Page 52 of One Final Target

Jodie sighed, satisfied for the moment with the hopeful sentiment. Like a good partner, Sam’s steady presence calmed her. She was glad Sam had come. Her trust in him had grown exponentially.

“I wonder if he expected to kill me and then flee the country,” Jodie said.

“Anything is a possibility.”

She turned her attention to the removal of the freezer. As she watched Barstow’s people follow the coroner back into the room with a dolly to move the freezer out of the house and into the coroner’s van, she thought of poor Jukebox, stuffed inside. Pain vibrated through her. When would the hits stop?Lord, why can’t anything ever be easy?

“Did you want to wait?” Sam asked.

“What? Oh...” Jodie understood he meant wait for the bodies to be removed. “I think so. Once they get the freezer out of the house, the smell should dissipate a little.”

It took about fifteen minutes for the men to load the freezer onto the dolly and carefully move it out of the house and toward the waiting van. The buzz of news copters overhead reminded her of a swarm of angry bees.

An image of the little guy she’d interviewed bringing the freezer into the house and then having the wherewithal to kill Hayes and Juke and stuff them in the freezer flashed in her thoughts.

Who on earth is this guy?

Hayes was a handful for police. How could he possibly be any less hard to handle for Collins?

There was no way Collins was working alone.

CHAPTER28

“I GUESS IF HAYES IS IN THAT FREEZER,he had nothing to do with the IED,” Jodie said as she watched the men loading the evidence into the van. She could only shake her head over all the time wasted chasing Hayes.

Jodie stopped just inside the doorway to the creepy office with its walls of photos. Two lab techs were in the room photographing and cataloging evidence from the closet and the drawers in the small desk. Soon they would remove all the photos, empty the room. In Jodie’s mind’s eye, she would always see the walls like this, covered in photos of her life.

“I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now,” Sam said. He stood just behind her, in the doorway. She didn’t turn, just kept looking from photo to photo.

“Seeing your life on display like this must be disturbing.”

“What an understatement. I’ve never felt so exposed. I’m trying to remember the moments pictured, put myself back there.” She paused as memories bit. Her team was alive and whole in these pictures. She could hear their voices, the laughter, the serious investigative discussions. For a second, she almost lost her balance, the pain was so sharp and real.

“It’s okay, Jodie,” Sam said softly. The gentle touch of his hand on her back fortified Jodie. He continued to speak in low tones. “It hurts. The first time I was back in the station without Rick, it was like watching him die all over again. Don’t even ask me what happened when I saw someone at his locker.”

His understanding tone made her want to lean back into him. She stood still, a little sad when he let his hand drop away.

She didn’t turn to face him but knowing he understood so completely steadied her. Jodie closed her eyes for a moment. Then, when she was ready, she opened them, cleared her throat, and said, “I can’t help but wonder... Did I notice anything off at the time?”

“Did you?”

She shook her head. “I can’t remember. Some of these were shot with a drone, I think. Those things are noisy. Why didn’t I notice anything?”

“You were focused on the job at hand.”

She folded her arms, angry and curious at the same time. “This guy was focused as well. Yet...”

“What?”

“All of these photos were taken before the IED explosion. I don’t see any taken in the last three months. He tried to kill me three days ago, but he was no longer tracking me?”

“Maybe there’s an explanation for why he stopped. Think:there wasn’t much to track. You quit; you aren’t high-profile anymore. He was probably biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to get at you. If his office shows us anything, this guy is patient. Him not being here tells me he has a planB.”

Jodie turned and met Sam’s eyes. They were cop eyes, used to looking at things differently, used to trying to uncover what others were hiding. More than anyone in her life in the last three months, he gave her strength, hope for an ending to this nightmare. Feeling hope fueled her next statement.

“Is he the one with the plan?”

“What do you mean?”

---