Page 17 of Midnight Ride

“Okay, Molly said it was important.”

“I think it might be. This is the thing. The seven bullets that I dug out of Steve Oliver were all from two identical hunting rifles. Mossberg Patriots.”

“Okay. Two guns only, and two guns the same. That makes a lot of sense.” Travis told Doc Olson about the fight about the phones and about the twins getting hunting rifles for their twenty-first birthday.

“They would kill their father over cell phones. That hardly seems like a strong enough motive, Travis. There has to be more to it than their father throwing their phones in the fishpond.”

“Hard to find out when we can’t find those boys,” said Travis. “We’ve been out searching for them every day since the shooting.”

“If there were five other men in the hunting party, wouldn’t any of them feel compelled to turn the boys in?” asked the doctor. “I can’t see five mature men protecting two young murderers. It doesn’t ring true.”

“That’s been bothering me a lot,” said Travis. “Those five guys were friends of Steve Oliver’s and they always hunted together…according to the wife. Why would they cover up something like this?”

“Maybe they ain’t covering it up, Dad. Maybe they’re all dead meat. Those twin fuckers could’ve shot those guys too—only not where they killed their old man.”

“Jesus, Virge. That is one fucked up thought, kiddo. I don’t want to think we’ve got five more dead bodies out there.”

“If that’s true,” said Doc Olson, “and the bodies were left in the bush long enough, there wouldn’t be any trace of them. The quantity of wolves and bears and mountain lions in this county would make short work of a corpse.”

“How many days has it been?” asked Travis.

“Three,” said Virgil.

Travis stood up. “Thanks, Doc. We’d better find something today to point us in the right direction. We’d best get going, Virgil. This is giving me a knot in my gut.”

Doctor Olson shook Travis’s hand and walked them to the door of the morgue. “Good luck today, Travis.”

“I’m gonna need a lot of it, Doc.”

The squad was parked at the curb and Virge pressed the fob to unlock the doors.

Travis grunted. “Aw, shit.”

“What?” asked Virge.

“Across the street. Mrs. Oliver and her brother-in-law are going into the newspaper office.”

“That bad?”

“The worst. I don’t want Wyatt printing any of her garbage.”

Cut Bank Tribune.

Travis limped across the street with Virgil running behind him. Mrs. Oliver and her brother-in-law, Trevor, were at the front counter asking the clerk if they could speak to the editor.

Ignoring them completely, Travis passed them without a glance and headed to Wyatt Thompson’s office at the back of the building.

After tapping twice, Travis opened the door and walked in. Wyatt looked up a little surprised. “Travis, what’s that look on your face? Did I do something?”

“Not yet.”

Wyatt laughed. “But I’m going to?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Sit down and tell me what’s going on.” Wyatt waved to Virgil. “Come in and close the door, Virgil.”

Travis leaned across the desk and spoke in a low voice. “There are two people at the front counter, and they are the wife and twin brother of the hunter who was murdered on opening day of hunting.”

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