Page 64 of One Final Target

“That blue SUV—doesn’t it look like the one Levi said Collins borrowed?”

“Where is it?”

He pointed and heard her come after him.

“Hey!” Alarm sounded in Tara’s voice.

A horn blared and Sam jerked to a stop, wrenching his gaze from the blue SUV to the red Tesla that had very nearly hit him.

Holding his hands up, he nodded apologetically to the driver. “Sorry.”

He stepped back, looked to where the blue SUV had been, but it was gone.

“Did you see it?” he asked Tara.

“No, I didn’t. You want to go after it?” she asked.

Frustrated he’d lost the vehicle, he shook his head. “It’s gone. Maybe I was wrong. Let’s get to the warrant.”

He filed the car away in his memory and saw Tara watching him quizzically.

“You sure?”

“Yes, we have a job to do.”

“Okay.” Together they walked to the door of Computer Relief. Tara explained what they would see.

“I contacted the owner by phone. He should have everything ready for us—files, phones, computers, etc. The only thing he balked at was giving us the names of his clients.”

“You changed his mind, I hope.”

“The warrant changed his mind. I included everything I could think of when I wrote out the affidavit. We should get the names and information of any clients Collins worked with, even tangentially.”

Inside, Tara spoke to the owner and showed him the warrants while Sam checked out the office. In the background he heard the owner’s concerns. If his clients believed he’d hired a hacker, this could destroy his business.

“I’m careful. I watch their work. I can assure you Dennis is not a hacker.”

I’m pretty sure he is,Sam thought, eyes moving around the room. A receptionist sat at the main counter to greet people as they entered the store. Behind the reception desk was the main office and then what looked to be a work area. The office space contained four desks with computers on them. There were three techs working—at least Sam assumed they were techs. Two wore headsets and were speaking with people, fingers flying across keyboards. One tech didn’t seem busy at all; he appeared to be watching Sam and Tara closely. When he caught Sam looking at him, he turned away, busily clicking computer keys.

“Any other questions?” the owner asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Was Dennis particularly close to anyone here? Someone maybe he partied with?”

“Ah, Martin. Dennis didn’t party though. A whiz with computers, for sure. He wasn’t the friendly sort, but he and Martin seemed to hit it off. They both applied to the police department together.”

Sam’s antenna went up. “And neither made the grade?”

“Oh no, Martin was hired. That put a chink in their friendship, I think. In any event, he only lasted in the academy for a month and a half. Martin’s sitting over there.” He pointed to the tech who’d been watching them. “I was glad to take him back. He’s almost as good with computers as Dennis.”

CHAPTER35

AFTER SAM LEFT,Jodie’s phone rang. It was Mike. She answered right away.

“News about my car?”

“Yep. There were three separate GPS trackers on the undercarriage. One was easy to find; the others were hidden. This guy took his time putting these on your car. He wanted to know where you were at all times.”

Jodie grabbed a fistful of hair as anger and indignation roared through her. “How in the world did he have the time to place those on my car?” She released her hair and held her hand up in the air.

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