Chapter 3 #2
The Everetts were upright and law-abiding. What sheriff or deputy would ever suspect them of being accessories to drug running?
Josie knew that and she had misgivings about telling John what was going on. He’d disliked and distrusted her on sight. Telling
him might blow her cover all too soon. It was going to be up to her to play both sides against the middle and hope she could
intervene in time to save the Everetts.
Meanwhile, she had to convince her partners that she was trustworthy enough to be let into the real operation that was going
on. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
Just as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the courtesy coffee service, there was a knock at the door.
She took a deep breath before she answered it. Outside were two rough-looking men. One was tall and swarthy and a beanpole.
The second was shorter, a little pudgy.
“Come on in,” she invited.
“Well, did you scope it out?” the taller one asked, refusing her offer of coffee.
“I did.”
“And what did you think?” he added impatiently.
“That it’s going to take some planning,” she said flatly. “The cowboys are all armed and they have patrols night and day.
Plus, they have a notable security network that blankets the entire property. I haven’t seen any buildings that were deserted,
although Raines—” she indicated the taller man “—and I drove all around pretending that we were lost before he dropped me
off to investigate one of the pastures with purebred bulls.”
She wasn’t really certain about that security network bit, but considering how well run the ranch was, and how prosperous,
it was a forgivable guess. “It’s the worst possible place to plan a purebred bull hijacking. Or even a yearling bull hijacking.”
The tall one swore. He repositioned his hat on his head. “All right, we’ll need to do a little more planning is all. I’ve
got one big semi lined up. The owner’s been delivering supplies to the Big Spur for years, so he’s trusted. He’s tired of
so many new rules and regulations. He’s got a kid with cancer, so he’s willing to take a chance for the money we offered him.”
She didn’t dare wince, but she felt like it. A desperate man, willing to risk years and years in jail to pay his daughter’s
bills for cancer treatment. What a damned shame it was, she thought angrily, that every other civilized country had free health
care, and here they were in one of the richest countries on earth where regular people struggled just to afford medicine.
The pudgy man saw her expression and thought it was in regard to the subject at hand.
“Don’t worry, doll,” he said, drawling the endearment. “We’ll work it out. We’ve been doing this for a long time without being
caught.”
Sure, but you’ve never squared up against John Everett before. He was going to prove a formidable adversary.
“So, what do we do?” she asked.
“I’ll have to think on this,” the tall one said. “Stick close to the motel. I’ll come over as soon as I have something worked out.”
“Okay,” she said with resignation. “Don’t you want me to go back and scope out where most of the other bulls are pastured,
at least?” she added, fishing.
“That can wait. There’s a rodeo tomorrow night,” the tall one told her. “Most of the ranchers around here will be at it, including
the Everett man. Why don’t you go?”
“Where is it?” she asked.
“About a mile down the road, just past the Percell city hall.”
She gave him a glowering look. “I’m going to walk . . . ?”
“It’s just a mile,” he scoffed.
She kept glowering.
“Oh, all right, I’ll drop you off and pick you up,” he muttered. “About six on Friday evening,” he added. “Don’t keep me waiting.
I’ve got a contact coming to meet me at the Poco Loco bar in town.”
A contact. Her heart leaped. This might lead to her first real break. “Why can’t I go with you instead of some silly rodeo?”
she grumbled.
“He doesn’t want his face known around here,” he told her flatly. “And you’re new to the operation. We only trust you because
Gordon vouched for you.”
“Gordon’s dead,” the pudgy one added.
“Yeah, he is,” the tall one agreed. “Untimely and inconsiderate of him, considering how big an operation this could turn into.”
“You can say that again.”
Josie just sighed. She wasn’t about to tell them that the late Gordon had been a double agent who vouched for her to get her
into the drug ring. “Okay. I’ll go to the dumb rodeo. What makes you think a rich guy like Everett would even go there?” she
asked.
“He’s been seen there before. If he gets bored, he enters the bull-wrestling competition,” he added. “He was a world champion at it when he was younger.”
“Not so surprising,” she sighed. “He’s a big guy.”
“Big enough, I guess. Try to talk to him. See if he’ll tell you anything about when the shipments of supplies are delivered.”
“Supplies?” she exclaimed. “What does that have to do with our operation?”
“It will let us know when we can move the semi in without them getting suspicious,” the tall one, Raines, said, with a glare
at his partner, who seemed to have been about to let something out that she didn’t need to know. Not yet, at least.
“I’ll talk to you when I know something else,” he added, motioning to the short one.
“Okay.” She let them out and locked the door, letting out a faint sigh of relief.
They weren’t as harmless as they seemed. The older one, Raines, had managed to get himself acquitted of a murder charge by
some Mexican national. The smaller one, Pete something, had been arrested numerous times on charges of theft by taking, but
never actually convicted. They were a match made in heaven.
Josie’s cover was that she had a prior arrest for assault but had been acquitted at trial. It set her right with her new partners
in crime.
Both of them had rap sheets as long as their arms. They were masters of escape, despite the efforts of prosecutors in three
states to lock them up on charges of cattle rustling, both in Texas and Arizona. Nothing could be proven because accusers
suddenly turned up with expensive cars or gifts of cash that could never be linked to either man.
If there was one goal in Josie’s life, it was to help change that record. But she had a long way to go, and she had to be very careful. There couldn’t be even one loophole when they were finally arrested. And eventually, she might need John Everett’s help.
Recalling his antagonism, that might be a lost cause. She turned out the lights and went to bed.
Friday afternoon, Raines picked her up and drove her to the pole barn where the rodeo was taking place. It was early, but
the seats were already full. The concession stand was in full swing, selling everything from hot dogs to beer to soft drinks.
“I’m broke,” she said plaintively.
Raines glared at her. “I bought you a ticket,” he pointed out.
“I can’t sit here without anything to eat or drink,” she said reasonably.
He handed her a twenty-dollar bill and a glare. “I’m counting all this up. When we pull this deal off, you’re going to owe
me for all these perks.”
“No problem,” she said.
He gave her a distasteful look. She wasn’t his type, even without that godawful red hair. He hated red hair. Besides that,
she wasn’t pretty. Once they scored this shipment of fentanyl, the largest yet, using the Everett ranch as their pickup point,
he was going to find himself some Grade A female companionship. And he’d be rid of the redhead for good!
Josie, unaware of his thoughts, was just grateful that he didn’t find her attractive. Neither did his partner. It was one
of her few blessings in recent times. Her job was hard enough as it was.
She got herself a soft drink and a hot dog and ate it while they waited for the first event. She was sandwiched in between
a family of four with two adorable toddlers, and a young boy whose father was riding in the calf-roping event. Their excitement
was almost palpable. It revved her up as well and she smiled at all of them.
“You got anybody riding, lady?” the boy, who looked about ten years old, asked with a big smile.
“Not really,” she said, smiling back. “I just like rodeo.”
“Me, too! My dad’s going to be a champion one day,” he added. “He’s the best bull rider anywhere!”
“Which one is he?” she asked.
“That one, right over there, next to the big blond guy. That guy is John Everett,” he added. “Mr. Everett has two champion
belts.” His face fell. “I hope he’s not riding against my dad. My dad says he was a real rodeo champion a few years ago. Gosh,
I wish I could meet him! My lucky dad!”
Josie’s heart had dropped when she saw John. Odd reaction, she told herself. She glanced at the boy. “Maybe he won’t be riding
against your dad,” she said gently, noting the youngster’s worried look.
“They raised our rent again,” the boy sighed. “Dad says if he can’t win some money, we’ll have to live in our truck.” He looked
up at Josie with big brown eyes under a mop of brown hair that really needed a trim. Poor kid; his clothes weren’t in much
better shape, despite the fact that they were very clean and he smelled nice. “Why does it cost so much to live?” he asked
plaintively.
Because there are too many greedy people in the world, she thought. But she didn’t say it. “I don’t know,” she said gently, her eyes soft on his face. “You love your dad a lot,
don’t you?” she asked.
He nodded. “He’s my best friend. It’s just me and Dad. We got no family anywhere. My mama died when I was just little, but
my dad takes care of me. I want to grow up real fast, so I can take care of him,” he added quietly. “He works so hard at the
feedlot. He says they want to replace him on account of he’s not fast enough at his job. He gets winded real easy and he can’t
lift as much as the other guys.”
“That’s sad,” Josie said, gritting her teeth inwardly as she saw what the real situation was with the boy’s father. It sounded as if he had serious health problems that his son didn’t know about.