Page 71 of Rough Stock
“Jensen’s?” Amos offered.
“No. A dead man’s. Back up, turn around, and at the last drive, turn right. Dale’s trailer is red, orange, and yellow. Big living quarters with only two stalls?mostly camper.” Shyanna watched out the window as they neared the drive. “This one right here,” she said, pointing, and Amber turned. They slowed and she watched until she spotted it. “That one.” Amber slowed. “No. Don’t stop here. Go down about four more trailers and I’ll walk back up,” Shyanna ordered.
“You’re not going by yourself,” Amber announced.
Shyanna shook her head. “I have to. You guys can’t be implicated. If you are, swear that I forced you at gunpoint,” she said.
“No way,” Amos said, shaking his head. “Amber, stay here. I’m going with you,” he told Shyanna.
“No, you?”
“I go or you don’t. Jensen would want it this way. He’d want you to have somebody with you, somebody who has your back. Let’s go,” he said and threw open the door, helped her out, and they strode down the drive.
There was a tiny light on in the trailer, and Shyanna pointed toward the window, but she was too short. Amos sidled up, peered in, and nodded to her. Once she had her phone in her hand, she hit the RECORD feature and slipped it back into her jacket pocket, then reached for the door knob. Amos moved up beside her, but she shook her head. Then she thought better of it, stepped back one step, and slammed the door just under the knob with a powerful kick.
It flew open and banged against the wall behind it. “What the?” Jimmy sat up on the sofa where he’d been sleeping and it was obvious he was surprised to find Shyanna’s shotgun in his face. “Owens? What the hell?”
Something inside her torqued and she suddenly found herself absolutely and positively furious. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
“You know fucking well who I’m talking about. Where is he?” He began to stammer but she yelled, “Jensen, you sumbitch! Where is he?”
“I-I-I-I-I don’t know,” he stuttered.
“The fuck you don’t. You’d better start talking. I have no problem putting a slug right through your stupid head.” Her hand was steady, her eyes steely, and her mind made up. He’d give her some information or he’d be taking his last breath. “Where is he, Fuller? I’m not leaving until I have what I want.” His hand slid down the back of the sofa. “Uh-uh-uh. Don’t you dare, not if you want to see sunrise. Let’s hear it. Where. Is. Jensen. Strader? I’m going to count to five and you’d better have something interesting to say.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Owens,” he repeated.
“Then let’s try something a little different.” Shyanna sat down on the edge of the dinette table and kept the gun leveled at his head. “Where’s Barlow?” Something flickered across Fuller’s face, and Shyanna knew she was on the right track. “Uh-huh. Let’s hear it.”
“I-I-I-I don’t know,” he answered, eyes wide.
“You know, Fuller, I’m getting kinda tired of this.” Shyanna stood and pressed the barrel of the shotgun against his temple. “And very, very bored. If you knownothingabout any of this, you sure have a short memory, because I’ve been watching you hanging out with Barlow. You two are up to something, and I want to know what it is.”
“You’ll have to ask Max,” Fuller answered.
Shyanna smirked. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Because if I tell you anything, they’ll kill me,” he whimpered.
“Well, then, let’s see. You don’t tell me, I kill you. You tell me,they’llkill you. Hmmm. Sounds like your options are pretty slim right now.”
“I have to tell you, I’d take my chances with you over them.”
Shyanna shook her head. “Thing is, you won’t get an opportunity to take your chances with them if you don’t talk to me right now, because I’m going to remove option number two. What’s it gonna be, Fuller? Any regrets on your way to your grave? Remember, I’ve been in prison before. It’s not a really big deal, so I figure I’d rather go there than let you walk free when Jensen’s in some kind of trouble.”
That seemed to be the trigger. “Okay, okay. Max took him. I don’t know where.”
“Did you help load him up?” Fuller nodded. “So what’s your part in this?”
There was silence for a few seconds before Jimmy said, “I hit him in the head.” Shyanna could feel her fury deepening until he said, “I figured he’d at least have a chance that way! If I hadn’t knocked him out, Max would’ve killed him on the spot.”
“And then?”
“We loaded him in the back of his own truck and Max drove away. And I haven’t seen either of them since.”
Shyanna stared into his eyes. “Where. Is. Max?”
