Chapter Four
Wednesday, July 24 th .
East of Knoxville. Tennessee.
“Junction of route 40 and I-81.” Willy turned to look at Tammy for direction.
“This is where we take the interstate all the way to the Canadian border. All we have to do is follow eighty-one all the way to the bridge. We cross over and we’re there. A lot safer than we are here.”
“Wonderful,” said Willy. “Nice and simple for an inexperienced driver like me. I haven’t roamed far out of North Carolina and I’m anxious to see the rest of the continent.”
“You can see the scenery a lot better sitting up high in a big rig,” said Tammy. “If we had enough money, we could buy us a cab—Freightliner—and be long haul truckers for a living. It’s a fantastic life and I miss it so much.”
Willy laughed. “I’ll have to think about that, Tammy. I guess I wasted a lot of my time going to med school when I could have been driving a truck and living the fantastic life.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Willy. You’re a doctor and that’s a fantastic job too. Everybody looks up to a doctor and you had to go to school for so fucking long. Brutal. Only guessing it was brutal. I only went to school until I was ten.”
Willy shook his head at that revelation and pointed off to the right. “There’s a rest area coming up, Tammy. Let’s stop and take the dogs for a walk.”
“Sure. We’re in no hurry. Doesn’t matter when we get to Canada, or even if we don’t.”
“That’s part of being free, isn’t it? I love the way you think.”
After they covered the dog trail through the woods and tired themselves out, Tammy sized up the trucks parked in the second area dedicated to the larger vehicles.
“How do you like that red one, Willy?”
“Big and shiny red. I like it. Why?”
Tammy smiled. “I want to get you the one you like. No point in stealing one otherwise, is there?”
Willy shook his head. “I don’t want you to steal a truck for me, Tammy. That’s the last thing I want you to do. I hope you’re only kidding.”
“Red is nice,” Tammy said. “Nice and bright.”
Bluefield. West Virginia.
Bobby stopped for coffee as he drove through Bluefield and while he waited at the drive-thru window, he checked his map to be sure he was on the right highway heading for North Carolina.
“We’re going the right way, Cleo. It won’t be long before we find out where Terrible Tammy is hiding.”
Passing all kinds of traffic coming at them from the south, Bobby found himself looking at every vehicle and wondering what Tammy was driving.
“Guess it will be a surprise, Cleo.”
Cleo stuck her big head farther out the window to keep watch.
Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.
Travis cracked a couple of eggs into the frying pan and stopped cooking long enough to answer his phone. “Bob, have you got something going on this early in the morning?”
“I do, Travis. I’ve lined up a bunch of Texas properties for you and your boys to look at online. If any of them appeal to you, then you’ll have to fly down to the Lone Star State and have a closer look.”
“We’ll come to your office right after breakfast, and take a look at the pictures when we get there.”
I was listening to Dad talking to the real estate guy and so was Virge. “Where are the ranches, Dad?” asked Virgie.
“Are they near Annie’s ranch?” I asked.
Travis held up a hand. “Hold on, boys. I have no idea where they are, and we won’t find out until we get to Bob’s office. Don’t ask me more questions because I don’t know the answers. You’ll see the pictures and get all the facts and the details at the same time I do.”
“Got it,” said Virge.
Dad finished cooking our eggs and me and Virge didn’t ask any more questions. He was getting stressed out by all the added pressure the move to Texas was putting on him.
Risky business.
ReMax Office. Coyote Creek.
Before we went to the station to start work, Dad drove us to the real estate office to look at the ranch pictures Bob Crockett was excited about.
Bob showed us into his office at the back of the building. He was the boss and had the biggest space. He pointed to chairs and turned his screen around so we could watch the virtual ranch tours.
“Three different ranches recently came on the market in the area you’re targeting, Travis. Different locations, but all within a fifty-mile radius of the City of Austin.”
“Does that answer your first question, Harlan?”
“Yeah, it does, Dad. Don’t get pissed at me, okay? It was only a question.”
“I’m not pissed,” snapped Travis. “Look at the pictures.”
All three spreads looked great in the videos. Three different sizes—in acres. Different sized barns, bunkhouses and main houses. All of them had good points and bad points.
“We need to fly down to Texas and do some looking at these three properties and probably a few more before we decide,” said Travis.
“Let me know when you’re making the trip, Travis,” said Bob. “As soon as you have an arrival date, I’ll call the various brokers and make the appointments for you and the boys.”
“I’ll figure the work schedule out with Billy at the shop, book a flight for me and the boys and get back to you later today, Bob.”
“Fantastic.”
Bob Crockett shook hands with all of us before we went to the station to start work. We soon wouldn’t be working as deputy sheriffs, and I wondered how that would feel. Virge hadn’t mentioned it to me, but he must be thinking about it too.
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.
Travis closed the office door to talk to Billy in private. “We need to talk.”
“Sure. Go ahead. What are we talking about?”
“Bob Crockett has three properties for me to look at and I have to move my ass and go to Texas if I’m going to have a place for the boys to live. I have a ton of vacation days coming to me that the county owes me for and I’m going to take them to finish out my month. If I don’t, the ranch will be sold, and we won’t have any place to fuckin go.”
“Sure. You can do that. All we’re working on is Vicki’s missing mother and for all we know, she might’ve just taken off. We don’t even know there’s been a crime committed.”
“No, we don’t. I’m going to look for a flight for tomorrow morning from Grand Falls and take the boys with me. Can you and Ted handle the office?”
Billy laughed. “You used to be here alone.”
“Yeah. I did it alone for a long time.” Travis went to the door to leave. “Don’t forget you’re thinking on coming with us. I’m waiting to hear about that.”
“I’m working it out in my head.”
Travis moved to the break room, poured himself a coffee and Virge came barreling in. “How can I go to Texas to look at ranches with Vicki missing, Dad? I have to help Billy find her.”
“I want you with me when we pick out the ranch, son. Billy and Ted cand find Vicki and her mother.”
“I’m not sure I can go, Dad. I’m not being an asshole neither.”
Travis smiled. “You seldom are an asshole, Virgie, and neither is Harlan.”
Billy joined them in the break room with news. “I just got a call from the Butte police department.”
“What’s up in Butte?” asked Travis.
“Vicki’s mom’s old Ford Focus was found in the Target parking lot down there in Butte. No sign of the driver and nothing in the car.”
“If Vicki was searching for her mother,” said Billy, “she knew enough to go to Butte. Looks to me like they changed vehicles. There’s not a damned thing you can do about Vicki from here, Virgil. Vicki and her mother are up to something, and they might not be in trouble at all.”
“Why did Vicki come to us then?” asked Virge. “If they were doing something on the down-low, why call us?”
“Maybe her mother hadn’t clued her in from the first. Vicki gets scared and turns to you and then her mother is pissed her kid involved the cops.”
“Huh,” said Virge. “I guess it could’ve been like that.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” said Travis. “Before we drop the case completely, let’s go over to the laundromat and do a thorough search of the office. We haven’t looked through Vicki’s desk yet.”
“Okay, and if we find nothing crime-related, I’ll pack and go with you and Harlan tomorrow.”
“Thanks, son. Let’s go do that now.”
Duds & Suds Laundromat. Coyote Creek.
Dad went with me and Virge across the street to the laundromat. We left the closed sign in the window, and we took every single piece of paper out of that old desk where Vicki sat and worked all day long.
“What are these?” I picked up a handful of papers with a rubber band around them.
Travis took them from me and said, “These are betting slips. Was Vicki’s mom a bookie for the mob? She couldn’t have run her business from here in the laundromat.”
“She never came here during the day, Dad,” said Virge.
“Did you ever see Vicki on her phone, Virge?” asked Travis.
“Not much.”
“Okay, we can safely assume it wasn’t Vicki taking the bets,” said Travis.
“The house didn’t look like a place of business,” I said. “We were careful when we did the search.”
“So, if Vicki’s mother was a bookie, we have no idea where she operated from,” said Travis.
“Huh,” said Virge. “This is a crazy mixed-up mess.”
“Now that they both took off and left their business and their home behind,” said Travis, “something must be coming down on them.”
“They’re running,” said Virge. “That’s easy enough to see. There were no clothes in either one of their closets. I checked.”
“You didn’t mention it,” said Harlan.
“Far as I can figure,” said Travis, “it has to be either the mob or the feds. Sure as hell ain’t us, and we’re the only ones left on the list.”
“Shitfires,” said Virge. “I never knew Vicki was badass.”
“Live and learn, son. You gotta put this behind you and get ready to go to Texas tomorrow.”
Cracker Barrell. Roanoke. Virginia.
“I love this restaurant, Tammy. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten here before.”
“Popular spot on a lot of the interstates,” said Tammy. “I’ve been into a few of the ones on the chain. They have decent fudge and a lot of candy and good peanut brittle.”
“I like licorice,” said Willy.
“They have that, and they offer a different special for each day of the week.”
“What day is it?” asked Willy and then he laughed at himself.
“I think it’s Wednesday, but I can’t be sure,” said Tammy. “I haven’t been out of the cabin until today. It could be winter for all I know.” She laughed and Willy laughed with her.
After the Wednesday special of broccoli cheddar chicken, followed by lemon meringue pie, Willy browsed through the old-fashioned country store wanting to buy Tammy a gift. He finally decided on a rainbow T-shirt that reminded him a lot of her.
“Will you wear this?”
“If you buy it for me, of course I’ll wear it, Willy. Thank you.”
“You have no clothes, Tammy, after the police taking them out of your truck. We have to think seriously about shopping for you.”
“I could use a change of underwear.”
Willy winced. “We’ll definitely work on finding you the basics today.”
“Thanks. I don’t need much to get by,” said Tammy, “as long as I have you.”
Willy Watson squeezed her hand.
Great Smoky Mountains. North Carolina.
Carefully studying the accident report, Bobby found his way to the lookout point on the side of the mountain. Didn’t take much brainpower to see the section of guardrail that had been recently replaced.
Bobby stood behind the shiny new metal and peered down into the deep gorge that seemed to go on for half a mile below him.
“Look down there, Cleo.” The locals can’t afford to get the truck Tammy stole out of the hole she put it in. Are you up for a hike down the side of the mountain?”
Cleo wagged her tail and Bobby took a couple of deep breaths before starting the treacherous trip downward to the wreckage.
Bobby checked his watch when he reached his destination, and it had taken him a full half hour to get down the mountainside without falling ass over tea kettle and breaking his neck.
When he got to the truck, Cleo was already down there waiting for him. She had far less trouble balancing on the steep decline than Bobby did.
“Freightliner, Cleo. Tammy stole another Freightliner because that’s the truck she can drive best. I wonder where the poor guy is who owns this truck. Do you think he’s lying dead someplace?”
Cleo wagged her tail, her tongue hanging out panting.
“I can picture it, Cleo. That bitch Tammy turned on the guy and took his truck after he was nice to her. We have to get even for this guy and for Ray and especially for me. Who knows how many other guys she killed and took their trucks or their fucking wallets?”
Driver’s door was smashed in and jammed shut, so Bobby had to climb in the passenger door. He searched the cab, glove compartment and under both the seats.
The cops had been there and taken what was in plain sight, but how thorough had they been? Bobby stuck his hand under both seats in the cab and came up with nothing but Tammy’s phone.
Bingo .
“Look at this, Cleo. We’ve got her now.”
Climbing up the side of the mountain took longer by fifteen minutes. Forty-five minutes to climb up the steep embankment and when he got to the top, Bobby had to sit behind the wheel of the Wrangler for a solid five minutes to rest before he got his wind back.
“Tammy’s phone is dead, Cleo. What we need is a charger to fit her phone, then we’ll be able to find her. Let’s go find one.”
Newport Service Center. North Carolina.
Bobby pulled into the service center in Newport and filled the Wrangler with gas. Next stop was the convenience store, hoping they had a charger that would fit Tammy’s phone.
The store had several different models and one of them was the correct one. Bobby bought it along with a few other things he needed for the trip. Water, beer, snacks and more dog biscuits.
He jumped into the Jeep and patted Cleo on the head. “Now we need to find a motel where we can charge the phone.”
Best Western Hotel. Staunton. Virginia.
Celebrating their first night on the road together, Willy wanted something special. He got a room for them at the dog-friendly Best Western.
They checked into the room like a couple of honeymooners and Willy couldn’t ever remember being happier.
Leaving the dogs in the room with their bowls of kibble, Willy and Tammy ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. After dessert and coffee, they returned to their room, leashed the dogs and took them for a long walk.
As they got into bed together for the first time, Willy was elated and romantic, but Tammy felt like she was cheating on Eldon. A powerful feeling she struggled to get out of her head.
To counteract the guilt, she kept telling herself that Willy loved her, and Eldon didn’t. She knew it was true, but it still broke her heart.
Super Eight Motel. Newport. North Carolina.
Bobby was anxious to check into the hotel, charge Tammy’s phone and see if he could get the tracker working.
Finding the phone was a gift and Bobby took it as a sign that he was meant to find Tammy and put an end to her killing spree.
He was close to her now and could feel the excitement of the chase.
Bobby stuck the charger into the phone and plugged it into a wall outlet while he fed Cleo. He took a shower and cleaned up for dinner, then checked the phone and it wasn’t finished charging.
It had to come all the way back from the dead. It had been under the seat of the truck for a long time.
He left it plugged in, left Cleo watching it, and walked down the road to a diner. Sitting alone, he ate a burger and an order of coleslaw.
Bobby didn’t eat much anymore. He lost his appetite when Ray died and never really got it back.
When he got back to his room, the phone was fully charged. Bobby sat on the end of his bed and scrolled through the phone looking for a tracker.
“Anybody who knows Tammy is aware of her stealing and killing to get through the day. I’m guessing she stole this phone from her family or somebody close to her, and for their own sanity, that mom, dad, brother or sister placed a tracker on her.”
Bobby found the tracker and opened the little map. There was the red blip on the interstate in Virginia. This phone belonged to somebody who cared about Tammy and where she was.
“There she is, Cleo. Tammy is in Staunton, Virginia at the Best Western. We’ll get up early tomorrow and catch up with her. All I want to know is where she is. She ain’t gonna live long after I catch up with her.”
Wish I knew what she’s driving.