Page 39 of Longest Ride

“I don’t know why anyone would miss me. I’m such a stupid fuck-up. I hate myself so bad right now.”

“Listen to what Annie tells you, Tammy. No more mistakes. I can’t take the fallout from any more of your impulsive crap. Hear me talking?”

Tammy answered between sobs. “I hear you, Daddy. Will you ever stop being mad at me?”

“Maybe. In a while. In the meantime, don’t add more shit to the manure pile. Get my drift?”

“I got it, Daddy. I won’t mess up.”

“Great. Pull yourself together, Tammy. And get your ass home. We’ve got work piled up to our butt cracks here.”

“I will, Daddy. I’ll be home soon.”

Travis blew out a breath, glad the call was over. He was so furious with Tammy he wanted to beat her with a stick. That wouldn’t do any good, and he would never hit her, but she had pulled some pretty stupid moves in the past few days.

Billy, Ted, and Virgil burst in through the sally port at the back of the building with a bunch of druggies for processing. Hearing the hollering and yelling, Travis left his coffee sitting on the table in the break room and went to help them.

“Four of them,” said Travis. “Lock three of them up in the run and start with this one.”

“I can book them, Travis,” said Virgil.

“Ted can help you.” To Billy: “Work on the report and the evidence with Molly.”

“Copy that.”

The door opened again, and Harlan shoved a huge guy with red hair into the back hallway. “Archie Twig, Sheriff.”

Archie leaned partly on his crutch and partly on the wall. The door of the run was open. “Book him next, Harlan, then put him in a cell so he can lie down.”

“Copy that. You’re next, Archie.”

Travis leaned on the other wall and said to Twig, “Tell me about the triple murder, Archie. How did that go down?”

“How the fuck would I know? I wasn’t there. Why don’t you wise up and ask somebody who was there?”

“And who would that be?”

“I don’t do favors for the law, but if I tell you what you want to know, I expect something in return.”

“Like what?”

“Like the trafficking charge y’all are gonna hit me with knocked down to possession. That’s what.”

“Okay. That’s doable,” said Travis. “I’ll have to overlook it here. Be easier than working it through the DA’s office in Cut Bank.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. A charge that don’t appear on my sheet.”

“Okay. I’ll go along with that. Who do you think did the triple?”

“Don’t know it for the gospel, but there’s this guy I know—Big Dave Turcott—he’s a pretty intense guy who happens to be out of his fuckin nut over Paula Fleming. Like the dude would do anything to have Paula for himself.”

“I like that information, Archie. Where does Big Dave live?”

“South of Coyote Creek. Horse ranch and he’ll have a mailbox at the road.”

“Yep. I’ll go have a talk to Big Dave,” said Travis. “See about his relationship with Paula Fleming.”

“She’s hot,” said Archie. “Goddammit, she’s hot. I’ve had thoughts about her myself.”

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