Page 49 of High Density

Buyers tend to come prepared to an auction and bring their wallets and transportation. Once they win their bid on a lot, they can pay up, and receive their bill of sale. They need to show that when they drive their transport trailer to the loading chute at the back of the pens to collect their cattle.

I hope the FBI has eyes on that process as well, because sometimes buyers load their animals while the auction is still going on. They probably do—from what I can tell Agent Kramer is thorough—but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to have a look myself.

Natural curiosity combined with leftover professional instincts from my years as a game warden have me casually sauntering around to the rear of the arena. There are two guys leaning against the end of the loading chute, smoking and chatting. I can’t see anyone else near the pens.

There isn’t a ton of security on the grounds, other than a few sheriff’s deputies who are mostly concerned with crowd control, and a couple of guys I’ve seen around the past few days who looked like private hires. Still, with the increasing volume of trailers going in and out of the grounds these past few days, it probably wouldn’t have been too difficult to sneak out a cow with no one noticing.

I’m pretty sure the cow-napping was the FBI’s doing, if it was, in fact, the animal Janey retrieved those packages from. It’s a way to delay the discovery of those missing drugs, giving them more time to identify all the important players and get suspicion off Janey. It wouldn’t be the first time a cow ends up in the wrong pen, with the wrong herd.

Except, judging by Mackey’s reaction, he’s not buying into it, and the fact he went straight for Doc with his accusations is a bit concerning. Good thing the feds were listening in, I hope it’ll make them extra vigilant when it comes to her safety.

Nobody stops me when I wander over to the transport trailers parked at the back. There’s a group of guys sitting at a picnic table in the shade by the trees, but they’re not paying attention. Probably ranch hands hanging out while they wait for a signal from their bosses to meet them with the truck at the loading chute.

I’m not sure what it is I’m looking for as I wander between trailers of all sizes. Maybe the missing cow is in one of them. Also, I’d love to have a look at the trailer belonging to the buyer I pointed out to the agent, but there’s no way to know which one would be his. I know it’ll be one of the big transport trucks. It would have to be to haul the number of animals he’s bidding on.

I focus on the big ones, peeking in ventilation holes and checking any markings. Perhaps something will jump out at me.

No sooner has the thought formed, when I hear a footstep behind me. Whirling around, I see only a hint of movement before something hits me hard in the head, sending me face-first in the dirt. Disoriented, I catch a blurry glimpse of a boot as I try to push myself up on my arms.

Then I’m hit from behind again, knocking me right back down in the dirt.

The last thing I remember is a distant voice calling out, “Hey!” before the lights go out.

Chapter Fifteen

Janey

My skin crawlsevery 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?

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