Page 88 of One Final Target

Subject:Baker to Vegas

Jodie, while in Vegas, I saw something disturbing. A certain person dropped a huge amount of money at the craps table. It wasn’t a one-off. I want to run the situation by you. You know the person, and often you have calmer insight than I do. Let’s talk.

Jodie rubbed her forehead and struggled to remember last year’s Baker to Vegas. The law enforcement relay race was held every year. Ten-person relay teams ran 120miles from Baker, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada. She’d competed many times,but she hadn’t gone last year. Gus had gone as a support person with Estella in their RV.

She vaguely remembered getting a call from him. He wanted to talk to her about something. But she was getting ready to accept the Sergeant of the Year award in Sacramento. These emails were dated when she would have been gone. She had never seen them. Why didn’t he ask her if she’d seen the email? The next email answered her question. It was supposedly from her.

Are you certain about what you saw?

Gus answered:

100%—it’s bad.

Then suddenly she supposedly knew who he was talking about.

The person you are referring to just contacted me. They assure me the situation is under control. Just let it go. This isn’t something I want to get involved in.

You got it.

Wow, who was Gus trying to tell her about? Estella might know. Jodie called and got voice mail.

“Estella, it’s Jodie. Hey, I wonder if you remember an incident about a year ago at the Baker to Vegas race. Gus saw someone in Vegas. I think he wanted to talk to me about the person. Do you remember? If you do, please call me back when you are able.”

Now all she could do was wait. With Juke it was clear: he’d discovered the plans of Collins and whoever he was working for and it cost him his life. But what had Gus discovered? Someone with a gambling problem? Why on earth would they do an intervention?

Her phone rang again, and she answered it without thinking, hoping it was Estella. Instead, she heard a recorded message: Would she accept a collect call from the LA County jail?

It had to be Ian. Once processed—procedures that could take several hours—he would have access to the phone. He must have just cleared processing. And Jodie did want to talk to him. She said yes.

After some clicks and buzzes, she heard Ian’s voice. “Jodie! Thank God you answered.”

“Does your lawyer know you’re calling me?”

“I don’t care. I need you to know I did not do what they are saying. You know me—I would never... I couldn’t...” His voice broke, and Jodie felt his pain. She believed him.

“Someone is framing me,” he continued in a rush of words. “The rifle is not mine. And I don’t have a clue how to hack into someone’s computer.”

“Ian, why did you lawyer up? Asking for a lawyer makes you look guilty.”

“I was stunned. I, uh... I was blindsided.” He paused. Jodie could hear a lot of background noise. “They claim I bought a tracker and put it on your car. Why on earth would I do that?”

She heard his voice break.

“Jodie, I can’t get over not being there. I’m dead inside. I don’t understand how you are still standing. I’m mad about that, yeah, but killing cops and friends? I’m not a monster. Please tell me you don’t think I’m a monster.”

She thought she heard a sob. Jodie swallowed. “You’re not, Ian, but you need to talk. Talk with your lawyer present but talk. If someone is framing you, maybe you can figure out who if you talk to Mike and Tara.”

“I will. Do you believe me, Jodie?”

“I don’t believe you’re a killer. And I’m still standing becauseI need to move past that day. I need to get justice for our team. Anger and guilt won’t do that. Please, Ian, what happened was not your fault. You being there would not have changed it. Talk to Bass; try to move on.”

She heard a sigh over the phone.

“Contact your lawyer, Ian, please.”

“I will. He’s arranging bail. Thanks—” There was noise in the background. “I have to go. I’ll call Mike. I’ll talk.” The line clicked and was dead.

After Jodie went to her room, George and Sam spent time going over what information they had on Jonah Bennett and Tara Corson. There wasn’t much on Tara, but there was a lot on Bennett. They even found an archived article from the Long BeachPress-Telegramabout the end-of-probation party incident that eventually got him fired. Though criminal charges were never filed, it was easy to see why Bennett was fired. The article, which detailed Bennett’s career, said Bennett was no stranger to trouble. He had five use-of-force complaints filed on him during the five years he was a sworn police officer. Three of them were sustained, with his punishment each time being a week’s suspension.

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