Page 39 of One Final Target

The floor was a solid piece of linoleum. Jodie had been standing on the switch for at least fifteen minutes. He felt his own panic starting, knowing they didn’t have much time. But he couldn’t rush; he couldn’t give in to the panic.

Lord, guide my steps,he prayed silently.

“These houses have crawl spaces under the floor?”

She nodded. “As far as I know.”

“And you walked down the hall and entered the kitchen from the other door.” He pointed.

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’m coming toward you to give you something.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Panic started to rise in her voice again.

“Trust me, Jodie. I’m betting he cut the floor joist to place the switch. Me coming around the way you already walked is not going to change anything.”

Sam walked down the hall, holding his breath against the smell of death.

“You saw bodies in there?” he asked, trying to put her mind in cop mode. He stopped at a spot where he could hold out his arm and hand Jodie something. She would have to reach as well but not far. He didn’t want to interrupt the pressure on the switch.

“Yeah. At least one, in a freezer.” Her voice steadied.

“A freezer?” Sam frowned.

“Yep, a big one.”

“Wow,” he said as he pulled a booklet out of his pocket and held it out for Jodie. “Take this.” He carried it with him everywhere.

She took it from his hand, read the cover. “Psalms? Sam, I don’t get answers anymore.”

“Jodie, I don’t need answers. I need you to be calm and steady. I want you to have something to read, to calm you down, give you peace. I’m going under the house to defuse this thing. You need to stay still. Don’t shift your weight.”

He saw her chest swell; a tear fell down one cheek. Voice shaking again, she said, “I don’t want to be responsible for your death.”

“Stop. I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”

She clutched the booklet to her chest. “I don’t have a choice. You’re my only hope.”

“I’mahope. Read Psalm 46. It’s my favorite. And I’ll want the book back when I’m finished.” He turned and went out the back door.

Smiley was waiting for him. “LBPD wants you to back off.Mike King is here with a black-and-white. They are already evacuating the houses on either side. A bomb squad will arrive in twenty minutes.”

“Not sure we have twenty minutes,” Sam hissed, voice low. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this thing. I can’t explain it any better.” He undid his tie and jerked it from his neck. Then he took off his coat and laid them both on a hose reel.

“If this is the same type of device as in the mountains, Jodie staying still has kept it from detonating. But my guess is this guy wouldn’t stop there. She could have set off a delay timer. Who knows how long Collins set the delay for?” He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves, then turned to look for the crawl space opening.

“Sam.” Smiley grabbed his arm. “I could order you back.”

“You could, and I’d disobey. Look, I know this stuff. I can stop it. Get back if you don’t believe me. But I’m not going to let Jodie blow up. I’m not.” He stared at Smiley.

Finally his boss released his arm and looked away. “Okay, how can I help?”

“Help me find the crawl space.”

In short order they found a small hatch over the opening to the crawl space. It was obvious someone had been in and out of it often, and there was even a tool kit just inside.

“Nice of him to leave this here,” Sam said when he poked his head in. He removed a set of wire clippers from the kit and shoved them into his pocket.

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