Chapter Ten

Tuesday, July 9 th .

Grand Junction. Colorado.

An unfamiliar sound caused Bobby to open his eyes and he was startled to see Cleo with her head on the side of the bed staring at him and whining.

“What’s the matter, girl. You need to go out?”

Cleo ran to the door of the room and sat down with her leash in her mouth. “You are so smart, girl. I lucked out when I got you.”

She wagged her tail while Bobby pulled on a pair of jeans and shoved his feet into his boots. “I’m ready for our walk. Do me good to get some exercise too. I’m so stiff and sore and out of shape, it’s fuckin criminal.”

Laughing at his own joke, Bobby locked the room and left with Cleo. They walked down the road, through neighboring fields and along residential streets in the area for half an hour before coming back to the motel and checking out.

Before leaving Grand Junction, Bobby hit a drive-thru for breakfast and coffee. He felt healthier than he had since he was shot and that elevated his mood.

He and Cleo headed south on route 550.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

“Today is a practice day,” said Rowdy at the breakfast table. “I’ll be in the back field with Davey and Jacks for most of the day getting them in top shape for tomorrow’s competition.”

“Billy can handle the office tomorrow,” said Travis. “This will be the last rodeo we get to see for a while, so me and the boys will take the day off.”

Virge grinned at me. He loved watching the competitions and I did too. I was thankful to spend the day with Lucy instead of working. Today was starting off great. I watched Annie pull a pan of biscuits out of the oven and wondered if it could get any better.

Hampton Inn. Abilene. Texas.

Tammy enjoyed her night alone at the Hampton Inn. She watched a movie and then slept well in the big queen-size bed. To her, staying in a hotel felt luxurious, and she lapped it up.

Feeling like a pampered princess added more fuel to the fire and spurred her on with her mission. She had to catch up to Eldon and make him love her again.

After the last round where Eldon had tased her and left her behind at the rest area, her feelings for him had shifted slightly. Her trust in him came into question.

If they couldn’t get married and live the dream like she wanted to, Tammy had an alternate plan. She’d take the money from the cabin, kill Eldon and live the dream on her own.

Tammy stood under a long, hot shower, then dressed in her new clothes. There was nothing else she could ask for except having Eldon back in her life. Never before had she doubted she could make it happen. Her focus had been unwavering.

Doubts were creeping in.

Before leaving her room, Tammy emptied the contents of Darryl’s wallet into the new purse Darryl had bought her in the leather store at the mall. He had sixty dollars in cash, two credit cards and two different gas cards.

Tammy wondered if he collected points on the gas cards like Eldon did. Too late to ask Darryl. She gathered up her belongings and went downstairs for breakfast.

The room was a little too crowded with tourists and their kids to suit Tammy, so she fixed a coffee for the road and picked up an apple and a banana from the fruit basket on the counter. That would keep her going until she stopped for lunch.

Before leaving Abilene behind, she pulled into Love’s and filled up the Freightliner with diesel fuel. It came to a huge amount similar to what the gas cost for Eldon’s truck. Tammy smiled and charged it to Darryl’s gas card.

Before moving on, Tammy lit up a smoke and checked the GPS to see how far it was to her destination. Pleased to see she didn’t have too far to go, she put the big truck into gear, hummed a song and headed east across Texas.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Molly had gone across the street to the diner, picked up the breakfast containers and fed the prisoners in the run by the time we got to the station.

Jed Carpenter and his son were being arraigned for the second time and it was our job to transport them to the courthouse and get them there on time.

Fifteen minutes before we were ready to leave, Carpenter’s lawyer came in the front door of the shop asking to see his client.

Travis wasn’t happy to see the lawyer show up, but he was polite enough. “Almost ready to leave for the courthouse, sir, but you can have ten minutes in the run with your client. That’s all the time I can give you this morning.”

“Ten minutes will be enough time. Thank you, Sheriff.”

While Travis waited for the lawyer to talk to Jed Carpenter and his kid, he sat at the table in the break room and drank coffee. His cell rang and it was a call he was waiting for. “Hey, Ted. How are you making out with the tow?”

“Lots of paperwork to fill out for the Walla Walla boys, but I got it all done, boss. Your squad is hooked up now and I’m on my way back to Montana.”

“Great job, Ted. I’m sorry it was such a long drive for you, but Harrison County will be happy to hear we’ve recovered their vehicle.”

“No problem, boss. It was a break from working at the station every day.” Ted chuckled.

“Copy that.”

Harrison County Courthouse. Coyote Creek.

First thing I noticed when Virge and I went into the courtroom to find seats were Chuck and Terry—the other two poachers—sitting there to watch the Carpenter case.

“Why do they care about the Carpenters?” Virge leaned over and asked me.

“No idea. Maybe they want to see Jed go down for killing their friends.”

“Guess that could be it.”

“You got a better idea?”

Virge screwed up his face and thought about it for a minute. “Nope.”

A bigger surprise was Kody Kollard showing up for the arraignment. He had no reason for being there unless he was tracking down his missing elk and bear meat.

Jed Carpenter was brought in by the bailiff and he pleaded not guilty to the new charge of first-degree murder. His lawyer jumped in and argued there was lack of evidence for the new charges and he managed to secure a new bail bond for Carpenter.

It was true. They had very little evidence to hand over to the DA’s office when the trial came up. Travis had been wondering how they’d ever get a conviction. Especially on Trevor with Jed claiming he had done the shooting in the Treadway case.

“I’ll find out why Chuck and Terry and Kody are all here,” said Travis. “I don’t want anybody else getting knocked off.”

Travis got up and followed Kody out of the courtroom into the wide corridor and called after him. “Hey, Kody, didn’t expect to see you here.”

Kody turned around and laughed. “On the trail of the missing meat, I guess that’s all it is. You making any progress on the murders?”

“None.”

“Head office has all the game wardens on the lookout for summertime poachers and we’ve turned up nothing so far,” said Kody. “It’s been real quiet out there.”

“All y’all can do is keep watch,” said Travis.

“Yeah, that’s about it,” said Kody. “We’re diligent on our regular patrols of the prime hunting areas. Our main focus is on fishing in the summertime.”

Travis shook hands with Kody and moved on to Chuck, the welder, who was standing in front of the vending machines with a buck in his hand.

“What are you and Terry doing here, Chuck?” asked Travis. He leaned on the Coke machine and waited for an answer.

Chuck got kind of cocky and that was a bad move to try on Travis. You could be looking up from the floor real quick. “Public hearing, Sheriff. Anybody can come and watch and arraignment.”

Dad shifted his left leg, so he was in a solid stance. Reflex action, but he was now ready to kill Chuck if the opportunity came up.

I knew my dad and it didn’t take much to set him off. “I asked you what your personal interest was, Chuck. I know what the law says.”

Chuck’s tone changed, “Okay, Sheriff. Terry and I were hoping the judge wouldn’t let Carpenter go again. He killed Wayne on his ranch and then he went right to Brian’s house and killed him. We all know it.”

Travis leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice. “We think we know it, Chuck. Get me proof. You and Terry get me something solid I can use, and I’ll make sure Jed Carpenter gets the needle.”

Chuck nodded his head. “Yes, sir, Sheriff Frost.”

“If you want to do something for your dead friends, do that for me and we’ll get justice for Wayne and Brian.”

“I hear what you’re saying, Sheriff,” said Chuck. “Me and Terry will get what you need.”

“I’ll be waiting, Chuck.” Travis held up his cell.

Santa Fe. New Mexico.

Driving south through Santa Fe, Bobby said, “That looks like a nice shady park, Cleo. You want to take a break?”

Cleo wagged her tail, leaned over the console and tried to lick Bobby’s face. “Don’t, Cleo. My face isn’t dirty.” Bobby laughed.

He found a parking area, leashed Cleo and after a long walk through the city park, Bobby sat on a bench in the shade and smoked a couple of cigarettes.

“You ready to go, girl?”

On the way out of the city, Bobby bought lunch at Sonic and ate the burger and onion rings as he drove south into Albuquerque.

Lots of thinking time as he drove, and Bobby decided to pick up the money waiting for him at the real estate office in Huntsville.

“Do you think it’s too risky to drive that close to my old house, Cleo?”

She wagged her tail and Bobby couldn’t tell if it was a yes or a no .

“You can think it over, girl. We won’t get anywhere near there for another day.”

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

Before dinner we saddled the horses, and all of us went for a long ride to the back boundary of our ranch. Luck was on our side and near the back of the thousand acres we saw seven of the wild horses from one of the last remaining herds run across our land.

Manes and tails blowing in the wind as they galloped towards the Rocky Mountains, it wasn’t something you saw every day. That’s why our spread was called Wild Stallion Ranch. Uncle Carson had named it a long time ago.

“That’s a sight to see,” said Travis.

We all reined in our horses to watch the mustangs thunder across our land.

“Amazing sight,” said Rowdy. “Never seen a wild herd like that, Travis. I feel honored to be a witness.”

“Most of the population will never see it,” said Travis. He felt better about himself after Annie had given him his latest calling down and made him shape up. Gave him the courage to answer one of the many texts he’d received from Marilyn Pellegrino.

They’d seen each other at Lucy’s barrel racing competition and exchanged a few words. Since then, Marilyn had texted several times asking him to come over for dinner at her ranch.

Did he want to start seeing her? Not really, but he could go over there for dinner one time—if it would make her happy. She had been good to Tammy and Lucy when they took lessons from her the summer before.

Oklahoma City. Oklahoma.

Bobby chose an older motel and asked for an efficiency unit so he could take better care of Cloe.

“Room twenty, Mister Bowden.” The desk clerk pushed the room key across the counter.

“Thanks.”

Bobby parked the Wrangler in front of room twenty and took Cleo inside. The room was standard with one double bed, but with a tiny kitchen unit in the corner. A few cupboards, counter, sink, fridge and a stove.

“Look at this little kitchen, Cleo. This is going to make feeding you so much easier.”

Bobby opened the cupboard, took out a bowl and filled it with cold water. He set it down on the tile floor for her, then used one of the cups to measure her food into the biggest bowl in the cupboard. “I’m going by the ideal amount listed on the bag for your weight, girl. The guy at the shelter told me you weighed a hundred and twenty pounds.”

While she gobbled up her food, he sat in the only easy chair and lit up a smoke. He was missing Ray pretty bad and thoughts of their mountain house in West Virginia flooded through his brain. He and Ray loved it there and he felt the pull to go back. If that was the plan, he wanted to get there in good weather. Those mountain roads could be tricky.

Cleo laid on the carpet after she licked up the last of her food. Bobby went into the bathroom to clean up a little. He had to go out to get himself some dinner.

“I won’t be gone long, girl. And when I come back, I’ll take you for a nice long walk.”

Cleo wagged her tail and Bobby was sure she understood every word he said to her.

He walked down the road to a diner, the loneliness inside him taking away a lot of his appetite.

Midway. Texas.

Tammy arrived at Eldon’s house in Midway after dark. She pulled the Freightliner around behind the bungalow, so it was invisible from the road.

Being back at Eldon’s house in Texas made her heart race and she could almost hear him pulling in the driveway, anxious to get to her and be a couple again.

She grabbed her stuff from the truck and let herself in the back door. Thinking it best not to turn on any lights, she walked around the small house in the dark feeling the familiarity of it and breathing in Eldon’s scent.

Tammy peered out the front window checking for surveillance on the street and there was none. The cops had given up on Eldon and it was about time.

She was safe there for the moment and needed sleep. Tammy walked down the hall to the master bedroom and crawled into Eldon’s bed.