Page 61 of Midnight Ride

“Yes, I understand, nurse,” said Molly. “Thank you for calling.”

Billy raised an eyebrow. “Was that the hospital?”

“Advising us that Alison Oliver died on the operating table.”

Billy sighed. “I’ll go tell Trevor. He already knows she was attacked by a bear. I was trying to prepare him after Ted told me she wasn’t going to make it. One of her arms was ripped off at the shoulder.”

Molly made a face. “What a horrible death—even for a murderer.”

Billy unlocked the run and went back to give Trevor the update.

“Did you hear something about Alison, Sheriff?” Trevor was on his feet again, anxious to listen.

“The hospital called to inform our office that Alison died during surgery. So sorry, Trevor.”

“Oh, no. This can’t be happening.” Trevor began sobbing and blurting out all kinds of crazy stuff to Billy.

“She made me pretend to be Trevor after she killed my brother. Trevor was helping the boys get away from us and Alison warned him to stay out of our lifestyle many times.”

“Abusing your children is what you call a lifestyle?” Billy hollered at Trevor or Steve or whoever he was.

“Alison was searching for our boys trying to get them back. We’re a close family.”

“Your boys didn’t want to be part of yourclosefamily after they turned twenty-one, did they?”

“Alison wasn’t ready to let go of them, and neither was I, so we decided to follow them on this hunting trip.”

“Why kill the other men in the hunting party?”

“They were protecting the boys and keeping them from us. It was self-defense.”

“Self-defense? Hard to believe you would even say something so stupid,” said Billy.

“They are my sons and I have a right to get them back, so that makes it self-defense. Alison said we had parental rights to get our boys back and take them home.”

Billy shook his head. “You are one mixed-up fucker, Steve. Those boys are legally adults, and if they didn’t want to live with you and Alison any longer, they had every right not to. Looks like you’ll be going down for all the murders on your own now.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me anymore, does it? I lost my wife, and she was my whole life. I don’t want to live without her.” Steve flopped down on his bunk and cried like a baby.

Chapter Twelve

Friday, September 13th.

Friday the Thirteenth.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

“What are we going to do about Canada, Dad?” I asked at the breakfast table. None of us felt like eating much after Tammy was gone. Felt wrong.

“We’ll drive up there this morning and ask the customs people about a truck crossing over about the time that black Ram would’ve got there. We’ve got the truck description and the first three letters in the tag.”

“Yeah, they might have scanned the tag and have it in their computer system and we could work from that,” I said.

“I was thinking that the guys in the pickup might have paid Jack with a credit card when they were at the roadhouse,” said Billy. “That would give us a name and address.”

“Good thought,” said Travis. “Put Ted on that first thing.”

“Will do,” said Billy. “We have a lot of work ahead of us today, so we best get started. Good luck at the border.”

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