Page 60 of JoyRide

“Great. I hope we hear something and get it back before Travis finds out it’s gone. I can’t see leaving him home alone today, Billy. He can’t even get to the bathroom.”

“As soon as you pick Harlan up, he can stay here and watch over Travis. At least Harlan can walk around and get coffee or a sandwich for both of them.”

“Yeah, that’s true. We’ll leave Harlan here and Travis will only be alone for a couple of hours this morning.”

“Leave the dogs here today,” said Billy.

“Yeah. Good idea. Max and Sarge can watch over both of them.”

When Travis was finished in the bathroom, I helped him down the hall to the kitchen and he tried to sit on a hard kitchen chair and couldn’t do it.

I moved him to the sofa, cooked breakfast and took his plate into him. He ate in the front room kind of propped up with cushions.

“You’ll be alone with the dogs until I bring Harlan home from the hospital, Dad. It’s gonna be two or three hours after Billy and I leave. Think you can manage?”

“Sure, I’ll have another coffee and sleep until Harlan gets here. Then we’ll be good on our own. He has to take it easy, but he can walk around if he needs to get us anything.”

“Yep, Harlan will be on half-power for today.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

By the time Billy and I got to the station, Molly had given the two biker druggies their breakfast and she’d made two pots of coffee.

I leaned on her desk near the front of the squad room and told her about Virgil stealing Travis’s Harley and taking off to parts unknown.

Never meant to cry, but I felt so bad for Travis. He was hurt so fuckin bad, and he loved that bike so fuckin much. It broke my heart that Virge would do something so mean to a guy who was trying to help him.

“I’ll keep checking on the BOLO,” said Molly. “How’s Travis doing at home?”

“Not worth a fried turd, Molly. He left the hospital too soon because he was all worked up about me and Harlan. You know how he gets. All tough on the outside.”

“I know.” Molly brushed a tear away. “I know him pretty well and he tries to hide what a good person he is.”

“We’re lucky to have Billy back. He and Ted can catch up the paperwork while I go get Harlan.”

“I’ll get them going on it,” said Molly.

“I had an idea, Molly.”

“Tell me, dear.”

“If you could find out where those first two kids lived—not when they got arrested in foster homes—but where they came from originally.”

“The ones who escaped from Great Falls Detention?”

“Yes. If you can find out where they grew up, I could go to that town and track down their friends.”

“Going back farther to their roots,” said Molly. “I can see where that would be important, Tammy. I’ll work on that while you’re gone.”

“Thanks. Wherever they came from—like grew up—might help find them and the kids they’re running with now.”

“You might be right about that.”

Cut Bank Hospital.

I parked out front in the pick-up loop and left the strobes spinning to hold my spot while I ran up to Harlan’s room to get him.

Hoping he’d already been released by his doctor; I was happy to see him all dressed and ready to go. He was putting up an argument about getting into the wheelchair for his trip downstairs to the lobby.

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