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“If you’re wrong about that, we’re facing a shit ton of trouble...why do these things never land on Cross?” He sighed.
“I tried his phone, but no luck,” I explained.
“He’s away, dealing with another investigation. He’s way into it, so we won’t get a hold of him for a while.”
“Wait. You know him, too?” Mia asked.
“We...work together.” Mia shifted in discomfort.“He’s been a good addition, though.” He took in a deep breath. “Look, about this search...it’s way too risky—"
“But we’re not wrong,” she interrupted anxiously. “We know this is our guy. At least one of them.”
“Actually,youknow. I’m not sold on it.” If she could fulminate me with her eyes, she would. “Aaron is right. If it’s the wrong call, it could give us a huge headache and jeopardize our whole investigation.”
She fixed her gaze on me, deep in thought, and gulped. “A whole month.”
I widened my eyes. “Are you serious?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Still glancing at her, and gazing back ahead to keep tabs on the truck and the road, I explained, “‘A whole month’ means she’s so sure of what she’s saying, if she’s wrong, I’ll have full control of what she wears for a whole month.” I peered back at her.
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t make that kind of decision based on a wager.”
“It’s not just a wager, Aaron. It’s about trust. It means I know what I’m selling and I stand by it.” Mia groaned. “Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m confident about it. This could be huge.”
“Or it could be nothing,” he reasoned.
“And if it turns out to be nothing, I’ll take full responsibility.”
He puffed through the phone, clearly warring with his decision. “Fine. I trust you on this. Keep tailing the truck. Where are you?” Mia recited our location. “Good. I’m not far from there. I’ll talk to the closest force so they can stop the vehicle until I get there. Your contract with the government is ongoing, so you’re good to be around. Once I arrive, I’ll search, and you can accompany me.”
She sighed in relief as she hung up her phone and peered at the truck again, on full alert. I tried to keep a safe and unsuspicious distance. There weren’t exits to other roads on that stretch, so I didn’t think the guy was worried we were following him yet. For what it was worth, we just had nowhere else to turn.
A charged quietness enveloped us inside my car. A mixture of excitement and anxiousness for what was to come. We saw far ahead the approaching of a police car, and I heard Mia mumbling words beside me, as she always did before those kinds of situations. As usual, it helped to calm me down.
It was noticeable when the horse guy realized there was a police car nearby. He slowed down, forcing me to break to keep my distance. There was nowhere for him to run. Just a long stretch of tree after tree.
The guy obeyed the signal to stop, parking on the shoulder of the road, and I followed him. We stayed in the car as the policemen checked the guy’s documentation, taking their time in doing so, probably to give Scott the time needed for his arrival.
Not long afterward, his unmarked vehicle showed up, and we jumped out to join him. Contrasting her playful demeanor when inside my car, Mia’s posture became stern. We weren’t friends on a road trip, dying to get home. We were two professional investigators putting our asses on the line for a trail we didn’t know if it’d pay off.
When the horse guy—whom we learned was called William Sheen—recognized me, he froze and cursed quietly, making me believe in Mia’s theory.
Scott marched toward us, dressed all in black, his marked bulletproof vest making it clear which agency he represented, causing Billy-Boy to turn an unhealthy shade of gray. One of fifty.
Already cutting to the chase, Scott opened the driver’s door with gloved hands and jumped into the cabin to start the search. “You better be right about this, Mia.”
“I know I am,” she declared confidently, only to whisper, “hopefully.” She slapped me with a pair of latex gloves and covered her hands with another pair. “Tomorrow, we rest.”
“Tomorrow, we rest.”
For the next several minutes, we explored every dirty corner of the wagon. Nothing was left uncovered. We checked the dashboard, change gear, and under the seats. We looked for secret compartments inside the cabin and within the small area where the driver could eat and rest. We ransacked every inch of the vehicle. Scott asked for backup to deal with the horses—Billy was completely useless—so we could get them out to breathe and search for...
We didn’t even know what we were looking for. Drugs? A huge load of money? We were set on heroin until Mia brought up our possible mistake.
One thing I knew, though: we’d found a total of zero illegal stuff.
Mia’s frustration was growing exponentially, just like my worry. The three of us were inside the back of the truck, from where the horses were taken. There was no other place to look, and this was bound to bring some serious problems for all of us.
