Chapter Two
Monday, July 22 nd .
Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.
After chores, me and Virge ran in for breakfast and we had a million questions for Travis about his idea for our future. He said he’d tell us when he was sober, and he’d sobered up overnight. He must have.
He set plates of bacon and fried eggs in front of us and turned back to the counter to pop down more toast.
“You’re stone-cold sober now, Dad, and we want to know about the idea we’re gonna do on our new ranch in Texas,” said Virgie. “Me and Harlan can’t figure out what exactly you’re thinking of for our future.”
“Well, boys, this is it.” Travis sat down at the head of the table and leaned back in his chair. “I figure I’ve been catching the bad guys long enough and while I’m retired I’m gonna concentrate more on preventing crimes—and I’m gonna start where it usually starts—with teens who go the wrong way.”
“Okay,” said Billy. “I understand that thought, and it’s a damned good one, Travis. How you gonna put that thought into action? Obviously you’ve got a plan in mind.”
“Tell us the plan, Dad,” said Virge.
“I’m gonna run a rehab ranch for juvies. Get them paroled into my custody—selected carefully—the ones who still have a chance. The ones I can work with and change their direction.”
Billy listened as he sipped his coffee.
“But it won’t be an easy job. The boys will be messed up and it will take work—a lot of work to get through to them.”
“Messed up like we were,” I said, and Virge stared at me.
“Exactly,” said Travis. “I’ll have to get the support of the State of Texas and help from a lot of other agencies. Annie will help me a ton because she knows the ropes. She already did this with the young bikers she rescued.”
“It’s a great idea, Travis,” said Billy.
“I’m not sure we want a bunch of juvies living on our new ranch, Dad,” said Virge. “I lived in juvie for months on end, and those guys can cause a helluva lot of trouble.”
Travis laughed. “The boys we try to help will be a lot like the two of you when I first got hold of y’all. Ever think of that?”
“Nope,” said Virge. “I’ve got to ponder this a helluva lot more.”
“You do that, Virgil. “Let me know when you’re ready for a discussion.” Dad turned to me. “You too, Harlan. Think about it and talk to your brother.”
“Will do, Dad.”
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.
Travis sat in the break room with a mug of coffee in front of him and a big stack of reports that needed his signature. There was a mountain of paperwork he had to finish before he left the sheriff’s position at the end of the month.
His cell rang and he wasn’t prepared for the call. “Sheriff Frost.”
“I hope I have the right person,” the caller said. “Sheriff Frost, do you have a daughter named Tammy Traynor or Tammy Bristol?”
“I do. My adopted daughter. Did you find Tammy? Where are you calling from?”
“This is the Oxbow Country Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina calling, sir. Your daughter’s belongings and personal effects were found at an accident scene in our jurisdiction, but your daughter was not found in the vehicle or in the vicinity. Her body wasn’t there either, and I’m only saying body because a life-threatening amount of her blood was present in the wrecked truck.”
“I see. Could you send me copies of the accident reports, Sheriff? I’ll give you the email for our station.”
“Happy to do that, Sheriff Frost. I’m sure you’re aware of your daughter’s legal status. She’s listed as a parole violator and a wanted fugitive. Armed and dangerous, but I’m sure you know all of that.”
“I’m well aware, sir. If I knew where Tammy was, I’d pick her up and incarcerate her myself. She was paroled into my custody, and I’m responsible. I need to find her.”
“I hope the reports help you, Sheriff, but there’s not much evidence there. We still haven’t found the driver of the truck. It’s been days and he must have wandered off from the crash and died in the woods. The truck was found in a heavily treed area of the mountains.”
“Who was the truck registered to?” asked Travis.
“Darryl James, with a Lubbock Texas, address.”
“Was his home address checked?”
“I believe local officers were dispatched to the driver’s address and nothing came of it. It’s all in the reports I’m sending you.”
“Appreciate the call, Sheriff. I’m looking forward to reading those reports.”
Travis hollered for Billy and trudged down the hall to wait for the reports to show up on the office computer. Billy and the boys joined him in the office and while they waited, Travis explained what the sheriff in North Carolina had told him.
“North Carolina? How far away is that, Dad?” asked Virge.
“Helluva long way from here,” said Billy.
“They’re still searching for Tammy and for the driver of the truck,” said Travis.
“Did you tell them Tammy can drive one of them big mothers, Dad?” I asked.
“I did not, Harlan.”
“Huh.”
We were all thinking about Tammy and what the hell she’d been doing since she ran away from us at the ranch. Molly gave a shout out from the squad room and playtime was over. We had to work.
“What is it, Molly?” Billy hurried down the hall to the dispatch station to see what Molly had.
We agreed that all incoming cases would belong to Billy. Me and Virge and Travis would help him until the end of the month, and then he’d be on his own. Him and Ted. Billy would still have Ted.
Molly read the details from her notepad. “Vicki Temple says her mother is missing and she’s been gone for two days. The girl runs the laundromat across the street for her mother.”
“Vicki’s mother is missing?” asked Virge.
“Do you know Vicki, Virgil?” asked Billy.
“Took her out a couple of times.”
“Let’s walk across the road and talk to her in person,” said Billy.
“Y’all go ahead,” said Travis. “I want to read Tammy’s accident reports, then I have an appointment in Cut Bank.”
“Copy that,” said Virge. “Shouldn’t take us long to sort Vicki out.”
Duds & Suds. Coyote Creek.
Billy and me found Vicki in the office rolling the coins from the washing machines. They took five quarters for every load of dirty clothes and six for the dryers. Cost a lot to wear clean clothes in Coyote Creek.
“Hi, Vicki, I’m Sheriff Billy Johnson from the station across the road. Do you mind if I get a few more details about your missing mother?”
“I’d rather talk to Virge. He’s my boyfriend.”
Billy raised an eyebrow at that newsflash. “Okay, why don’t you talk to Virgil, and I’ll just stand here by the door and listen?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
I sat on the edge of the desk and asked, “When was the last time you saw your mom, Vicki?”
“Saturday night. Her boyfriend came to pick her up and that’s the last time I saw her.”
“What’s her boyfriend’s name?” I pulled out my notebook and turned to a clean page.
“Derrick Forbes.”
“Got an address for Derrick?”
“Nope. Never been to his place, but I think he lives in Shelby.”
“Did you try your mom’s cellphone?”
“You think I’m a doze-out, Virge? Of course I did. Since Saturday night I called her about a thousand times. Her mailbox is full and that’s a dead-end.”
“Your mom been doing anything that could’ve gotten her into trouble lately, Vic?”
“Maybe, but I can’t tell you guys because then I’ll be a rat. I want her back, but I don’t want her back and in jail. What’s the point of that? She might as well just be goners. It’s the same either way—I’m left alone running this fucking laundry hell-hole…”
Billy took a step away from the wall, “Mind if I say something here, Virge?”
“Go ahead, Billy. What did you think of?”
“I’m thinking if Vicki’s mother was doing something illegal—don’t care what it was—then she might not only be missing, but she might also possibly be in danger.”
“You mean like those mob guys might kill her?” Vicki blurted out her question without thinking.
“Mob guys, Vic? Is your mom’s boyfriend a wise guy?”
“I’m not aware of mob activity in Northern Montana,” said Billy.
“Show’s what you know, Mister Sheriff,” said Vicki. “Fuckin’ cops never know what’s going on under their noses.”
“What’s your mother’s first name, Vic?” I asked.
“Tanya.”
“You going to be okay staying alone until we find her?” I asked.
“I hate staying alone in our house, Virgie. Can you come and sleep over tonight?”
“I’ll see what Travis says. He may want you to have protection if there is mob involvement.”
Billy nodded. “Let’s work with what we have and see if we can come up with an address in Shelby for Mister Forbes.”
“Will you let me know what’s going on, Virge? I want to know what you guys are doing to find my mom.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll text you as soon as we know something.”
Me and Billy left the laundromat, and he said, “I don’t like the sounds of her mother being involved with the mob, Virgie.”
“We’ve never had the mob stirring up trouble in our county,” I said. “Maybe Vicki thinks the boyfriend is a mob guy and he’s just a regular felon.”
“We can hope for that,” said Billy. “I’m not keen to match manpower with the mob.”
“Yeah, five of us against how many? Five hundred?”
Billy laughed. “We don’t stand a chance.”
Harrison County Office. Cut Bank. Montana.
Travis was five minutes early for his appointment with Lyndell Gibson, the county supervisor. Gibson’s secretary showed him in, and the big boss greeted Travis with a grin. “Pleasure to see you, Sheriff Frost. Have a seat.”
“Thank you. I just dropped by because I wanted to tell you in person that I’m retiring at the end of the month and passing the badge to Undersheriff Billy Johnson.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Travis. You’ve been a stellar sheriff for Harrison County, and I’m not sure you can be replaced.”
“Billy will be every bit as good as me, sir. In some ways—technically—he’s much better than me. He’s also way above me filling out reports and keeping records. I’m sure he’ll be exactly what you need until election time and then it will be up to the voters.”
“He’s a good man,” said Gibson, “but I’m sorry to lose you all the same, Travis. The citizens of this county love you and trust you to keep them safe. You’re a little young to retire, aren’t you?”
Travis laughed. “I’ve taken my share of beatings and some days I don’t feel too young. I have something I want to do and I’m going to stop into Gloria Grafton’s office and talk to her about it while I’m here.”
Gibson raised an eyebrow. “Something to do with children, Travis?”
“Juvenile offenders. I’m thinking of opening up rehab ranch for them when I move to Texas. Give me a challenge in my retirement.”
“Certainly will. Kudos, Travis. Wish you luck with that endeavor.”
“Thanks. I’ll definitely need it.”
Travis strolled down the hallway to Gloria Grafton’s office and stuck his head in to see if she was busy. Gloria had helped him a lot with the red tape surrounding both Harlan and Virgil, and he wanted to ask her about agencies in Texas he should contact.
She glanced up, saw who it was and smiled. “Travis. Nice to see you. Can I help you with something?”
“You can help me with a lot, Gloria, if you have the time.”
“I always have time for you. What’s up?”
Forbes Residence. Shelby. Montana.
Billy took me and Virge with him when he went to Shelby to check out Vicki’s mother’s boyfriend—the mob guy.
Derrick Forbes answered the door of his big two-story house and invited us in like he was a big shot, and he loved having the law come over for a coffee.
“Come in and sit down. Make yourselves comfortable. Coffee? Tea? A cold drink?”
“We’re fine thanks,” said Billy. “Do you know a woman named Tanya Temple?”
Derrick loosened his tie and put a fake thinking expression on his face. “The name sounds familiar. I might have met her, but I’m not sure. What do you want her for?”
“Nothing illegal, sir. She’s been reported as a missing person. We’d like to find her. That’s all. No other reason.”
“Why would you come to me looking for her?” asked Derrick. “You think I’m hiding her here in my house?”
“Possibly,” said Billy. “Do you mind if we search your premises?”
“I certainly do.” He laughed. “You’ll have to get a search warrant to do that, Sheriff Johnson.”
“Do you live alone here, Derrick?”
He grinned. “At the moment, but not for long. I have a wife and three kids. They’re back in Chicago and haven’t moved out here yet. They’re coming soon. They are gonna love living in Montana.”
“I’m sure they will,” said Billy.
We left the boyfriend’s place, and I had a bad feel from the dude and from his slick attitude.
“What did you think, Harlan? Was that guy lying, or what?”
“Sure was, and he was enjoying it too. Those guys love fucking the cops over.”
Billy raised an eyebrow. “You know that how, Harlan? You see it on TV?”
“Might have.”
ReMax Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.
Travis dropped into the ReMax office to discuss the offer that had been made on the Inn. He hated to sell it because of what it had meant to Olivia, but when he moved back to Texas, he was cutting all ties with Montana and starting a new life.
I have to get back to where I belong.
Selling everything he held an interest in up here in Montana would eliminate the need to come back to fix problems in the future.
His agent, Bob Crockett, pushed a copy of the offer across the desk to him. “You can see where the buyers are offering seven hundred and twenty-five thousand for the Inn and the property, not including the chattels. An evaluation will have to be done on the furniture, bedding for the rooms, dishes…everything that isn’t part of the Inn or the grounds around it.”
“I understand, and the girls are working on an inventory now. I’ll have a figure for the extras by tomorrow.”
“Good,” said Bob. “For this sale or any other, you’ll need that number.”
“Yep,” said Travis. “If they want to come up to seven fifty, they can have it. I’m okay with that price.”
Bob made the changes in pen and Travis initialed them. “I’ll take it back to them, Sheriff and I think they’ll go for it. They are in love with the Inn, and it is in pristine condition. You’ve kept it the same way the Best family maintained it for years. The Inn is a landmark in Coyote Creek.”
“Yes, it is. I have to clear out the private apartment. That’s not done, and I’ve been putting it off. I’ll work on that today. Let me know if it’s a deal.”
Crockett smiled. “I’ll call you right away, Sheriff. I haven’t had any action on your ranch yet, but my ads are just coming out in the city papers across the state. I have a gorgeous video tour of The Wild Stallion Ranch online. Your property will sell quickly.”
“I’d better move my ass and get down to Texas and find a replacement or me and my boys will be out on the street.”
Crockett laughed. “Possible.”
Travis left the real estate office and walked to the market down the street. He needed cardboard boxes if he was intending to bite the bullet and pack up Olivia’s belongings.
I’ve been putting that off way too long.
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.
Travis had been out of the office all morning and when he got back from his errands, he checked in with Molly and she filled him in on Vicki Temple’s missing mother.
“That’s all Vicki was able to tell us?”
“Uh huh. Billy took the boys to Shelby to question the boyfriend.”
“Is Virge upset?”
“He didn’t seem to be,” said Molly.
“Good. I don’t want him blaming himself for it.”
Molly nodded. “He does that sometimes.”
“Yeah, he does. I haven’t eaten, so I’ll be across the road at the diner. Call me when Billy gets back from Shelby. I want to hear what he found out from the so-called mob guy . Is the girl alone or does she have siblings?”
“Alone as far as I know, Travis. Just her and her mother. Vicki runs the laundromat during the daytime and the mother is never there. She didn’t mention what her mother did all day.”
“That might be important to find out, Molly. Why don’t you do a little digging and find out why the kid runs the business every day while the mother never shows her face in the laundromat?”
“I have wondered about that several times since Virgil showed an interest in Vicki. It’s an unusual setup.”
“Yep, it is. The mother has to have another day job where she can’t watch the laundromat. We need to know what that job is if we’re expected to find her.”
“Why wouldn’t Vicki tell Billy that during the interview?”
“Another good question. Make a list, Molly. Tanya Temple disappeared for a reason. When we find out the why it might tell us the where .”
“I’ll work on it, Travis.”
Shadow Mountain. West Virginia.
Bobby found himself spending part of every day in the town of Shadow Valley at the pool hall. Gillette had gone back to her home in Texas, and she wouldn’t be back for another month. What the hell was he going to do until then? She’d only been gone one day, and he was bored to death already.
“Come on, Cleo. Let’s take a beer outside. We’ll sit on the porch and try to figure out where that bitch Tammy is. I want to kill her for killing Ray. We have to avenge Ray’s death. She blew him away for nothing. He never did anything to her—he never even met her for chrissakes.”
Cleo wagged her tail.
“Where do you think she might be?”
Bobby spread his map of the southeastern states out on the floor of the porch and stared at it. “Do you think she’s near us, Cleo? Or out west?”
“She’s always tracking me, so why don’t I let her find me? As soon as she does, I’ll kill her and then we can make peace for Ray.”
Cleo whined.
“Yeah, I hear you. You’re wondering how we’re going to let her know where we are. I’ll get another beer and think on it for a minute or two. Don’t you worry, I’ll come up with the answer.”
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.
Billy and the boys returned from Shelby, and they were no further ahead. Billy sat down in the break room and told Travis about the interview with Derrick Forbes.
“Typical arrogant made guy,” said Billy. “Says his wife and three kids are coming from Chicago to join him and he claims he never heard of Tanya Temple.”
“He did look like a mob guy?” asked Travis.
“Yep, he did. Nice house, dressed in a suit and tie. Nice shoes. Denied knowing Tanya.”
Billy stood up. “I’m going to call the FBI field office in Great Falls and talk to their organized crime division.”
“You think that’s a good idea this early in your case?” Travis was never keen on involving the feds. Didn’t feel right and never worked out. He’d always regretted it every time he had no choice but to include them.
“If Tanya is in danger, we can’t afford to wait and see if she wanders back to Coyote Creek,” said Billy. “What if she saw something. Witnessed a crime by accident, found out something, and now the mob is eliminating her…like that?”
“Then she’s a goner,” said Travis. “Not much we can do to prevent it if they already have her.”
“We need to talk to Vicki again.”
“Molly and I were talking about it a little and she wrote down some questions that need answering.”
“Thanks,” said Billy. “I’ll get your questions from her before I interview her again.”
“Copy that.”
Watson Residence. North Carolina.
With each passing day, Tammy was healing and doing better. She wanted to leave the cabin before anyone found out Willy-John Watson had been helping her.
Willy was one of the best guys she’d ever met—next to Travis—and leaving the cabin was the best thing she could do for Willy after he’d saved her life. A life that wasn’t worth saving.
Willy called and pulled her back to reality. “Breakfast, Tammy. Do you need help to get to the table, or can you make it on your own?”
“I’m stronger than you think, Willy.”
He laughed. “Attagirl.”
Tammy limped from her bed across the room to the kitchen table and sat down.
Willy sat down across from her and smiled. “I want to tell you about my plan.”
“I don’t want you to have a plan for us,” said Tammy. “It won’t work out and you’ll go to jail for even knowing a person as bad as me.”
Willy laughed. “I can’t believe you’ve done half the terrible things you told me, Tammy. You’re not some insane killer like you’re trying to make me believe.”
“I am, Willy. I’m exactly the person you just described. I’ve done a lot of bad shit. Really bad, and I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re too good for me. I can’t be with you in your cabin or in your life. Best for both of us if I leave right away.”
“We’ll both leave, Tammy. That’s my plan. We’ll pack up what we need and go someplace where no one will ever find us.”
“There is no place like that,” said Tammy. “I know because I tried to find that place already.”
“Where did you look?”
“In the bayou. I heard of a spot in the swamp where outlaws go to hide out and I went there for a while.”
“But people found you?”
“My mama hired a bounty hunter to find me because she was worried.”
“And you didn’t stay with her after she found you?”
“Mama put me in a hospital, and I didn’t get any better. My brain drain made me run away again and I did more terrible things.”
Willy looked Tammy in the eye and hesitated for a moment before he asked his question. “Have you killed people, Tammy?”
“Lots of them.”
She answered so quickly and off-hand that Willy was shocked. He nodded and couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. Maybe running away with Tammy wasn’t such a great idea after all. He needed to think on it a lot more.
Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.
After feeding the horses, we came into the house for dinner with a lot of questions for Dad about moving the horses to Texas.
“Will we be taking Tammy’s horse with us, Dad?”
“Uh huh. The barn will have to be empty and clean when the new owners take over the ranch.”
Travis’ cell rang and it was Bob Crockett. He put the call on speaker so we could hear what the real estate agent was telling us.
“The buyers accepted your price, Travis, and the Inn is sold. If you can come into the office tomorrow, we’ll finish up the paperwork and finalize everything.”
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Also, I have more news.”
“Go ahead.”
“I have a viewing scheduled for your ranch at ten in the morning. I’ll give you a call or drop in at the station afterwards and tell you how it went.”
“Thanks, Bob. Things are moving quickly, and I better get into gear. I’m not nearly ready to go to Texas yet and look for a property.”
Billy didn’t say much during breakfast, and me and Virge could tell he was sad.
Travis noticed and said, “The offer stands, Billy. I said you could come with us to Texas, and I meant it. Your decision.”
“Appreciate it, Travis. I was fairly sure I wanted to stay here and continue on with the sheriff’s job, but now that all of my family is going—for real—I’m not sure I can stay.”