Page 57 of River Ride

“Ten minutes will be enough time. Thank you, Sheriff.”

While Travis waited for the lawyer to talk to Jed Carpenter and his kid, he sat at the table in the break room and drankcoffee. His cell rang and it was a call he was waiting for. “Hey, Ted. How are you making out with the tow?”

“Lots of paperwork to fill out for the Walla Walla boys, but I got it all done, boss. Your squad is hooked up now and I’m on my way back to Montana.”

“Great job, Ted. I’m sorry it was such a long drive for you, but Harrison County will be happy to hear we’ve recovered their vehicle.”

“No problem, boss. It was a break from working at the station every day.” Ted chuckled.

“Copy that.”

Harrison County Courthouse. Coyote Creek.

First thing I noticed when Virge and I went into the courtroom to find seats were Chuck and Terry—the other two poachers—sitting there to watch the Carpenter case.

“Why do they care about the Carpenters?” Virge leaned over and asked me.

“No idea. Maybe they want to see Jed go down for killing their friends.”

“Guess that could be it.”

“You got a better idea?”

Virge screwed up his face and thought about it for a minute. “Nope.”

A bigger surprise was Kody Kollard showing up for the arraignment. He had no reason for being there unless he was tracking down his missing elk and bear meat.

Jed Carpenter was brought in by the bailiff and he pleaded not guilty to the new charge of first-degree murder. His lawyer jumped in and argued there was lack of evidence for the new charges and he managed to secure a new bail bond for Carpenter.

It was true. They had very little evidence to hand over to the DA’s office when the trial came up. Travis had been wondering how they’d ever get a conviction. Especially on Trevor with Jed claiming he had done the shooting in the Treadway case.

“I’ll find out why Chuck and Terry and Kody are all here,” said Travis. “I don’t want anybody else getting knocked off.”

Travis got up and followed Kody out of the courtroom into the wide corridor and called after him. “Hey, Kody, didn’t expect to see you here.”

Kody turned around and laughed. “On the trail of the missing meat, I guess that’s all it is. You making any progress on the murders?”

“None.”

“Head office has all the game wardens on the lookout for summertime poachers and we’ve turned up nothing so far,” said Kody. “It’s been real quiet out there.”

“All y’all can do is keep watch,” said Travis.

“Yeah, that’s about it,” said Kody. “We’re diligent on our regular patrols of the prime hunting areas. Our main focus is on fishing in the summertime.”

Travis shook hands with Kody and moved on to Chuck, the welder, who was standing in front of the vending machines with a buck in his hand.

“What are you and Terry doing here, Chuck?” asked Travis. He leaned on the Coke machine and waited for an answer.

Chuck got kind of cocky and that was a bad move to try on Travis. You could be looking up from the floor real quick. “Public hearing, Sheriff. Anybody can come and watch and arraignment.”

Dad shifted his left leg, so he was in a solid stance. Reflex action, but he was now ready to kill Chuck if the opportunity came up.

I knew my dad and it didn’t take much to set him off. “I askedyou what your personal interest was, Chuck. I know what the law says.”

Chuck’s tone changed, “Okay, Sheriff. Terry and I were hoping the judge wouldn’t let Carpenter go again. He killed Wayne on his ranch and then he went right to Brian’s house and killed him. We all know it.”

Travis leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice. “Wethinkwe know it, Chuck. Get me proof. You and Terry get me something solid I can use, and I’ll make sure Jed Carpenter gets the needle.”

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