Page 96 of Rough Ride

Eli cursed.

“I was afraid of that,” I admitted. “Salmon has too many friends around town, of course he controls the newspaper too.”

Claire gave me a pointed look. “Your words, not mine. But yes.” She gestured with her notepad. “There’s a good story here. The bones are there. But it’s not substantial enough. We need more witnesses, more evidence. Your conversation with Salmon the other day. If it was recorded…”

“He caught us in the locker room,” Johnny said, glancing at Eli. “Quite literally with our pants down. I never had a chance to try to hit record on my phone.”

“Now, if you were able to get some sort of organized protest going?” Claire suggested. “Like a walk-out during the Bull Riding event? We’dhaveto cover it, and the reason why.”

Johnny and Eli exchanged a look. I could already tell we wouldn’t like the answer.

“We found two other competitors whomightbe willing to protest with us,” Johnny explained. “Onlytwo. And they’re only willing to do it if we have bigger numbers.”

“Which we don’t,” Eli added.

“What about the checks he wrote them?” I asked. “Theexactamount of the Bull Riding prize money, plus ten percent? They can’t just explain that as a coincidence.”

“Sure they can,” Claire said dryly. “Salmon’s organization sponsors rodeo cowboys all the time. By themselves, those checks aren’t enough.”

“What about our testimony?” Johnny asked. “Eli and I were there. Is our word meaningless?”

“Not meaningless, but not meaningful, either. It’d be their word against yours. Three against two. And one of those three is the most powerful man in Fort Worth.”

“We could try,” Eli insisted stubbornly.

“Sure. You can. But let me tell you how that’ll go.” Claire tossed her notepad onto the coffee table and cradled her beer with both hands. “Salmon will hire the best law firm in Texas. Heck, he probably already has them on retainer. They’ll go through your lives with a fine-toothed comb, looking for ways to discredit you. Then they’ll file a bunch of motions to dismiss, arguing that the lawsuit is legally deficient. They’ll request extensions. They’ll file procedural motions to slow down the proceedings. They’ll challenge the jurisdiction, and try to complicate your discovery requests, and file for summary judgment. They’ll do everything in their power to drag this out for as long as possible.”

“So?” Eli replied. “I don’t care how long it takes, if it means nailing his ass in the end.”

Claire slowly shook her head. “Even if you’re paying your own attorneys for months? Maybe years? With all the nonsense Salmon will throw at you, they’ll have to hire legal assistants and work overtime. I’ve seen cases like this cost a plaintiff ten grandper week.”

Eli opened his mouth, then closed it again. “Fuck,” he said, chugging the rest of his beer.

“And in the meantime, Appleton will have won the rodeo this year,” Johnny said.

“Then what do we do?” I asked, feeling helpless.

Sawyer chose that moment to respond to my text.

Me: Are you coming tonight? Everyone is here.

Sawyer: It’s pointless to try to go up against Salmon. I’m focused on my own criminal charges right now. Sorry.

That text stung the most of all. I’d expected Sawyer to have more fight in him.

“I’ll keep making calls,” Claire told us. “I have to do it quietly so the Salmon family doesn’t find out, but maybe I’ll find some other sources to corroborate your story. You two might not be the only ones he’s bribed.” She stood up. “Sorry I don’t have better news.”

“Thanks for meeting with us at all,” I said.

She said goodbye, then left.

Johnny sighed back into the couch and closed his eyes. “What do we do now?”

Eli popped up. “I intend to drink.”

“A fine idea.”

“I agree,” I said. “What can I make you?”

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