Page 96 of One Final Target

“I never told him any such thing,” Jodie said out loud.

“What is it?” George asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how this figures into everything.”She told him about the erased messages. And what Estella had just said in the voice mail.

“Jonah is a successful businessman. Why would it matter if he gambled and lost? It’s his money.”

“Not exactly. Gus told me a while ago Jonah was having serious money issues. They came to light when Jason died. Mike and Gus floated Jonah a huge loan to bury his son and to stay solvent. Mike never told me anything about it. Everything I heard was from Gus. If Gus saw him losing money in Vegas, well, it would have been a breach of the agreement they made after the loan.”

“The only one who would have a reason to delete those emails was Jonah,” George said, and the words hit Jodie like a ton of bricks.

“George, stop the car.”

“What?”

“Please, I’m going to be sick.”

George pulled over and Jodie opened the door, barely making it clear before she lost the contents of her stomach.

She stayed on her knees in the darkness, smelling pine trees and vomit and trying to wrap her arms around the thought that Jonah—not Tara, not Ian—was the one with all the hate. She could hardly breathe, the crush of betrayal hit her so hard.

Suddenly she remembered what was different when her parents died—eight-year-old Jodie was powerless to do anything but trust. Now, twenty-five years later, Jodie somehow believed she had the power to handle all of life’s setbacks in her own strength.

I can’t handle any of it without you, Lord, and I certainly don’t have the strength to deal with Uncle Jonah being the bad guy.

She heard shoes crunching on gravel.

“Are you okay?” George asked.

“No, I’m not.” She slowly got to her feet. George took hold of her arm to steady her.

“I don’t know what to do, George. Mike would never believe Jonah could be behind all of this. I’m having a hard time. He’s family for heaven’s sake.”

“First things first. We need to tell Smiley about this. Someone should pay Jonah a visit.”

“Agreed.”

“I’ll call him right now. You pull yourself together.”

Jodie stayed leaning against the truck while George called Smiley. Despite the tremendous betrayal sinking in, Jodie felt her balance returning. She could open her hand and let go of everything except one truth: for some reason Uncle Jonah wanted her dead.

She stood up straight and squared her shoulders. Maybe she’d given up her badge but she still thought like a cop. The person she’d been striving to find for three months was no longer a mystery. Folding her arms, Jodie thought hard. What would Jonah do next?

While she thought, she could tell from George’s side of the conversation that Smiley was a bit dubious. After all, Jodie had just told him she was certain it was Tara. Once everything was explained, Smiley understood their concerns and said he would send a deputy to find Jonah.

George ended the call and then helped Jodie back into the car.

They continued down Green Valley Lake Road. As he turned right on Highway18 toward Arrowbear, her phone rang.

“It’s Tara,” Jodie said. “I owe her a huge apology.” Shaking her head, she answered the call. “Hello, Tara?”

“Yeah, Jodie, are you still in Arrowbear with the retired cop?”

“Yeah.”

“It might not be the best place for you. I found something huge. I’m with the FBI and the ATF. It’s not Ian who was after you—”

Jodie didn’t hear the rest. Someone rammed the back of George’s truck hard. The phone flew from her hand when her head snapped back against the headrest. George fought to keep control of the vehicle.

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