Chapter Sixteen

Friday, October 4th.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

"It's been a tough week," said Billy. "Tough on you, but I'm feeling it, too. Those kids are my family."

"For sure," said Travis. "We're getting the boys back today and things will settle down a bit for us."

"We coming down hard on our suspects today?" asked Billy.

"Yeah. We've got to sort them out. Wyatt knows something. Funny how I thought of him as an almost friend and now I look at him and all I see is what a fuckin sneak he is."

"It surprises me that he could be involved. Whenever we dealt with him before, I thought of him as one of the good guys. You sure he knows something about the murders?"

"I can feel it, but I have no idea what it is that he knows."

"Go with your gut," said Billy. "Sometimes it's the only thing between you and getting fuckin dead."

"True story."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

"Morning, Molly," hollered Travis as he headed into the break room for a coffee.

"Morning, Sheriff," Molly called back. "You sound happier this morning."

Travis walked into the squad room with his coffee mug in his hand. "As happy as I can be with my girl lost in a swamp down near the Gulf with little or no chance of her coming out of there alive, but the boys are coming home today, and they are the only thing keeping me sane."

"I'll be thrilled to see the boys when they get here," said Molly. "I've missed them so much."

"This will be an interrogation day, Molly. I'm going to talk to the suspects together first and then separately. After that, they can make their phone calls."

"Sounds like a busy day ahead," said Molly. "I hope we'll break the case today, Travis."

Travis finished his coffee and grabbed Billy out of his office. "Let's get started." He unlocked the run, and they walked in together.

"Good morning, gentlemen. How was your first night at the Jail Inn? Hope y'all were comfortable."

"I see no humor in that, Travis," said Wyatt.

"Why don't you tell me something I can laugh at, Wyatt? I haven't done much laughing since the three of y'all killed Carla, Harry and Alex. I'm laughing even less since Paula Fleming turned up dead."

"I never killed nobody," mumbled Tim Perkins.

"Who's got something to tell me? Y'all can tell me in front of your buddies or y'all can wait until y'all have your private interview."

"I want my private interview," said Tim. "I'll go first."

"Tim wins the lottery," said Travis. He unlocked Tim's cell and marched him out of the run. "This way, Tim." Travis showed Tim into the break room. "Coffee? Have a seat."

Tim sat at the table with his hands folded in front of him. Travis hadn't bothered to cuff Tim Perkins because he could take Tim with one hand tied behind his back—if the need arose.

Travis put a mug of coffee in front of Tim, closed the door and sat down.

"Have you got something to tell me that's going to get you out of here, Tim?"

"I hope so."

"Go ahead. I'm listening."

"I never knew Harry's wife, Paula, until she came to my brother's trailer a couple of times when me and Carla were over there."

"Okay, that sounds like the truth…so far."

"When Paula came looking for Harry, she'd be fuming mad at him because he didn't come home for dinner after she made it. Then after she drove all the way up to the trailer to get him, Harry would be high and in party mode and he'd start hollering that he didn't want to go home with her. That would make Paula madder still."

"How many times did that happen?"

"Two or three when I was there. Might have been more when I was at work. I don't know."

"Then what? Where's your story going, Tim?"

"Then she stopped coming and never came looking for Harry again. Alex would nag on Harry and razz him about Paula giving up on him…and like that."

"Do you think she gave up, Tim?"

"Yep. It was true. Harry told Alex it was true. Paula wanted a divorce, and she was moving on with her life with somebody who treated her better than Harry ever did."

"Who was that person, Tim? Big Dave Turcotte?"

"One of the guys Paula was seeing was Big Dave. He was the only one Harry knew about."

"Why did they still live together if they were getting a divorce?" asked Travis.

"It was Paula's house and she wanted Harry to move out, but he had no place to go except Alex's trailer. Harry told Alex he didn't want to be divorced from Paula. He wanted to work it out with her."

"How could they work it out if Paula was seeing two other men?" asked Travis.

"I don't know," said Tim. "But Harry loved his wife, even if he was a shitty husband to her."

"Who was the second guy Paula was seeing?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know. Kind of a mystery and Harry was doing his damndest to find out who it was. Harry got himself sober and started acting like a private eye or something. He'd leave the house in Valier and then sneak back and watch his own house to see what Paula was doing."

Travis nodded his head and didn't interrupt.

"When Paula got dressed up and went out at night, Harry would follow her. He told me and Alex that Paula was going to the Cut Bank Inn pretty regular, and Harry was convinced she was meeting the other guy there and spending the night."

"Huh. Interesting story, Tim. You have an opinion of your own who the mystery guy was?"

"No, I had no idea, but after a lot of snooping around on Harry's part, he figured it was the newspaper guy."

"Why did Harry think it was Wyatt Thompson?"

"Because Wyatt drives that red Mazda and Harry saw it in the parking lot every time Paula was at the Inn in Cut Bank."

"Huh," said Travis. "Wyatt's girlfriend works at that Inn, Tim. To me, it doesn't seem like the ideal place for him to be meeting with another woman."

"Hey. I'm not a detective, Sheriff. That's your job."

"Yeah, that's me, Tim. Thanks for the chat. You can go."

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Sheriff. Appreciate it."

"Be on your guard, Tim. If the killer ain't one of the two guys sitting in the run, you may be in danger."

"Why would I be?"

"You figure it out."

Travis escorted Tim Perkins to Molly's desk and she had him sign for his personal possessions before returning them.

"Ted, run Tim up to his trailer for me, would you?"

"Copy that, Sheriff."

Molly raised an eyebrow and Travis winked at her. He never thought Tim Perkins was a killer, but he brought him in and used him as a catalyst to get the ball rolling.

After Ted left with Tim, Travis took Big Dave Turcotte out of his cell and interrogated him in the break room. After Dave's violent outburst resisting arrest, Travis cuffed him and fastened him to the rungs of the chair he sat in.

Travis didn't get Dave a coffee. He sat down across from him and said, "Tell me your story, Dave."

"Got no story to tell, Sheriff. I don't know a thing about the murders. I'm a rancher and not a part of the drug scene. I barely knew Harry Fleming. From what I gathered from Paula, Harry was a partier, a big boozer and a user."

"Where did you meet Paula?"

"Met her at the feed store. I'm in there every couple of days and I met her in the pet food section of the store. She was buying a big bag of dog food and had trouble lifting it into her cart. I helped her out, we talked a bit, and she gave me her number. Next day I called her up and asked her out."

"Tell me about the day she dumped you." Travis tapped his pen on the blank page of his notebook.

"Yeah, that was kind of unexpected. I guess I was under the mistaken impression we were doing well as a couple. Then all of a sudden she decides not to see me anymore."

"She give you a reason?"

"Yep. She said she was messed up over Harry's murder and needed time to sort things out."

"Did she mention anyone to you in passing? Drop the name of someone she may have been concerned about?"

"You mean like she was afraid of somebody?"

"Uh huh. Like that."

"Nope. Don't think so. She said what I just told you and nothing else."

"You know Wyatt Thompson, Dave?"

"The guy in the cell next to me?"

"Yes. Did you know him before he was in the next cell?"

"Nope. But I know who he is, and I've been in that newspaper office in Cut Bank a couple of times when I needed to run ads for hands. I hire on in my busy season. Never saw that guy when I was at the front counter."

"Fair enough. I'll take you back to your cell, Dave." Travis walked Dave back to the run, removed the cuffs and locked him up.

"My turn now?" asked Wyatt with a smart-alec grin on his face.

"I think I'll save you until tomorrow, Wyatt. I've got to get to the airport in Great Falls to pick my boys up."

"Come on, Travis. Stop screwing around and let me out of here. I've got work to do at the paper."

"Yeah, I've got work to do too." Travis walked out and locked the run. He gave a shout out to Molly to tell her he was leaving and went to pick up the boys.

Mainliner Diner. Coyote Creek.

Ted strolled over to the diner across the road to get lunch for the prisoners. He was walking to the counter when he heard the screech of tires and then the inevitable crash.

He ran out of the diner and into the middle of the road to gauge the damage and it was bad. He called an ambulance for the obvious injuries to the driver of the Lexus. The woman wasn't moving. The guy in the feed truck was able to get out of the cab.

Trying to figure out what happened, Ted guessed the Lexus had been making a leftie into the station parking lot when the delivery truck from the feed store was coming north and T-boned the Lexus.

Ted ran over and peered through the driver's side window at the woman trapped behind the inflated airbag. Unconscious and possibly dead. He knew immediately who she was and called Travis.

The boss was on his way to Great Falls to pick the boys up, but he hadn't been gone more than a few minutes.

"Hey, boss. Bad news."

"What, Ted? Can it wait until I get back?"

"How far down the interstate are you, boss?"

"About ten miles, I guess. Why?"

"Come back right now and send Billy to the airport."

"Why, Ted. What aren't you telling me?"

"Olivia just got T-boned turning into the station. It's bad, boss. Real bad."

"Oh, fuck. Not that. I'm turning around, Ted. Did you call an ambulance?"

"On its way."

"Tell Billy to go get the boys."

"Copy that."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

Travis flipped on the siren and the strobes and stood on the gas, pushing the Bronco as hard as it would go northbound to Coyote Creek.

Main Street was blocked by the accident when Travis got to town, and the fire and rescue guys were using the Jaws of Life to get Olivia out of the front seat of her car.

Ted stood in the middle of the street with the scene firmly in hand. He had pylons out blocking traffic on Main and was rerouting the flow around the back street.

People stood on the sidewalk on both sides of the street watching the rescue team.

Billy had passed Travis on the way south to the airport and given him a wave, so the boys were covered.

Travis crowded in as close as he could get to watch the firemen from Cut Bank reaming the door off the Lexus to get Olivia out. The ambulance was already there, and the paramedics were waiting for Olivia.

His heart pounding, Travis wanted to shout at the firemen to hurry the fuck up, but they were working frantically to get her out. They knew their job and they were doing it well.

Travis shoved a cigarette into his mouth so he wouldn't yell out orders at them.

Savanna came along next to see about her driver. Bert was shaken up but wasn't badly hurt. There was little damage to the front of the big feed truck, the Lexus taking the worst of it.

After making sure her guy was okay, Savanna rushed over to Travis and stood next to him. "Bert isn't drunk or anything," said Savanna. "He says the woman turned in front of him and he didn't have a chance to stop."

"I'll get his statement in a minute," said Travis, "or better yet, take Bert inside and Molly will record it. I'm staying here until they get Olivia out."

"Aw, Jeeze, I didn't realize Travis. I'm so sorry."

Wishing Savanna would get away from him, Travis was already having trouble keeping it together.

With an ugly keening sound, the door was wrenched off the car and the paramedics were able to lift Olivia out of the vehicle and lay her on the stretcher they had ready. As soon as they had her, they wheeled her to the ambulance and took off with the siren wailing.

Travis hollered, "Ted, you're in charge. I'm going to the hospital. I'll call Billy from there."

"Copy, boss. Don't think you can get by to go north."

Travis started the Bronco and to get past the crash, he had to put two wheels on the sidewalk until he was clear. Ted gave him a wave and a grin.

Cut Bank Hospital.

Travis spoke to the triage nurse when he got to the hospital and found out Olivia had been rushed to surgery minutes after she came in by ambulance. He plopped down in the waiting area, exhaled a tension-filled breath and called Billy.

"Boss, you okay?"

"Far from it. I'm at the hospital and Olivia is in surgery. As soon as I know anything, I'll go back to the station and help Ted. You go straight home with the boys and feed them on the way or pick up dinner. Whatever."

"Copy that."

Great Falls Airport.

Me and Virge ran through the arrival doors with our bags in our hands looking for Dad and he wasn't there to pick us up. Billy was there instead.

"Hey, Billy, where's Travis?"

"He was on his way to pick you up when there was a bad accident on Main Street in front of the station."

"How bad was it?" asked Virge.

"Olivia's Lexus was T-boned by the feed truck."

"Our Olivia?" I asked.

"That's the one. Olivia Best."

"Is she okay?" asked Virge.

"Not okay. Travis is at the hospital, and he'll meet us at the ranch."

"Was she coming to the station to see Dad?" asked Virgil.

"Looked like it," said Billy. "She was turning into the parking lot and the feed truck was heading north."

"Aw, shit. Dad is going to be freaked if she was coming to see him."

Billy changed the subject. "Travis wants us to eat on the way home. I don't think he's had time to get any groceries in the past week."

"I can eat a Mcburger," said Virge. "I ain't fussy."

Sensing how upset we were that Travis didn't pick us up, Billy changed the subject. "Tell me all about Texas."

"We weren't there long," I said. "We can tell you more about Louisiana, Billy. We seen a helluva lot of it in the past two days."

Nashville. Tennessee.

Ray parked the rig at a truck stop on the edge of Nashville. Thinking they couldn't take the rig downtown to shop Ray's songs, they took a cab from the truck stop and got out in the music district.

Bobby sat in one of the taverns and listened to the bands while he knocked back a pitcher of beer.

Ray had called ahead and made appointment with people he thought might be interested in his songs. He never would have done it without Bobby urging him on.

While Ray was gone, Bobby had a lot of time to think. He was doing a lot better and realized he might live after all. Tammy had tried her best to kill him and he was going to live in spite of everything she'd done to him. Depriving him twice of the medical care and the drugs he needed, she almost succeeded in finishing him off.

He wondered about dyeing his hair and selling his truck and getting a new ID.

Do I have the energy to start over?

He decided he'd talk to Ray about the future when he came back from talking to the song guys. Ray was such a good guy, he wanted him to have a chance. Bobby didn't give a flying fuck about himself anymore. No point.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Totally pissed off, Travis left the hospital knowing nothing about Olivia's condition. The doctor wouldn't tell him a damned thing about Olivia because he wasn't family. All he knew for sure was Olivia wasn't dead.

When he got to the ranch, he parked his truck behind the house and ran in the back door. Virge, Harlan and Billy were sitting at the kitchen table drinking beer and eating fish and chips.

"Come and eat, Dad. We brought you food."

"How's Olivia?" asked Virgil.

"Don't know." Travis popped the top on a can of Miller and chugged it down. "The fuckin doctor wouldn't tell me a damned thing because I wasn't related to her. She won't be awake until tomorrow."

Virge got another beer from the fridge and handed it to Travis. "We're back now, Dad. Everything is gonna be okay."

Travis slouched down in his chair at the end of the table. "Wish that were true."