Page 45 of Lawless Ride

“I can see where your face is beginning to turn blue, Travis. You should put something on that when you get home.”

“Ain’t as bad as Harlan’s bruise from yesterday. He makes me look like a wussy.”

“I’m glad the two of you can laugh at the abuse you take. Your jobs are dangerous.”

I checked my watch, and it was past time for me to meet Wyatt Thompson across the road. “Go to lunch, Molly. Harlan and I are meeting Wyatt across the road at the diner.”

“I’ll go as soon as I finish this report.”

“Make sure you take a full hour.”

She laughed. “I always do.”

“I know better.”

Mainliner Diner.

Wyatt was drinking coffee while he waited for us in the busy diner, his notebook and pen on the table in front of him. Harlan and I sat down at the table and Maryanne rushed over, anxious for fuel for the Coyote Creek gossip train.

“How many lunch specials do you need, Sheriff?”

I glanced at Harlan for an accurate count, and he said, “Six.”

“Six lunches when we leave, Maryanne. Thanks.”

“Sheriff Monroe never had prisoners stacked on top of each other like you do.” She laughed. “Where are you digging up all these bad guys?”

“They gravitate towards me—like a magnet.”

We ordered lunch and I turned my attention to Wyatt. “You want to know about Floyd Boyd’s murder?”

“And about the shooting in Conrad.”

I shook my head on that one and he nodded that he understood.

“Boyd Construction is a big name in Shelby and around this county, Travis. Tory Masters worked for Boyd, and he’s dead. Makes me think the two murders are connected.”

“All I can say is, I’m waiting on Boyd’s autopsy to confirm the cause of death. You might be able to get your hands on that report by tomorrow when it’s made public and that will help you out a lot.”

“Tomorrow. Thanks,” said Wyatt. “And Tanya Boyd, she was locked up in your jail when her husband was murdered?”

“She was. She discovered her husband’s body when her attorney drove her home from the courthouse after her arraignment.”

“Wow,” said Wyatt. “That must have been a shock for her. So, if the same person killed Tory Masters and Floyd Boyd, then Tanya Boyd had nothing to do with either one of them.”

“You’re making a leap, Wyatt. Did the same person commit both murders? That hasn’t been determined.”

“Right,” said Wyatt. “You can’t guess at that.”

“Tanya was in jail when her husband’s murder was committed, but she was definitelynotin jail the day Tory Masters died.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” said Wyatt.

I nodded. “I’m trying to help younotprint bullshit that you’ll have to retract.”

“Right. I don’t want to do that. I hate being wrong and having to apologize to our readers.”

“You lose credibility when that happens,” I said. “It’s better to wait a day and be positive of your facts.”

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