Page 15 of One Final Target

“You’re welcome. I will do my absolute best on this case.”

“I believe that.”

“Good. How are things down in the flatlands?”

“Warm. I’m enjoying the sun.”

“Lucky you. We ended up with several inches of snow last night.”

Jodie chuckled and arched a brow. “Wow, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m just glad you’re doing okay. If you remember anything at all about who might have known you were going to the mountains, call me. You have my number now.”

“You’ll be the first person I call.”

“Enjoy your day, Jodie, and don’t worry about me up here shivering.”

Jodie smiled as she signed off, marveling at the feeling of life being more normal in the last few minutes than it had been in the last three months. And someone had just tried to kill her. The fresh eyes Gresham brought to the case was a huge reason why she felt hope today. Walking in the sunshine of a beautiful day, her steps felt lighter. She saw Tara at the traffic signal.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen you smile in... well, I don’t know how long. What’s funny?”

Jodie had known Tara for her whole career, just not very well. They’d gone through the police academy competing against each other in just about every training module. Jodie won them all, and for a time she thought Tara, an intense, competitive person, had a chip on her shoulder. Once off probation, their career trajectories in Long Beach PD had gone in different directions, and they’d lost touch. Jodie’s star rose quickly—patrol, detectives, promotion to sergeant and then task force leader—while Tara remained in patrol. They’d reconnected because of Tara’s position as the Long Beach liaison for the multijurisdictional task force assigned to the IED investigation.

At first, Jodie questioned Tara’s placement. She wantedsomeone from LBPD with more investigative experience and Tara had only been assigned to violent crimes for a year. But she had proven herself able and sharp and Jodie now had no problem with her investigative skills.

Lately, because of the lack of leads and the disappearance of Hayes, only Detective Smiley and his jurisdiction had been actively involved. Smiley still updated Tara once a week with the status of the investigation. And Tara always updated Jodie.

“Nothing. Just something someone said.”

Tara looked at Jodie’s phone, then her face and made a humph sound. “You, my friend, cannot stay off the news,” Tara said.

“You mean because cops seem to get hurt or die around me?”

Tara blanched. “No, uh, not at all.”

Jodie sighed, regretting the lame joke and determined not to lose this good-mood feeling, something she’d not felt for what seemed an eternity. “Yeah, I know. Come on, let’s eat. The Hangout?” She suggested the restaurant directly across from the pier.

“Perfect.” As they waited for the light to change and then crossed the street, the sunshine warming them both, Jodie told her all about the incident in the mountains.

“Sam Gresham, wow. Guy’s a superhero. Smiley mentioned he might join the team, but he wasn’t certain when.”

“Gresham said he was just cleared for full duty.”

“What’s he like?”

Jodie shrugged, remembering the intense, yet calm, cool, and collected man who’d steadied her with his professional manner.

“A good cop. He’s focused, not a show-off. I think he’ll add to the investigative team.”

Tara gave her name and the pair sat out front to wait for a table. The area was busy with tourists and locals. Jodie absentmindedlywatched the surfers across the street, alongside the pier, in the water. There were a lot more now. And a lot of barneys, or novices. The swell had lessened, and the waves were only ankle busters now. The swell was forecast to pick up again later in the afternoon.

“He knows bombs.”

“From what I’ve heard he was a decorated bomb guy in the service before he became a cop,” Tara said. “How bad were the scars?”

“Scars?” Jodie frowned. He was scarred, she remembered, but they hadn’t dominated her thinking. “They didn’t look so bad to me, just some puckering on his cheek and chin.” Were there more scars? Jodie wondered. She’d been captivated by the man’s eyes and manner, not by scarring.

“I tried to recollect the incident where he was burned, but I think I was out in Antelope Valley then.”

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