Page 21 of JoyRide

Tammy was already back at the office after her interview with Kyle Gregory, and she helped me get Art Andrews out of the squad and into a cell.

Once Art was secure, I gave the evidence bags to Molly and gave her a quick verbal report of the arrest up in Sunburst Acres.

While I made a fresh pot of coffee, Molly started cataloguing the drugs I’d brought in. Ted came into the office next after his trip down to Valier.

“Anything going on with that guy they released, Ted?” asked Billy.

“Yeah, for sure something is going on with him, Billy. He ain’t been home long and his mama says Carl run off already and she wants us to find him for her. I told her we’d get at it in the morning—on account of Travis having the dogs with him—and we gotta wait for Max and Sarge.”

I leaned on Billy’s door to hear Ted’s story. “True, Ted. Boss has the dogs. Does the lost guy sound like he might be our suspect?”

“Might be. Definitely a nut bar. Locked up for turning a knife on himself and accidently cutting up his mama when she tried toget the knife away from him.”

“Aw, shit,” said Billy. “We better find him tomorrow, then. Did Drapeau’s prints show up anywhere in the truck or camper, Ted?”

“Nope. He’d be in the system—him doing time in the State looney bin—but he could’ve worn gloves.”

“Yeah. Gloves,” said Billy.

It was almost quitting time and Tammy had gone across the road to the diner to get food for the three prisoners. That’s when Travis got back from Great Falls. “Any luck, boss?” asked Billy.

“Not a bit. I drove all that fuckin way to find out that Clarke Edmundston has an alibi for the night the Walkers were killed.”

“Solid?” Billy raised an eyebrow.

“His wife says he was in bed with her the entire night.”

Billy shook his head. “I don’t put too much stock in wives’ and mothers’ alibis. Just can’t convince me.”

“Okay, that’s a point to consider, but Clarke didn’t seem too bright. Nose in the TV and shoving Doritos into his face. Wouldn’t look me in the eye and wouldn’t talk to me directly. He’s not hitting on all four burners.”

“Sometimes, those guys will just flip out and kill somebody,” said Billy. No tellin.”

Tammy returned from the diner, and I gave her a hand to feed the prisoners. We wrapped up and Molly and Ted went home for the day.

Travis locked up and headed for the ranch. That was it for our first official day on the job. Pretty busy day for both of us.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

Travis and Billy sat on the porch when we got home to our ranch, the two of them tossing back a few cold ones before dinner.

Tammy and I ran upstairs, changed out of our uniforms, and pulled on our barn jeans and T-shirts. As we ran to the barn to do our chores she asked, “First day good for you?”

“Yep. Pretty busy. Flew by fast.”

“Me too,” said Tammy. “You think we’re any closer to grabbing the killer?”

“Nope.” I opened the double doors and let Tammy go into the barn first. “You?”

“Nope.”

We mucked out the stalls first and got the bedding in before we got the horses from the corral and brought them in for the night. Weather-wise, the horses could stay out in July, but Travis didn’t trust the bears after they got Max that one time. He was being cautious because there were a lot of grizzlies in our area.

Travis loved his dogs. We all did.

Chapter Four

Wednesday, July 24th.

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