"Does she know?"
"Hard to say. She might. She might not. We won't know until we get to her."
"Are you going to her?"
"Cash's chapter is closer to Big Spring. He'll send a brother to look at the wife and the property by tonight. We're not going in until we have the picture."
I nod.
He puts his hand on my knee through the pajamas. "You eat the rest of your breakfast."
"I'm not hungry, Uncle Holt."
"Eat anyway. You're gonna need it."
I eat the cold eggs and bacon, and I pour myself another cup of scorching hot coffee.
By mid-afternoon, Pops has pulled the brothers into the kitchen for a working session.
The dining table is covered in printouts. Rogue's laptops.
A Texas county map Holt brought in from his truck.
Photos of Asher Addison from the rodeo broadcast pulled and printed.
I sit at that table, between Spur and Holt, with my third coffee of the day and the hoodie sleeves pushed up to my elbows.
Pops asked me to be there. Said the brothers needed to know what I knew about the man, because I have known him longer than any of them have.
So I tell them.
I tell them the venues Asher Addison runs stock at on a regular basis—Sweetwater, San Angelo, Snyder, Stephenville, the Texas circuit, and the New Mexico border.
I tell them his Hellfire string and how he runs them.
I tell them about his trailer, his rig, the men he keeps on his crew.
I tell them about the chute boss in Sweetwater, who is also a friend of his, and the second man at his stock barn in Big Spring who Cassidy slept with two summers ago and Brynn and I have both heard her stories about.
Holt writes things down. Rogue types. Spur listens with his hand on my thigh under the table.
Pops asks me a question every few minutes—where would he stay if he came back through Sharp, what kind of vehicle would he drive on a Saturday, would he be alone or with his crew, would his wife travel with him.
I answer each one.
By four o'clock the table has a picture I built.
Asher Addison's circuit map. His habits. His people. His rig. His blind spots.
Pops puts his hand on the back of my neck when we break for an hour. "You did good, baby girl."
"Yeah."
"You knew more than I did."
"He's been around the rodeo circuit for years, Pops. I had to know."
"Yeah."
