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.”In the crowded exhibit hall, a cop could be expected to be in close quarters with those attending the stock show.But outside it would be best if we maintained some distance so it wouldn’t look as if I were goofing off.Of course a secondary benefit was that I wouldn’t appear to be with Seth should Clint happen to spot us.As we strolled across the grounds, a black blur appeared in my peripheral vision.I turned my head to see Clint and Jack trotting past on the main drive.Luckily, the deputy seemed to have a destination in mind and was watching the path ahead of him.He continued on out of sight without noticing me.In another minute or two, Seth and I reached the noisy midway.Seth stopped in front of the dart game.“I’m going to win you one of those.” He gestured to a stuffed brown dog with a felt tongue hanging out of its mouth and a red bandana around its neck.He set his money on the counter.The carnie reached under the counter, pulled out three darts, and handed them to Seth.Seth put the tip of the darts to his finger.“These are dull, buddy.Give me some sharp ones.”The darts may have been dull, but the look the carnie sent Seth was so pointed he could’ve performed acupuncture with it.I sent the man an equally pointed look right back.“You’re not pulling a fast one, are you?”“No,” the man spat.“These darts are old is all.” He reached under a different part of the counter this time and pulled out three different darts, exchanging them for the ones in Seth’s hand.Seth felt the tips.“That’s more like it.”Seth raised the first dart and eyed the balloons tacked to the board, picking his air-filled victim.He drew his hand back and sent the dart flying.Pop! A pink balloon met its death.He raised the second dart, aimed, and threw it.Pop! This time a blue balloon bit the dust.He raised the final dart, eyed the board, and sent it on its way.Pop! Stretchy pieces of red balloon exploded into the air.“Congratulations.” The carnie reached up, pulled one of the brown dogs down from the wall, and handed it to Seth.Seth, in turn, handed it to me.Brigit sniffed the dog, grabbed it by the floppy ear, and yanked it out of my hands, shaking it back and forth as if trying to break its neck.The carnie snorted.“That dog sure is one vicious bitch.”Couldn’t argue with him on that one.I’d seen her in action, seen her tear out after a suspect, grab him with her sharp teeth and refuse to let go.I might be her handler, but I still found her scary sometimes.We continued on, Brigit carrying her new toy in her mouth as we walked.Seth consulted the schedule he’d obtained from the ticket booth when we’d arrived.“There’s a goat-milking contest in fifteen minutes.We can’t miss that.”I followed ten steps behind Seth as he entered the other hall, and paused for a moment inside the door as, up ahead, he scouted a good vantage point for watching the competition.Attendees walked past, some giving me a nod or a “Hello, Officer.” Others cut their eyes to Brigit and timidly scurried on as if she were a ferocious beast.Seth raised his hand and issued a discreet signal, letting me know he’d found a good spot.As casually as I could, I made my way through the horde, glancing left and right to ensure everyone was on good behavior.Two skinny adolescent boys had climbed halfway up the slats of the enclosure to sit on the fence.There probably wasn’t much chance of them getting hurt, even if they accidentally fell into the arena.Goat milking was a rather tame event compared to the bull riding and calf roping that would take place later tonight at the rodeo.Nonetheless it would set a bad precedent.Might as well put them on alert that no rule breaking would be tolerated.I gave a soft tweet of my whistle to get their attention, motioning with my hand when they turned my way.“Get down, boys! Keep your boots on the ground.”With sullen looks, they dropped to the floor of the hall Thump, thump.I gave them a thumbs-up and continued on, slipping into a place at the fence two feet away from Seth.A teenage girl stepped into the space between us, resting her elbows on the fence.Three hefty rednecks stepped up to the fence on my right.As we watched, the contestants lifted their goats onto low platforms with a metal frame of bars at the end.Some of the goats were brown, others black, with a single cream-colored one in the bunch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]