Page 61 of One Final Target

By force of habit, Sam made note of the vehicles in the area. A large black Cadillac SUV was out of place, parked in front of Estella’s. Everything else looked much as it had the night before, absent the press and large crowd. He walked up to the front door expecting Levi, but Estella greeted him.

“Good morning, Sam.” She looked rested and happy.

“Good morning. How is everything today?”

“Better than yesterday but still not normal.”

“I have a feeling normal will take a while.”

She laughed. “Come on in. The coffee is ready.”

Sam walked into the kitchen and struggled to hide his surprise. Jonah Bennett sat next to Jodie. He wasn’t sure why the surprise hit him so hard—Jodie had said Jonah was a family friend.

“Sam.” Jodie looked up and smiled when she saw him.

“Hey, you look refreshed,” he said, feeling lame. She did look rested, but there were still shadows under her eyes.

Bennett stood and extended his hand. “So this is the famousbomb killer, Sam Gresham. Nice to finally meet the hero who saved our girl.”

Sam nodded and took the hand. Tall and lanky, Bennett had a couple of inches on Sam in height and looked to be in good shape. Muscles taut and wiry were obvious in his tight shirt. His head was shaved smooth, and the mustache and goatee he wore were steel gray. Bennett had to be around the same age as Mike King and Bruce Smiley, but he didn’t look it. His grip was like iron.

“Right place, right time, Mr. Bennett.”

“It’s Jonah. No need to be formal. Or humble. Jodie and I are family, and I’m in your debt for keeping her safe.”

“Do you want some coffee?” Estella asked.

“Sure,” Sam said. Though he still had a thermos full of coffee in the car, he had time to sit and visit for a moment.

“You’re here early. What’s up?” Jodie asked.

Besides wanting to check on you?he thought but didn’t say. “Didn’t your uncle tell you?” He pulled up a chair.

She shook her head.

“They’ve added me to the task force here. I’m officially on loan. I’m working with Detective Corson. We’ll be serving some warrants today.”

She smiled, but there was still sadness in her eyes. “Really glad to hear it. Tara’s a friend. Good news.”

“Yep, I thought so too.” To Sam, she seemed uneasy, unbalanced. Grief played around the edges... It was different for him. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but truly, for the first time since Rick’s death, he felt good, almost whole.

“Where are you serving the warrants?” Jonah asked.

Something about the question bothered Sam. If Jodie hadasked, he would have had no problem saying. But he didn’t want to tell Jonah.

“I’ll find out when I get to the station.” He sipped his coffee. “I stopped by to see how you were doing, Jodie. Glad you got some needed rest.”

“I did. And Estella makes certain I’m not hungry. I think if I stay here much longer, I’ll gain fifty pounds.”

“You’re not staying here much longer, are you?” Bennett asked.

“Jodie’s lodging still needs to be decided,” Sam cut Jodie off. As far as he was concerned, too many people already knew about George’s house.

“Yeah, we need to talk about that.” She gave Bennett a look.

“I get it. I’m a party crasher. All right, I’ll say my goodbyes.” He bent down and kissed Jodie’s cheek. “Take care.” He turned to Sam and nodded. “Good to meet you. Everyone, be safe.”

After Jonah left, Jodie looked at Sam. “You didn’t want to tell him about the mountains, did you?”

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