Page 30 of Midnight Ride

“Damn it.” Travis stopped and whistled, and he and Virge waited until Max came back to them. “Good boy.” Travis gave Max a biscuit, then let him go again, and this time, he and Virge were better able to keep up.

Max led them to the spot where Sarge was lying down.

“Yep. You found her, Sarge. Give them both a biscuit, Virge. Nice work, boys.” Travis patted both dogs on their heads.

He and Virgil looked up and studied Linda Tucker hanging high in the tree, her arms stretched out and tied to a thick branch. Eyes closed; her head flopped down on her chest. Her auburn hair loose and hanging down past her shoulders.

Travis nodded to Virge. “Cut her down, son.”

Virgil climbed up the tall ash and cut the ropes attaching Linda Tucker to the branch holding her.

Travis caught her when she dropped and didn’t let her hit the hard ground. He laid her gently on the pine needles and searched for a pulse.

“She’s unconscious but she’s not dead. We need an ambulance, but it will take too long for one to get to us. We’ll have to drag her out of here ourselves.”

“Who do you think did this, Dad?”

Virge usually called Travisdadwhen they were alone or the odd time at home. They were definitely making progress.

“No idea, son. There were hunters camped here but the fire is cold. Linda has been up in that tree for hours—possibly since yesterday morning or even the night before that.”

Travis pulled the knife off his belt and chopped off a few thick evergreen boughs. “Take off your belt, son. We’ve got no rope and we’ve got to bind these branches together.”

They fashioned a rough drag, but one that would do the job. Linda was a heavy girl and neither Travis nor Virgil could carry her for close to a mile to the truck.

Possibly Harlan could, but he wasn’t with them.

After stopping several times to rest and taking turns pulling the drag, they made it to the truck. Travis lifted Linda into the back seat and put the dogs in the hatch. Not their favorite place to ride.

As Travis drove to the hospital in Cut Bank he said, “Call Ted. Tell him where Linda Tucker’s truck is and have him tow it to our station. It has to be printed and searched for evidence.”

“Copy,” said Virgil.

“Call Molly and tell her to get hold of the local Department of Fish and Wildlife, and tell them Warden Linda Tucker has been injured and we’re taking her to the hospital.”

“Copy.”

Cut Bank Hospital.

Travis sent Virgil inside the Emergency entrance to find an orderly and fetch him to the truck with a stretcher. They came running out in short order, two orderlies with Virgil, and they whipped Linda out of the back seat, onto the stretcher and zipped her inside.

“I’ll have to leave my information for the nurse to call our office when Linda wakes up. She must have a family around here that needs to be notified.”

“Yeah. We don’t know her too good.”

“No, we don’t, son. Only met her the once.”

Once Travis got that done, he and Virge headed for the Dry Run for a beer on the way home to the ranch.

Old Kelvin Road.

Me and Tammy drove north from the ranch to talk to the old guy who called in one of the tips. Oscar Tiverton told Molly he had seen the hunters we were looking for. He was sure of it.

I parked on the dirt driveway of the old house where Mister Tiverton lived. No grass on his front yard. Just dirt and three dog kennels—a hound chained to each. Around the side of the house, more kennels, and more dogs.

The dogs put up a great howl when I parked in their driveway and Mister Tiverton came ambling out of the wooden house with a shotgun in his hand.

I held up my badge. “Deputy Bristol, sir. You called the office?”

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