Page 64 of Rough Stock
“What’s happening?” Shyanna asked, holding her mouth guard in her hand as she turned and sought out his eyes, hers round and bewildered.
“You’re sure you were third?” She nodded. “Positive?”
“Yes, Jensen, I’m positive. On Dusty.”
“Okay, I’ll go see. Get that mouth guard in.” He strode toward where the chute boss stood and when he reached the man, he held out his hand. “JensenStrader. I’m wondering why ShyannaOwens’ bull wasn’t loaded into chute three. She drew the third spot and a bull named Dusty.”
The man shook his hand briefly before answering. “I was told she was scratched.”
Jensen could feel his blood beginning to heat up. “By whom?”
“By the association management.”
“And the reason?” he asked, trying hard to remember that the chute boss was only doing what he was told.
“Wasn’t given one. If she wants to ride, they said she should go up and ask them,” he said. In a second, he looked down at his clipboard and yelled, “Maddox!”
Jensen turned to Shyanna and shrugged. Then he pointed at her and mouthed,Stay put, before tearing out toward the building that housed the offices and the concession stands. He climbed the stairs to the offices two at a time, but when he stuck his head in, there was no one there. Another door was right down the walkway, and he stepped up to it. From inside, he heard voices, arguing, something about pharmaceuticals and sales and contracts and money. He turned the knob and threw open the door.
A pair of eyes turned to stare at him, and Jensen’s jaw dropped. Max stood there, a Smith & Wesson 1911 in his hand, and DaleGresham lay on the floor, not moving, in a growing pool of blood. Jensen heard the door slam behind him and turned to find Jimmy standing there, his face drawn and gray. “Well, would you look who showed up! Your little girlfriend was supposed to be here,” Max said with a sinister chuckle.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Jensen barked.
“Shut up, Strader. Jimmy, what are we going to do with Romeo here?” Max asked.
“I have no idea,” Jensen heard Jimmy say from behind him. Those were the last words he heard before everything went black.
“And what exactly are wegoing to do now, you fucking crazy sumbitch?” Jimmy whisper-growled at Max. He was totally disconcerted at the composure Max was exhibiting, like he shot people and knocked them over the heads all the time.
He just shrugged. “I dunno. We’ve gotta get rid of him. Then we’ve gotta call the cops and make sure they think he did it.”
“What about the security cameras out there?” Jimmy asked, panicking. “They’re going to see us going in before him.”
“They’re not footage. They’re just timed photos that are snapped. I can get in that office over there and erase the whole damn thing. In the meantime, you’d better figure out something we can do to get rid of Strader and link Owens to this. Oh, this is working out so much better than I ever dreamed…” Max mused aloud.
“Working out better? We’ve got two casualties instead of one!” Jimmy almost yelled.
Max rolled his eyes. “Hey, don’t flip your shit, idiot. We can handle this. You lock all the doors. I’m going through that door over there into the next office,” Max said, pointing at the door in the far wall, “and take care of the camera. I’ll erase the shit, unplug it, and plug something else in. They’ll think somebody needed the outlet. In the meantime, you come up with a plan for Strader. Don’t be totally useless. Since I’m doing your dirty work for you, the least you can do is contribute.” To Jimmy’s shock, Max reached into his pocket, pulled out a pair of latex gloves, and picked the lock to the other room before slipping through.
“Oh, hell, what have I gotten myself into?” Jimmy said out loud to no one. He peeked out the back door. Late afternoon shadows were creeping in and that side of the parking lot was closed off because there was no lighting there. As soon as Max slipped back into the room and locked the door behind him, Jimmy said, “Okay. We can take him out the back, but I don’t know how we’re going to get him off the grounds and?”
“Leave that to me.” Max knelt beside Jensen and rummaged around in the unconscious man’s pockets, then popped up onto his feet, dangling Jensen’s keys from his fingers. “Jensen Strader came up here, got into an argument with Dale, shot him, and ran. That’s the story.”
“Where’d you get that gun?” Jimmy asked.
Max grinned. “Stole it from Owens’ trailer. Unlike you,” he said with a smirk, “I’ve covered all my tracks.”
“I don’t have any tracks,” Jimmy whispered, terrified.
“Right. Well, tomorrow you’ll be signing that contract and we’ll both be rolling in dough.” Max headed toward the back door. “Get ready. When I get that truck over here, we’ve got to get him in it and out of here. And lock that fucking door. We don’t want anybody coming in here.”
Jimmy watched Max leave and sat there with Jensen. After a couple of minutes, he felt around on Jensen’s neck and found a pulse.Well, at least he’s not dead, he thought, then panicked.Oh, god, he’s not dead! He’s going to wake up and tell everybody, he thought. Then he realized something.
Max was driving JensenStrader away. There was no way the rough stock rider would survive that ride.
Time passed slowly until Max finally opened the back door again. “Okay. Let’s go. Just toss him in the back and I’ve gotta get out of here. You come with me and when we go through the parking lot, get out and make a big production of walking through the concessions and back up here. That’s when you’re going to freak out and call the cops because Dale’s been shot. Got it?” Jimmy nodded mutely, terrified because he knew if he didn’t play along, Max would kill him too. It was obvious there was nothing the man wouldn’t do.
Jimmy was too shaken to watch Max cover Jensen with a tarp in the bed of the pickup truck, and he climbed into the passenger side of Jensen’s truck. Before they got to the open part of the parking lot, Max stopped. “Here’s where you get out. Remember what I said. Speak to as many people as possible as you walk through the arena to the stairs, and then make a big commotion. Big one. And don’t come unglued on me, hear me?” Jimmy nodded. “Good. Let’s do this. Go. I’ll be back to my room in no time, and you can call me once you leave here, let me knowwhat’s going on. I’ll be waiting for your call.” With that, Jimmy stepped out of the cab of the truck and Max drove away.
