Page 6 of Midnight Ride

As soon as we cleaned up and got our uniforms on, we hit the breakfast table for juice and coffee. Used to drinking the fuckin juice now because Dad made us do it. Said it was for health reasons.

Tammy put the food on the table and sat down to eat with us. “You got the day all organized for us, Daddy?”

“Me and Billy talked it over last night and we’ve got a few directions we can go when we get to the station.”

“Think the shooters have already made a run for the border?” asked Virge. He wore a deputy uniform now and went with Travis every day even though he wasn’t official. He helped out like I did when I was sixteen.

“Nope, I think they just got themselves a new campsite and they ain’t giving up their hunting trip. Guys are funny about shit like that. They been looking forward to this trip all fuckin year, and just because they shot one guy dead, don’t meet they ain’t gonna get their elk limit.”

“Huh,” said Billy. “Sounds weird but I can see that happening.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

First thing Billy and Virge did when they got to the station was to give Molly their statements on finding the body in the woods.

“Seven bullet holes?” she frowned. “That seems…”

“Redundant,” said Ted with a chuckle.

Ted Wallace was our other deputy as well as our in-house tow service. He was a great guy who liked to joke around and keep it light, even when some of our cases weren’t much fun.

“Kind of brutal,” said Billy, “but that’s what happened. Virge and I called on the rancher next door and we have his statement saying the same thing. Seven gunshots all in a volley put him on edge and made him call the office.”

Molly shook her head. “And the camp was dismantled and gone when you got there? How are we going to find these men?”

“For one thing,” said Billy, “when we talk to the wife on the phone, she probably knows the names of everyone her husband went hunting with. That’s going to give us a big push in the right direction.”

“I’ll get in touch with the Pocatello Police Department and have them do the notification,” said Molly, “and then I’ll make a courtesy call and find out who the other people in the hunting party are.”

Billy nodded. “That will help us tons, Molly.”

“For now,” said Travis, “we have to find out where the hunters went. If they didn’t go back to Idaho and are continuing their vacation trip, then they moved to another one of the prime hunting areas in our county.”

“Which ones are the best?” asked Tammy.

“Wild Horse Break is popular. Always crowded in that area with hunters. Me and Virge will take that one.” Travis turned to Ted. “You and Tammy take Elwell Lake Road. Circle the lake and check every campsite you see.”

“Copy that, boss.” Ted waved to Tammy, and they left.

“Harlan and Billy take Milk River Run and if y’all get done with that and come up dry, take the dogs back to the crime scene and give them a chance to poke around the campfire.”

“Sure,” said Billy. “We can do that. We might pick up something we missed. The dogs are sharp.”

“Keep in touch,” called Molly. “I like to know what’s going on.”

“Copy, Molly. We’ll call in.”

Wild Horse Break.

Travis left the station with Virgil behind the wheel of the sheriff’s Bronco. They were on their way to check all the campsites in the area of Wild Horse Break. A desolate area about five miles out of town, but a popular place for hunting.

“How we gonna find the camps if they’re back in the bush?” asked Virgil.

“Easiest way is to look for parked vehicles on the side of the road, and then take a walk to see where the guys are set up. A lot of the spots they pick won’t be close to the road. Sometimes, they have to park and haul their equipment with them a long way.”

“We don’t have the dogs,” said Virgil.

“Shouldn’t need them.”

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