Baby

32

Baby looked at the field, her jaw dropped with her eyes filling with tears, turning Spirit around, leading him back toward Rip, Kayce and Jimmy, who were dealing with a steer.

"Rip!" She called out "Kayce!" gaining their attention

She turned back around, bringing the two of them over to her find,

"Oh, my god" Kayce said

Hundreds of cattle were laying on their sides, she couldn't tell if any of them were still alive, and the only way to find out is by walking the large field to check them all, to at least see if they were breathing. But since it had been more than a few hours since they had last seen the herd, finding one that was still alive is unlikely. Hell, they were lucky to find that first one.

". . You want me to check them?" Baby asked

"You don't have to do that" Rip replied "let's just call your father, get him down here"

"There could still be some alive" looking down at him "it's better to try and save the ones we can, Rip"

"Go ahead" Kayce said, not taking his eyes from the scene in front of him

She looked at her older brother for a moment, giving him a small nod and lightly clicking her tongue twice, causing Spirit to slowly move forward.

∆

Flies were already surrounding the cattle, drawn by the smell of their corpses, Baby crouched down next to one, picking up a small pile and looking at it. She brought it up to her nose, smelling it, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she stood straight,

"Daddy" she said, walking over to him "I think I might've found the culprit"

She held out the bunch toward him, causing him to take it, inspecting it for a moment before smelling it as well,

"This is a crime scene" he informed, throwing it to the floor "Jamie! Get livestock agents our here. Everyone walk away!" causing the wranglers to walk back toward them "Ryan, you're not a reserve agent anymore. You're on regular duty. You find a way to cover this area. I don't want a fucking bird landing in it. Baby, help him out"

"Yes, sir" Ryan replied, giving him a nod

"You" looking at Kayce "walk with me"

The two of them walked a few feet away, Baby stuffing her hands in her coat pockets as she looked at the cattle,

"You alright, darlin'?" Ryan asked, walking toward her

"It's a fucking massacre" she replied "who would do something like this? They ain't done nothing"

"Maybe that Jerkins guy?" shrugging a shoulder

"Dan Jenkins?" looking at him "he wants Yellowstone, yeah, but . ." shaking her head slightly "he's too much of a city boy. And from what I know about him, he don't even know the difference between a cow and a heifer. How could he know clover's toxic to them? He couldn't have done this" letting out a heavy sigh "let's get to work, I guess"

How they were going to cover most of the field, they didn't know. Just as they didn't know how long it would take for other officers to arrive at the scene. But they at least had to keep the birds away from the bodies. Which was easier said than done. Before they had called John out there, she managed to spot at least ten that were still alive, which caused Rip and Kayce to relieve them of their bloat before taking them away. But the amount she managed to spot didn't even make a dent compared to the amount that was lost.

X

"So you think this was intentional?" Donnie asked "I don't see tire tracks anywhere. John, the fence is way over there" pointing to it "no one threw it over. And it didn't fall out of the fucking sky --"

"That's exactly what it did" John replied, earning a chuckle from him

"So you think someone flew a plane over here and dropped clover on your cattle in the middle of the night, John?" he asked "think about that"

"We have" Jamie replied "a King Air was designed for skydiving so it has a side door large enough and could hold the weight"

"Why would anyone do that, though?" He shrugged "who would do that?"

"Your golfing buddy, that's who" John replied

"All right, John" nodding slightly "fine. You think that. Now why the fuck am I here? I have no jurisdiction. Cattle is your department. What can I do for you?"

"I have six full time agents and four reserves" he informed "I don't have the manpower for this investigation. I need your deputies --"

"John, I can't spare any deputies" looking at him "County has more firefighters sleeping at night than I have on patrol --"

"You keep making my point" current him off "you wanna help? Give me deputies or deputize my men. And not in six weeks -- right now. Right here in this field"

"Which men?" He asked

"Him, for starters" pointing to Kayce

"He just put that drifter on a soup diet" letting out a humorless chuckle "and you want me to license him to carry a weapon?!"

"You mean the one that held a knife to his throat?" Baby asked "are we talking about that drifter?"

"You're gonna tell me that beating was worse than some of your officers have doled out?" John asked "hmm? How many times have I stood on a podium with you, Donnie? Stood for you. Think you'd be sheriff if it weren't for me? Maybe you haven't noticed, but there's a war going on in this valley. And today's the day you choose sides"

". . I'll issue the permit, but he's got to understand" Donnie said

"He's trained to use it" he replied, walking toward his children

"Well that's just great, John" sarcasm in his voice "now you train him not to use it" looking at Kayce "if it comes out of your holster, son, you'd better have an ironclad reason, you understand?"

"Yeah" Kayce replied, causing Donnie to walk back to his ATV

"If he calls dispatch for support, I expect you to give it to him" John added "do you hear me, Donnie?!"

"I heard you, John!" He called back "the whole goddamned valley heard you!"