Page 73 of Stormy Ride

Earlier in the day I’d called Lyndell Gibson, the County Supervisor, and he was waiting for me when I arrived.

I explained my idea to Mister Gibson, and he felt it was workable. “We already have the extra squad vehicle,” I said, “and Ted would be happy with an hourly rate for when he was backing me up. The only things I promised him were a desk in the squad room and all the tow calls connected to the sheriff’s office.”

“Sounds like a fair arrangement for him,” said Gibson. “You would provide him with basic skills training and test him on the range?”

“I would.”

Gibson smiled. “It will work, Travis. I’ll set Ted Wallace up right away and he can start whenever. Just keep track of his hours or have Molly Swann do it for me. Thanks for coming in.”

Driving back from Cut Bank, I called Ted and told him he was hired. “You can think about moving tomorrow.”

“How much am I getting per hour, boss?”

“Twenty bucks an hour is as high as they can go, but it’s average for deputies across the state. Mister Gibson checked it out. You give your hours to Molly, and she’ll keep track. You don’t have to.”

“You’ll see me tomorrow. What time do I start?”

“We start at eight.”

“Good enough, boss.”

I want him out of Peterson’s garage before I take it down.

Coyote Creek Credit Union.

When we got back to Coyote Creek, I dropped Harlan and the dogs off at the station and drove down the street to the bank. I had to make an effort to see if I could straighten out the mess Olivia was in. She had let the shifty bank manager sweet talk her out of twenty-five thousand bucks and I had to get it back.

Without bothering to announce myself, I strode down the hallway of glass offices and knocked on Miller Ravary’s door. He could see me through the glass and wasn’t wearing his happy face.

He motioned for me to come in and I didn’t waste any time getting to the point of my visit. “You need to set up a repayment schedule to give Olivia back the money she loaned you.”

“What? That is a personal loan between Olivia and me and is none of your business, Sheriff Frost. I resent your interference.”

“Oh, yeah, well I resent you too—on general principles.” I chuckled at his outrage.

“I’m busy, and I’d like you to leave my office.”

“No. I’m not done talking to you.”

“Well, I’m done talking to you, Sheriff.”

“You don’t have to talk. In fact, the sound of your voice irritates me, and you don’t want to seeirritatedbecome something else.”

“You can’t come in here and threaten me.”

“Oh, no? You’re wrong about this being none of my business, Mister. See, I hold the mortgage on the Inn, and because Olivia forked over her buffer fund to you for one of your quick profit schemes, she is now slipping behind on her mortgage payments. From this moment forward, you will deposit five hundred dollars weekly into her business account until all of her money has been recovered or you will be going to jail on fraud charges.”

“You can’t charge me with fraud. That was a personal loan freely given by Olivia.”

“You made promises, Ravary. Fraudulent promises.”

He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

I smiled. “Do you want to test me, Ravary? You offered Olivia a sweet investment with a quick profit and any judge will smellconwritten all over it. If I pursue this, you are in serious trouble with jail time attached. I’m suggesting that you get back what you can of her money from the market and continue to make payments until you have recouped all of it.”

“The market is volatile right now. A bad time to sell.”

“Do I look like I care? I’m sure your employer here at the Credit Union would be horrified to learn of your lack of money management skills, wouldn’t they? You running their bank and taking care oftheirmoney n’all. Think about it from their point of view. I can easily find out who you answer to.”

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