Page 28 of Longest Ride

“Twenty-eight,” said Molly. “Probably a brother.”

“Huh.” Travis had his thinking face on. “And Carla Venner lived in his trailer. That puts Tim Perkins way up there on our suspect list.”

Molly nodded her head.

“Carla lived with Tim and Tim might have been pretty pissed with his brother Alex fooling around with his girlfriend,” said Travis.

“Tim is one suspect,” I said, “but Mrs. Fleming could’ve been ticked off too. She’s really pretty and I feel bad for her having a cheating dick like Harry for a husband.”

Travis smiled. “Paula Fleming is second on the list, son. Don’t go feeling too bad for her yet. Y’all get the notifications done and I’ll meet y’all at the Run for a beer before we go home.”

“You ain’t doing any of the notifications, Dad?” asked Virge.

“Correct,” said Travis. “Damned good practice for y’all.”

Billy grinned. “I’ll take Tim Perkins. Ted and I will do it. You guys drive down to Valier and tell Paula Fleming her husband died in a threesome with a twenty-year-old, Carla Venner.”

“I ain’t saying that to her, Billy.”

“Course not. The truth is too fucking brutal. Be gentle to her, Harlan.”

“Copy that.”

Perkins Residence. Sunburst Acres.

The wind was unforgiving as Billy and Ted stood shivering at the front door of Tim Perkins’ trailer. Since the big snowstorm, the weather in northern Montana had been the high shits.

“Think this guy is our killer, boss?” asked Ted.

“Can’t rule him out, Ted. Let’s watch him real careful when we give him the news. See how he takes it and that will tell us a lot. We’re here to tell him that his brother is dead and that his girlfriend is dead too. A double fuckin whammy. Let’s see how Tim does with it.”

“Could be tough on him,” said Ted.

“But if it’s not hard to take, then we need to know why.”

“Yep. I got it.”

Tim opened the door and Billy tried to read his expression. Was he surprised to see the sheriff, or did he expect them to be standing there?

Holding up his badge, Billy said, “Can we talk to you for a minute, Tim?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I’m afraid we have some bad news for you.”

“Like what? I’m on the nightshift and I’ve been sleeping most of the day.” He pointed at the sofa and Billy and Ted sat down.

“Earlier today, Sheriff Frost was at Alex’s trailer.”

“Okay. Something wrong with my brother?”

“I’m sorry to tell you that Alex is dead, Tim.”

“What? That’s impossible. Was he in an accident?”

“No, not a vehicle accident. He was found in his trailer with Carla Venner and Harry Fleming. All three of them shot to death.”

“Carla? Nope. That’s not right. Carla’s at work.”

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