Page 57 of Bridles and Bribery

Jordan shook his head, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I race horses.”

“And play video games, right?” Dave prodded. According to Jordan’s mother, he spent hours gaming every day.

“It’s what they want you to think.” Jordan scowled at the ground.

“They?” Dave exchanged another puzzled look with Gil. Who in the world was Jordan talking about? Besides the Lonestar Security Guards, Jan Jacobson was the only other person around.

“The gamblers,” Jordan muttered.

What in the world?“What do you know about the gamblers, Jordan?” In the past, he’d refused to answer any questions about the photos found on his laptop. Every time Dave or the Feds had tried to get him to talk about the photos, all he’d offered them was a blank stare.

“They visit my mom.” Jordan blew out a breath. “As if you didn’t already know that.” Since he often spoke with little to no inflection in his voice, the bitterness edging it today was all the more noticeable.

“I didn’t know.” Dave wished they had a psychologist present, someone with the training and skill set to reach inside Jordan’s murky brain and make sense out of his rambling. “What else can you tell me about the gamblers, Jordan?”

Gil already had his phone up to his ear, dialing Josh. “We may need some backup.” He kept his voice low. “No idea, but things are getting weird out here. Very weird.” Hewalked a few steps away from Dave and Jordan to continue his conversation with Josh out of earshot.

“It’s the bridles they use.” Jordan continued rocking back and forth in agitation. “They hurt the horses. The horses lose the races.”

What bridles?Dave was more puzzled than ever. “Any chance you can show me one of the bridles?” Jan had mentioned something the other day about the doctor tweaking her son’s medications again. She’d warned him that Jordan might say or do some crazy stuff until his body adjusted to the new dosages.

“The bridles aren’t here.” Jordan turned around and stalked toward the weathered brown barn where Western Storm had been stabled for the past few months. Western Storm tossed his head with a nicker and trotted after him like a dutiful shadow.

Dave didn’t know if Jordan was expecting him to follow behind them or not, but he did so anyway.

Gil jogged to catch up with the three of them. “Uh, newsflash.” He dropped his voice so that only Dave could hear him. “Another death threat for Jan Jacobson arrived at the Triple J Ranch today.”

“Does she know about it yet?” Dave glanced toward the cabin beside the barn where Jan had been staying with Jordan.

“Nope. Not yet.” Gil sounded as glum as Dave felt.

He wasn’t looking forward to delivering more bad news to her. Not only had she lost her husband, Jordan’s health was continuing to spiral downward, and the bills at Triple J Ranch were continuing to mount in her absence. She’d laid off most of her employees. If her son was ultimately disqualified from racing, she’d already informed Dave she’d have to file forbankruptcy.

“Not it.” It was Dave’s lame attempt at a joke, as the two of them watched Jordan reach the barn and slide open the door.

Gil blew out a weary breath. “From what I understand, the Feds are gonna do the honors of informing her during their next debriefing session this afternoon.”

“She survived the last threat,” Dave mused. “That’s something.”

“So did your son,” Gil pointed out.

“But his original due date wasn’t until today,” Dave reminded. As a precaution, Lonestar Security had increased the patrols around their home today. He would’ve preferred to have his wife, son, and mother ensconced in the safe room, but Gil had convinced him it would be overkill. “I know we beefed up security big time in anticipation.”

“It couldn’t be tighter,” Gil assured him firmly. “We have all bases covered, including the bigger security detail for the farm that’s headed our way as we speak.”

“Then why does it feel like we’re missing something?” Dave grumbled, as they strolled into the barn after Jordan. They watched him brush down and feed his horse.

One of the Lonestar Security guards on patrol poked his head around the corner. “Yo! Everything cool in here?”

Gil sent him a thumbs up, and he moseyed on to continue his patrol outside.

It dawned on Dave that Jan would’ve normally made an appearance by now. His mouth watered at the thought of sinking his teeth into another one of her homemade banana nut muffins. She’d quickly endeared herself to the Lonestar Security team with all the fresh-baked goodies she served them.

“Hey, Jordan,” Dave called. “Where’s your mom?”

“With the baby,” he muttered, brushing faster.

“What baby?” Man, but Jordan was starting to really creep him out!

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