Page 79 of Lawless Ride

We walked in through the unlocked front door, and there he was.

Grant Andrews was alone in his dump of a trailer. The polluted air in that trailer was enough to make the most seasoned cop stop and puke.

He sat at his kitchen table in a drug-induced haze. A large selection spread out in front of him—enough to please anyone who happened to drop by needing a hit.

I cuffed a stoned Grant Andrews. So high he was limp and couldn’t stand up on his own.

“Bag everything on the table, Ted. Check the cupboards too.”

“Copy, boss.”

Harlan hauled Grant outside to the squad and shoved him into the back seat. Andrews was so out of it, he never knew what was happening to him.

“Art ain’t here,” said Harlan.

“He’ll be at work,” I said. “We’ll grab him later at the roadhouse. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.”

As we rolled back to the station, I went over the list again in my head and crossed Grant Andrews off.

Brenda Crandall – about her sister and Ray.

Josie Masters – about Ray and Tanya

Art Andrews – about beating me and Harlan up

Hannah Hargrove – about mustangs she might have in her corral

Tammy and Lucy – about how sorry I am

“We’ll book Grant again and this time he won’t make bail. The judge will send him to state to serve his time.”

“Hope that happens with his cousin too,” said Harlan. “I’d liketo see that fucker, Art, put away for a few years.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

Harlan booked Grant on more drug charges and two counts of assault and locked him up. We were getting short on space again.

“Billy, do you want to come with us while we question Brenda Crandall, or do you want to steer clear of her?”

“I’d better go with you, Travis. I’m the person who will know if she’s lying or not.”

“Yeah, that might be true. You and Brenda were a couple for quite a while.”

“Until I found out what she was really like.” He laughed. “Then I couldn’t get rid of her fast enough.”

“Do you think Brenda has that same stalking tendency that Glenda has?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s in there. She kept calling and texting me and trying to get back together. She didn’t give up easily.”

Twin Fashion. Shelby.

When we visited the dress shop the day before, we didn’t know that Ray had been dating Brenda as well as Glenda. Now the murder had taken on a whole new perspective. Including Tanya Boyd, Ray was romancing at least three women at the same time. If there were more in his harem, we hadn’t discovered their identities yet.

The bell over the door rang as we walked into the empty store. Brenda was putting dresses on hangers and attaching price tags. She glanced up at us and didn’t offer us a smile.

“Why are you back, Sheriff? You arrested my sister for killing Ray Dangerfield, and that was just stupid on your part. Haven’t you done enough damage to me and Glenda?”

“No, not yet. I have a few more questions, Brenda.”

---