Bullet Work (21 page)

“What do you mean, half interest?”

“Kinda simple, Jake. I get half the purse
money, and if you sell or have one claimed, I get half.”

“On top of the juice?”

Ginny nodded.

“Are you insane?”

“There’s juice on top of the juice you’re
already not paying me today. Purse money is on top of that.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Well, Jake, here’s the deal.” A smirk slowly
spread across Ginny’s face. “You go out and get a loan from
somebody else, pay me off, or—”

“You know I’m tapped out on my credit
line.”

“Not my problem, Jake. I’m just here with a
solution. I sure wouldn’t want the stews to learn you’re insolvent.
They might just rule you off, put a financially secure stable in
your place. Those guys are kind of funny that way.”

“Fuck. Ginny?” Jake leaned back in his chair,
rubbing the side of his face.

“Hey, you came to me. Then you can’t make the
juice. I’m just trying to help you out. You’re going the wrong
direction. I need collateral. Simple as that.”

“I win that filly stake, we’re clear.”

“You pay me the number and the juice, we’re
clear.”

“And I get my half interest in the stock
back?”

“You get your half interest back.”

“It’s bullshit, Ginny.”

“Get a better deal and pay me off.”

Jake looked Ginny in the eyes. “Filly’s gonna
win that stake.”

“Want me to give her shoes a little tug?”
Meaning did he want Ginny to apply turn downs on Aly Dancer’s
shoes.

“No, she wins straight up.”

“Better hope so.” He pointed a stout finger
at Jake and walked out of the office.

She damn well better win.

Chapter 37

“goodfella’s on the Backside,” the
sports section of
The Washington Post
screamed. Jason Cregg broke the story of the extortion scheme
carried out at Fairfax Park. The 30-point bold type headline and
feature-length article appeared above the fold and dominated the
Thursday edition.

Cregg had anonymous quotes from horsemen who
blamed track management for failing to protect them. Owners shared
stories about the horses they had lost and their waning interest in
further investment without assurances or remuneration.

Dan folded the paper and pushed it into the
wastebasket under his desk. He’d been able to keep AJ’s name out of
the article and that had been his sole objective when Cregg
contacted him two days prior. The absence of an arrest and a
refresher course on defamation carried the day. “A shooter” had
been detained was all the article stated.

Biggs was quoted on the track’s increased
funding for security. Belker said they were committed to capturing
those involved, but the spin of the article made management appear
hapless.

The shooting had sent a shockwave through the
community. No one was safe. Although Jake had come current with the
extortionist, Dan still worried. Somebody trying to make a
statement would take out a brilliant young filly rather than a
tired claimer.

An individual as depraved as one that would
fire a rifle at a penned-up horse could not be trusted and could
not be left to his honor. It didn’t make sense. Dan searched for
motives, opportunity, and points of access. All seemed improbable.
He could sit back and hope that everything went as planned, that
his stock was safe.

Then again, he was never one to sit back and
hope.

  

AJ was always ready when Dan pulled up to the
owner/trainer parking lot just inside the guard shack. Dan could
tell that AJ hated to be away from his horses through the night,
but it was a condition of his ability to keep his license on the
backside.

Regardless of the decision made by the local
sheriff’s office, the stewards could rule someone off the property
with little evidence. AJ was able to keep his job because Latimer
had vouched for him, and Dan had agreed to house him off the
property pending the investigation, which looked like it could be
for the duration of the meet.

AJ was reluctant to move into Dan’s condo. It
was a two-bedroom condo, one bedroom of which was a home office, or
as his mom called it, “the Oklahoma room,” because it looked like a
tornado had blown through it. AJ was content to sleep on the
couch.

Dan learned quickly that AJ wasn’t accustomed
to air conditioning after living on the backside during the hot,
humid summers. He would find him asleep, though shivering under
three blankets. Dan wasn’t about to go without the air con himself,
but he did ratchet up the thermostat several degrees to make the
home more tolerable for AJ.

He also learned that AJ had a narrow food
window. It centered around French fries and grilled meat—the
greater the fat content in the meat, the better. It had to have
become an acquired taste living on the backside and eating at
places like Crok’s constantly. He and Milt would make a real dining
pair, Dan thought.

Dan tried taking him to his favorite seafood
restaurant and his friend’s Italian place. Both times they ended up
at the drive-thru on the way home. He simply wouldn’t eat anything
outside his familiar diet.

Dan even invited Beth to have dinner with
them. Aside from just enjoying her company, Dan thought her
personality might draw AJ out. Despite a pleasant dinner, Beth’s
brilliant smile, and a cooperative French chef—AJ had a burger and
fries—the boy remained focused on his own world. Direct questions
from Beth established that AJ knew the horse business, as well as
ailments and treatments. He just didn’t have any desire to
interact, regardless of her tender prodding.

Little had been learned in the past week, and
the list of “unprotected trainers” had grown shorter. Now it looked
like about two in three trainers was paying the “safety fee.”

AJ turned out of the shedrow and began
walking toward Dan’s car. Dan hopped out and quickly moved in his
direction. “I need you to do something, AJ.” He stopped and waited
for Dan to reach him, then turned and followed him back toward the
barn area.

“How was your day today?”

“Fine.”

“Anything unusual happen?

“No.”

He was a nice kid, but not a
conversationalist.

They walked in silence, AJ about two feet
behind him. They reached Jake’s barn. “I want you to touch Aly
Dancer.” Dan didn’t have to tell him which stall. He moved directly
toward the third stall on the near side of the barn. Beth gave Dan
a suspicious glance and stepped in front of the stall, blocking
AJ’s way. Having dinner was one thing. Getting close to her horses
was quite another. “It’s okay, Beth. Just want him to meet Aly
Dancer.”

“Might want to talk with Jake first,” she
said.

“Beth, it’s okay. Last time I saw the
training bills, she was my horse.”

Beth hesitated, then stepped aside, and AJ
slipped under the webbing. Beth quickly followed. She grabbed Aly
Dancer’s bridle and patted her on the nose. Dan walked up so he
could see into the stall over the webbing. Aly Dancer shimmied
nervously; she wasn’t accustomed to having a stranger in her stall.
Beth held her close and made cooing sounds to calm her.

AJ reached up and placed both hands on Aly
Dancer’s side. The filly suddenly became still. A humming sound
started to come out of AJ. His eyes were closed, and he slowly
leaned in and settled the side of his face on the horse’s chest.
Beth looked over at Dan like
what the heck is
that?

AJ hummed more loudly and began
intermittently mumbling. The mumbling was indecipherable. The horse
stood motionless. After several minutes AJ stood back and let go of
the horse. Aly Dancer shook all over like she was shedding
mosquitoes. Her breathing became heavier, but she remained calm and
relaxed. AJ slipped under the webbing and stood next to Dan.

“How is she?”

AJ considered this for a long time, then
looked at Dan. “In her mind, she’s the best there’s ever been.”

“What do you mean?” Beth said. “Best there’s
ever been. I know that.”

Dan gestured for Beth to stop and looked at
AJ.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“That filly is a special one,” said AJ. “She
got heart. She wants to compete, and she gets angry if anyone runs
ahead of her. She won’t back down. She won’t back down for
nothing.”

“Have you seen that before? I mean sensed
that, with another horse?”

“I’ve seen that before in good horses, but
nothing like this. She got more will to win than anything I ever
seen. She’s a champion every minute of her life. Some horses, they
just want to run fast. She wants to run fast, but more than
anything, she wants to win.”

Beth looked out over the webbing. “I coulda
told you that.”

“Thanks, Beth. You’re a huge part of her
success. It’s not just her; it’s you and her together, and I really
appreciate it. You keep doing whatever you’re doing with her.”

Dan moved back away from the stall and began
walking toward the parking area. “Let’s go get some dinner. What do
you say, AJ? How about a burger and fries?”

No laughter, no smiles. “Okay.”

AJ walked along in silence behind him. Dan
would slow down, trying to get him to walk alongside, but AJ would
slow down and stay just behind him. Dan finally gave up and moved
toward his vehicle.

“AJ, what do you do with those horses?”

“I dunno.”

“No, really. What’s the deal? How do you
communicate with them?”

“I just touch them, and they tell me what
they feel.”

Dan didn’t want to believe it, but he’d seen
it too many times. “Any chance you can do that with people?” He
chuckled to signal that it was a joke, but only half joking. Dan
could quickly think of several witnesses in his pending cases that
he’d like to have AJ lay his hands on. AJ could be his own personal
truth squad, conveniently packaged in the shape of a young boy.

“Nope. Don’t work with people.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause people lie.”

“So?”

“Horses don’t lie.”

“How do you know the horses aren’t lying to
you?” Dan asked.

“’Cause they can’t. They only communicate one
way. They always tell the truth. That’s why horses are better than
people.”

“Not all people lie.”

“No, but all people can.”

They walked in silence, then AJ continued.
“Best you can do with people is watch what they do. Have to ignore
what they say—just watch what they do.”

“AJ, let me ask you something. Do you know
who’s hurting the horses? Have you seen something?”

“I don’t know who’s doing it. But it don’t
make sense.”

“What specifically?”

“Couple things. Can’t steal a horse from a
racetrack.”

“Lots of horses have been kidnapped over the
years, AJ. Even some famous ones. Held for ransom. It happens.”

“They get taken from a farm, not a
racetrack.” He was right. To get a horse off a racetrack, you had
to have papers and a trailer and pull it off with dozens of people
watching.“What else bothers you?”

“Whoever’s doing this is known by
everyone.”

“How do you know that?”

They walked for about a hundred yards.
“’Cause we can see things that are different. Can’t see things that
are the same.”

“So it’s definitely someone working on the
backside?

He shrugged, looking at the ground as he
walked. “We can’t see him, so he’s the same as us.”

“How do we catch him?”

AJ shrugged. “Know the difference between
what we’re told and what we see.”

“So if we ignore what we’ve been told and
only focus on what we’ve seen, we’ll catch him?”

“Not sure if you’ll catch him, but it’s the
only chance.”

Chapter 38

tuesday afternoons were the slow
time. No racing scheduled that day, so after morning works, it was
time to relax, catch up on overdue projects, or just find a shady
spot to rest. By two p.m. the backside was a ghost town. There were
plenty of people around, but none were walking outside the
shedrows. Many had left the property to play golf, do laundry,
catch up on sleep, or just get away for a few hours.

AJ cut a solitary figure as he ventured from
Latimer’s barn toward Crok’s. He struggled with understanding why
he couldn’t be with his horses around the clock, but he eventually
fell into the routine of spending the night at Dan’s house. It was
all right but not as good as being on the backside.

A groom from Dellingham’s barn came running
around the far side of the barn toward AJ. He waved his arms and
urged AJ toward him. Breathlessly, he pleaded for help with a
downed horse in the adjoining barn.

The groom shot off toward the barn. AJ
hop-skipped behind him, moving as fast as he could. Surprisingly,
AJ was catching up as they rounded the side of the barn.

“Third stall,” the groom said, pointing a
weary arm.

AJ swung around the pole holding up the
extended roof of the shedrow and stooped under the webbing, into
the stall.

There was no downed animal.

There was no animal at all in the stall.

There were two stable hands standing in the
stall, and the groom from Dellingham’s barn quickly stepped in
place, blocking any exit through the stall door.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Superhero,” said the
tallest one. This was the same one Dan had dubbed Romeo.

AJ moved backward to get away from the men.
Dellingham’s groom shoved him forward into the middle of the stall.
AJ looked down and tried to ignore them.

“Yeah,” said the short one. “You think you’re
so special. You can take care of everyone’s horses, like you did
with the loose horse the other day. My loose horse. Didn’t need
your help, punk.” He stepped forward and pushed AJ toward the front
corner of the stall.