Page 13 of JoyRide

“Harlan, you check psychiatric hospitals with criminal confinement and see who was recently released.”

“Yeah, boss.”

“What do you want me to do, boss?” asked Tammy.

Travis handed her a list. “You take our order on down to the feed store and have it delivered.”

Tammy giggled. “Can’t you let Savanna see you, boss? You could call it in and have it delivered to our ranch.”

“Yeah, I could, but I got a double reason for you to go in person, girl.”

“What am I looking for at the feed store?”

“Anybody who purchased a hunting knife with a serrated blade in the past three weeks. Get me a list of the names and addresses of the buyers.”

“Do you think it was that kind of a knife?” asked Tammy.

“Yeah, I do. When you get that done, you drag ass back here and phone all the gun shops and outfitters in the area and ask them about that type of knife and get names and addresses of recent buyers.”

“Yep. I’ll be right back.”

When Travis was finished, Ted was standing in front of him waiting for a direction. “Ted, print the truck and the camper and be thorough. Find out who the hell pulled the Walkers out of their fuckin beds and slit their throats.”

“Copy that, boss. Doing it now.”

Coyote Creek Needs and Feeds.

Tammy parked the squad car in front of the big feed store at the south end of town and ran inside with the ranch order in her hand.

She was third in line at the order desk, but when it was her turn all she had to do was hand over the list. Travis had everything they needed for the horses and for the dogs itemized.He ran an account at the store, so she didn’t have to pay for it either.

A cute guy she hadn’t seen before was manning the order desk. The nametag pinned to his maroon Needs and Feeds shirt saidKenny. He looked up, looked again, and then gave Tammy a big smile. “Hi, you need something, Miss…Officer?”

“Deputy. You can call me Tammy, Kenny. This is the order for our ranch. My dad’s ranch. He’s the sheriff.”

“Thanks, Tammy.” Kenny took the list and ran a finger down the items. “Yep, looks like we got everything in stock.”

“You can deliver it to our ranch when it’s ready,” said Tammy. “I have another question for you.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“You guys sell guns and knives, right?”

“You bet, Tammy. We have a large sporting goods section.” Kenny pointed a finger to the other side of the store.

“I need to know if you sold any knives with a serrated blade in the last couple of weeks. Can you help me with that?”

“Nope, but Bonnie can. She’s on cash and she can print out stuff like that for you, Deputy Tammy.”

“Thanks, Kenny. I’ll try Bonnie. Thanks for your help.”

He grinned. “No problem…Tammy.”

She made her way through the aisles, past the horse section to the cash at the back of the store. Bonnie was busy with a customer but when the rancher left, Tammy asked for what she needed.

“Travis needs that information for a case he’s working on?” asked Bonnie.

“Yes, ma’am. Be helpful if we could track any purchases like that from recently—couple weeks back.”

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