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Chapter Eighteen

Sunday, October 6th.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

"Thanks for doing the grocery shopping, boys. I got so fuckin far behind," said Travis. He took a carton of eggs out of the fridge along with a pound of bacon and turned the heat on under the frying pan.

"No problem, Dad," I said. "You can ask me and Virge to do whatever ain't getting done. We don't mind helping you out while you're all fucked up."

Travis smiled. "Good offer. Thanks, boys."

After they ate breakfast, Billy went ahead to the station to feed the prisoners and make coffee for them.

"This is our day off, boys," said Travis, "but we'll have to work all the same."

"I'll start on Wyatt's laptop," I said.

"What we need to know, Harlan, is if he's selling pictures, soliciting kids online or just looking at the pictures and being a pervert. See what you can sort out, son. I wouldn't know where to start."

"I'll try, Dad. I'm no expert on the dark web."

"If we get anything to go on, I'll give the laptop to a tech at the FBI and those boys can dig into it."

"I can't believe Wyatt would have pictures like that," said Virge. "So gross, Dad. That don't seem like the newspaper guy we always talk to at the diner."

"No, it doesn't seem like Wyatt at all. Seems like two different people."

Before we left for the station, Travis got calls from two different lawyers requesting meetings with their clients before they were arraigned the next day. Since he'd planned on working anyway, Travis said they could come to the station, and he'd let them in.

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

Billy was working in his office when Travis, the boys and the dogs came into the station through the sally port at the back of the building.

Travis poured himself a coffee and hadn't made it as far as Billy's office when the first lawyer was banging on the front door.

Virge ran on ahead and unlocked the door and let the suit in.

Travis hurried down the hall into the squad room to meet the lawyer.

"I'm Tyrone Shelton here to see Dave Turcotte."

Travis shook the lawyer's extended hand and said, "Billy will take you into the run to see Dave, sir."

"Thanks. Sorry to put you out on a Sunday, but Dave's arraignment is tomorrow, and I need to have a word with him first."

"Understood," said Travis.

Billy grabbed the keys to the run from the rack in the office and let Shelton in to see Big Dave Turcotte. "Twenty minutes is the allotted visiting time."

Shelton nodded his head and Billy left them alone to talk. He went back to the squad room and Travis was unlocking the front door for Kelly Newman.

A red-haired lawyer in a navy-blue suit, she was all business and no smile. She handed one of her cards to Travis. "I'm here to see Wyatt Thompson. Do you have a room we can use?"

"Nope. We don't have anything like that. You can talk to your client in his cell."

"I find that unacceptable, Sheriff."

"Lots of shit I don't like too, ma'am. Like working on my day off to let a lawyer like you into my jail. But I'm coping with it, and you'll have to cope too."

Travis winked at Harlan and Virge.

"Harlan, show Miss Newman where Wyatt is. Twenty minutes is the interview time."

"Copy that, Sheriff."

In a huff, Kelly Newman followed Harlan.

When Harlan returned from the run, Travis sent both boys to watch Stacey Croft's residence in Cut Bank.

"Call me if you need help, boys. I'll be at the hospital with Olivia. Billy, You can show the legal beagles out when they're finished."

"Copy, boss."

Cut Bank Hospital.

The intensive care nurses were lenient and let Travis sit with Olivia for half an hour. During that time, she almost opened her eyes a couple of times but couldn't wake up. She was so heavily drugged, there was no way she could fight her way awake.

Before he left the hospital, Travis asked at the desk if the doctor had been in to see Olivia. The nurse shook her head.

"It's Sunday, Sheriff Frost. Doctor's rarely drop into the hospital on a Sunday." She smiled. "Don't worry. We're taking good care of Miss Best."

"Thanks for that," said Travis. And he meant it.

Maybe I'll pick up flowers for the nurses.

Croft Residence. Cut Bank.

Not a bit happy with Olivia's progress or lack of it, Travis left the hospital. He walked across the street to Katie's Good Eats and bought take-out orders of burgers and fries for the boys.

He drove around to Stacey Croft's street and found the boys parked down the block. Travis leaned in the driver's window and handed Virge the bag of food and two Cokes.

"Thanks, Dad. You cheered us up. This is fuckin boring sitting here."

"Yeah. When she goes to work at the Inn, follow her there and then come home."

"Copy that."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

After his depressing visit to see Olivia, Travis lapsed into a foul mood. He got back to the station as Billy was handing out food containers in the run.

Travis leaned on the concrete wall and lit up a smoke. "Enjoy your dinner, Wyatt. Just to let you know, I have your laptop. I figured you were a bit of a weasel, but I never pictured you as a pervert. A goddamned creeper. That's what you are."

"I'm not a pervert, but I know what you're talking about. Those pictures—not what you think—I'm working on an article for one of the big city papers."

"Uh huh. Sure, you are. Sorry, but I'm not buying that."

You're a pretty decent liar.

"Lock up, Billy, and go on home. We're done for today."

Billy smiled. "Copy that, boss."

Coyote Creek Inn.

Billy went on home to the ranch while Travis stopped into the Inn to see how the girls were managing without Olivia. He'd been thinking about it and realized he might have to hire somebody to take her place while she was in the hospital.

He found Susan Westfall, the assistant manager, in the kitchen and asked, "How are y'all doing here without the boss?"

"We're doing okay, Sheriff, but we're so stressed out about Olivia. We've been taking turns going to the hospital to sit with her. She's not waking up."

Susan started to cry, and Travis's heart went out to her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm so worried we're going to lose Olivia and we love her so much."

"I feel the same way, Susan. You call my cell if you girls run into a snag. I'm ready to help y'all out."

"Olivia told me you and she own the Inn together. I'll call you, Sheriff. Honest, I will."

Stacey Croft's Residence. Cut Bank.

Virge checked his watch. "I wonder what time that bitch starts work, Harlan. I'm fuckin sick of sitting here."

"Gotta be soon. She probably waits tables for the dinner crowd."

Wasn't long until she came out the side door of her bungalow and hopped into her pickup.

The boys followed her to the Cut Bank Inn, watched her go inside and that was it. They were off duty. "We're done, Virge. Let's go home and grab a beer."

"I'm with you, bro. We're out of here."

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Billy was putting a log in the woodstove in the living room when me and Virge got home from Cut Bank. "Where's Dad?"

"Not home yet. He had to stop into the Inn to see how the staff are making out."

"Yeah," I said. "I kind of forgot about Olivia running the Inn. I think we own part of that place."

"Yep. Travis held the mortgage but when Olivia got into a bit of financial trouble with that fucker from the bank, Travis put more money into the business and became a partner."

"Shit. Dad must be stressed about all that stuff too," said Virge. "Stuff worrying him that we never even thought about."

We had a couple of beers with Billy, then changed our clothes and went to the barn to feed the horses and muck out the stalls.

When we came in for dinner, Travis still wasn't home. We looked at Billy and he shrugged. "Not home."

"Hope he didn't stop into the roadhouse feeling all miserable and such," said Virgil. "Could be hard times at Ridgemont High."

I laughed at my brother. "We'll go look for him if he don't show up soon."

Dry Run Roadhouse.

Before going home to the ranch, Travis stopped for a pitcher of Miller at the roadhouse. He sat in a booth alone with his back to the door and drank steady.

A while later, Jack wandered over to the booth with a bottle of Patron and a couple of glasses. He sat down and filled the two glasses with tequila and shoved one across the table to Travis.

Travis nodded, picked up the glass and tossed it back.

"How is she?" Jack refilled the glasses.

Travis shook his head. "Don't think she can do it, Jackie boy."

"Aw, shit. I hope that's not true, Travis. Such a beautiful person."

"Too goddamned beautiful for me."

"We can't help who we love, Travis."

"I'd better get home and make the boys some dinner, Jack. I've got to pull it together. I've got a lot of fuckin responsibilities."

Wild Stallion Ranch.

When Travis got home a little drunk but not too bad, Savanna was in his kitchen cooking spaghetti for the boys and Billy.

Travis appreciated her kindness but wasn't up to talking to her with Olivia dying in the hospital.

"Hey, Savanna. Thanks for cooking for the boys. They haven't been getting decent meals since we lost Tammy."

"I'm so sorry, Travis." Savanna gave him a hug and he went into his room and locked the door.

When the garlic bread came out of the oven, Savanna wanted me to go get Dad and make him eat with us, but I vetoed that idea.

"Best to leave him alone for now," I said. "He's right on the edge of it."

Billy nodded and agreed with me. "If he gets up later, he can warm up the leftovers. He ain't good right now."

"When we were at Mom's ranch, she talked about the signs to watch for," said Virge.

"He'll be dizzy," said Billy. "His vision will blur, and he won't tell you, but he'll ask one of you boys to drive. His heart will race, and we won't know. His blood pressure will be sky-high, and we won't know about that either."

"What else?" asked Virge.

"He sweats," said Billy. "That's the one I watch for because it's easy to spot. He'll be soaking wet when it's not hot. The nightmares get worse, and he has flashbacks in the daytime. He starts going off by himself and avoiding people."

"Huh, I'm gonna watch for all that stuff."

"Since he was in treatment in Austin and has been taking his medication, he's been close to perfect."

"I don't want him to go back to the VA hospital," said Virge.

"None of us do," said Savanna.

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