Chapter Eleven

Wednesday, October 23 rd .

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Before the boys came in from their barn chores, Travis asked Billy what he thought about raiding the Darkers' property up near Sweetgrass.

"I took a run up there, Billy, and Darkers has his spot conveniently located within a few miles of the border. He can run back and forth with no trouble at all, getting the precursor."

"Could be a meth lab or maybe he's into opiates," said Billy. "So far you're only guessing. It could be a body shop or something perfectly legal."

"Yep. I did lower my window to check for the stink of the meth cooking but didn't notice any odor yesterday."

"Okay. We've got to have the smell first to make goddamned sure we're not going off half-cocked. We don't want to blow up a body shop or a flower arranging studio and look like idiots."

Travis smiled. "Surveillance first then."

"Yep, to be sure it's a lab and also to gauge how many men we're going to be up against. We only have five unless you're thinking of bringing in the feds."

"Nope. Never considered that move."

"I hope not," said Billy.

"There were a lot of vehicles parked outside when I cruised by. I'll talk to Harlan on the way to the station. He'll have to help out if we decide to go ahead with the raid whether he's liking Penny Darkers or not."

During breakfast the raid wasn't mentioned. Travis waited until they were ready to leave for work and asked Harlan to drive his truck to the station.

They piled into the big Ford and Harlan let it warm up for a couple of minutes before driving down the lane.

"There's something I want to talk to you about, son."

"Sure, Dad. Is it about your leg? You're not walking great on it yet."

"No, but I do need my leg to heal faster than it's doing. Something else has come up."

"Like what?" Harlan turned onto the county road and headed south to Coyote Creek.

"Molly told me you met a girl at the market and were thinking of asking her out."

"Penny Darkers."

"Right. Molly also told me Penny comes from a family of drug dealers up near the border. They live in Sweetgrass."

"Penny told me she was from Sweetgrass. That part is right. I don't know about the other part. Where does Molly hear this stuff?"

"I'm not sure where she gets her information, but this is how I see it, son."

"Am I gonna hate this, Dad?"

"Possibly. I'm asking you not to see her or like her too much until Billy and I decide if we're going to clean up Dan Darkers' operation."

"I haven't even taken her out yet, Dad, but I want to. She's pretty and nice and she gave me her number at the grocery store."

"I understand how strongly you want to take this girl to a movie or something, but on the other hand, I don't want you so close to her family that you're going to get messed up. I'd like to investigate that part a bit more first before you make any commitments."

"But you weren't even on the Darkers until Molly told you what she heard, Dad."

"True. I wasn't. But now that I know the Darkers might be a dangerous family for you to be involved in, I can't ignore their operation. It looks like a possible meth lab from the road."

"Is that where you went? You've already been up there?"

"Yes, I have, son. I'm not trying to hide this from you. I'm coming right out and saying, I don't want you fuckin near her until I check out her father. You copy that?"

"Yeah, I do. But maybe Penny moved down here away from her father and that's why she took the job at the market."

"I hope that's the reason, son. If it is, and she no longer lives with her father, you can go ahead and see her."

"Okay. That makes sense to me."

"But promise you'll stay clear if she's living at home in that double-wide with her father surrounded by drug dealers coming in and out of their place."

"I'll find out her status."

"Discretely."

"Yeah. She won't know why I'm asking her where she lives."

"Attaboy."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

As we were getting the juvie robbers out of their cells for their arraignments, two uniformed officers showed up in the squad room to pick them up.

"We'll take Michael Roach and Jason Kassinger to the courthouse for their arraignments and then they'll be transported back to the detention center in Great Falls."

"Fine with me," said Travis. "They trashed a local package store and made a helluva mess of it. They might've been paroled a little too soon."

The officer smiled. "You're probably right about that, Sheriff. Most of them are."

Billy released the two juvies to the officers and took care of the paperwork involved in the transfer. That was two more off our hands. Next we got Lila Gordon into the back of Virgie's squad. Billy wanted to separate her from Jyp Kassinger, Jason's father because he could be dangerous.

Ted and I got to take Kassinger to the courthouse. He limped along and cursed us, and Ted told him to shut it, but it didn't do much good.

Harrison County Courthouse. Coyote Creek.

In the courtroom, I sat with Virgie and Ted, and we waited for our baddies to get their turns in front of the judge.

Lila Gordon did exactly what the judge told her not to do, so I figured he was going to revoke her bail and she'd be right back in our jail.

When the bailiff brought Lila into the pit, Virge started chuckling. "Can't wait until her bail gets revoked. The stupid bitch."

Ted smiled. "Couldn't believe it when I saw her running into the same alleyway beside Krystal's place. How dumb can you fuckin get?"

The judge looked down at Lila standing in front of him. "Mrs. Gordon, I see here that you've been charged with trespassing on the property of the Krystal Palace again. You didn't believe me when I told you I'd revoke your bail if you went back there?"

"I believed you, sir."

"But you did it anyway, thinking you wouldn't get caught?"

"I guess so."

"Bail is revoked. Thirty days in the county jail on the new trespassing charge. Maybe that will help you remember my words."

"Yes, your honor. I'll remember."

The gavel slammed down, and Lila started to cry.

A guy in the row across from us stood up and hollered. "Why did you do that, Lila? You and your stupid club of bitches are a disgrace. You can stay in jail forever. I'm divorcing you."

"Remove that man, bailiff." The judge pointed.

"Huh," said Ted. "Her hubby is pissed at her too."

"Least he didn't shoot her yet," said Virge. "Jerry Paige's trial will be coming up soon."

"Yep. We might finally get that lunatic out of the run," said Ted.

Next was Jason Kassinger's father. He limped into the courtroom using a crutch. The judge took his not guilty plea taking note of the bullet wound in his leg. Granted him bail in the amount of a hundred thousand dollars based on the severity of the charges.

Kassinger was escorted to the bond office where he didn't have a prayer of coming up with the ten percent he needed, and we ended up hauling his broke ass back to our jail.

Shit. Dad wasn't going to be happy.

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

We brought our prisoners back and locked them up again. Told Molly what happened in court, and she'd have to type the court stuff onto each of their records in the computer.

"We're stuck with them, Molly," said Virge. "Even worse, the judge was pissed off at Lila and gave her thirty days in our jail for stepping on Krystal's property again."

"Oh, my," said Molly. "That must have been aggravating for Seth after he granted her bail in the first place."

Virge's eyes widened. "You know that old judge, Molly?"

She smiled. "I've known him most of my life. He's a nice man, and very fair in his rulings."

The front door opened, and Bob Ellington came in with his briefcase in his hand.

"Good morning, Mister Ellington," said Molly.

"Morning all. I just dropped in to say that my wife's funeral will be on Friday at the funeral home here in Coyote Creek. Thank you all for helping me through this difficult time."

I felt sorry for the guy because we ain't told him yet that his wife was screwing around six ways from Sunday. When he found that out he might not be so fuckin sad.

Me and Virge sat down to have a coffee with Dad in his office—the break room—and we barely had our asses planted in the chairs when Sunday came in with papers in her hands.

"I've got three interviews on the pickup trucks ready to go. Billy will divide you into teams."

"He waiting for us now?" asked Virge.

"Uh huh. He's in his office."

"The boys will be there as soon as they finish their coffee," said Dad. "They just sat down. Give them five."

"Sure. I didn't mean to rush them." She smiled and left the room.

"Finish telling me about what happened in the courtroom, then y'all can go talk to the truck owners."

White Residence. Valier.

Frank White lived down near Valier. A little town on the edge of the lake. This time of the year the lake was frozen over and there were fish huts scattered far and wide over the icy surface.

The huts would be there until spring. Some guys always left their huts on the ice too long and the ice would crack, and the hut would sink to the bottom of the lake. You could count on it. Kind of a ritual.

Wait for it…

Frank and his wife lived in a winterized cottage on the shore about a half mile from the town. A dark red or wine-colored pickup sat in the driveway covered in snow. Didn't look like it had been driven for a day or two.

I knocked on the door and Ted tossed his cigarette into the snowbank. A woman came to the door, and we figured it was Frank's wife. Ordinary looking with her long hair in a ponytail.

"Sheriff's Office?"

"We'd like to speak to Frank," said Ted. "Only take a minute."

"Frank's not here. He had his appendix out a week ago and then he got infection. They haven't let him out of the hospital yet."

"Huh," said Ted. "What day did Frank go to the hospital, ma'am?'

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does."

"Let me see. I think it was last Monday and he's been in Cut Bank Hospital ever since."

"Give our best to Frank when you see him, ma'am. Tell him the sheriff's office was checking up on him."

She smiled. "I'll tell him. Do you people always do that when somebody gets their appendix out?"

"Almost always," said Ted. "Just a courtesy call from the Sheriff."

We had a chuckle when we jumped into the squad and went to our next call.

"Cross Frank off the list."

Van Cedar Residence. Conrad.

Me and Billy drove down to Conrad to find our guy who owned a dark red pickup. Virge called on the way and told us to cross off Frank White because he'd been in the hospital the whole time.

One down.

Van Cedar lived on a quiet street of two-story homes in Conrad, and we pulled in right behind the truck we were looking for.

"Truck's here," I said. "Good sign. We won't have to go chasing after him."

"Funny how all of these guys seemed to be married," said Billy.

"Yeah, I guess. Does that make them more attracted to a married woman like Sandra Ellington?"

"Can't say, Harlan. I've never figured women out. It's not possible."

Billy made me laugh.

Mrs. Van Cedar let us in and showed us into her fancy living room. All neat and tidy with a lot of cushions and cozy blankets and stuff that we didn't have at our house.

"I'll get Graham for you." She smiled and left us sitting in the room alone. Wasn't gone long and she was back with her husband. "Here he is. He wasn't feeling well this morning and didn't go to work."

Graham Van Cedar towered over his short pudgy wife. Longish blond hair and bright blue eyes, he was dressed in plaid pajama pants and a T-shirt.

"Sorry, I was sleeping and I'm kind of out of it today. Woke up with a migraine and it's pounding." His eyes were half-closed, and the light in the room seemed to bother him.

"Only a couple of questions for you, sir."

"Sure. What's this about?"

"We're investigating Sandra Ellington's murder, sir," said Billy, "and we were wondering if you knew her."

He glanced at his wife and searched for words and there was no way around it. He would have to spit out something that would cause trouble between them.

"I have met her," said Graham. "I'm an attorney here in Conrad and a couple of months ago I met Sandra and her husband at a function in Shelby. So yes, I do know who she is, and sadly, I heard about her death."

"Did I ever meet her, Graham?" asked his wife.

"I don't think so. They lived in Coyote Creek. Nice couple, but you never met them."

"And she was murdered?" The wife had renewed interest in the conversation.

"Tragic," said Billy, and he laid it on thick to work the wife up. "Bob Ellington went to his office, forgot his briefcase and by the time he came back for it, someone had come into the house and slit Sandra's throat."

The wife put her hands over her face. "Oh my God. That is the worst thing I've ever heard." She turned to her husband, "And you knew her, Graham?"

"I said I met her once, Irene. I didn't know her well."

"Why didn't you mention this to me? It must have been on the news."

"I didn't want to upset you, Irene. Lawyer's wife murdered. You would have been upset just like you are now. That's why I chose not to tell you."

"I need a tissue. Excuse me."

When the wife left the room, Billy zeroed in. "A pickup similar to yours, Mister Van Cedar, was photographed in the Ellingtons' driveway on numerous occasions. Do you have an alibi we can verify for last Tuesday, October fifteenth?"

"What time? Can we please do this quietly?"

"Of course. Jot down what you want verified and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Sheriff. I appreciate your discretion more than you can imagine." He leaned closer and whispered. "I didn't kill Sandra. I loved her."

"Can you give me any help with the investigation?" Billy asked the question as the wife walked back into the room with a couple of tissues in her hand.

"Leave me your card," said Graham, "and thank you for coming in person, Sheriff. It's been a pleasure to meet you and your young Deputy."

"I'll show you officers out," said the wife. "I hope you find the killer you're looking for."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Billy.

We sat in the squad for a few minutes while it warmed up and Billy said, "There was definitely something going on between Graham and Sandra, Harlan."

"Yep, that guy is fuckin wrecked."

"He didn't kill her and he's out of his tree trying to figure out who did."

"Jeeze, does that means he's doing his own investigation?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Billy. "He's a lawyer in Conrad and he knows people. Let's hope he doesn't find the killer before we do."

"So, Billy, if it was his truck the neighbor saw in the driveway, we don't need to worry about that pickup no more."

"Nope, we don't. The killer wasn't driving the pickup."

"Then, was he driving one of the black Wranglers and we haven't found the right guy?"

"Jesus, Harlan, I don't fuckin know."

Milton Residence. Cut Bank.

Me and Ted had just got to Steve Milton's place in Cut Bank when Billy called and Ted put it on speaker. "We found the owner of the pickup. You guys can skip that call. Come back to the station. I've got something else for you."

"Copy that, boss. Coming back to the shop."

"Billy found the guy who owns the pickup," I said to Ted. "Huh. I wonder if he brought him in."

"Guess we'll find out when we get back."

"He never said nothing about bringing him in."

"Maybe he owns the pickup but he ain't our killer."

"Shit, I want him to be so we can wrap it up."

Ted chuckled. "Don't always get what you want. Stones said that."

"I don't know what that means."

"You're too young, kid. You missed all the good music."

Coyote Creek Market.

Before I went home to the ranch, I parked in front of the market down the street and went in to ask Penny Darkers if she wanted to go see a movie on Friday night.

Virge waited in the Jeep, and I didn't bother telling Dad I was doing it. She was busy checking customers out and I stood at the end of her counter and waited until she had a second to talk to me.

As soon as she did, she smiled and said, "Hi, Harlan."

"Want to see a movie on Friday?'

"Yeah, sure."

"Tell me where you live, and I'll pick you up."

"I moved down from Sweetwater and got an apartment on Beech Street over a garage with a girl I know. I like it so far and I can walk to work."

"Great. Give me the address and I'll text you what time I'm coming to get you."

"Thanks, Harlan."

"No problem. Looking forward to our date."

I ran back to the Jeep and Virge was waiting for the details. "What did she say?'

"She said okay, and she has her own place here in Coyote Creek. She's sharing an apartment over a garage."

"Great, that gets Dad off your ass."

"Sure does. Makes things a whole lot easier on the home front if I'm not going up against Dad on this."

"Better not try it," said Virge. "Might get foul."

"Last thing I'd want to do is buck Dad on an issue," said Harlan.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

While the boys were at the barn feeding the horses, Travis talked to Billy about the raid.

"When do you think we should go for it?" asked Billy.

"I want to talk to Mark at the customs office to see if they're watching for precursor chemicals, and if they are, if they are specifically watching Dan Darkers."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. If they've got something going on already and they're close to making an arrest, we don't want to mess in customs business."

"Right. I should take a run up there and talk to Mark before we bust anybody's asses."