Chapter Thirteen

Friday, July 12 th .

Silver Star Motel. Biloxi. Mississippi.

Bobby took Cleo out for her morning run around the motel property before feeding her breakfast. While she chomped down a huge bowl of kibble, he took a shower and got dressed.

He’d decided to go back to the cabin in West Virginia for a while until things settled down for him. He and Ray loved the little mountain place nobody knew about—especially not Tammy.

“She’ll never find us there, Cleo. We’ll lay low and figure things out, girl. Plan our future.”

Cleo wagged her tail and Bobby leaned down and gave her a hug. She was a huge dog and had a sweet disposition when she wasn’t in kill mode. He loved her a lot already.

No free breakfast and no coffee available at the motel, so they were out of luck.

Bobby headed north on route forty-nine. Out of habit, he stopped at the first truck stop north of Biloxi for breakfast. Hands down, the truck stops had the best food for the best prices.

Today he planned to cruise along at the speed limit and stop frequently for Cleo. An easy day of driving and he’d be close to the cabin by nightfall. If he was dead tired from driving, he might not make it all the way.

Gulfview Motel. Breaux Bridge. Louisiana.

Tammy had taken too many pain pills the night before and she slept like the dead. She never heard a thing until someone pounded on her door and hollered at her.

“You’re past your check-out time, lady. You let me in to clean your room and you go to the office and check out.”

“I’m getting up.” Tammy struggled out of the bed and limped to the door. Her leg was stiff as a board when she first tried to use it in the morning, and she cried out in pain. “Ow. Ow. I can’t step on it.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away in anger. Fuming at the motel staff for making her get up, she yelled, “Hang on. I’m coming.”

Her eyes brimming with more tears of pain, Tammy jerked the door open and let the women from housekeeping come in.

“I’m sorry. My leg is hurt really bad and I’m slow in the morning. Can I have a half hour to get dressed? I’ll get out of here as fast as I can.”

The woman pushed her cart into the room and paused to take a look at Tammy’s leg. She made a face. “Big bandage. What happen to you, girl?”

“A big dog tore my leg open. I have a lot of stitches but it’s not healing very fast.”

“You get dressed and I come back in a few minutes to do your room.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I leave my cart.”

“Sure.”

Tammy limped across the room and picked up the vial of pain pills from the nightstand. It was empty. Advil helped but wasn’t strong enough to kill the constant pain. She’d have to find a way to get more of the pain pills. They were the only thing that gave her any relief.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

Me and Virge did the chores and fed the horses, and it didn’t feel the same. We were missing Lucy, Davey and Jacks being in the barn with us. Chores weren’t as much fun as they had been while the kids were here. Lucy texted me every day, but it wasn’t the same as her being here at our ranch.

Virge felt it too. We were lonely without our foster brothers and sister, Lucy.

Breakfast was quiet, all of us feeling bad about Kody Kollard being dead and not knowing what happened to him. If he drowned, or somebody drowned him on purpose it would be hard to find the killer and even harder to prove it.

I figured Dad was thinking the same way and that’s why he was so pissed off.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

“Billy, were you able to find anything out from Mrs. Kollard when you did the notification?”

“No, she’s devastated, Travis. We’ll have to go back or talk to her after the funeral. Give her time. She wasn’t in any shape to answer questions.”

“Must have been a shock for her,” said Travis, “and I feel sorry for her. I know it was mind-blowing for me—for all of us. We have to get a handle on this as soon as we can because there’s a fucking maniac out there someplace.”

“You don’t think Jed Carpenter killed Kody?” asked Ted.

“Nope, I don’t. But you and Billy drive down to Eagle Pass anyway and brace that piece of shit hard. We have to nail him at least with manslaughter for killing Wayne Treadway.”

“Copy that,” said Billy. “Come on, Ted. The gloves are coming off.”

That made Ted smile.

“I’ll take the boys upriver from Carny’s bait store and see if we can find ourselves a crime scene. Get the dogs, Virgil.”

“Copy that.”

Milk River. South of Ethridge. Montana.

I drove back to the bait store we’d been at the day before. Dad rode shotgun and Virge sat in the back with the dogs.

“When the current carried Kody’s body past the bait store and Carny saw him, he was already bloated with water and that could mean two things,” said Travis.

“Like what?” asked Virge. “He’d been in the water for a long time?”

“That’s a given,” said Travis, “but for two different reasons, son. First, would be the distance he floated from upriver—how long that took from where he drowned to float by the bait shop.”

“What’s second?”

“Second, Kody drowned, or drowned with help, and his body got caught up on weeds or a log and he stayed in the same place for long enough to take on all that water.”

“Did Doctor Olsen say what day he drowned?” I asked. “That would help us.”

“It would, but the autopsy ain’t done,” said Travis.

“Let’s find where he drowned,” I said. “There must be evidence still there, if there was a fight with fishermen or like that.”

“That’s our best hope, Harlan,” said Travis. “We need to find a spot like that. Fight, struggle, a lot of footprints…signs of humans.”

The river road wound around following the bank, and we came to a heavily treed section with no visible fishing camps or cottages. I pulled over and parked.

“You want to start here, son?”

“Yeah, let’s take the dogs through the trees to the river and search the bank both ways. We can do it in sections, mark it off and move on.”

“Good plan, Harlan. Let’s get started.”

Dad took Max and went one way. Virge and I took Sarge and went the other. All we needed to find was evidence humans had been there in the past couple of days. That would be a start.

We’d been in that area with our eyes down for half an hour when Dad gave us a shout out. “Down here, boys.”

Virge and I ran back to where Dad was, and he had found a spot where a couple of tree branches were broken and there were footprints all smudged up on the damp bank.

“Get some pictures of the footprints, Virge. We’ll widen the search from here. Harlan, push into the trees behind us with the dogs and see what they find.”

“Copy that.”

I took both dogs into the thick trees behind where Dad was crouched down on the bank and let them sniff the ground and search for anything we might be able to use. Max and Sarge weren’t bloodhounds, but they were super smart and good at finding stuff that shouldn’t be where they found it.

Max whined and sat down next to a clump of bushes that I thought looked like poison ivy. “What did you find, boy?”

He sat and looked at me and I moved bushes and weeds and long grass until I found what he smelled.

Hat belonging to a game warden.

“Dad. Got it.”

Travis and Virge caught up with me and I pointed at the hat. “Great work, Harlan.” Dad picked up the hat by the edge of the brim and carried it. “Push through to the road and we’ll start a search for Kody’s truck. It has to be in these woods.”

We came out at the road and could see the squad about three-quarters of a mile back. “The truck should be easier to find than the hat,” I said.

“You’d think so,” said Travis. “Let’s find it and I’ll call Ted to come get it. He might be able to get prints off it.”

“But not if Kody surprised the guys at the river,” said Virge.

“Wrong, Virge,” said Travis. “Think about it a bit more. Those guys would’ve moved Kody’s truck off the side of the road and pushed or driven it into the trees.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Dad. They fuckin touched the Wildlife truck.”

Travis chuckled. “Give me one once in a while, Virgie.”

“That’s one for you, Dad.” My brother turned and said to me, “Harlan, keep score.”

“Piss off, Virge. Keep your own score and I’ll keep mine. I think you’ve got a helluva long way to go to catch up to me.”

“Find the truck, boys. Get on it.”

“Doing it, Dad.”

Me and Virge ran in different directions with the dogs, and I found the truck. Deep in the woods where it would never be seen from the road.

“Got the truck, but I can’t find the keys,” I hollered.

Dad and Virge caught up with me and Dad was on the phone giving Ted directions.

Carpenter Ranch. Black Eagle Pass. Montana.

Billy knocked on the door of the Carpenter ranch house and Jed stepped outside and didn’t invite them in.

“I’m getting bloody sick of you deputies harassing me and I’m thinking of suing Harrison Country for the way I’ve been treated since the beginning of this case.”

“You killed a man for stepping on your property,” Mister Carpenter,” said Billy. “For that, you will be going to jail for years. Your trial has come up on the docket for next week and you’ll be given a chance to say what you have to say on the witness stand. In the meantime I’d like to ask you a few questions about Kody Kollard.”

“Who’s that?”

“Our local game warden.”

“Don’t know him.”

“He drowned recently, and I wondered what you knew about that.”

“Nothing. I never knew the man.”

“You or your son been fishing lately?”

“We don’t fish or hunt. Our land is posted.”

“Right. You’re against hunting and you kill hunters and steal their meat. You’ve killed two of them so far, that we know of. That will be brought up at your trial, I’m sure.”

“None of what you say will matter when I go to trial. The DA has no proof and the case against me will be dismissed.”

Billy cursed all the way back to the truck and only stopped when Ted’s cell rang.

“It’s Travis.” He listened and then said, “Got it, boss. As soon as Billy gets me back to the station, I’ll pick up the tow truck and meet you at the river.”

“Did Travis find Kody’s truck?”

Ted nodded. “And the dogs found his hat. We’ve got ourselves a crime scene, boss.”

“I’m glad to hear we’ve got something, Ted. I’m not sure we’re going to get Jed Carpenter.”

We sat in the squad and waited for Ted to come with the tow truck. Took him nearly an hour and Virge and I were getting hungry.

Took us another half hour to push that mother out to the road so Ted could hook onto it. It was hotter than hell and we were filthy dirty and sweating like pigs by the time we were done.

All we had were bottles of water that Travis always kept in the squads for emergencies. This was one.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

We got back to town and Travis sent us across the street to get burgers and fries for all of us. The boss from Fish and Wildlife was on his way to the station to talk to Travis and he didn’t have time to go to the diner with us.

When we came back with the food, Warden Ibbitson was already there talking to Dad in the squad room.

“The autopsy isn’t complete,” said Travis. “Doctor Olsen will call as soon as he has filed the report. That’s when you’ll be able to access it.”

“I’m sure Kody didn’t drown,” said Ibbitson. “All of our wardens are in good physical condition, and they are excellent swimmers. It’s one of the qualifications.”

Travis was sure Kody didn’t drown either, but he didn’t tell the big boss that.

“Ted towed Kody’s truck in, sir. You can have a look at it out back in the parking lot, but you can’t touch it or have it back until it’s been fingerprinted.”

“I understand, Sheriff. Could you have it towed back to my office when you’re finished with it?”

“Sure. Happy to do that, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Birmingham. Alabama.

Bobby stopped for dinner at the same place he and Ray ate at on their way to West Virginia. Feeling a little nostalgic and a lot sad for his friend, he wondered if he could play Ray’s guitar.

It’s still in the case in the back of the Wrangler.

“I might try it when I’m sitting on the porch of the cabin. That’s where Ray wrote the song about living on the down-low. I loved that song.”

Lost in his thoughts, Bobby barely noticed the waitress flirting with him. He trigged in after she tried harder but all he could think about was his dead wife Emma, and how it felt being married to a cheater. And Tammy, picking up a hitchhiker and having her do her damndest to kill you. Women were fuckin dangerous.

Mobile. Alabama.

The pain in Tammy’s leg was driving her insane and she couldn’t drive any farther. She’d been out of pain pills all day and she needed strong drugs desperately.

Thinking she could find drug slingers in a park, she cruised through Mobile until she saw a large green space. She pulled into the parking area, sat for a few minutes to get her breath, then got out of the Freightliner and limped into the park.

On a bench under a huge tree, she spotted a ganger wearing a leather vest. Paper bag beside him on the bench and his phone to his ear.

“He’s talking to customers,” she mumbled to herself.

Tammy circled around behind him and using a pillow out of the truck as a silencer, she shot him in the back of the head.

The ganger slumped forward but didn’t fall off the bench. Tammy grabbed the paper bag, slipped her hand into the pocket of his jeans and snatched his wallet.

She ran back to the truck, tossed the pillow into the back and drove north out of Mobile.

Dry Run Roadhouse. Montana.

Travis dropped into the roadhouse for a beer on the way home from the station. After dinner with the boys, he’d driven down to the shop to do extra paperwork. Feeling a little guilty because he’d been dumping so much on Billy since Olivia’s death and having Annie and the kids staying at the ranch. He definitely hadn’t been doing his share.

He sat at the bar talking to Jack and catching up, then Marilyn Pellegrino came in. She walked past the bar and sat alone in a booth.

“There’s a beautiful lady sitting all alone, Travis. You should say hello to her and buy her a drink.”

“Not a good idea, Jacky-boy. I’m batting zero on the opposite sex right now.”

“You need practice. That’s all it takes. Get in there and boost up your batting average.” Jack laughed.

Travis figured Jack had every right to laugh at him. The way his life was going was a fucking joke. He picked up his pitcher and his half-full glass and wandered down the row of booths to the one where Marilyn sat.

“I thought you might be here,” she said.

“You were looking for me?”

“Texting didn’t do much good.”

“Truth is, I’ve got three murders on my desk and there is no time for texting or for fun of any kind.”

“How about dinner? Do you take time to eat?” A lot of sarcasm in her voice.

“I guess I could do dinner. Could you meet me at the Inn tomorrow night?”

Marilyn smiled as soon as she had what she wanted. “That would be lovely, Travis. Thanks for asking.”

How could I not ask you? You tricked me into it.

After asking her, Travis wished he could take back the invitation. He finished his beer, said goodbye to Marilyn, and on his way out he had to pass by Savanna who was sitting at end of the bar watching him.

He hauled a load of guilt around about the breakup with her too. There was no fucking end to it. He wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

I need to get out of this fucking town.

Route 85 Truck Stop. Alabama.

After killing the drug dealer in the city park, Tammy got the hell out of Mobile. She hammered the gas on the Freightliner and drove north on route eighty-five. She didn’t slow down until she was twenty or thirty miles out of the city.

The sign for the truck stop caught her attention and she flicked on her turn signal. She pulled in and parked her truck at the end of a long line of rigs.

Tammy shut the engine off and crawled into the sleeper. She swallowed two of the pills she’d stolen and crashed.

Shadow Mountain. West Virginia.

Bobby had driven hundreds of miles and was too exhausted to make it all the way to the cabin. His brain told him to get a motel and finish the trip in the morning, but he hated to give in and do that when he was so close.

After a quick stop for coffee and a sandwich, he felt a little better and was sure he could make it all the way after all.

Late, and pitch dark in the mountain forest when he finally arrived at his hideaway, he parked the Wrangler out front and sighed with relief.

“We made it, Cleo. I am so fuckin beat. Even my eyes are out of focus.” He chuckled.

Bobby opened his door, climbed out of the Jeep and let Cleo out her door. She growled and snarled and ran up onto the porch while Bobby got the briefcase holding the money and his overnight case out of the hatch. The rest of his stuff could wait until the morning.

Fumbling with the key in the dark, it took him a minute to get the front door open. As soon as he did, Cleo ran into the cabin barking and raising a huge ruckus.

Bobby flicked the light on and could see Cleo wrestling on the floor with a scruffy looking squatter. She had him by the pantleg and was getting ready to do some real damage.

“What are you doing in my house? Get the hell out of here before my dog tears you up.”

The guy jumped to his feet and took off running.

“Stay, Cleo.”

Cleo had let the guy off lucky. He didn’t realize how lucky he was. A bite from Cleo could cripple a person. Bobby was Cleo’s witness on more than one occasion.

Bobby checked the rest of the cabin, and nothing was damaged. Very little to steal that was worth anything. The bum had been sleeping in Bobby’s room and he couldn’t sleep there until he changed the sheets.

“We’ll sleep in Ray’s room, Cleo. We’ll change our sheets in the morning.”

Cleo wagged her tail. She was okay with sleeping in Ray’s room.