Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Janey
My skin crawls every time Mackey looks in my direction.
Still, I will not let him intimidate me and stare right back at him.
This was the last of his herd that was just auctioned off, and from what I could see, four of the six lots his cattle were divided into went to the same bidder. Only someone who knows what is hiding in some of those cows would find that suspicious.
When I suggested to Agent Kramer this morning the drugs would’ve probably been removed already, she explained why she didn’t think that would be the case. It turns out, this type of smuggling isn’t new to the FBI. She called it narco-ranching, and it’s something they’ve already had on their radar.
Apparently, Mackey would likely only be a cog in a much larger operation. In this case, he’d simply be responsible for transporting the drugs. He wouldn’t have been the one to supply them, nor would he be responsible for distributing or selling them.
From what Stephanie explained, I understand he likely didn’t even know who would be taking them off his hands. The structure of these organizations is such that each link in the chain knows as little as possible of the next one. It’s designed so if anywhere along the line they get caught, the other links in the chain are safe and the compromised one is easily replaced.
Keeping the drugs hidden in the cattle would add an additional level of protection, both against possible sticky fingers, or outside detection.
Only the head honcho, and perhaps one or two of his most trusted henchmen, would have knowledge of every level of the organization. That’s why, rather than stepping in and taking down Mackey and confiscating the animals, the FBI wants to observe and follow the chain. They want to identify all the players, top to bottom, so they can dismantle the entire organization at once.
My eyes drift to the man who bought up the bulk of Mackey’s cattle. I wouldn’t have guessed he’s involved with drugs; the man looks like any other rancher. Of course, it’s always possible he’s being used as a proxy and has no idea what it is he’s actually bidding on.
“No incidents?”
Phil Jericho is waiting for me outside when I leave the auction arena. I was looking for JD, who I lost track of when he disappeared from the stands earlier. I hate to admit it, but I feel safer wandering around the grounds with him by my side.
“Nothing that needed any intervention from me,” I tell him.
“That’s good. Well, I was thinking about heading into town for a quick bite. Why don’t you join me?”
“Thanks, but I’m actually exhausted. Tomorrow will be another busy day so I think I’ll pass.”
I’ll say that for the man, he’s persistent, even though he clearly knows I’m with JD.
Speaking of JD, where the heck did he go?
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
With a tight smile, I start walking toward the stockyard where my truck is parked, and sigh a breath of relief when Jericho doesn’t follow me. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I call JD’s number, which rings five times before bumping me to voicemail. I leave a brief message, telling him I’ll be waiting for him by the truck, but as soon as I end the call, my phone rings. I see it’s him calling me back.
“Hey, where are you?”
“Janey?” I stop in my tracks when I recognize Stephanie Kramer’s voice.
“It is. What’s going on?”
“Listen to me carefully. I need you to get to your truck and drive straight home. One of my agents will be right behind you. Don’t stop for anything, just go straight home.”
Something is very wrong.
“What’s happening? Where is JD?”
“He’s here with me. Listen, I need you to go home right now. We’ll see you there.”
She hangs up before I can ask to speak to him. Something is obviously happening, giving me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I start walking again, a little faster now.
I catch sight of Logan when I pass our improvised clinic. He watched things while I was at the auction.
“How did it go?” He wants to know, walking up to me.
“Fine. Nothing major. You?” I ask, mostly by reflex.
“Same. It’s been quiet for the last forty-five minutes or so,” he shares.
“Good, good. Go home,” I tell him. “I’m heading out too. Long day, and it’ll be another one tomorrow. I’ll see you at eight?”
“I’ll be here.”
He shoots me a wide grin, reminding me of one of those happy-go-lucky puppies. Normally that would’ve triggered a smile, but right now I’m feeling nauseated with worry.
I’m not sure how I manage to get home in one piece. After getting stuck in a bit of a jam getting out of the park—everyone seemed to be leaving at the same time—I wove like a maniac through traffic in my rush to get here. I’m lucky I didn’t hit anyone and escaped getting pulled over. I never even thought about the agent who was supposedly following me home until I see the SUV pulling into my driveway right behind me.
He doesn’t follow me to the house though, but instead steers toward the clinic, driving around to the back of the barn. There are no vehicles parked in front of my house and the lights are off. I sit here for a moment, wondering what the hell is going on, but when I look back at the barn, I spot someone standing in the shadows outside, waving at me.
I’m a little spooked, so rather than get out and walk over, I take the truck, following suit and pulling around the back of the barn. There are three vehicles already parked here, including the one that followed me home. I assume they’re tucked out of sight from the road. None of it does the sick worry in my stomach any good.
Neither does Stephanie Kramer’s serious face when she opens the clinic’s back door for me.
JD
I’m pissed.
For a multitude of reasons, but right at this moment I’m mostly angry at the fucking feds for scaring the crap out of Janey.
Her face was ghostly white and her expression panicked when she walked in a few minutes ago. She’s a little better now, sitting beside me, clasping my hand in a viselike grip while Special Agent Kramer gets her up to speed.
Of course, I’m ticked off at whoever hit me over the head hard enough to knock me out, leaving a nice gash in my scalp at the back of my head. The cut bled like a stuck pig, which makes things look way more dramatic than they should.
One of Kramer’s colleagues, who’d apparently been monitoring the transport trailers, interrupted the attack. Unfortunately, the guy who knocked me out took off running before the agent could get a good look at him. Instead of going after the asshole, he decided to check on me.
I was still on the ground between the trailers when I opened my eyes to find Kramer leaning over me. A brief discussion ensued on whether or not EMTs should be called in, which wasn’t something I was a fan of. For me to end up in the hospital would create a snowball effect no one would be able to control.
In the end, it wasn’t that difficult to convince Kramer not to compromise her investigation like that. I told her I worked with a trained medic, who could have a look at my head, but it had been her idea to ask Bo to meet us at Janey’s clinic.
I’d stupidly assumed someone would let Janey in on what was going on but, apparently, she had no idea until she walked in here and saw me with blood all over my shirt.
“So, you don’t know who did this?” Janey asks.
“No. The guy was wearing a black hat, dark T-shirt, and jeans, nothing more descriptive. Agent Wilcox only got a glimpse and by the time he went after him, the perp had blended in with the crowd.”
“But why would they attack JD?”
“Maybe they didn’t like me poking around the trailers,” I offer with a shrug.
Bo cuffs the side of my head. “Sit the fuck still,” he grumbles, as he tries to stitch me up.
“About that,” Stephanie Kramer picks up, shooting me a scathing glare. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“After I identified the buyer, your buddy, Wilcox here, told me to take a hike. I thought I’d make myself useful instead.”
“Next time, don’t,” she orders sharply. “This is a highly sensitive investigation; I don’t need civilians blundering all over it.”
“For your information, I’m a trained law enforcement officer,” I fire back.
“You were a game warden. Were being the operative word,” she retorts, before firmly putting me in my place. “And clearly out of practice, given your current state.”
Bo chuckles behind me. “The woman’s got a point.”
Fuck .
My head already hurt and now my ego is bruised as well. Maybe it’s better to keep my thoughts to myself.
Thankfully, Janey steers us back on subject.
“What about the buyer? Are you letting him get away with the cattle?”
“No. We know who he is and we have another team of agents tracking his transport truck. This is a coordinated effort,” Kramer explains. “We have more than just one team involved. With each new link of the drug chain we expose, another team is assigned so, once we have all the players in our sights, we can concurrently step in and take them all out at once.”
“So you’re sticking around?”
“Three of us are. Agents Wilcox and Furstner,” the agent answers her. “In fact, we were hoping we might be able to bunk here.”
That seems to throw Janey for a moment.
“I don’t know if I have room for everyone.”
“Not in your house, but here at the clinic. We’d only be two at a time at most, since one of us will be on surveillance day or night. We’d rotate, and one of us would man the command post at all times. I wouldn’t ask,” she adds, “if everything within a thirty-mile radius from town wasn’t booked full. This rodeo is pretty popular. Your place is close to town but off the beaten path, which makes it a lot easier for us to come and go without attracting attention.”
“I guess that’s okay,” Janey says hesitantly. “But maybe I should call Frankie and tell her we’re shutting down the clinic for the next few days.”
“There’s a couple of empty cabins at High Meadow I’m sure you’d be welcome to use,” I offer as an alternative.
“Yeah,” Bo pipes up. “It’s a bit farther from town, but you’d have beds.”
Kramer turns to him. “Actually, we’ve got cots and sleeping bags, we came prepared. I appreciate the offer, but a lot of people come and go at the ranch, and we’d prefer to keep as low a profile as possible. I’m sure you understand.”
I have no doubt she intended to remind us not to share any of this information. It’s not an issue for me, I wouldn’t want to compromise the investigation and with it, Janey’s safety, but from the sound of Bo’s deep grunt behind me, it’s not that easy for him. I highly doubt there’s much, if anything, he keeps from his wife, Lucy. Aside from that, the original High Mountain Trackers members—Bo, Jonas, Sully, Fletch, and my father—were brothers-in-arms and still work side by side daily. I don’t think there are many secrets between them.
“One request though,” Janey adds. “If whoever is here wouldn’t mind letting out my dog around lunchtime, and keeping an eye on my horse while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” Kramer responds. “And we’ll replace the lock on the back door first thing tomorrow.”
“The lock?”
Agent Wilcox had to drill out the basic back door lock in order to get into the clinic, but apparently Janey hadn’t even noticed. Her eyes had been fixed on me.
I give her smaller hand in mine a squeeze.
“Done,” Bo rumbles, clapping me on the shoulder. “Take a couple of ibuprofen for the headache and you need someone to check on you from time to time. I’d tell you not to wash your hair or wear your hat for a couple of days, but I won’t bother since I already know you’re gonna do whatever the hell you want anyway.”
I let go of Janey and get to my feet, ignoring the brief wave of dizziness as I bump his fist.
“Appreciate it.”
“Anytime.” Then he turns to Janey with his signature grin. “Stay safe, Doc, and call me if this idiot steps out of line.”
I have no trouble identifying myself as the idiot in question. Bo likes to tease, rattle cages, but I think I’ve been rattled enough for today, because I don’t even react.
“I should let the dog out and call my assistant,” Janey announces. “And you should come with me, so I can feed you and give you something for the pain.”
I’m not going to argue that, my head is throbbing and, although I’m not hungry, I could probably do with something in my stomach.
“There’s one bedroom and a small bathroom with a shower in the barn, through that door,” she points out to the agents. “You’re welcome to use them.”
Then she takes my hand in hers and leads me to the door.
I follow willingly.