CHAPTER 4

"Well Jasper, let's take another stab at it." Houston recoiled the rope in his hand as Bo herded the calf back into the chute while Lamar worked the gate. "We can do this, boy." He gave the stallion's neck a pat as they went back to the open chute.

"I'm pretty sure he can – but you I ain't so sure about." Bo Harper chuckled as Matt shook his head. "It's been a while since you've done rodeo, Houston...a few years...you're older."

"You're prospects of gettin' older are startin' to diminish, Bo." The younger cowboy gave his ranch hand an evil smile.

"You ready?" Lamar stood at the controls of the chute where the calf would emerge, and saw the confident nod that Matt gave him as he leaned forward in the saddle, a pigging string in his teeth. After waiting a few seconds the old cowboy released the calf and Matt and Jasper charged out after him, the cowboy making three swings with the rope and releasing it catching the calf on the right side of his head and cleanly encircling it. Jasper seemed to understand now that his part was to stop and pull backward on the rope causing the calf to jerk backward as his owner dismounted on the right side, ran to the calf flipping it onto its left side and with the pigging string, tying both of the calf's back feet and it's right front together.

"I'll be dipped." Lamar let out a whoop as did the other two.

"Hah haaaah! I knew you would get it, Jasper. Good boy...good boy." Houston lavished praise on the horse that had only been trained for riding a few months earlier. "Alright Bo – pay up." Releasing the calf, he recoiled the rope as the ranch hand shook his head.

"I can't believe it only took forty five dern minutes for that horse to figger it out."

"He's a helluva lot smarter than you are, that's for sure." Lamar leaned against the fence as the calf was released back into another pen.

"How's it going down here?" CJ had walked down to the pen along with Tomás, Catey, and Sheila.

"Real good." Matt had a big smile on his face as he got back on the horse. "Let's show 'em, boy." They trotted back to the chute.

Once again, Lamar released another calf and the team of Matt and Jasper successfully roped him. "Way to go, Cowboy!" CJ knew he had missed rodeo events and was glad to see that he had decided to give it another try – at least with roping. The thought of him ever riding bulls or broncs again was something that she would be dead set against if he brought up the subject.

"How in the world do you do that?" Sheila had only seen the rodeo on TV a few times and had a hissy fit when CJ had showed her some old DVD's of Matt back in his younger days with the bulls and broncs.

"Teamwork...and I've got a damn good partner." The smile that covered Matt's face was contagious. As Catey Rose watched in surprisingly quiet fascination the process was repeated once again, this time even quicker as the horse now fully understood his part.

"Daddy?"

"Yes ma'am?" Matt recoiled the rope.

"I do?"

"No ma'am – you're a little too short just yet." He walked over where Catey was standing on the white wooden fence with her nanny holding onto her. Giving her a kiss he saw the disappointed look on her face. "Tell ya what, Lady Bug..." He held his left hand just below his hip. "When you get about this tall I'll let you give it a try...but just the roping part. Okay?" She gave him a sigh that sounded exactly like her mother when she was getting perturbed with her daddy. "Promise."

"'kay." She leaned forward for another kiss and watched intently as he went back to Jasper and practiced for another hour, missing only twice in that time.

"Alright boys, I reckon we've worn these little fellas out enough for one evenin'." Riding up next to the fence, he took Catey up on the saddle in front of him, and took her for a ride around the pen a few times.

"Hey Pop?" Tomás spoke up.

"Yes sir?"

"Think you could teach me how to do that?" The usually quiet boy had been learning how to ride since he was first brought to the ranch and now spent as much time as possible with the horses.

"Don't see why not. It's best to start on the ground though." He gave the boy a smile. After being homeless on the street for a few years, he had bounced back quickly, his grades at the private school near San Francisco showing all the hard work he put into them. "You know, maybe Miss Sheila oughta learn – if there's gonna be two more boys runnin' around here..." He let the rest of the sentence go unsaid.

"That might not be a bad idea considering who their daddy is." The nurse gave a big laugh. "At least you're not trying to ride a cow."

"You mean a bull."

"Whatever – at least you're on a horse."

"I am right now..." He cut his eyes over at CJ, the look on her face showing her disapproval at even the thought of something more dangerous.

Lamar had caught the look that passed between the two of them. "Better hold your tongue...I've seen that look before from a coupla my ex-wives; you may be sleepin' out in the barn tonight."

Although he laughed, Matt exchanged another look with CJ who still wasn't laughing as he brought their daughter back over to the fence. "Worried about something, Lil Mama?"

"You know exactly what I'm worried about." She watched as he looked away for a minute then back at her and shifted in the saddle. "I think those days are best left in the past."

"You do, huh?"

"I do." Everyone had gotten quiet. The pair didn't argue too often and when they did it was best not to interrupt.

Leaning down he kissed her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Yes ma'am." Sitting back upright he turned the stallion and went through the gate that Bo opened and to the barn to put away the saddle and tack. He was joined by Tomás who began helping him. "So are you really thinking about it – bulls?"

Matt stayed quiet for a minute. "I was..." Watching as CJ went up the hill toward the house he continued. "But I really don't think it would be fair to CJ – or y'all either."

"It's pretty dangerous. I've seen where you used to do that." The teen shook his head.

"Yeah, but..." He sighed and stepped back, sitting on a bale of hay as the boy took over the care for the horse. "It's a...guess the best word for it would be a rush. Almost a drug in a way. It's also addictive like a drug." Thinking back to when he was a teen and young man on the circuit and of several people he had known who had been married and competing, he realized that over half of them had marital problems due in part to the sport that they loved as well as the time and energy it took to participate. "She's right. Those days are in the past. I've got too much here to wager on eight seconds."

Later on after he had given Catey a bath and read her favorite book to her, tucking her in for the night with CJ looking on, she took him by the hand and they went out to one of the lounge chairs by the pool and snuggled up together, something they had done a lot before Catey and Tomás had come into their lives. "Hon, I want to say something." She had her head resting on his chest and raised it to look at him. "I understand why you want to ride bulls..." He started shaking his head looking away. "Look at me..." Matt looked back down at her. "It's exciting; there's a thrill there that very few people ever get to experience. You've felt it – and you also know what the consequences can be from it."

"I'm not going to do it, CJ. There's more consequences than just getting hurt. I've seen it rip a marriage apart – more than one." He leaned his head back and looked up at the stars. "As long as it took for me to get up the nerve to let you know I loved you, you would think that I would have better sense than to even imagine it. I'm sorry."

"We've all got our dreams, hon."

"Yeah, but this one – you, me, and the kids – is the one that I need to be concentrating on – not going back to bulls." He turned her face up to his, kissing her, as Sheila and Tomás looked on from the kitchen window.

"Phew..." The nanny and boy exchanged a look and a laugh. "I thought that was gonna get ugly."

"No, he knows what's important these days." Smiling, he turned and went back to his room to work on the surprise for his dad.

Matt stood outside drinking coffee the next morning as he waited on Tilly, his mind going back to the problem that Mitchell Gunterson had brought to him. He had run out of ideas and the only thing he could do now was wait; either the bomber would strike again or not. Unless they could find out where he was getting his supply there wasn't much else he or the ATF could do. Arms wrapped around him from the back and he felt a jolt come from one of the twins that CJ was carrying. "What's the big idea of puttin' one of our boys up to kickin' me in the butt? I said I was sorry last night."

"That was his idea – which ever one it was." He reached back for her and the pair kissed as Tilly concluded her business and ran back, making a couple of circles around them just as she did every morning.

"Well Tilly's made her victory lap so I guess we can go eat now." They walked back into the kitchen hand in hand and sat down to breakfast. Matt was halfway through a plate of bacon and eggs when his phone rang. "Hey, Mitch..." He stopped. "Damn. Where is it exactly?" Scrambling up from his chair he gave CJ a quick kiss. "See ya there." Hanging up he pulled out his keys. "Love you, Babe." In a second he was out the door running to the truck.

"That isn't good." Sheila wiped Catey's chin.

"No...it isn't. And I've got a real bad feeling what it is." She went into the den and hit the remote turning on the TV and could hear when he hit the siren on the truck. The news anchor was reporting on a plane that had crashed just beyond the breakwall at Marina Del Rey. She knew without a doubt that's where he was headed. Sheila came in with Catey Rose as Tomás stumbled into the den, still half asleep. He had spent several hours the night before on the painting he was doing for his dad.

"Where's Pop?" He looked at the screen. "Uh oh..."

CJ turned up the volume as the anchor told more about the crash. "According to several eyewitness reports the jet belonged to XPRS. Just yesterday there was a fire at their terminal at LAX and many are speculating that the two incidents may be related. Reporter Tamara Placer is on her way to the scene. We'll bring you updates as we have them."

Matt made the trip down Saddle Peak Road as Gunterson called him back. They would meet an LAPD helicopter at the south end of Topanga Canyon Road. Thanks to the siren and lights the trip was relatively quick and he was there before the ATF agent, grabbing his camera and fire investigation clip board. Within a couple of minutes Mitchell arrived and they took off headed south toward the breakwall. The PI had been listening to the chatter on the police radio that was now installed in his truck. It didn't sound like there was much hope of finding the pilot or co-pilot alive. The Coast Guard was already on the scene and divers were in the water searching both for the crew and the in-flight recorder.

Flying out to the scene neither man had much to say; both were upset that they hadn't been able to come up with a suspect and now the possible deaths of the crew members weighed heavily on them. A message came across that the co-pilot had been found alive but badly injured. His first words to his rescuers were that there had been an explosion somewhere in the cargo. The plane had split into two pieces before slamming into the water where the back end broke in two again. Although the containers in the plane had ignited as had the jet fuel, it didn't burn for very long due to the low amount of fuel left in the plane's tanks. "Do we know where the flight originated?" Houston looked at the agent.

"Kansas City." As they circled overhead they could see crews trying to recover packages that were floating out to sea and those slipping beneath the surface. "NTSB is all over this. The boss called me on my way down to meet you. Just so you know – they aren't always the easiest to work with – they suspect everybody."

"So it'll be like old home week. Hmph." He watched for another minute, an idea trying to make its way into his mind. "Manifests..."

"Manifests?"

"Can the folks working on St. Louis and El Paso compare the packages recovered and readable to the manifests – that would cut down on the number that we would have to look into."

"Son of a..." Gunterson shook his head. "Nothing like overlooking the obvious."

"Don't feel bad – I did, too. Let's get out of here – we aren't doing anything but making it harder for the folks down there."

"Yeah, Karl – take us back, would ya?" The pilot nodded and turned back to the north.

"Karl – can I pick your brain on the trip back?"

"I guess – but it's early yet; I'm not sure it's ripe." As they flew back along the coast, Matt asked question after question about the helicopter they were in and by the time they landed he had narrowed down his decision on a new chopper considerably.

"Meet you at your office?" Mitchell pulled out his keys, having to yell to be heard above the rotors.

"As long as you can get the information we need on those packages." Matt nodded. "I'll make the coffee." On the way into the office, he called CJ to let her know that he might need some help when they received the list from ATF.

"Not a problem – just let me know." After their usual goodbyes, she hung up thinking about all the changes that he had been through in the last several years and thought she understood why he had been tempted to resume his old pastime.

As he went up in the elevator the PI was thinking about the manifests and the checking that would have to be done and had to stop himself from automatically saying good morning to Chris – who was now off on maternity leave. As he unlocked the main door to the inner office and started making coffee he continued over what they had – which considering what had been happening was crucial to the case.

While the coffee brewed he pulled up BABY and found the news feed for the crash. Naturally no other details were available and the reporters were just repeating what they had been given so far. Mitchell came through the doors holding a paper bag. "Don't know about you but I didn't get breakfast."

"Only about half." He poured a cup for the agent and they sat down on the couch.

"I put a call through to Kansas City..." Gunterson took a big bite. "We were a little late on the uptake – somebody there already thought of it. It should be in my inbox in just a few minutes."

"'Kay." The PI dug around in the bag. "You didn't get mustard?"

"No...why would I do that?"

"'Cause sausage biscuits without mustard is just plain uncivilized." Going back to the mini-fridge behind the bar he returned with a bottle and loaded up a biscuit, laughing as the agent followed suit and gave a surprised grunt.

"Mmph...good."

"Wanna check your mail?" Matt motioned to the keyboard.

"Alright..." Wiping off his fingers Mitchell pulled up his account. "Let's see here...from the shipment that went to El Paso...there were four that couldn't be accounted for: two were from businesses and two were private parties."

"What kind of businesses?"

"Oasis Candles and Dr. Ben Wilfred, DDS."

"A dentist...tooth whitening..." They exchanged a look and Matt took over the keyboard. "I can't find anything on a Dr. Ben Willfred in Kansas City...wait a minute...nope – there isn't one for Kansas or Missouri. Was it picked up at an office or dropped off at one of the service centers?"

Mitchell went back to the information he had. "It was dropped off – paid for in cash."

"Okay, we might be on to something. What about the St. Louis package?" He watched as his friend opened the email from an agent in St. Louis.

"It was also dropped off and paid for in cash."

"What about the manifest?"

"There wasn't a dentist...but there was a beauty supply business..." At the same time they both spoke.

"Hair dye."

"I'll see if they have any surveillance from the times the packages were received at XPRS." He pulled out his phone and began dialing the call to two different agents taking a few minutes. Matt had already emptied his coffee cup and refilled it along with Gunterson's by the time he hung up. "They're gonna check on it." The agent sat back and nodded. "You know – sometimes a paper trail can be a good thing."

"If we can get surveillance to go with it...without it..." Matt shrugged and took over the keyboard again looking up the name of the beauty supply. "No such thing in Kansas or Missouri. But I believe we're definitely on to something."

Gunterson's phone rang again. "Yes sir?" He pressed the speaker button. "Could you repeat that please?"

"I said we've received word from XPRS – the bomber has just made a demand for $500,000 dollars."

"How was it received?"

"Through one of the company's letter pouches."

"Naturally. I've got you on speaker with Houston."

"That's fine. Mr. Houston, I'm Supervisory Agent Dwayne Harrelson. Mitchell told me about your help – we appreciate it."

"I'm afraid I haven't been much help just yet. What are the bomber's terms?"

"The only thing specific was the five hundred grand – or the next time it will be detonated over a major metropolitan area."

"Great...well, there's always bugging the drop but if it's discovered..." Mitchell looked over at Matt.

"I might be able to help you with that." The PI gave a grin.

"BugBytes?" Harrelson had heard enough about Matt to know that he was part of the brains behind the high tech surveillance equipment.

"Yes sir, and we've got something that hasn't hit the market just yet that might be just what's needed."

"I'll talk to the boss and get back in contact."

"Hang on a minute – did the demand originate in Kansas City as well?"

"It did." The supervisory agent waited.

"I think I feel a trip to Missouri, pard – how 'bout you?"

"That would be up to SSA Harrelson."

"I'll run it up the flagpole and get back to you two. Thanks." He was gone and Matt took another swallow of coffee as he pulled out his phone.

"Hey Lil Mama – just wanted to give you a head's up – I may be taking off for Kansas City in a little bit."

"Okay, just...well the usual I guess: be careful. Are you with Mitchell?"

"I'm here."

"Keep him out of trouble."

"You don't ask for the impossible do you?" All three cracked up.

"I'll call you as soon as I know something, Babe. Love you."

"Love you, too. 'Bye."