Chapter Six

Friday, October 18 th .

Black Wolf Mountain. Montana.

A roar outside the door set Max, Sarge and Butchie into a frenzy of barking.

"Ted's out there looking for me," said Sunday. "I'll take him for a walk down the mountain to see if the road has been plowed. We need to get you down to the Wolf Pass Clinic to get your leg sewn up properly. Infection will be catching up with you soon."

"I'm not looking forward to infection in my leg," mumbled Travis.

Sunday bundled up in her hat, scarf and parka and left with the dogs. She was gone almost half an hour before the front door of the cabin opened and she stepped in on the mat and stamped the snow off her boots.

"Can we get out?"

"Yep, but it's starting to snow again. We should go now while we can."

Travis sat up on the side of the bed. "I'm dressed, I just need my coat and boots. I'll get more supplies while we're down there."

Sunday helped him get his parka on and shoved a wool cap on his head. "I'll help you get to the truck. It's gonna be farther than you're used to walking on that mess of a leg."

She handed him the crutch she'd made from a sturdy branch she'd found in the forest, and very slowly, Travis got to his feet.

"I can do it."

"Sure you can. You're that tough biker guy, Dale. Nothing's gonna hold you back."

Travis smiled.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

I was sitting down for breakfast when Annie called me. "Hi, Mom. Virge and I are missing you and Lucy."

"I miss you too, sugar. I tried to get Travis but he's not answering his phone."

"Umm…he had to go somewhere for a couple of days, and he has no service where he is."

"Where might that be?"

"He's in his mountain cabin near Black Wolf Pass. He needed some time to get it together."

"Okay. He's messed up from the Tammy thing. I know how he gets, but I have news. Mason Swift, the bounty hunter I hired, has recovered Tammy and she's okay."

"Fantastic."

"I haven't seen her yet, but I'll be picking her up at the Texas state line later today. Mason will call when he's on his way to meet me."

"Then Tammy will be arrested, right?"

"Yes, that will happen next, but while she's in custody, she'll be given a psych evaluation."

"To see if she completely lost it?" I asked.

"I think when the results of the evaluation come in, Tammy will be placed in a hospital."

"Will we be able to visit her?" I asked.

"Yes. Tell Billy and Virge Tammy is safe and pass the news along to Travis when he comes home."

"I will, Mom. Thanks for calling us."

"Love you guys."

Wolf Pass Clinic. Rocky Mountains.

The narrow mountain road had been plowed once but with the new snow, it was becoming treacherous again. Sunday drove Travis's truck around the switchbacks and at times, the ass end of the truck fishtailed on the slippery road.

"Take it easy," said Travis. "You're going too fast."

Sunday slowed down to a crawl and Travis relaxed a little. "You okay now, big guy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The pain in his leg was so intense he could hardly keep from hollering out loud.

After a slow drive down the mountain, Sunday parked close to the front door of the clinic and helped Travis inside. The waiting room was empty and the nurse at the front desk showed Travis into a treatment room.

She helped him up onto the table and went to get the doctor. Sunday sat on the chair next to the wall and read the posters on the wall.

"What can I do for you, sir? I'm Doctor Tony Garber."

Travis was in too much pain to answer, so Sunday got to her feet and answered for him. "He's got a bad bite on his leg that needs stitches."

"Can you remove your pants so I can see it?" asked the doc.

Travis nodded and winced as he struggled with his fly and then shoved his jeans down to his ankles.

The young doctor was suitably horrified when he got a look at the bite. "Oh, my, this is a bad one. A dog?"

"Wolves," said Travis. "Three wolves took me down." He pointed to the grazes on his neck, still red and raw.

"A close call," said the doctor.

Travis glanced at Sunday. "My neighbor came along, or I wouldn't be sitting here."

"Timing is everything," said Doctor Garber. "I'm going to inject a lot of freezing before I attempt to clean this up. You must be in tremendous pain."

"That's a true story," said Travis.

The doctor injected the freezing in four places and when the numbness took hold, Travis began to relax.

"I'm sure even the numbness feels better than the pain you've been in," said the doctor.

"It does. I'd take that frozen feel any day."

"How long ago did this happen?"

Travis looked at Sunday and she said, "Three days ago. He was delirious for about twelve hours the first night it happened."

"I can believe that," said the doctor. "This leg is badly torn. I'll do the best I can to pull the skin together, but there will be scaring."

"I'm okay with a souvenir," said Travis. "A reminder not to go up the mountain without my rifle. Didn't do me no good sitting in the cabin. Stupid move on my part."

Putting the stitches in was arduous and time-consuming. When the doctor was finished, the nurse came in and put a snug bandage over the entire stitched up area.

"Thanks," said Travis. "Feels a lot better."

"I have a prescription for you for pain medication and one for an antibiotic. A leg this badly damaged will take longer to heal."

"Appreciate it," said Travis.

The nurse smiled. "The freezing hasn't come out yet."

Before they left town, Travis sent Sunday into the market with his credit card, and she stocked up on everything they needed for a couple more days.

Travis wanted to go home but he had to stay off the leg for twenty-four hours. He'd go home tomorrow.

Shiner's. Louisiana Bayou.

Mason left Tammy tied to the bunk in the cabin while he ate breakfast in the restaurant. He had the waitress bring him a breakfast container for Tammy when he left. She could eat in the boat where she didn't have to be tied up.

It was a struggle getting her from the cabin to the boat, but once they were speeding down the river, there weren't too many places she could go.

Mason gave her the food container and watched her eat. She kept looking over the side of the boat like she was going to jump into the river.

"The river is full of gators, Tammy. Don't you be jumping into the water unless you want to be gator food."

She gave him that blank look and Mason wasn't sure Tammy had all of her faculties. It would be up to a court to decide her status. She may not be well enough to go to trial. Insufficient mental capacity.

Not up to him.

"My job is to bring her back and hand her over. I get paid and everybody is happy as pigs in mud."

Bonaventure Boat Rentals. Louisiana Bayou.

Swift tied up his Jon boat at Pierre Bonaventure's dock. He moved Tammy from the boat to his truck and secured her in the back seat, her ankle bracelet attached to the D-ring welded to the floor.

"You stay there for a minute, Tammy. I have a couple of things to say to Pierre before I take you to your mama."

"I love mama."

"I know you do."

Mason strolled into the wooden shack Pierre used for his boat rentals and the Frenchie glanced up in surprise.

"Didn't think you'd be coming back alive from dat outlaw camp, Swifty."

Mason smiled. "Surprised you, didn't I?"

"Guess you did. You want something?"

"Yep. I want you to stop selling innocent young girls down the river, Pierre."

Pierre laughed. "I don't do dat."

Bang.

Mason shot Pierre in the neck and smiled while he watched the sex trafficker die. He took the money out of Pierre's wallet and most of the thousand dollars the outlaw camp paid for Tammy was still intact.

With the money secure in his own wallet, Mason dragged Pierre to the dock and tossed him into the river. Wasn't long before the gators discovered him floating by and made short work of Pierre Bonaventure.

"That's two of the sex traffickers dead and in the river. Who wants to be next?"

Mason backed his truck down to the boat launch and hooked up his boat for the trip to the Texas line.

He slid into the driver's seat thinking that a thousand-dollar bonus would help pay a few of his bills.

As he pulled into the road heading north, he looked at Tammy in the rearview. "I'm taking you to your mama now, little girl. You'll be safe with her."

"Mama taught me how to shoot."

"Uh huh. I'll keep that in mind, girl."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

"Listen to that asshole hollering in there," said Virge. "How we gonna shut him up?"

"We can't," said Billy. "Let him yell and get it all out of his system."

"If we don't go deaf first," I said.

Billy walked across the squad room and stood in front of Ted's desk. "You're up tonight, Ted. I want you on the Palace watching for the women in the haters club. You leave at noon and get a couple hours sleep before heading up to Ethridge at dark."

"Copy that, boss."

King's Court. Coyote Creek.

Sandra Ellington cleared the breakfast table after her husband Bob went to work at his law office on Main Street.

She had an easy life being married to Bob Ellington. Boring, but easy. The past few months, she'd been seeing a couple of other men on the side and her boring life had spiced up considerably. Cheating was fun and exciting. An adrenaline rush but a little nerve wracking at times. She had to be careful not to get caught.

Bending down to put one of the little pods of soap in the dishwasher, she heard the front door open and then close.

She stood up and smiled. "Oh, it's you."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

Virge helped himself to a donut out of the box on Molly's desk and chewed thoughtfully as he watched her take a call on the landline.

"Yes, sir." Molly scribbled down an address and ripped the page off her pad. "Here, Virgil. Mister Ellington says he forgot his briefcase, drove back home to get it and in the time he was gone someone murdered his wife."

"What?" asked Billy. "Say that again."

King's Court. Coyote Creek.

"I'm not sure I've been on this street before," said Billy. "A few fancy houses."

"Yep," said Virge, "this has to be the fanciest street in Coyote Creek. Rich people must live here."

"In this part of Montana," said Billy, "the rich people live on ranches with thousands of acres. They don't live in Coyote Creek."

"What house is the dead woman in?" I asked.

"Thirteen," said Virge. "Not lucky for her."

I parked the Jeep in the double drive next to a silver-blue Mercedes and shut off the engine. "I hope the Jeep stays warm while we're inside."

"It won't," said Virge, "so don't get your hopes up, bro."

"Thanks, Virge."

Billy knocked and then didn't wait for an answer. The husband had called the office and was waiting for us. Billy walked into the foyer with me and Virge behind.

The victim's husband—the lawyer—was slouched down on the sofa with his head in his hands. Billy gave Virge and me a signal to keep on going while he talked to the husband.

We could hear everything Billy said as we moved into the kitchen to view the scene.

Dishwasher door open. Blood on the door and sprayed all over the dishes inside. The victim, Sandra Ellington, lay sprawled across the dishwasher door, her head cranked to one side, throat slashed wide open.

She was pretty before she was dead. Thirty-something. Blonde hair splattered with a lot of blood. Not dressed yet. Robe hanging open showing a lot of tanned leg.

Was there a tanning place near here?

I took pictures for Billy for the file while we waited for Doc Olsen. Molly had called from the station and dispatched the doctor when we got the call. I figured he should be arriving soon.

"Let's wait for the doc out front," I said to Virge.

He held his hand up for me to wait because he was listening to Billy question the husband.

"You said your wife was fine when you left for your office at eight fifteen."

"That's right. I left at my usual time, not going directly to my office on Main, but to see a client in Shelby. I was driving in that direction when I realized I'd set my briefcase down in the foyer when I put my snow boots on. That's when I turned around."

"Right," said Billy. "You turned around and came back for the briefcase. How much time had elapsed, sir? Give me your best estimate."

"Fifteen minutes, tops."

"So in fifteen minutes time, someone entered your home, killed your wife in a violent manner and was gone without a trace when you got back for your briefcase."

"That's exactly what happened," said Ellington. "That's the honest truth of it."

"I believe you," said Billy. "Any thoughts on who would want to kill your wife?"

"Nobody in this town. I'm an attorney and Sandra is a housewife. She didn't work outside our home. She had a few hobbies and loved to cook. She was an amazing wife, and we were happy together."

"Did she belong to any clubs? Book club? Group of girls getting together? Anything like that?"

"No, but she had a few close friends in town she met for drinks once in a while. They'd go for a girls' night to the Inn or to the roadhouse. There's not a lot of nightlife in Coyote Creek."

"I'll need names and addresses of her closest friends, sir, if you don't mind giving me those."

"Sure. Who would do this to my wife, Sheriff Johnson? It makes no sense at all. Coyote Creek is a quiet town. A safe place to live."

"Any children, sir?"

"No. We have no children."

The interview wound up and Virge nodded his head like he had the answer. I tried not to laugh out loud at my brother. Virge liked to solve cases on the first day and the theories he came up with were sometimes so crazy, I had to laugh.

Doctor Olsen arrived next, and Virge and I helped him with the scene and with bagging Mrs. Ellington's body. The Doc preferred shootings and strangulations to stabbings. Anybody would. Not so messy.

Worst of all, Doc hated bear deaths. Bodies all mangled and torn up. He kept track of the bear deaths in our county. Something he liked to do.

Music Row. Nashville. Tennessee.

Ardal and Casey had their work cut out for them. In their search for Bobby Prescott, the Interstate Rage Killer, all they had to go on was a songwriter hanging with a guy who was hurt. They had an eight by ten picture of Bobby to show in the bars and they were also able to say the two men they were looking for may or may not be driving a black Freightliner cab.

Casey found them a hotel room in downtown Nashville and after a good night's sleep, he and Ardal started at the far end of music row.

They planned to ask their questions in every bar on the long street of music venues—up one side of the street and down the other. Somebody in Nashville must have seen Bobby Prescott and his new friend, the unknown songwriter.

Black Wolf Mountain. Montana.

Travis sat at the kitchen table. His leg elevated—propped up on the wood box. There were only two chairs and Sunday sat on the other one.

The stove cranked out a great heat and the cabin was warm and cozy. Sunday kept it that way. Travis couldn't get up to get the wood.

"I have to get home tomorrow," said Travis. "I've been gone too long."

"You got a job or something calling you?"

"I'm the sheriff of Harrison County."

"Huh. You look like the opposite of a lawman, buddy."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"I'll have to drive you home. You can't drive."

"True, and I can't promise when I'll be able to get you back to your cabin. Bad weather is settling in for the next few months."

"That's okay. I'm due for a vacation. I'll go up to my place and pack up my things. Don't have much. Me and my husband brought as little as possible when we shook off the old life and started living off the grid."

"Uh huh. I can see him wanting to do that."

"I'll have to bring Butchie."

"That's okay." Travis smiled. "She's a good girl. What about your bear?"

"Not really mine as most wild things are not possessions. They stay wild when you return them to nature."

"But you tamed him down a lot," said Travis. "He walks on a leash, for chrissakes."

"With nothing else to do, I spent days seeing if I could tame him—just for fun. He won't starve on his own. He's a bear."

Travis laughed.

Dry Run Roadhouse. Coyote Creek.

We left the station with a new murder on our hands and Billy thought we should stop into the Run to drink a pitcher on the way home, just to think things over.

We sat at the bar so Billy could talk to his cousin, Jack. "When's Travis coming home?" Jack talked to us between customers and when he wasn't filling pitchers for the servers.

"Can't say," said Virge. "He's got no service up there on Black Wolf Mountain, and he ain't been calling us since he left right after the funeral."

"Bad time of year to go up there." Jack frowned and shook his head. "Too much fuckin snow. He won't be able to get down the mountain when he wants to get back to civilization."

"And the early snow means the bears weren't ready to hibernate," said Virge. "They'll be acting up something crazy."

Thinking about a bear getting Dad made me almost puke and I couldn't finish my beer.

Krystal's Palace. Ethridge.

Ted got up from his nap needing more sleep, grabbed a sandwich and a beer and bundled up against the cold of the Montana night.

He warmed up his truck before leaving, then headed up to Ethridge to watch the strip club.

The girls in the group of haters were all free on bail except for Brenda Paige who was dead as dirt. Killed by her crazy husband in the station parking lot. Now, there were only five of them—unless they had a new recruit.

Ted lit up a smoke and remembered the girls being warned by the judge to stay away from Krystal's property or he would personally revoke their bail.

Sitting in the dark across the road from the Palace, he watched the customers come and go. All men. He'd been in place for about two hours when he recognized Lila Gordon's car slowing down.

She parked just past the strip club, jumped out and doubled back with a purpose in mind. She ran down the alleyway between Krystal's club and the building next to it.

Ted hopped out of his truck and followed Lila. He entered the dark alley and hollered, "Hey, Lila, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing."

Ted grabbed Lila from behind and snapped a pair of cuffs on her. "Come on. You're done screwing around for tonight. I've got a nice warm place where you can rest your head."

She twisted and kicked at him, and he held tight to the chain, at times lifting her right off the ground.

"Judge is gonna revoke your bail for this, Lila."

"Shut up, Sheriff. I haven't done anything."

Ted shoved Lila into the back of the squad and hooked her up. On the drive back to Coyote Creek, he called Billy and told him the news.

"Great job, Ted. Just lock her up and go on home. We'll bring new charges against her in the morning."

"Copy, boss. Tell Virge he was right about Lila Gordon."

Billy laughed. "I can't tell him he was right. We'll never hear the end of it."