Chapter Nine
Monday, July 29 th .
Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.
We had tons of stuff to tell Billy about the new ranch at breakfast, and he asked a lot of questions. It sounded to me like Virge might be right and Billy was giving a lot of thought to coming with us.
“The ranch closes at the end of August,” said Billy. “If Travis is done at the shop on Wednesday, what’s he gonna do for a month?”
Dad laughed. “I’m gonna get ready to go and it’s going to take me a month to do it. There are a lot more things to tidy up here in Coyote Creek than you might think. Uncle Carson owned bits and pieces of so many businesses and properties up here, I doubt if I’ll have it all done when we leave.”
“Huh,” said Virge. “You never said you were all tangled up like that, Dad.”
“No need to worry my boys over paperwork. We have an accountant working on it. Let her straighten us out. That’s what I figured, and that’s what I’m paying her for.” He laughed.
“Molly and Ted are worried about y’all leaving,” said Billy. “Molly says if I don’t run for sheriff when it’s time, she’s retiring. She’s not breaking in a new guy to run the station.”
“Huh,” said Travis. “I guess it might be time for her to retire, but I’d hate to think I caused it to happen. She’s so damned good at her job, she could teach the new sheriff a lot.”
“We’ll miss Molly when we go,” I said. “Max and Sarge will miss her the most. She spoils them every single day and they soak it up.”
“I’m not trying to make anybody sad,” said Travis. “But it’s time to retire and go back where I belong. That’s all it is.”
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.
Max and Sarge ran in the back door of the station barking their happy bark and ran straight to Molly.
“My dogs are so happy this morning, that can only mean one thing.” She turned in her swivel chair and smiled at us. “So happy you’re back. We haven’t had much to do while you were in Texas, and it was pretty boring.”
Billy laughed. “Boring means there’s no crime in Harrison County. Can we complain about that, Molly?”
Before she could answer, the landline rang, and Molly reached for her pen. “Yes, I’ve got it down, sir. The sheriff will be along shortly.”
“What happened?” asked Travis.
“Two men broke into McNeil’s Outfitters in Cut Bank and stole guns. They killed the owner.”
“Aw, shit,” said Billy. “I’ve known Charlie McNeil for years. He’s a friend of my dad’s.”
“Sorry, Billy,” said Molly. “You boys better get over there and give the staff in the store some help. Pauline is the name of the girl in the office who called it in.”
“Pauline,” said Billy. “Got it.”
River Medical Center. Gananoque. Ontario.
Willy’s legs were so badly chewed up and mangled, he had to stop driving because of the pain. Spotting a medical center was a stroke of luck. He pulled into the parking lot and slept there, waiting for them to open.
One of the nurses arrived early and she found Willy unconscious in his truck. Two dogs barking at her—one in the front seat and one in the back—put her a little on edge. Their tails wagged and they didn’t seem vicious, so she eased the door of the truck open and saw the blood soaked through both legs of the man’s pants.
She went inside the clinic and got one of the night cleaners to help her with Willy. Between the two of them, they got him inside to an examination room.
By the time the first doctor came on duty, the diligent nurse had removed Willy’s torn and blood-soaked pants and cleaned up both of his legs to get a better look at the damage.
The doctor examined the wounds, decided the damage was far beyond his capabilities and called an ambulance. He sent Willy to the Health Sciences Center in nearby Kingston.
When the night cleaners left for home, one of the ladies took the two dogs and their food from Willy’s truck. She couldn’t bear to leave them in the parking lot or have Animal Control come and pick them up.
McNeil’s Outfitters. Cut Bank. Montana.
Travis and the boys arrived at the scene of the crime in Cut Bank, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
Rows of showcases had been smashed and the floor of the huge outfitters store was littered with shards of glass.
The victim, Charlie McNeil, lay dead behind the front counter in a pool of his own blood. The cash drawer was open and empty, and the number of guns taken was anybody’s guess. There were many vacant spots in the cabinet.
Doctor Olsen, the Harrison County Coroner, was close by for this homicide. The morgue and his clinic were at the other end of the street.
Cause of death was easy enough to ascertain. Charlie had been shot in the chest by a shotgun—one of his own—at close range.
“We have a witness in the office, boss,” said Ted. “The lady who called it in was in the office the entire time. She stayed out of sight and stayed alive.”
“Fantastic. She’ll be able to help us out a lot.” Travis waved Billy towards the office and pointed at Virge, “Get in there and record the witness’s statement. Take notes as well and don’t miss anything.”
“Copy that, Sheriff.”
I followed Virge into the office and the witness was a woman from Cut Bank, Pauline Welsh. She’d worked at the store for five years.
Billy talked quietly to her for a few minutes to calm her down so she could think more clearly. A lot of witnesses had trauma-brain after a life-changing experience and their account of what had happened right in front of them wasn’t always accurate.
“Harlan, find the lunchroom and make coffee,” said Billy. “I’m sure Miss Welsh could use a cup.”
“Copy that.”
When the coffee was ready, I brought her a cup and she had stopped crying long enough to give us her statement.
“There were two of them. Big guys wearing those scary ski masks. They yelled at Charlie and told him to open the gun cases—the ones where we keep the rifles and the shotguns. We don’t sell any tactical weapons.”
“Did Charlie open the cases for them?”
“No. He figured they wanted the guns for something crime-related and he refused to do it and that’s when one of the robbers started smashing the glass.”
“What did he use to smash the cases?” asked Billy.
“Umm…I didn’t notice what he had in his hand. Sorry.”
Billy turned his head, “Ted, figure out what the guy used to break the glass. Might be prints on it.”
“Copy.”
“They had no idea you were here in the office?” asked Billy.
“No. I called 911 and stayed in the office, but I could hear what they were yelling and what Charlie was saying back to them…”
“That was a good decision,” said Billy. “Does the store have security cameras?”
“Yes. Inside and out. I can show you what the cameras saw, if you’d like.”
“We’ll have to have copies, Pauline, but if you can put the pictures on the screen, I’d like to take a quick look.”
The interior cameras recorded exactly what Pauline told us. Two big guys wearing ski masks smashing the gun cabinets and helping themselves to several guns. One of them being a Winchester shotgun that was the murder weapon.
The camera at the front of the store showed the main street of Cut Bank and several parked vehicles.
“Harlan, write down all those makes and models parked out front and any partial tags you can make out.”
“Copy.”
“When the robbers left,” said Pauline, “after they took the guns and ammo they wanted and killed Charlie and took the money out of the cash, they ran out the back door. I think they might have parked out back. The camera facing the back lot isn’t working. We were waiting on a repair.”
“Okay, thanks. That’s good information.”
“Were the robbers talking to each other?” asked Travis. “Hollering to each other while they were smashing and grabbing?”
“They yelled a lot at Charlie when they were trying to make him unlock the gun cabinets,” said Pauline.
“Anything else?” asked Travis. “Any words you overheard would be helpful.”
“The only words I remember recognizing were Big Bear.”
“That’s the casino in Conrad,” said Virge. He lowered his voice and whispered so only I could hear him. “I used to score there when I was somebody else.”
“Good one,” said Travis. “They may have needed the guns to rob the casino.”
“Too bad we don’t know when,” I said.
After Ted drove Pauline home, we helped Doc Olsen get Charlie into a body bag.
Virgil sealed the store with yellow tape, and we went back to the station to sort it out.
Holiday Inn. Kingston. Ontario.
After Bobby tossed Tammy into the river, he headed for the Canadian border. A little nervous that the border cop would notice he was hurt and not let him cross, he got his passport and ID ready beforehand, so he’d be quicker getting through.
The lineup was long, and the customs officer barely looked at him. Checked his passport and glanced at his driver’s license and waved him through.
Bobby let out a sigh of relief and kept going into Ontario. He made it as far as Kingston before he was forced to do something about the wound and the pain.
Bobby stopped at the first drugstore he happened to see and went inside. He bought a variety of medical supplies he thought might be useful in patching up his gunshot wound.
There was no way he could go into a clinic or a hospital with a gunshot without involving the police. His picture was on wanted posters and there would be some asshole who would’ve seen his face.
Once he had what he needed to patch himself up, he pulled into the nearest hotel—which happened to be a Holiday Inn—and rented a room for him and Cleo.
Bobby stripped off all his bloody clothes, walked into the shower in the ensuite and stood under the hot water until all the coagulated and crusty dried blood gurgled down the drain.
He stood in front of the vanity mirror with the wound perfectly clean. The stitches he needed weren’t to be had, so he applied antiseptic cream generously, then bandaged himself up the best he could.
With three Advil extra-strength under his belt, and Cleo fed, Bobby crashed.
Sleep was the best healer of all.
Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.
Molly had a lot of questions when they returned to the station from the scene of the crime. “Any idea who the robbers were, Travis?”
“Not yet, but we might have an idea what they needed the guns for.”
“More crime?”
“Pauline heard them mention Big Bear,” said Travis, “and we’ll check out that lead.”
“The casino in Conrad?” asked Molly. “That would be a daring robbery for two men.”
“They took more guns than two,” said Virge. “More like six or eight guys will be robbing the next target.”
“Oh, my,” said Molly. “It gets worse instead of better.”
“I know Mrs. McNeil,” said Billy. “I’ll do the notification myself.”
“I know her too,” said Molly reaching for a tissue. “Nadine and Charlie were such a happy couple.”
“Did Mrs. McNeil work in the store sometimes?” asked Travis.
“Yes. She and Charlie started the business as a joint project about fifteen years ago and they ran it together. A very successful business.”
“I’ll talk to her about the store while I’m there doing the notification,” said Billy. “Today may have been her day off.”
“The boys and I will take a drive down to Conrad and check out the security situation at the Big Bear Casino,” said Travis. “I’m thinking it wouldn’t be an easy place to rob.”
“Unless you had help from the inside,” said Virge. “I saw a movie like that once. The guy on the inside rigs the lights or the alarms or like that…tells the outside guys when the cash is being taken to the bank…like that. The robbers know the exact day to come to the casino and it makes it a lot easier.”
“Good one, Virge,” said Travis.
“I’ll take my kit to the store and start on the fingerprints,” said Ted.
“Copy that.”
Big Bear Casino. Conrad. Montana.
Dad drove us down to Conrad to the casino and it was pretty impressive from the outside. All glass and lights and Vegas glitz and glitter. I’d never been there, but Virge used to hang there when he was on drugs and lived in East Conrad.
I was so fuckin’ thankful those days were over for my brother. Getting him back was hard enough. I wouldn’t want to go through that again and neither would Travis.
Plain to see why Dad was getting the ranch in Texas and going with the new Juvie plan. It was because of me and Virge. He figured he could turn out a couple more winners like us during his retirement years.
Travis parked in the massive parking area, and I glanced up at the marker poles. An animal picture on each one to help people remember where their vehicles were.
“Gray Wolf section, Dad. Row ‘B’.”
“Remember that, son.”
Inside, we toured around the gaming floor and Dad asked twice to see the manager on duty before anybody volunteered to show us where the guy was.
One of the casino slot attendants was more friendly and she said, “I’ll get you an escort, Sheriff.” She called on her hand-held and a guy in a dark green suit came along to fetch us to the boss.
“If you follow me, Sheriff, I’ll take you to the casino manager’s office.”
We took the elevator to the second floor and followed the guy in the green suit to a closed office door. He knocked and a voice inside told us to come in.
The guy stood up and introduced himself. “I’m Ollie Stubens, Sheriff. What can I do for you and your deputies?”
“Earlier today, there was a robbery up in Harrison County. The robbers took a number of guns and several boxes of ammo, and we have reason to believe they stole the guns with the specific intent to rob your casino.”
The chunky casino manager laughed, took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. “You’ll have to forgive me for laughing, Sheriff, but we’re pretty secure here at Big Bear. All the latest equipment and guards around the clock. We don’t spend much time worrying about being robbed.”
“As long as you’re not worried,” said Travis.
“Not a bit.” Ollie strolled around his desk and handed Travis several little coupons. “I appreciate you driving all the way down here in person to warn me, Sheriff. You be sure and take your boys for a free meal before you head back home.”
“Thanks.” Dad gave the coupons a glance and shoved them into his shirt pocket.
With our escort, who waited in the hall for us, we took the elevator back to the gaming floor and me and Virge argued about which restaurant we’d try.
“I vote for the steakhouse,” said Travis. “Might as well start at the top.”
“Okay, Dad. We’ll give you your own way, this one time.” Virge chuckled.
Dad made a good choice. The steaks were great and the coffee hot and fresh.
While we ate, Dad said, “The manager doesn’t want us helping him out, but you boys can come back tonight with Ted. No uniforms. Y’all look like customers and hang around a while.”
“Ain’t our county, Dad.”
“No, it ain’t, Harlan. Those robbers that might show up here are wanted for murder in our county, son. This might be our best chance to get them for Charlie McNeil’s murder.”
“Yep. I see what you’re saying, Dad. Ain’t our county but they’re our murderers.”
“You got it, son.”
Virge was deep in thought while he stuffed cherry pie into his mouth. “Be nice if we could find out if any ex-cons were hired on and had access to the security system.”
“You on the inside man theory still?” I asked my brother.
“Hell yeah. It’s the one that makes the most sense. You can tell by the robbery at the outfitter store that these guys ain’t the brightest stars. There’s got to be somebody smarter running the show from the inside. Somebody who knows what he’s doing.”
Travis nodded. “It does make sense, son. Let me ask Billy how we’d find out something like that.”
McNeil Residence. Cut Bank. Montana.
Billy volunteered for the difficult task of telling Charlie McNeil’s wife that her husband of many years was dead. Murdered by robbers in his own store. A tragic end to a life and to a marriage.
The notification was softened a little by a friendly face. Nadine McNeil knew Billy Johnson and both of his parents for years. Both families were originally from Shelby.
After delivering the news and giving the widow an appropriate amount of time to get over the shock, Billy asked a couple of questions about the store.
“It was time for Charlie to retire,” said Nadine between sobs. “I wanted to sell the store and there was a lot of interest. It was past time. I used to work there seven days a week, but it became too much for me. I started cutting back and hired more staff.”
“Charlie didn’t want to sell?”
“He loved the store and enjoyed talking to the customers. He enjoyed going to work every single day and he wasn’t ready to give it up.”
“Do you have family you can call to come and stay with you, Mrs. McNeil?” asked Billy.
“The kids will have to be told, and they’ll come home as soon as I call them, Billy. I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming in person to tell me.”
“No problem. I’m so sorry about Charlie, and I know my parents will be too.”
“He died in the store he loved, Billy. I guess that’s something to be thankful for.”
Billy nodded.
Health Sciences Center. Kingston Ontario.
Willy opened his eyes and realized he was in a hospital in an intensive care unit. He should know—he’d been in enough of them.
The first thing he thought of after that realization was George and Gracie. When he passed out they had all been together in the truck.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Do you know where my dogs are?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” said the nurse. “But I’m happy you’re awake. I’ll get the doctor for you.”
The nurse returned with a smiling doctor. “I’m Doctor Adamson, Willy. I’m pleased you’ve regained consciousness on your own.”
“I’m pleased about that too,” said Willy. “Were you able to repair the nick in the femoral artery?”
“Are you a doctor?”
“A surgeon. Yes.”
“Dog bites on both of your legs?”
“Yes. Newfoundlander. Quite vicious.”
The doctor opened up and explained to Willy in detail what he had done on the operating table.
“I’m thankful someone found me at the clinic. I passed out in my truck and like I was asking the nurse earlier, my dogs were in the truck with me. I have to locate them.”
“Let me see if the nurses at the desk can track them down for you, Willy.”
“I’d be so grateful, thank you.” The drugs in Willy’s system took over and he faded into a deep sleep.
Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.
Virge and I did the barn chores, then had dinner with Dad and Billy. After that, we cleaned up and changed our clothes for our surveillance gig at the casino.
I asked Dad what we should wear, and he said wear what kids always wear. Jeans and a T-shirt.
Didn’t take us long to get ready and we had time for a coffee with Dad and Billy before we left.
Travis remembered about Virge talking about the inside man and he said to Billy, “Virge thinks a casino would be almost impossible to rob without a man on the inside. What do you think?”
“Good thought,” said Billy. “Those places are heavy on security—that’s for damned sure.”
“How would we get the employment records from the casino?” Travis asked.
“You realize when or if the casino does get robbed, it won’t be our case, Travis. The casino people will turn over their records to the cops in Conrad or the state police or to the reservation police. Not to us.”
“We have an interest,” said Travis. “The initial murder investigation belongs to Harrison County.”
“Two guys ain’t enough,” said Virge. “Our robbers—killers—were stealing guns for a larger gang.”
“I agree with you, Virge,” said Billy. “Or else they took more guns to sell—if they weren’t robbing a casino in Conrad.”
“Yeah, there’s that,” said Travis.
“I don’t agree.”
“Why not, Harlan?” asked Dad.
“Because, if they were taking the guns to sell them, they would’ve taken all of them.”
“Yep.” Travis nodded. “That makes sense. They would’ve taken more than they did.”
Holiday Inn. Kingston. Ontario.
Tired from blood loss and exhausted from driving around wounded, Bobby wanted to do nothing but sleep.
Tammy the Terrible was dead, and Bobby no longer had plans or a mission in his life. He and Cleo would stay in the hotel and rest until they had somewhere better to go.
Bobby needed time to heal physically and time to regroup and put his life back together. No Ray to hang out with, and now no Tammy to hate, he had nothing to focus on.
Big Bear Casino. Conrad. Montana.
Me and Virge picked Ted up at the station and drove down to Conrad to the casino. “Ever been here before, Ted?” asked Virge.
“Yeah, I brought a couple of girls here for dinner and a night out. Like that.”
“Together or one at a time?” asked Virge.
Ted snorted. “One at a time, you asshole.”
“You make any cash money?”
“Hell no. Casinos are for losing money, not making it, Virge.”
“Some people win jackpots,” said Virge.
“The casino wants a few people to win jackpots. They take the pictures of a few winners holding those big fake checks and that’s how they lure more people in to take their money.”
“Huh.”
“You got your fake ID?” I asked my brother. “I think we have to be twenty-one.”
Ted laughed. “I’m over twenty-one. You guys can wait in the truck.”
The security guy on the door scanned our IDs and gave both of us a second look. Especially Virge. Right away I was suspicious of him. He could let people in to rob the place if he wanted to. I was sure he was one of the inside guys.
“Why were you staring at that security guard?” Virge asked me.
“Didn’t trust him.”
“I’m going to write down the name and employee number of every guy I see who looks like a con,” said Virge.
“What about girls?”
“Okay. I guess there could be con girls too. Even girlfriends of the robbers who might work here. If we had the IDs of the guys who robbed the Outfitters store, we could find out if their girlfriends worked at this casino. Make that connection and we’d have them by the fuckin’ nuts.”
“Possible.”
“Ted is working on the prints at the store, and he might have an ID on one of the robbers by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, if I get lucky,” said Ted. “That’s a huge store to print.”
“Did you find what they broke the glass in the gun cabinets with?” asked Virge. “Dad thought that was your best bet for prints.”
“Can’t find it.”
“They might’ve brought it with them,” I said. “Like a tire iron from their truck and then took it with them when they booked it.”
“Yeah, could have, Harlan.”
Virge wrote down names as we slowly cruised through the casino. Don’t know what good it would do, but he was committed.
Dry Run Roadhouse. Coyote Creek.
While the boys were at the casino, Travis and Billy drove down to the roadhouse for a beer. They sat at the bar to talk to Billy’s cousin Jack to catch him up on what was going on at the station. He liked to know stuff like that.
After telling him about the robbery and Charlie McNeil being dead, Travis told Jack all about the new spread in Texas.
“Billy is wavering on whether he’s going to Texas or not, Jack. What’s your opinion?”
“Try something different, Billy. Hell, you might love it in Texas.”
Billy laughed. “Yeah, I guess I might.”
“You still considering it?” asked Travis.
“Yep. Haven’t ruled it out.”
“Good.”