Page 67 of My One and Only

Shortly after they arrived back at Cam’s office, Jo got an email from Mel with the VIN numbers of trucks that matched the description of the one that’d hit Cam. She scrolled slowly down the list until she found the VIN she’d copied off the truck at the repair shop.

The owners of that truck lived in a subdivision in Geneva. Jo opened her mapping app and typed in the address. The house was three blocks away from the intersection where the truck had been waiting for Cam.

She could go through all the employees and try to figure out who lived near that address. Instead, she showed the map to Cam. “The truck that hit you belongs to the people who live here. Anyone you know live in this area?”

Cam studied the map. “Yeah, I think a number of my employees do. This is a lower-priced subdivision. A good one, but the houses are smaller. So are the lots. Starter homes for a lot of people, including the men and women who work for me.”

Jo sighed. “If nothing pops soon, I’ll get a list of all your employees and see which of them live near this address. It makes sense that whoever stole the truck lived in the area. Knew the couple who lived there were in Florida.”

The police checked out the house and called the owners, who went to Florida every winter after Christmas. The truck had been in the garage, and the police’d found the garage window open.”

“That’d be a lot of work,” Cam said.

Jo shrugged. “Attention to details is how a lot of cases get solved. Not ready to dive into that, but it might come down to those addresses.”

An hour or so later, a noise echoed through the room, and Jo glanced over at Cam. He was typing, staring intently at his computer. He swallowed, and a muscle rippled in his throat as he paused, then began typing again. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and he pursed his lips as he stared at the screen. Cam was completely into whatever he was doing, clearly oblivious to anything around him. Including her.

Jo had always found that kind of focus and concentration appealing. Before Mike was hurt, he would study maps the same way Cam was staring at his computer. Completely lost, and she’d known he was visualizing the terrain, looking for possible trouble spots. Entries into the small villages. Places to hide in the fields of barley outside the villages. The mountains in the background, the peaks sharp and jagged, loomed over everything.

She looked away from Cam and stared at her own computer, swallowing hard. One of the most dangerous things in Afghanistan couldn’t be seen on any map -- the IEDs buried beneath the roads.

Pressing her lips together, she shoved Mike out of her head. Forced herself to focus on her job. On what she had to do to keep Cam and Fiona safe. She’d gotten very good at compartmentalizing over the past few years.

Cam had given her the names of her former co-workers who had agreed to come to work for PK Construction. She’d known all of them, and knew they’d work hard for Cam. They were trustworthy, and she was sure they wouldn’t be susceptible to bribes. Wouldn’t look the other way at issues in the houses they were working on.

She leaned back and studied the names. She glanced over at Cam, but he was still deep in whatever he was working on. But when she got a chance, she’d ask him how he intended to deploy all her recruits. Since she knew they were all honest, maybe it would be smart for Cam to pair them up with his current employees and spread them out.

She frowned. Maybe not. She didn’t want to put any of her friends in harm’s way. Didn’t want them to be forced to snitch on co-workers. To risk retribution.

Jo shook her head. She wasn’t thinking straight. That was one of the things she’d suggested to Cam -- that he use her friends to keep an eye on the work in the teams they joined.

The thought sent dread creeping up her spine. She didn’t want to endanger any of her friends.

Maybe Cam had some ideas about how to utilize her buddies. She hoped so, because she didn’t want them involved in whatever was going on. Didn’t want to put them in danger simply because they wanted to work.

Before any of them arrived, she and Cam would have to figure out the best solution. In the meantime, she’d play around with various scenarios and see which ones would keep her friends safe while also gathering information for Cam.

Jo was deep into her ideas, her fingers flying over her keyboard, when Cam touched her shoulder. Startled, she swiveled to face him.

“Everything okay?”she asked.

“I asked if you were ready to go and you acted as if you didn’t even hear me,” he said, staring hard at her. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Just went too far down the rabbit hole.” Shoving away from her desk, she stood up and reached for her jacket. “We going straight to the school?”

“Yeah,” he said. “When I made the appointment with Ms.Christopher, I said I’d be there when school let out.” He slanted her a look. “You okay with staying on the playground with Fiona?”

“I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine about is letting you walk into that school by yourself. But I already told you that.”

“Someone has to stay with Fiona,” he said, his jaw working. “She shouldn’t be on the playground by herself.”

“I agree.” She poked him in the chest. “But if you get hurt, or something happens to you, I’ll kick your ass.”

“Noted,” he said as he studied her. “Are you really serious about not wanting me to go into the school alone? I think I can take any of the teachers out, if necessary.”

Jo clenched her teeth. “This isn’t funny, Cam. The agreement you signed stated that you’d follow my instructions. Always. Not just when it’s convenient.”

“You want Fiona to sit in on the meeting?”

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