Dead and Gone by Jack Patterson (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“Who’s that?”

“J.T. Beaumont. If there’s ever been a tailor-made driver for this team, it’s him. We talked about it several months ago. I was just planting some seeds. Now it’s time to pluck the fruit.” He paused. “But there are a few other people we’re going to have to get rid of first.”

***

MOUTH AGAPE, CAL POKED his head out from underneath the Davis Motorsports hauler. He looked around and then scrambled to his feet. He checked over his shoulder before casually emerging from between the haulers. He was sure no one had seen him. He was also sure that the note shoved into his pocket wasn’t a joke.

CHAPTER 4

OWEN BURNS ENJOYED his Monday morning commute to the Davis Motorsports headquarters in the quiet suburb of Huntersville. Thirty years ago, he left Clemson University with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a dream—to work in the auto racing industry. While his accomplishments stacked up, there was a glaring one missing. Not a single championship on his resume.

He’d come close several times, though he felt like winning a NASCAR championship was more a game of chance than skill. Mere hundredths of a second separated drivers on any given race day, but a bump here,,a wreck there, or an untimely start, and a good day’s work could vanish.

Ah, who cares?

But Burns couldn’t fool himself. He wanted to be able to say that he worked on a championship crew, yet he couldn’t. And as he entered the twilight of his career, he wondered if he ever would. This season seemed like his best shot, and now, not only was his chance gone, but so was Tanner.

He pulled into the parking lot and lumbered toward the facility. The Davis Motorsports headquarters covered 65 sprawling acres in the North Carolina hills. More than sixty employees worked daily at the building, doing everything to ensure that the team had the best opportunity to win each week. From the outside, the grounds gave the appearance of a successful entity, one that triumphed over its competitors. In reality, it was a cash-strapped team that sought to gain every advantage when possible.

While other race teams had the cash to hire car chiefs and crew chiefs, Burns shouldered the burden of both jobs. He welcomed the challenge of managing the egos of crew members while still having a firm grip on how the car was running and what adjustments were required. Today would consist of a frank discussion about both.

As he entered the building, Burns heard the crew bickering at the end of the hall. He stopped and clenched his fists. He wanted to join them and blame somebody—or hit something. But he took a deep breath and walked into the room.

“Quiet,” he said. “The last thing we need to do is start pointing fingers. Tanner’s gone and it was an accident. Our thoughts should be with his wife and family, not over who might have made a mistake. Stuff happens. It’s called racing.”

Jackson Holmes stood up. “I agree. There’s nothing good that comes out of blaming others. Everyone knows the risks when they climb into the car.”

Russ Ross folded his arms and grunted. “No driver ever expects to have his throttle stuck wide open on a track like that in Texas.”

“I swear that return spring on the throttle was perfect when I checked it,” Dirt said.

“Of course you’d say that,” Ross quipped. “It was your responsibility to check.”

Dirt stood up and bowed his chest. “Just what exactly are you implying?”

Ross rolled his eyes. “I think you know what I meant by that.”

“Come over here and I’ll knock your teeth—at least the ones you have left,” Dirt growled.

Ross stood up before Burns slid in between the two men and held them off. “Gentlemen, have you forgotten what I said already?”

“Nobody’s forgotten,” Ross said. “We just don’t believe this scum bag.”

Dirt lunged at Ross but didn’t make contact as Burns shoved him away.

“Look, we need to focus on getting a car set up for Phoenix and not trying to undo something that can’t be undone,” Burns said. “It’s the part of our sport that nobody likes, but you can’t avoid it sometimes. It just happens and you have to deal with it.”

Ross and Dirt backed away from each other and returned to their seats on opposite sides of the room.

Before Burns could utter another word, Ned Davis walked into the room. “Do we have a problem, gentlemen?” he asked.

The crew members all shook their heads.

“This is hard on everyone, but we need to stick together in times like these,” Davis said. “We’re all sad over losing someone as incredible as Tanner, but you all still have a job to do. There’s still a race on Sunday. There’s still a crowd to entertain.”

“Who do you plan on getting as Tanner’s replacement?” Ross asked.

“Just leave that up to me,” Davis answered. “I’ll find a driver that will get this team back in position to win it all again next season. Don’t you worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Ross said. “I’m just wondering if you’re going to be able to find any competent driver who’s going to want to join a team where a crew member doesn’t check the car sufficiently and may die as a result.”

Dirt glared at Ross. “You wanna go right now? Right here? Cause I’m ready.”

Davis put his hands in the air. “Gentlemen, please. Are you not listening to a word I’m saying? You’re not irreplaceable, just remember that.” Davis scanned the room. “Now, let’s be a little bit more respectful of one another. You do your job and I’ll do mine of finding us another driver who can win us a championship. Understand?”

The crew members nodded.

“Now that we’ve got that taken care of, let’s get down to business,” Burns said. “Anybody got any suggestions about how we can tweak the car for the race at Phoenix?”

Ross stood up. “Make sure the throttle doesn’t get stuck.” He glared at Dirt.

“It’s on,” Dirt said as