Chapter Nine

Monday, October 21 st .

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Billy chopped kindling in the front room at a feverish pace thinking about Sunday. He figured he shouldn't be liking her so much because Travis brought her home and he had no idea what Travis had planned for her. Before going any further, he had to talk to Travis and find out what he was thinking.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice Sunday come into the room carrying an armload of wood. She dumped it into the wood box and the loud crash right next to him made him jump.

"Didn't mean to scare you, Billy. I thought you saw me come in with the wood."

Billy laughed. "Guess I was thinking about something else."

At the barn, me and Virge had a big talk about getting new girlfriends and where we would start our search.

"Where do all the hot girls hang out?" asked Virge. "That should be the first place we go look."

"Beats me. I don't know where they're hanging. Haven't seen any in bunches of them in town."

"Maybe Dad knows. He's like the Coyote Creek stud. He's got to have a handle on shit like this."

"Let's ask him at breakfast. Once we have a venue, we can work hard."

"Without a plan, we're getting nowhere in a hurry."

Sunday made pancakes for breakfast and that made Virgie smile. He was the pancake king. While he stuffed them into his mouth, he asked Dad the question.

"Hey, Dad, me and Harlan decided to get us girlfriends, but we don't know where to look. Can you help us out?"

"Me?" He laughed.

"You must know where the cute girls hang out, Dad," I said. "You're like the biggest draw in the county. Women flock to you."

"Hey, come on. That's not true."

"It is true," said Virge. "They knock on the door and bring you fuckin casseroles. Savanna told me that story."

Sunday giggled. "I can see where that might be a true story. Long hair and tats are a big draw for the ladies, Dale."

"I better grow my hair longer," said Billy. "I've had the same haircut since I got out of the army."

"Virgil, have you tried the laundromat?" asked Sunday. "That's one place you boys could start."

"Holy hell," said Virge. "Never thought of that. Thanks, Sunday. I'll be dropping by there today to see what's shaking."

"Take some dirty clothes," Billy had a smirk on his face, "or you'll look like a fake, Virgie."

"Fuck, yeah. I've got lots of dirty clothes."

Travis couldn't stop laughing at his boys.

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

The start of a new work week and to complicate the two cases we were working on—a murder and a robbery—snow was coming down heavily. Accidents would surely be pending on county roads and highways and slowing us down in our pursuit of justice.

"Molly, this is Sunday," said Billy. "She's staying with us at the ranch and she's volunteering to help us out some."

Molly smiled. "Lovely to meet you, Sunday. Happy to have you join our little staff here at the station."

"Why don't you sit at this empty desk next to Ted?" Billy pointed. "It's the only spare one we have."

Sunday walked over and sat down at the desk. "Hi, Ted. You have the same name as my dead husband. Bear got him way up Black Wolf Mountain."

Ted stared at her, not knowing what to say. "Sorry ‘bout that ma'am. Sad story. Bears are bad this year. Believe they're short on food and that makes them testy."

Ted seemed a little freaked out by Sunday, so Billy sent him to Cut Bank. "You can start on the prints at the liquor store, Ted. It's a mess up there and they won't be open today. The keys are hanging on the rack in the office."

"Copy that, boss."

"Sunday, you can use the computer in my office to scan the footage from Kings Court."

"She smiled. Copy that, boss. Let's see if I can come up with those boyfriends."

Billy smiled back at her. "I'll get you set up. I'm hoping we'll get a good lead from the video cam."

They went into the office together and Billy closed the door.

Travis sat in the break room drinking coffee and reading the reports on Sandra Ellington's murder. He'd only been gone a few days, but he felt like he'd missed way too much. He glanced at his cell when it rang and smiled when he saw it was Annie.

"Hey, Annie-girl. I was just thinking about you."

"Same. I think about you a lot too. I have fairly good news."

"Tell me about Tammy."

"I've been to Lakeview to see her and she's safe in a hospital with doctors and nurses taking care of her."

"Is she being evaluated?"

"Yes, that will be done in stages. When I handed her over to Rafe Cumberland, she was barely coherent. No telling what the outlaws in that camp did to her, but she walked into that situation of her own free will."

"Something I don't want to think about, girl. But I'm glad she's safe and in a secure place where she can't get into any more trouble and commit more crimes."

"I'll see her when I can and keep you up to date, sugar. Doctor Fielding is good, and he'll help her, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks for all of it, Annie. I haven't been as helpful as I should've been. Send me the bill from the bounty hunter and I'll reimburse you. The guy must have busted his butt finding her in the swamp."

"He did. Competent guy. One who doesn't give up. I liked him, even offered him a job."

"Huh. Maybe I'll meet him someday. If I do, I have some questions for him about the outlaws."

"I'm sure you do," said Annie. "From my understanding, most of them were killed during the skirmish when he took Tammy away from them."

"That's good news. Happy to hear that."

"How are you doing? I was sorry to hear about Olivia's accident. The boys told me."

"Oh, I'm fine. Keeping on. You know."

I'm not telling her about the wolves.

Sunday was able to come up with a black Wrangler in the Ellington driveway and she could read first three letters/numbers on the tag and wrote them down.

She called to Billy, and he came into the office to see what she had. "Black Wrangler, Billy. We need to run local registrations for this vehicle starting with BZ 7 and see what we get."

"Did you get the year and the model number?"

"I wrote it down." She pushed the paper towards him.

Billy smiled. "Now we're cooking. I'll get Molly to run this through the data base and see who's driving the black Wrangler."

"I'll get a coffee while we wait for the results."

Sunday joined Travis in the break room and sat with him at the table. "Don't you use your office, Dale?"

"No, I gave it to Billy because of his leg."

"How did he hurt his leg?"

"Put an axe in it chopping wood. It's healed now. As good as it's going to get."

She nodded. "Now both of you have bad legs. You'll have to let the boys do the chasing down from here on in."

Travis laughed. "That's for sure. They're good at it too. Best deputies a sheriff could have. Where are they anyway?"

"Virge is putting a load in at the laundromat down the street."

"Did you make that up or will there be young girls there?"

Sunday shrugged. "Could be a couple. This is a pretty small town."

Travis chuckled.

Duds and Suds. Coyote Creek.

Me and Virge had work to do but he was keen on putting a load into one of the washers down the street to see if Sunday was right about the girls hanging around.

When we went in, the only girl we saw was the one on duty watching the place. She was cute, short spiky hair, about seventeen. The right age for my brother.

He shoved his clothes into one of the machines and then fiddled with the dials like he didn't know what the hell he was doing—because he didn't.

She strolled over kind of laughing at him. "You need a tutorial on the machine, buddy?"

"I ain't your buddy. I'm a deputy from the sheriff's office down the street."

"I know where you hang out, buddy. Seen you coming and going from there. You're Virgil, right?"

"You know my name?" Virgil's eyes were wide.

She shrugged. "Ain't hard. The stud sheriff has two stud sons, Harlan and Virgil. Every girl in Coyote Creek knows your names. Ain't a mystery."

Virge scramble for words. "What's your name?"

"Vicki Temple. My mom owns the laundry and while she's busting her ass at another job, it's my job to run the laundry."

"You done school?" asked Virge.

"Could be. Don't see you at school, Deputy boy."

"I'm done."

"Did you ever start?"

Virge laughed. "I went a couple times."

"Then what? You got picked up with a spray can in your hand and a baggie of meth in your pocket and got your ass sent to Juvie? I know guys like you."

"Hate to interrupt you and Vicki, Virge, but I've got to go to work. I'll tell the sheriff you're coming as soon as you dry your clothes."

"Yeah. They haven't started washing yet because Vicky hasn't got the machine going for me."

"This is a self-serve place of business, Deputy-boy. I show you how to turn the machine on and then you're strictly on your own."

"I'm good with that," said Virge. "I don't need no girls helping me run a piece of simple machinery."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

When I got back to the station Molly had names and addresses for two guys who drove black Wranglers like the one parked in the Ellington's driveway.

"Come on, Harlan," said Billy. "We have to go check out these two guys. One of them might be our murderer. Where's Virgil?"

"He's washing a load of clothes."

"Jesus H., Harlan. We have work to do. Any girls there?"

"Just the one running the place. He's not hitting it off too good with her. They seem to be kind of clashing. They were in a big argument over the washing machine when I left."

"Huh. We've got no time to wait for him. We're out of here."

Criederman Residence. Sunburst.

We knocked on the door of Nate Criederman's house and his wife opened the door. Short girl with bottle-blonde hair and an unlit cigarette stuck to her lips.

Billy held up his badge. "We'd like to talk to Nate, ma'am. Is he home?"

"Nope. Nate's at work."

"And where does Nate work?"

"Down in Oilmont. You probably passed the service center on your way up here. Nate runs the place. Why do you want to talk to him?"

"I need to ask him a few questions, ma'am. Just routine. Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. I stopped worrying about Nate a long time ago, Sheriff. No point to it, is there?"

Billy and I jumped in the squad. "She was testy," I said. "Should we drive down and talk to him at the service center?"

"Yep. Let's see how well Nate knew Sandra Ellington."

"Nate is the killer or the guy we're talking to next in Shelby."

"Or the guy in the dark red pickup," said Billy. "We haven't found him yet, but we've narrowed it down to three possibilities."

"Three is better than we had before," I said. "Could have been anybody in the whole county."

"Or beyond," said Billy.

Oilmont Service Center.

When Billy and I got there, Nate was behind the counter in his convenience store serving a lineup of customers. Billy flashed his badge and Nate raised an eyebrow.

Tall guy with black hair and a day's scruff on his face. "What can I do for you, Sheriff?"

"Just a couple of quick questions, Nate. Do you know Sandra Ellington in Coyote Creek?"

"Who? I don't think I've heard that name."

Billy leaned on the counter and asked Nate about the date and time of the murder and Nate had a solid alibi. He was working at his store with two other employees who verified he was there the entire time.

"Thanks for your time, Nate." Billy left a card on the counter, and we moved on to the owner of the second black Wrangler in Shelby.

Slater Residence. Shelby.

Mick Slater's wife was a redhead with short shaggy hair, and dark-rimmed glasses. She yanked the door open when I rang the bell and seemed pissed off we were standing on her doorstep.

"Mick Slater here?" asked Billy.

"Mick's at work. What do you want him for? What has Mick done?"

"I'm not sure Mick has done anything, Mrs. Slater. Where does he work?"

"Downtown at the car audio place. You can find him there. It's the one on Birch Street."

"Thank you."

"She was bitchy," I said as we drove to the business section of Shelby looking for the audio shop. "Are all wives bitchy like that, Billy?"

He chuckled. "They can't all be bitchy, Harlan. There have to be some sweet ones out there or no guys would bother getting married."

"Yeah, that's true."

Shelby Car Audio.

Billy parked the Bronco behind the building. Not too many vehicles in the lot, but parked next to the black Wrangler was a dark red pickup. I pointed it out and Billy said, "Yep, I see it. Jot down the tag. Run it and get a name for the owner before we go inside."

"Yep." I punched the tag in, and the pickup was registered to a guy named Paul Granby with a Shelby address. "Got it. Paul Granby."

"Great. Let's go talk to these guys and find out which one of them killed Sandra Ellington."

We entered the office first and spoke to the manager, so we didn't interrupt the running of his business too much.

Billy held up his badge. "We need to speak to two of your employees, sir. Paul Granby and Mick Slater. I'd prefer to speak to them in private. I'll call them outside and talk to them one at a time. Won't take too long."

"Yeah, okay. What's this about, Sheriff?"

"A few questions. We won't interrupt your work schedule too much."

"Okay. Who do you want to see first?"

"Send Mick Slater out and I'll talk to him outside the door."

Billy and I stepped out into the cold and the snow was coming down steady. The ground was covered in a fresh layer already.

Mick came out the front door, lit up a smoke and leaned on the brick wall. "Boss said you wanted to see me. What's up?"

"We're investigating Sandra Ellington's murder, Mick, and your Jeep was seen parked in her driveway on more than one occasion."

"Okay. You got me there, Sheriff. Sandy and I were friendly, but that don't mean I killed her." Mick smiled. "I feel kinda bad she's dead because we had a good thing going. Know what I'm saying? Mostly lunch hours and on the way home from work."

"I do. Yes." Billy asked about the day and time of the murder and Mick said he was at work and could prove it.

Next up was the owner of the pickup.

Paul Granby was younger than Mick Slater and he wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

"We're investigating Sandra Ellington's murder, Paul, and I was wondering how well you knew her."

"Didn't know her at all but I know who she is...or was. Mick was banging her every chance he got, but I never got to meet her. I couldn't even tell you what she looked like."

"A truck like yours was seen at her place many times, Paul. Can you explain that?"

"Nope. Because I don't even know where the bitch lived, so it wasn't my truck. You boys will have to look a lot harder."

"I guess we will," said Billy. "Thanks for your time, Paul. You have a good day."

Billy and I walked around to the parking lot. "You believe him, boss?"

"Yeah, I did. Either we have the wrong truck or somebody from this shop used Paul's truck to visit Mrs. Ellington more than once."

"Huh. Like another guy in this shop…or it's another truck altogether."

"Yep. There's a lot of dark red pickups driving around, Harlan. Keep your eyes open because we'll have to check every fuckin one of them."

"Would Sunday or Molly be able to come up with a list of them we could start checking?"

Billy pointed across the console at me. "I'm putting you in charge of that, Harlan. You find us some more dark red pickups with addresses not too far away from Coyote Creek."

"Copy that, boss."

Sheriff's Office. Coyote Creek.

Ted came back from the package store with prints from the cash drawer and from the door of the safe the thieves couldn't open. Originally we thought the boys didn't try for the safe, but turned out their prints were on it. They just weren't successful in opening it.

Ted ran the prints and came up with two in boys already in the system.

"Here you go, Billy. Mike Roach and Jason Kassinger. Both have juvie records and both of them were recently released from the detention center in Great Falls."

"Nice going, Ted. Got addresses for them?"

"Yep. These are the addresses on their sheets. Both of them are supposed to be staying with kin in Cut Bank."

"We'll bring them in tomorrow morning," said Billy. "Nice work, Ted."

"Thanks, boss. That package store is one fuckin mess. I feel sorry for the owner. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah, he is nice. I hope his insurance helps him out. Vandalism is costly and a huge piss off."

Coyote Creek Market.

Before going home for the day, I drove Sunday to the market at the other end of Main Street. Dad gave me his credit card and told me to get whatever Sunday wanted in the way of groceries.

I pushed the cart around the store while Sunday scanned the shelves and did the shopping. When we checked out, I saw a cute girl on cash. Her nametag said Penny Darkers . Long dark hair and brown eyes. She was the prettiest girl I'd seen in Coyote Creek, and I'd never seen her at the market before.

Sunday ran back to get a couple more things she'd forgotten, and while she was gone, I asked Penny for her number. "Mind if I text you?"

She smiled. "Nope. Go ahead, Harlan."

"You know my name?"

"Sure do. All the girls in town know your name."

Sunday came back with two more things to add to our bill and Penny gave me the total. I paid with Dad's credit card and Butch, the kid who bagged the groceries, wheeled the load out and helped me put it all in the back of the Jeep.

Couldn't hardly believe I had Penny's number. For some reason, I already liked her way better than Brooke.