Page 92 of One Final Target

“On Saturday were you going to come up here?”

“I’d thought about it. But I’m not for the memorial until Collins and whoever is helping him is in jail or dead.”

“We’re almost to Sam’s. He lives on a loop road, two ways in. I’ll try to call him again.” George hit the hands-free button and told the car to call Sam.

“Could jealousy lead Corson to murder?” he asked as the call went to voice mail and he ended it.

“I would have said no yesterday. But who else would haveknown about the safe house except Tara? Jealousy and hate. She didn’t always like me. But lately I thought things had changed.” She closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. “I don’t want to believe it. I just don’t see anyone else. Tara would certainly have more reason than Ian, I think.”

What is wrong with me? I was never so indecisive before.

She opened her eyes and couldn’t help but notice how dark it was up here.

George slowed. “This is Canyon Drive, Sam’s street. He’s all the way down on the right, where the road starts to curve back the other way.”

“What’s behind his house?”

“A canyon. Open forest.”

Jodie tensed as George drove slowly up the narrow road, a tad wider than one lane. If traffic came the other way, one vehicle would have to pull over. It was very quiet here. They hadn’t passed another vehicle since the highway.

George opened his window. Typical cop move, Jodie thought.He wants to hear what’s going on.

“Are we close?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Jodie saw the rental car, parked just off the street. The house looked so dark.

“I told you—he’s probably asleep.”

Jodie chewed on her bottom lip, wondering what on earth to do. Her feeling of impending doom hadn’t dissipated.

“Let’s knock. If we wake him, I’ll take the blame. My gut is telling me we just can’t walk away. What if Tara has lured him away with some odd story?”

“Sam’s not gullible. But since I know better than to question a cop’s intuition, we’ll knock.”

He parked his truck perpendicular to Sam’s car, effectively blocking him in, and they got out. From the parking pad they walked around the front deck to Sam’s front door. Jodie thought it was odd there were no lights at all. She saw the motion light, but it stayed dark when she walked by it.

George knocked. They waited but there was no response. He knocked harder.

“Now I’m worried,” he said.

CHAPTER50

SAM CAME TO AND REGAINED CONTROL OF HIMSELFonly to find he’d been handcuffed and placed in the back of a vehicle, an SUV, he thought. It was a tight space for him. There was a taut cargo net over him, and his shoulder screamed with every bump the car rolled over. He also felt what he thought was blood on his face and thought maybe he’d cut himself when he fell. Sam hated the Taser. He’d been struck with it once in training and went down like a tree.

He tried to shift around, but every time he moved, a bump threw him back in the other direction. He had no sense of time, couldn’t figure out how long he’d been out. The car ride continued for maybe ten or fifteen minutes before the vehicle stopped. Sam heard the car door slam. Footsteps walking around the car to theback. Then the hatch slowly rose. A light shone in his eyes and Sam squinted. The cargo net was released.

“All right, here’s how it’s going to go,” a male voice said. “Time to get out. You can hop down on your own and continue under your own power.” The flashlight left Sam’s eyes and he got a look at the speaker. Dennis Collins... holding a gun on him.

“Gotcha, chief,” Sam said.

Sam sat up with difficulty, straining at the cuffs, steadied himself, then slid forward to let his legs dangle over the back of the vehicle. He pushed forward out of the SUV and onto his feet, grimacing as his stiffened body uncoiled and he came to stand before his captor.

Collins pointed his gun at Sam. “Now go through the door.” He motioned toward Sam’s left with the gun.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

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