Page 82 of Longest Ride

Travis nodded his head and didn’t interrupt.

“When Paula got dressed up and went out at night, Harry would follow her. He told me and Alex that Paula was going to the Cut Bank Inn pretty regular, and Harry was convinced she was meeting the other guy there and spending the night.”

“Huh. Interesting story, Tim. You have an opinion of your own who the mystery guy was?”

“No, I had no idea, but after a lot of snooping around on Harry’s part, he figured it was the newspaper guy.”

“Why did Harry think it was Wyatt Thompson?”

“Because Wyatt drives that red Mazda and Harry saw it in the parking lot every time Paula was at the Inn in Cut Bank.”

“Huh,” said Travis. “Wyatt’s girlfriend works at that Inn, Tim. To me, it doesn’t seem like the ideal place for him to be meeting with another woman.”

“Hey. I’m not a detective, Sheriff. That’s your job.”

“Yeah, that’s me, Tim. Thanks for the chat. You can go.”

Tim smiled. “Thanks, Sheriff. Appreciate it.”

“Be on your guard, Tim. If the killer ain’t one of the two guys sitting in the run, you may be in danger.”

“Why would I be?”

“You figure it out.”

Travis escorted Tim Perkins to Molly’s desk and she had him sign for his personal possessions before returning them.

“Ted, run Tim up to his trailer for me, would you?”

“Copy that, Sheriff.”

Molly raised an eyebrow and Travis winked at her. He never thought Tim Perkins was a killer, but he brought him in and used him as a catalyst to get the ball rolling.

After Ted left with Tim, Travis took Big Dave Turcotte out of his cell and interrogated him in the break room. After Dave’s violent outburst resisting arrest, Travis cuffed him and fastened him to the rungs of the chair he sat in.

Travis didn’t get Dave a coffee. He sat down across from him and said, “Tell me your story, Dave.”

“Got no story to tell, Sheriff. I don’t know a thing about the murders. I’m a rancher and not a part of the drug scene. I barely knew Harry Fleming. From what I gathered from Paula, Harry was a partier, a big boozer and a user.”

“Where did you meet Paula?”

“Met her at the feed store. I’m in there every couple of days and I met her in the pet food section of the store. She was buying a big bag of dog food and had trouble lifting it into her cart. I helped her out, we talked a bit, and she gave me her number. Next day I called her up and asked her out.”

“Tell me about the day she dumped you.” Travis tapped his pen on the blank page of his notebook.

“Yeah, that was kind of unexpected. I guess I was under the mistaken impression we were doing well as a couple. Then all of a sudden she decides not to see me anymore.”

“She give you a reason?”

“Yep. She said she was messed up over Harry’s murder and needed time to sort things out.”

“Did she mention anyone to you in passing? Drop the name of someone she may have been concerned about?”

“You mean like she was afraid of somebody?”

“Uh huh. Like that.”

“Nope. Don’t think so. She said what I just told you and nothing else.”

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