The Payback Man. Carolyn McSparren

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СКАЧАТЬ the man named Leo said. “Nobody said anything about horsemen.”

      Eleanor sighed. “You have a choice. Either work your cattle from horseback or from four-wheelers or motorcycles. I don’t imagine you want your inmates to have access to motor vehicles. Horses are smarter, think faster than either men or cows, and go places four-wheelers can’t go. You can teach cows to come in on their own to eat, but if you have to move them any distance, you’ll need horses. I’d also recommend a couple of good herding dogs eventually.”

      “She’s right.” This came from J. K. Sanders, a big, rawboned man with graying hair who sat beside Portree. “I got three or four old cutting horses out at my place I’ll let you have. They’re pretty much retired now, but you won’t be working them hard, and I think they’d enjoy the excitement.” He smiled at Eleanor, who nodded in return.

      “This is getting complicated,” Portree said.

      “It’s going to get worse,” Eleanor continued. “A commercial cattle operation looks fairly simple, but you want a prize herd, don’t you? Even a small herd of fine cattle gets complicated if done right.”

      “We don’t want a large herd, Doctor,” Leo clarified.

      Eleanor suddenly remembered that his last name was Hamilton—Leo Hamilton.

      He went on. “We want an exceptional pedigreed herd that wins prizes at fairs, brings good prices at auction and shows off what a good job we’re doing. It’s to be as much a public-relations project as anything. We don’t expect to provide beef for an entire prison population. At least not initially, and perhaps never.”

      “Then you need a few exceptional cows, preferably with calves at foot and pregnant again, and a really superb bull that will win prizes for you quickly. You can make money from selling his semen, as well as using it yourselves. You’ll have to change bulls every two to three years, otherwise you’ll have an inbred herd.”

      “You know how to buy cattle?” The question came Sanders. Eleanor suspected he had probably bought and sold a few in his day.

      “I haven’t done it in a while, and I’d be grateful for your assistance, Mr. Sanders.”

      “Sure thing, little lady.”

      Her mother had taught her that the way to make a friend or ally was not to do something for them, but to ask them to do something for you. This time it seemed to have worked. “If you agree, I’ll also enlist the help of the large-animal partner at the clinic, Dr. Sarah Scott. She’s an expert in breeds and breeding. Have you decided the breed you want?” Eleanor asked.

      “We’re open to suggestions,” J. K. Sanders replied, “but my choice would be Beefmaster. I know a couple of excellent local breeders who’d let us have some stock at affordable prices.” He shrugged. “Might even donate ’em for the write-off on their income taxes, but we’ll have to pay a pretty penny for a good bull.”

      “You do know they’re the largest breed of domestic cow,” Eleanor said.

      “And one of the showiest,” Portree said.

      “Your inexperienced men will be handling over a ton of bull.”

      “Doctor, some of those guys could throw a bull over their shoulders and walk off with it. Besides, you’ve got the experience.”

      “Even I cannot pick up a three-thousand-pound bull.”

      “So you can’t handle it?”

      “I didn’t say that. There’s not that much difference between a three-thousand-pound Beefmaster and a two-thousand-pound Brahma, except that the Brahma is probably a whole lot meaner.”

      “Those are details we can discuss later if and when we decide to employ you,” Portree said.

      “There is one thing that bothers me. Animals don’t work business hours. They often require care twenty-four hours a day, and most cows decide to calve at night. I know your prisoners sleep in dormitories in an inner compound. Will I be allowed to keep them at the barn when I need them? Nights, weekends?”

      Leo Hamilton spoke up again. “The bakery begins work at three o’clock in the morning outside the compound. The mess-hall staff works weekends. We have a number of men who leave the prison each day for work release and return each evening. The men who are already here and the ones who’ll continue to arrive until we reach capacity are considered trusties. They are well aware that if they try to escape, they will be returned to maximum-security prisons and lose the good time that they have accrued.”

      “So nobody tries to escape?”

      “Occasionally,” Warden Portree said, “but not often, and we invariably catch them. The general rule among prison professionals is ‘three and three.’ Escapees are caught within three hours and within three miles of the prison.”

      “So the men on my team will be able to work overtime?”

      “When absolutely necessary,” Hamilton said. “They can be signed out by you or a CO and signed in again when they return.”

      “I won’t abuse the privilege.”

      “That’s all we ask,” Portree said. “Now, on to another subject. You know that a cottage on the grounds comes as part of the stipend?”

      Eleanor nodded.

      “It’s one in a row of overseers’ bungalows, built sometime in the forties. We’ve brought it up to code, but it’s not fancy.”

      “I don’t need fancy.” She felt her spirits lift. Surely they wouldn’t be talking about housing if they weren’t going to offer her the job.

      “You mind living inside the prison gates?” Torres asked.

      “But outside the internal compound, right?”

      “Yes. Just inside the perimeter fences.”

      “There are five or six other cottages, aren’t there?”

      “Yes, but not all occupied yet. We hope to have the work done—by inmates—by the middle of February. Then we’ll put the remainder up for bids to our top staff.”

      “Good idea.”

      “At the moment,” Torres continued, “it’s pretty lonely—only three or four others occupied.”

      “I’m used to being alone. And I like being close to my charges. Besides, Creature Comfort is only ten minutes away by car, so it works out well.”

      “All right, Doctor, what say we call you in a couple of days with our answer?” Portree asked.

      Eleanor nodded and stood to shake hands all around. Raoul Torres winked at her and gave her a small thumbs-up.

      She felt their eyes on her back as she walked out. The moment the door to the conference room closed behind her on their murmurs, she leaned against the wall and let out a deep breath.

      “Did you get it?”

      Eleanor felt Precious Simpson’s СКАЧАТЬ