Race With a Heart
Chapter 96: A Moment is Enough...

Chapter 96: A Moment is Enough...

The starters went out and Steve started like there was no tomorrow. He didn’t have to worry about the tail, because no one in the entire competition had such great starts as he. Besides, there was also Jack, who would not allow himself to be taken from a good second place. The experience of an older colleague right behind his back gave Steve an excellent shield that helped him put him in the lead considerably. He would have done it without Lambert, but a wise man takes advantage of every advantage that fate offers him.

The sky was clear and the track grip was perfect. As usual, Allen chose the mixture that allowed him to achieve the best speed on a given track. Abe Allen was simply the best.

But it wasn’t the best time to think about the chief mechanic. Steve had to be constantly careful not to lose control of the situation. If he dispersed, he could easily fall off the track on the graters and pick up dirt on the tires. Not only would he lose a second or two to get back on the road, he would also lose precious hundredths of a second on each lap because of dirty tires.

He listened to the announcements and on the tenth lap he found out that he had to be careful a bit as the two cars had a small collision. He will reach the place in half a lap. All the large parts that fell off the cars have already been taken, but it is not known if the staff will sweep any particles off the track well. Steve asked if the drivers were going any further. One has to withdraw, the other is going on.

"Great," Steve muttered bitterly. The damaged car will probably linger at the end of the competition like a broken toy. Who knows when something will come off it again. Situations like this have always been irritating. They happened quite often, however, so as not to bother him for longer. Steve has already passed the scene of the accident - the famous double corner where someone had some adventures in almost every race. If the ’death bend’ has taken its toll today, maybe the rest of the drivers will no longer have to worry that they will be unlucky.

The race was on its own track, and Steve was so focused on his task that he hadn’t even noticed that his hand hadn’t trembled once.

"We were able to confirm the victim’s identity," said Paul Denning proudly as he entered the almost completely deserted room where his team was based.

"Praise the Lord!" Lieutenant Sullivan exclaimed, holding his hands up.

Sullivan’s tone was perhaps a little exaggerated, but it was only with the victim’s name that they could begin a real investigation.

"The girl had no record and was not reported missing," Denning noted. He felt a bit offended by his new partner’s tone, though, as he felt the need to show that he wasn’t sitting idly on his ass, but actually doing what he was supposed to do, and it wasn’t an easy task. "It’s a miracle we identified her at all."

"How?" Kevin Moore asked. "Someone in the neighborhood recognized her?"

There were only three of them in the entire room - the charms of working on a Sunday. Moore didn’t even work here, but for some reason Sullivan called him in today. The professor looked nervously at his watch, but he did not show any impatience in the conversation with the policemen.

"Yes. She worked in a strip bar, " explained Denning. "She was new, so she didn’t have many friends to worry about her. People thought she just quit the job like so many other girls before her. "

"Everything’s fine, but you have her last name?"

Margarita Evans aka Rita, eighteen. She worked at the Charm Bar for two weeks, then disappeared. "

"Did she accept clients?" Moore asked.

"The owner says no. I haven’t talked to the girls yet. They will be available in the evening. "

"So you will have to notify your wife," said the lieutenant, curving his lips in a malicious smile, "that you will spend Sunday evening instead of with her at the strip bar."

"She already knows," announced the young policeman.

Lieutenant shook his head. In his opinion, a man should never be healed by any woman. A man should always be in charge, always be on top in a relationship! It is interesting that he himself was terrified of anger and even dissatisfaction of his wife.

Moore glanced nervously at his watch again.

"Well than," he said and stood up. "Looks like we’re not going anywhere with the investigation now anyway, because I’m not going to go tell her family. Good luck, colleagues ... "

"Are you in a hurry somewhere?" the lieutenant asked. "I thought we would eat something together and talk about the case."

"Sorry, not today. I have prior commitments. "

As he left, Moore gave Denning a friendly look.

The young policeman blinked his eyes. He got the impression that the professor had some associations when he looked at him.

"Lieutenant, do I look like someone?" he asked Sullivan.

"What? Well, I don’t know. Maybe this actor, what’s his name ... "

"No, no, someone from here! Anyway, whatever." Denning waved his hand. There were many people alike in the world. Sometimes the wrong suspect was arrested even because of the similarity. Such situations just happened. "So, Lieutenant, are we going to lunch?"

The race went smoothly, although for some time Steve had felt that his car was no longer perfect. It wasn’t a big deal at first, almost just an impression, but over time Steve became certain that his car was not one hundred percent operational after all. Paxton even began to guess why.

"Steve, are you okay?" Paxton heard Allen’s voice over the radio. The mechanic was alert as usual, and his experience made him notice things that others did not see. "You lose on laps instead of gain."

"I think I got some dirt on the left rear wheel."

Steve was the first driver to take the ill-fated corner after an accident on it. The staff, of course, took care of the cleaning, but they might have overlooked something or not had time to clean it up for the approaching race leader.

"Okay, no problem. If it’s just a dirty tire and not some technical fault, you’ll go to the pit stop two laps earlier. "

"Roger that," Steve replied.

The dirt on the tire slowed the car down, so instead of building a further advantage, Steve was losing speed. Plus, if he only caught it with one wheel, the car was rough. In a sport where even one hundredth of a second could cost a victory, the Fergus Stable could not afford such losses. Ideally, Steve would have the edge to return to the lead, but due to the dirty wheel his lead was too small and he would probably come out third or fourth. No problem, as other drivers will have to take the tire change too, so he’ll easily regain the lead.

As predicted, Steve returned to the track third. The new tires were doing great, but pinned between third Feretti and fourth Swanson, Paxton was not in the best position for any crazy licks at the moment.

Besides, Abe Allen had warned him over the radio to wait. Getting into a fight at this point was a bit silly. The front end was moving at a good, fast pace, so unless Steve was directly in the attacking position he didn’t have to. If he clung to Feretti’s tail, there was no chance that last year’s champion would take to the track ahead of him.

Steve did just that. A little cheeky, but he clung to Feretti’s tail as if he wanted to climb into his rump. It was always some kind of entertainment during the race. Jack took the next lap and returned to the track behind Swanson exactly as he should. Feretti tried to jump back the distance but Paxton wouldn’t let him get away. He was having too much fun.

Meanwhile, Swanson approached them dangerously. When did this happen? Could it be because of Feretti’s weaker engine, the laps of the leaders were slower than they should have allowed the rest of the cars to get closer. Shit, Steve cursed, because busy with Feretti he hadn’t noticed it at all. Now he felt like a rookie who let himself be approached.

Swanson started pushing.

There is a saying that where two are fighting, the third is benefiting, but in case Swanson has to pit at any moment to change tires, he should have a little headache and not try to get the lead he will lose in less than a lap! He cared so much about the leadership position that he was willing to risk so stupidly to win it even for a moment?

It looked like it was because Swanson pushed again. The three cars were too close to each other and didn’t leave much room for maneuver. It was too easy to bring about a collision, and none of them could care about that. Better to get at least one point than none, and they were in the lead, so they will bring many more points, each of them.

For the safety of all of them, Steve decided he had to let Feretti go. Feretti is about to leave the track anyway. Let go for a moment, and then ...

It happened so quickly that Steve hardly had time to react. Feretti’s car jumped on the grates for a moment, standing across. Steve braked to try to avoid a collision, but a Swanson car crashed into the rear of his car. Steve only recorded that he took to the air and began to spin ...

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