Page 86 of Longest Ride

We washed up after chores and hurried to the kitchen to find out nothing was going on. Billy and Travis were drinking coffee at the kitchen table, staring at each other. There was no food in the pantry or the fridge and nothing for breakfast.

Travis filled mugs with coffee for me and Virge and said, “We’ll have to get breakfast at the diner this morning, boys. I haven’t had time to do any grocery shopping and the house is a fuckin mess along with all of our lives.”

Dad sounded so down I got worried about the PTSD thing again. “Virge and me can do shopping today, Dad. You’ll be atthe hospital.”

“I’m going to Cut Bank as soon as visiting hours start. I wish they’d tell me something. They won’t even tell me how she is.”

“I’ll call and say I’m her brother,” said Billy. He pressed the contact number and put the call on speaker. “Intensive care, please.”

“Nurse Elwood speaking. How can I help you?”

“This is William Best and I’m calling about my sister, Olivia. Can you tell me how she’s doing this morning?”

“Certainly, Mister Best. Your sister is heavily sedated after her surgery, and we don’t expect her to wake before perhaps one o’clock this afternoon.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Billy. “I appreciate the update.”

“Okay,” said Travis. “I’ll go to the hospital at noon. We’ll get breakfast in town and get some work done this morning.”

Before we left for the station, I checked the shelves in the pantry and looked in the fridge and made a huge shopping list. I stuck it in my pocket for later. We couldn’t live on just beer and cigarettes.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

Travis and the boys arrived at the station a little earlier than usual and he sent Harlan and Virge across the street to eat breakfast at the diner. They’d bring food back for the two prisoners and for Billy and Travis too.

Molly usually got the food from the diner and fed the prisoners, but she didn’t work on the weekend.

While Travis nursed a coffee in the break room, deciding how to handle Wyatt Thompson, Doctor Olsen called from the morgue in Cut Bank.

“Morning, Doc. How’s it going?”

“I’m finally caught up and just finished Paula Fleming’s autopsy.”

“Anything unusual besides the strangulation?”

“Yes, there is something else, Travis. Paula Fleming was pregnant. About six weeks, I’m estimating. I took DNA from the fetus, and we’ll see. The results will take about a week to come back but if the father isn’t in the system the test will be pointless and money wasted. I thought I should let you know.”

“Six weeks,” said Travis. “Let’s see where that puts us, Doc. I find it interesting. Thanks for the info. It’s definitely something I can work with.”

“I’ll send the full report to Molly by the end of the day.”

“Appreciate the news, Doc. I’m working with next to nothing here.”

The boys had eaten a good breakfast and the prisoners had been fed and given coffee. That over with, Travis called the boys into the break room.

He used the table in there for his desk because Billy needed the comfortable swivel chair in the office because of his bad leg. And in return, he handled nearly all of the paperwork.

“Ted’s off today and we shouldn’t be working either, but because we have two suspects locked up in the run, we have an opportunity. I want y’all to search Dave Turcotte’s ranch house, Paula Fleming’s house in Valier and Wyatt Thompson’s place in Cut Bank. Get tags in while y’all are there and tag their vehicles too.”

Billy nodded.

“Way y’all go,” said Travis. “Split up the work anyway y’all want and I’ll work on the prisoners while y’all are gone.”

“Copy that,” said Virge. “I’m happy to be working again, Dad.”

Travis smiled. “Go find me a killer, Virgie.”

Fleming Residence. Valier.

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