

After about twenty minutes, Barstow emerged from the house and directed the explosive disposal van to enter the perimeter and park in Collins’s driveway. He then strode over to where Sam was standing with Smiley. At the same time, Mike King walked over. Sam expected another dressing-down from Jodie’s uncle, but it didn’t come. The man still glared at Sam, but it appeared as if he just wanted to listen to what Barstow had to say.

“You took quite a chance, Gresham.” The sergeant held Sam’s gaze with his hardened cop stare. It bordered on respect, tinged with a touch of disbelief.

“Yes, sir. I figured it was the only chance we had at the time.”

“Yeah, you figured right. Never thought I’d say I was happy to have someone disobey my order, but you certainly made the right call. If you would’ve waited, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It appears as though we can remove all the explosive material without too much effort. It will take some time. You and Detective Smiley can wait in the response van if you want to hang around.”

“Yeah, we want to see this through,” Smiley said.

Sam just wanted to make sure Jodie was okay.

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