Page 69 of One Final Target

“None. He doesn’t have a car. Dennis is all about Uber. He wants someone else to worry about the wear and tear of a car.”

“Yet sometimes he drove a car, a Jeep?”

“Oh yeah, the Jeep belonged to his buddy. Sometimes he’d loan it to Dennis.”

Some buddy,Sam thought.

CHAPTER37

AFTER LUNCHa black-and-white showed up at Estella’s to take Jodie back to her apartment, where Mike was waiting with an FBI lab team. They had the tools to check for surveillance and listening devices. Jodie was surprised the FBI had gotten involved so soon. But then, they were involved with the original IED invest.

“We already had the bomb squad come by. The dog was sent in and hit on nothing.” Mike had a key to her place; she’d given it to him a long time ago so he could water her plants when she was on vacation. “But before we started going through your things, I wanted you to be here.”

Jodie gritted her teeth and walked through the door when he opened it. Somehow her cozy apartment didn’t feel so cozyanymore. Even if they didn’t find any trace of the guy here, her personal space had been violated.

Jodie picked up her laptop. “Am I going to lose anything from this?”

“Maybe,” the tech said. “It depends on if we find a hack, and if we do, how invasive it is. Is your stuff backed up?”

“Yes, everything is backed up.”

“Hopefully if there was a hack, it will lead us right to the hacker. I’ll need your phone as well.”

“I knew this was coming but I still hate it. How long will you need it?”

“Not long. I’ll work on it first. There are a lot of ways he could track you: your phone, your car. I want to be thorough. I’ll check it, secure it, and give it back.”

She handed him the laptop and phone and he sat down to go to work. The other tech had a sensor and was looking for any unauthorized electronic devices. Jodie walked into her bedroom and began to pack up a few things. Anger vibrated through her. The sense of violation was so strong it made her want to lash out.

But Sam’s Psalm 46 calmed her.“Be still, and know that I am God.”

It was all she could do for the moment: be still. Jodie was powerless.

Eager for a distraction, she turned to Mike. “Why did you promise Ian a spot on the task force?” she asked as they walked into the kitchen.

Mike rolled his eyes. “I guess in a way I kind of did.”

“Mike! He’s mad Sam got a spot. Why did you lie to him?”

“It was a crazy night, we were busy, and he was crowding. I just wanted to get rid of him. Why?”

“He came by Estella’s. In his mind his spot was stolen.”

“I think Gresham is a better fit. Don’t you?”

Jodie couldn’t disagree. “I do. I hope Ian gets over it. Honestly, I don’t blame him because you never should have promised.”

“You’re right. I was wrong. He’ll calm down.”

“I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid.”

“If he hasn’t learned self-control by now, he needs to turn in his badge.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“What did he say exactly?”

Jodie shook her head.

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