Page 84 of One Final Target

“She’s safe with George for the time being. But we really need to catch this guy.”

“I agree. It also sounds as if you’re quite taken with her.”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. She understands the job. She understands me.”

“Unlike Vanessa?”

He hiked a shoulder. “It hurt when Vanessa left. But after the pain eased, I was glad she was honest. You know better than most how hard it is to be married to a cop. If she hadn’t been honest and we’d gotten married, it wouldn’t have been good.”

“I agree. I’m glad you’re moving on from Vanessa.”

“There’s more, Mom.” He put his hand over hers and held her gaze. “I realized when I was under the house, facing a pile of explosive... I did everything I could for Rick. I...” He paused, swallowed, and continued. “It wasn’t my fault. I just wanted you to know I’ve released the burden. I’m still sad, I still miss him, but I’m letting go.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say so.” Leslie stood and hugged Sam tight. “It really puts my mind to rest.”

Sam hugged back, the healing begun when he was under the house moving further and further along. The next call he had to make was to Doc Roe, to tell him what was going on and to put his mind to rest as well.

CHAPTER46

JODIE SLEPT LONGER THAN SHE PLANNED.When she woke up, it was almost four o’clock and she was starving. She hadn’t had a good sit-down meal since Estella’s. There was food in the small kitchen. She made herself what she thought would be the quickest, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and just about inhaled it. There were no messages on her phone, which she thought odd. She was about to call Mike when she decided to check with Upton.

She left the room and heard him before she found him, following the sound of a clicking computer keyboard.

He looked up when she entered his office. “I hope you had a good rest.”

“I did, probably overslept. Have you heard anything?”

“Yes. They found out who purchased one of the trackers on your car.”

“What? Who?”

“Let’s call your uncle. I’ll let him fill you in.”

Mike answered right away. George put it on speaker.

“Yes, we got a hit on one of the trackers. You’re not going to believe it.”

“I’m listening.”

“Two of them are not traceable. Whoever bought them covered their tracks well. The third was bought locally with a credit card. A card belonging to Ian Hunter.”

“What?” Jodie’s jaw dropped and she saw George watching her.

“Yep, he purchased it two months ago. That’s possibly how long it was on your car.”

“I can’t...” Jodie shook her head in dismay. She might have felt a bit sorry for Ian because of the empty promise Mike made, but not now. All she felt was anger. Ian had been stalking her? And he killed the people they both worked with for years?

“I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it. We just served a search warrant on his residence and vehicle. We found an AR-15 in the trunk of his car. Ballistics will tell us if it’s the one used to shoot at you. He was off on Saturday and has offered no explanation for his whereabouts.”

“But he couldn’t have been the shooter. Ian is tall, and Logan identified Collins as the shooter.”

“Doesn’t mean Ian wasn’t helping in some way. We’re sending the gun to San Bernardino for ballistics. I knew he could sometimes be immature, but all of this surprised me to no end.”

“I—uh... I’m in shock. What does Ian say?”

“He lawyered up.”

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