Page 75 of JoyRide

“Yeah, maybe. I only got one quick look at the two runners that day at the market and I’m not sure.”

“I saw a few boys about the right age and followed them, but they bought tickets and went on rides. Didn’t have any luck there.”

“We’ll get lucky today. I can feel it.”

Harlan gave me a grin. “Hope so. You’re my good luck charm, Tammy. You bring Dad?”

“I set him down with Billy at one of the picnic tables near the food trucks.”

“Good. The dogs with them?”

“Yep. But they’re here if we need them.”

“We might have to run back and grab them if we have to chase any of the little bastards down.”

“We won’t have to chase them, if they don’t show up.”

We passed a security guard in a blue uniform, and Harlan said to me, “Hang on a minute, Tammy.”

“What is it?”

“That guard is talking about a truck being stolen from the parking area. I’m going to talk to him. Come on.”

The guard was off to the side of the midway talking on his radio when Harlan showed him his badge. “We’re doing some coverage today for y’all here at the fairgrounds, and I heard you say something about a stolen vehicle?”

“Yeah. Nobody saw it happen, but the owner says his pickup is gone.”

Harlan pulled out his phone. “Make and model? I’ll put a BOLO out on it before they get too far. Anybody see who took it?”

“Nope. Just gone when the owner came to get it to go home. That’s all I know, Deputy.”

“Thanks.” Harlan turned to me. “Let’s go check out the parking area, Tam. There might be more than one of the little thieves creeping around.”

“That’s possible.”

We ran to the parking lot and thoroughly searched through the rows of parked vehicles and didn’t come up with another carjacking kid.

“We’ll have to wait until we hear back from the BOLO,” said Harlan. “Shit. I thought there would be more of them trying for another score.”

“Yeah, me too. I thought they worked in bunches and we’d have a real shot at them here at the carney.”

Almost time to give up and go home. Billy had already taken Travis back to the ranch a couple of hours earlier. Me and Tammy were sitting at one of the picnic tables eating burgers and onion rings when she turned her head, caught a glimpse of somebody and flew into action mode. She jumped up and took off across the field chasing after a kid.

Surprised the hell out of me but thinking she had recognized one of the kids in the gang, I hopped up, ran like hell, and tried to catch up to her.

We were halfway across the field behind the fairgrounds property when the kid stopped dead, spun around, and fired a shot at her.

Tammy fired back and I saw the kid fall way up ahead of us. So fuckin good with her gun.

“We got him, Tam.” I panted out of breath, picked up speed and ran to where the kid had crashed and done a face plant in the weeds.

Danny Burridge lay on his side in the long grass turned August brown, a shiny gun in his hand—probably stolen.

I pointed my gun at his head. “Drop the gun, Danny.”

Tammy caught up and recognized the deadlock—two guys ready to kill each other—and without hesitating for a second, she fired a shot at the gun in Danny’s hand.

The bullet from her Smittie hit him in the arm and the gun flew into the air.

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