Bullet Work (27 page)

Vickie called just as he’d hung up with Uncle
Van. She didn’t understand the significance of the race, but she
knew it was something that mattered to him. She said she’d read
about it in the newspaper, which meant that someone told her about
it because she never read the sports page. She just wanted to call
and wish him good luck. It was the proper thing to do, and she
always did the proper thing.

Dan slapped the phone shut and tucked it into
his pocket. Two steps later it was ringing again.

“Dan, it’s Darrell Manning.”

“Detective, how are you?”

“Fine, fine. Hey, wanted to let you know—we
got a hit on Belker’s phone this afternoon.”

“What are you, tracing his calls?”

“With the APB on him, we’ve got the
bloodhounds out looking for ATM activity, phone calls, anything.
Anyway, he’s still in the area. Placed a call about an hour
ago.”

“Go pick him up.”

“Wish it were that easy. He’s on the
move—wasn’t on the call long enough to triangulate an exact
position, but from the cell tower hits, he’s in northern Virginia,
not Florida. Or at least his phone is calling people from northern
Virginia. Thought you’d want to know. Watch your back, Dan.”

“Hey, who did he call? Can you tell me
that?”

Dan could hear paper rustling on the other
end. He did a quick 360-degree look around, holding the phone to
his ear. “Called a number registered to somebody named Ginny
Perino.”

  

Some days Dan would travel to the backside
before a race and make the walk over with his horses, but today he
was too nervous and in some way fearing that his nerves might
affect the horse. Time was standing still as he moved from one end
of the grandstand to the other. He walked down to the paddock and
watched the field for the sixth race head toward the racetrack.Up
on the fence, like a gargoyle guarding the entry to the track, was
AJ.

Dan slapped him on the leg with his form.
“You okay?”

“Yep.”

“You guys got anything in today?”

He looked down at Dan. “Ran second in the
first race and fourth in the third, but we’re done for the
day.”

“You make it over to the test barn?” The test
barn was where shippers were housed in the days leading up to the
race. Dan knew he had been.

“Yep.”

“What do you think of those fillies?” Dan
asked.

“I think your filly can beat them. They got
talent, but they got no heart. That Jillite don’t like bein’ here.”
He paused and watched the horses moving toward the track. “They
been kid-gloved. Today they see a filly that can run. We’ll see how
they measure.”

“I hope you’re right, AJ. You take care of
yourself, all right?”

He nodded.

Dan walked about six feet, stopped, and spun
around. “You s’pose it’d be okay with Latimer if you got your
picture taken—you know, just in case we win?”

“We got nothin’ running against you. He won’t
see no harm,” said AJ.

Dan pointed the form at him. “See you in the
winner’s circle.” He got a smile out of him. Dan didn’t think it
was possible. A few weeks ago he couldn’t even get him to look at
him. Now he smiled. Dan tapped the racing form against his leg and
walked away.

Lennie was right. Dan was lucky to be in this
position, to have this horse, to have this shot. Dan smiled. Win or
lose, this will be a day not soon forgotten. Winning would be
better, though.

  

Kyle leaned back against his locker and
rested. The strain and stress of race riding took a toll on even
the best athletes. In thirty minutes he would ride in the biggest
race of his life, on a filly with a big chance. He had his
headphones on, and Lenny Kravitz cranked up on the I-Pod. He closed
his eyes and tried to relax. As he’d done many times before, he
tried to visualize the race.

He’d never ridden against Barrilla, and he
desperately wanted to beat him, but he had to put that out of his
mind and ride his race. Do the right thing for the horse. He had to
win with her best run and not worry about the competition. As he
nodded to the music, he felt a tap on the arm. Jim Dagens was
standing above him. Kyle jumped slightly when he spotted Dagens. A
crafty smile came across Dagens’ lips, and he extended his arm
downward with a closed fist.Kyle tugged his headphones down and
returned the fist bump to Dagens.

“I’m gonna win this thing,” Dagens said, “but
I hope you beat Barrilla, too.”

“You’ll have to settle for second,” Kyle
said, with a laugh. “But I’ll get you a picture of me in the
winner’s circle for your photo album.” Dagens gave him a dismissive
wave and walked off.

Since their scrum a few weeks prior, they had
developed a mutual respect for one another. The race was shaping up
as hometown against shippers. The hometown jocks always wanted to
win, but if they couldn’t, they wanted another hometown guy to win.
It was more about knowing the guys they raced against each day were
as talented as the guys they watched on national TV. It was about
local pride. It was about dignity. It was about protecting
turf.

  

As soon as the eighth race was over, Dan
headed toward the paddock. The paddock judge recognized him and
looked a little stunned that someone was so early getting to the
paddock. There was no one else there yet. He smiled, lifted the
rope, and let him pass into the open air of the paddock. “Good luck
today.”

“Thank you. It’s a great day.”

They’d drawn the four post for the race, so
he waited near the entrance to that stall. Eventually a few other
trainers and owners made their way into the paddock. They nodded as
they walked past. Finally, Jake came over, and they shook hands.
“What do you think?” Dan said.

“She’s got a ton of talent; we know that.”
Jake took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“Just don’t know how much game those shippers
got.”

The grooms were starting to lead the horses
to the paddock. Small tags attached to the bridles matched up with
the assigned posts.

Keith Kimbrough, Arestie’s trainer, stopped
briefly and shook Jake’s hand. No words. None were needed. Romeo
led Arestie past them toward the assigned stall. Dan gave him a
look, but Romeo didn’t reciprocate.

A murmur shot through the crowd, and they
turned to look. Beth was leading Aly Dancer into the paddock. Red
roses were braided in the filly’s mane. “Good lord, what’s that?”
Dan asked.

“She loves that horse, Dan. She’s so damn
proud. Spent her own money on the flowers.”

Sensing Dan’s unease, Jake continued, “Won’t
hurt her at all. Hell, she’ll look great in the picture when were
done.”

As Beth approached, Dan said, “She looks
great, Beth.”

“She’s a champion,” Beth said. “She should
look like one.”

Beth led her into the stall and circled her,
facing out. She patted the horse on the nose and talked quietly to
her as Jake cinched the girth and saddle on her.

Shazzy Time was in the one post. She was
huge. The filly had to be nearly sixteen hands high as a
two-year-old. Her coat shone in the sunlight. She looked like a
champion, too, Dan said to himself.

Built In was in the five post and wasn’t
happy. She reared and balked as they tried to get the saddle on. A
groom struggled with the rope clipped to her bridle. She was having
none of it.

Aly Dancer stood almost motionless as Beth
scratched her behind the ears. She was acting more like a puppy dog
than a race horse. That’s okay—save your energy for the race, Dan
thought. The paddock judge came by and lifted Aly Dancer’s lip,
comparing the tattoo to the list on his clipboard. “Good luck,
Jake.”

A bell gonged, and the jockeys came down the
walkway into the paddock. Barrilla was getting plenty of attention
from the onlookers. He twirled his whip like he was bored to death
even to be present. Kyle was adorned in the blue and white silks
Dan had designed for his stable. He walked past Barrilla without
looking at either him or his horse. He reached the area by stall
four, and they stood on the grassy area inside the large walking
ring. The horses began circling on the walking ring in numerical
order.

Jake put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Give her
a confident ride. This filly’s ready to rock. Don’t get crazy if
the one or five want to go fast, but don’t be afraid of them
neither. If she breaks on top, she can win from there. Give her a
smart ride. She’s got the ability.”

Kyle nodded. Saying nothing was the best
thing a jockey could do in this situation. Jake didn’t say anything
about the prior ride, but he was making himself clear—don’t get in
behind horses unless the pace was crazy.

The paddock judge called, “Riders up.”

The horses circled past them one last time.
Kyle bent his outside knee and lifted his foot. Jake grabbed Kyle’s
ankle and hoisted him up onto the saddle in one easy motion. “Get
the money,” said Jake as he slapped Aly Dancer on the hind
quarter.

Dan made his way out to the apron of the
grandstand as the track announcer was introducing the field for the
My Lassie Stakes. In a typical race day he would never notice the
introductions unless they interrupted a conversation. But today he
could hear nothing else.

“Number 4 is Aly Dancer, owned by Dan
Morgan, trained by Jake Gilmore, and ridden today by Kyle
Jonas.”

Dan looked up at the grandstand and saw
Lennie, Milt, and TP cheering and thrusting their fists in the air.
He’d never seen them do that. Not once in his life. They were
making damned fools of themselves. Dan waved at them and motioned
for them to sit down. It was embarrassing.

He took a deep breath and walked up the
grandstand steps. Dan couldn’t sit with the gang. He needed to
watch the race alone, and he had to be standing. He might actually
combust if he stopped moving for ten seconds.

His heart felt like it was going to break
through his ribcage and fall on the floor in front of him.
Won’t be long now.
Dan got in line to make
a bet. They trudged slowly toward the cashier. The lines were eight
to ten people long, with lots of money being laid down. More than
the wager, he knew the process of waiting in line would make the
time move faster.

He put $500 to win on Aly Dancer and,
following Lennie’s advice, bought a fifty dollar exacta with his
horse over Arestie. He didn’t box them, putting Arestie on top.
That would be bad luck.

A quick glance at the TV screen showed Aly
Dancer at 5-1. Shazzy Time had been bet down to 6/5. Lennie was
right. In things equine, Lennie was always right. Jillite was 7/2.
Built In was 6-1, and Arestie was 9-1. The other five entries were
all over 18-1.

Dan walked to an open area at the top of the
first landing of the grandstand, where he could watch the race.
Kyle was trotting Aly Dancer alongside the lead pony. She looked
majestic and confident, and Dan was shaking noticeably. “Okay,
girl. Let’s see what you got.”

Chapter 52

kyle circled slowly on Aly Dancer.
She had warmed up nicely, head down and tugging on the bridle. Just
one race under her belt—but she knew what this was all about. The
rider on the lead pony leaned slightly backward and said, “You
gonna get ’em?”

“Damn straight.”

“Good luck.”

They were double loading the nine horse
field, which meant the one and five were loaded into the gate
together, then the two and six, and so on. Being in the four hole,
Aly Dancer would be last to load before Arestie, the nine horse,
completed the field. She wouldn’t have to stand long. That was
good. He watched as the three horse, Pleasure Is Mine, moved
forward into the gate. The lead pony rider unclipped his rope as
one of the gate crew slipped a leather strap through the bridle and
led Aly Dancer forward. Kyle pulled his knees up and in, and Aly
Dancer smoothly walked into the gate.

“One out.”

  

From the grandstand Dan was not sure he was
even able to breathe.
Get away clean. Just get
away clean.

“They’re all in line.…”

Dan leaned forward and grabbed the railing.
Just get a clean break.

“And they’re off.…”

  

Kyle had braced for the break and balanced
forward on his toes perfectly. The gates flew open.

Aly Dancer came out like a shot.

“Aly Dancer breaks on top and takes the
lead…Shazzy Time on the inside…Arestie in the middle of the
track.”

  

Dan jumped and pounded his form on the rail
in front of him. My God, she broke like her tail was on fire, but
Shazzy Time was right there with her.

“Down the backside they go…Aly Dancer leads
three parts of a length.… Shazzy Time is second on the inside…one
back to Arestie…Jillite and Pan Magic inside her…Built In a length
back on the rail…two back to Pleasure Is Mine and Millet
Alley…Smoke Force trails.”

  

Kyle had a snug grip on Aly Dancer. She was
tugging at the reins. She wanted her head free. She wanted to run.
Kyle had to balance frustrating his filly by restraint or risk
letting her burn up all her energy and have nothing left at the end
of the race. He tipped his head down and looked to each side to see
where horses were around him. He tried to judge the pace. He didn’t
want to go too fast early, but he also didn’t want another horse in
his filly’s face.

“Aly Dancer continues to lead…Shazzy Time
right there on the inside half a length back and Arestie creeps
closer…opening quarter in twenty-two and three.”

  

Dan banged on the railing. His form was
starting to shred from the beating.
What the hell
is he doing?
Dan thought.
Twenty-two and
three? Is he insane?
Jake had said to ride with confidence,
but good lord. Shazzy Time and Arestie were cutting the same
fractions, so they were all in the same boat.
I’ll just die if she gets beat at the wire by a deep
closer.