Page 79 of Longest Ride

“Aw, shit, Sheriff. I’m not the guy you want.”

Ted settled Tim in the back of the squad and then drove south down the I-15, through Coyote Creek. He kept on going south until they reached the Turcotte Ranch.

Turcotte Residence. South of Coyote Creek.

Ted turned at the mailbox and zoomed in Big Dave’s laneway. From the back seat Tim asked, “Why are we at Dave’s place?”

“We’re bringing him in for questioning, Tim. Dave is on the list same as you. There is something going on and if I find out it’s a conspiracy, all of you are going to get the needle. I’ll make it my mission to see that it happens.”

“You can count me out, Sheriff. I’m not in any murder ring—if there is one. You have the wrong guy.”

“As soon as I figure that out for myself, Tim, you’ll be on your way back to your trailer.”

“Okay, good. That makes me feel a lot better.”

Ted parked the squad near Big Dave’s long rancher, and we headed into the barn to find number three on our list.

“Hey, Sheriff, didn’t expect to see you here today. Something up?”

“I have bad news for you, Dave.”

“Like what?”

“Your girlfriend, Paula Fleming, is dead and I’d like you to come to the office to answer a few questions.”

“Me? Am I a suspect? I would never kill Paula. I loved her, and yeah, she dumped me, but she wasn’t worth me killing her over it.”

“Cuffs or no cuffs, Dave. Let’s get moving.”

Dave swung the shovel he had in his hand at Travis’s head. Travis grabbed the handle in mid-air, snatched it away from Dave and smashed him in the face with the blade.

Dave went down into the pile of straw and horse shit he was about to shovel into the wheelbarrow. Blood gushed from Dave’s nose as he groaned and covered his face with his hand.

Ted reached down, gabbed Dave’s shirt and jerked him to his feet. He snapped a cuff on his left wrist, spun Dave around and clicked the other cuff on.

“Roll him up, Ted. Felony assault.”

“It was only a fuckin shovel, for chrissakes,” shouted Dave. Blood gushed into Dave’s mouth, and he spit it out on the barn floor. Chunks of horse shit were stuck in his hair.

“Be wise for you to shut the fuck up, Dave,” said Travis. “I’m already pissed at you.”

Ted shoved Dave Turcotte into the back of the squad with Tim Perkins.

“Now we’re cooking,” said Travis. “Stand on it, Ted. We’ve got more work to do.”

Ted chuckled as he drove north to the station.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

It was quitting time by the time all three of the suspects were booked on suspicion and locked up. Billy got them supper from the diner across the road and he and Travis left the prisoners locked in their cells to think about their past dirty deeds.

Wyatt Thompson hollered the loudest as they left the run. “You can’t just lock us up and leave us here. We have rights.”

“So did Harry, Alex, Carla and Paula. They had rights too, but their rights were violated, and their lives snuffed out. The four of them are dead.”

“We get a phone call, Sheriff,” shouted Big Dave Turcotte.His words were a bit garbled because of the swelling around his mouth and nose where the shovel hit him.

“Yep, tomorrow—that’s what we’ll do tomorrow, boys. We’ll all make phone calls. Looking forward to it.”

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