some papers. Much less
intrusive than the big number he had filmed me with before. He
walked over to Will and plunked the papers in front of
him.
“ Just need you to sign this.
Basically that you don’t object to being on camera…unless you do,
which may make things a little trickier.”
Will nodded and signed them
after a slight hesitation.
Dex smiled. “Perfect. We’ll
see if we can get Bird and the others to sign off on them tomorrow
as well. I’d like to interview them.”
See, this is why Dex was in
charge. I had no idea about these waivers and whatnot.
Will looked skeptical. “I
don’t know if Shan or Miguel will sign them but you’re welcome to
try.”
“ I got the feeling Miguel
won’t be singing that,” I said.
“ Oh, you met Miguel
already?”
“ Yeah,” Dex said as he sat
down across from me and flipped on the camera. “Charming
fellow.”
Will cleared his throat a
few times. “He’s not easy to get along with but he works hard and
he’s easy to afford. In better times, I wouldn’t have him here but,
well, we don’t have much choice. He’s also had a tough life. It’s
hard to judge him.”
Strange, it was easy for me
to judge him. I gave Dex a quick look across the table but he was
fiddling with the camera.
“ And what is Shan’s deal?”
Dex asked carefully without looking up.
“ Shan?” Will sounded
surprised. “Shan’s a good man. He’s been a friend of the family for
many, many years. Grew up with Sarah, in town. Smart as whip.
Doesn’t say much but he’s easy to get along with. He gets the job
done.”
“ OK,” Dex raised up the
camera and pressed play. The red button stopped flashing.
Thankfully, he turned the camera to Will and not to me.
Dex asked him a few
questions, mainly about the working logistics of the ranch. How
many sheep they had, if they had cattle, when they first started
farming, how the economic climate has changed things, the
government, the decline of Red Fox, etc. By the time the set-up
questions were done, Will had relaxed considerably and I felt
pretty empathetic for the guy. I thought I had it bad; I thought
times were tough where I lived but seeing this grown man almost get
weepy over the decline of his livelihood was something else. Being
a native man, in this area of the country wasn’t easy and all the
added turmoil was just the piss icing on a cake made of
crap.
Dex got down to business.
He aimed the camera my way, which made me flinch considerably. My
looks had certainly not improved since the last time I looked in
the mirror, but I couldn’t be vain about it.
“ Start asking questions,” he
urged. “About what’s been going on…here…lately.”
You know, I had all day to
prepare for what we were doing but somehow it never crossed my
mind. Was it procrastination or just lack of attention? I hated how
my bad habits were catching up with me.
I took a deep breath and
put my faith in Dex’s editing skills. I turned to Will and put on
my “investigative reporter” face.
“ Tell me, Will, when did
you first notice anything unusual happening?”
He sighed reluctantly
before saying, “It was a few weeks ago. I was lying in bed and
heard something growling. I thought it was a dream at first but the
more I listened, the louder it got. It was coming from the door. I
didn’t know what to think. I didn’t want to get up but if Sarah was
down the hall, she might need my protection. I grabbed my old
baseball bat and opened the door. The growling stopped. There was
nothing there. I didn’t want to wake up Sarah if I didn’t need to
but the next day she said she heard growling too. She also thought
it was a dream. Then Bird came over and told us a few sheep had
been…ripped to pieces. Three of them, up on the ridge. Heads,
legs…all separated. But the sheep hadn’t been eaten at all. It’s
like whoever did this, did it for fun.”
His story gave me the
creeps. Didn’t help that the house suddenly felt so large
intrusive than the big number he had filmed me with before. He
walked over to Will and plunked the papers in front of
him.
“ Just need you to sign this.
Basically that you don’t object to being on camera…unless you do,
which may make things a little trickier.”
Will nodded and signed them
after a slight hesitation.
Dex smiled. “Perfect. We’ll
see if we can get Bird and the others to sign off on them tomorrow
as well. I’d like to interview them.”
See, this is why Dex was in
charge. I had no idea about these waivers and whatnot.
Will looked skeptical. “I
don’t know if Shan or Miguel will sign them but you’re welcome to
try.”
“ I got the feeling Miguel
won’t be singing that,” I said.
“ Oh, you met Miguel
already?”
“ Yeah,” Dex said as he sat
down across from me and flipped on the camera. “Charming
fellow.”
Will cleared his throat a
few times. “He’s not easy to get along with but he works hard and
he’s easy to afford. In better times, I wouldn’t have him here but,
well, we don’t have much choice. He’s also had a tough life. It’s
hard to judge him.”
Strange, it was easy for me
to judge him. I gave Dex a quick look across the table but he was
fiddling with the camera.
“ And what is Shan’s deal?”
Dex asked carefully without looking up.
“ Shan?” Will sounded
surprised. “Shan’s a good man. He’s been a friend of the family for
many, many years. Grew up with Sarah, in town. Smart as whip.
Doesn’t say much but he’s easy to get along with. He gets the job
done.”
“ OK,” Dex raised up the
camera and pressed play. The red button stopped flashing.
Thankfully, he turned the camera to Will and not to me.
Dex asked him a few
questions, mainly about the working logistics of the ranch. How
many sheep they had, if they had cattle, when they first started
farming, how the economic climate has changed things, the
government, the decline of Red Fox, etc. By the time the set-up
questions were done, Will had relaxed considerably and I felt
pretty empathetic for the guy. I thought I had it bad; I thought
times were tough where I lived but seeing this grown man almost get
weepy over the decline of his livelihood was something else. Being
a native man, in this area of the country wasn’t easy and all the
added turmoil was just the piss icing on a cake made of
crap.
Dex got down to business.
He aimed the camera my way, which made me flinch considerably. My
looks had certainly not improved since the last time I looked in
the mirror, but I couldn’t be vain about it.
“ Start asking questions,” he
urged. “About what’s been going on…here…lately.”
You know, I had all day to
prepare for what we were doing but somehow it never crossed my
mind. Was it procrastination or just lack of attention? I hated how
my bad habits were catching up with me.
I took a deep breath and
put my faith in Dex’s editing skills. I turned to Will and put on
my “investigative reporter” face.
“ Tell me, Will, when did
you first notice anything unusual happening?”
He sighed reluctantly
before saying, “It was a few weeks ago. I was lying in bed and
heard something growling. I thought it was a dream at first but the
more I listened, the louder it got. It was coming from the door. I
didn’t know what to think. I didn’t want to get up but if Sarah was
down the hall, she might need my protection. I grabbed my old
baseball bat and opened the door. The growling stopped. There was
nothing there. I didn’t want to wake up Sarah if I didn’t need to
but the next day she said she heard growling too. She also thought
it was a dream. Then Bird came over and told us a few sheep had
been…ripped to pieces. Three of them, up on the ridge. Heads,
legs…all separated. But the sheep hadn’t been eaten at all. It’s
like whoever did this, did it for fun.”
His story gave me the
creeps. Didn’t help that the house suddenly felt so large
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