Page 10 of Final Ride

“Another good question. Make a list, Molly. Tanya Temple disappeared for a reason. When we find out thewhyit might tell us thewhere.”

“I’ll work on it, Travis.”

Shadow Mountain. West Virginia.

Bobby found himself spending part of every day in the town of Shadow Valley at the pool hall. Gillette had gone back to her home in Texas, and she wouldn’t be back for another month. What the hell was he going to do until then? She’d only been gone one day, and he was bored to death already.

“Come on, Cleo. Let’s take a beer outside. We’ll sit on the porch and try to figure out where that bitch Tammy is. I want to kill her for killing Ray. We have to avenge Ray’s death. She blew him away for nothing. He never did anything to her—he never even met her for chrissakes.”

Cleo wagged her tail.

“Where do you think she might be?”

Bobby spread his map of the southeastern states out on the floor of the porch and stared at it. “Do you think she’s near us, Cleo? Or out west?”

“She’s always tracking me, so why don’t I let her find me? As soon as she does, I’ll kill her and then we can make peace for Ray.”

Cleo whined.

“Yeah, I hear you. You’re wondering how we’re going to let her know where we are. I’ll get another beer and think on it for a minute or two. Don’t you worry, I’ll come up with the answer.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Billy and the boys returned from Shelby, and they were no further ahead. Billy sat down in the break room and told Travis about the interview with Derrick Forbes.

“Typical arrogant made guy,” said Billy. “Says his wife and three kids are coming from Chicago to join him and he claims he never heard of Tanya Temple.”

“He did look like a mob guy?” asked Travis.

“Yep, he did. Nice house, dressed in a suit and tie. Nice shoes. Denied knowing Tanya.”

Billy stood up. “I’m going to call the FBI field office in Great Falls and talk to their organized crime division.”

“You think that’s a good idea this early in your case?” Travis was never keen on involving the feds. Didn’t feel right and never worked out. He’d always regretted it every time he had no choice but to include them.

“If Tanya is in danger, we can’t afford to wait and see if she wanders back to Coyote Creek,” said Billy. “What if she saw something. Witnessed a crime by accident, found out something, and now the mob is eliminating her…like that?”

“Then she’s a goner,” said Travis. “Not much we can do to prevent it if they already have her.”

“We need to talk to Vicki again.”

“Molly and I were talking about it a little and she wrote down some questions that need answering.”

“Thanks,” said Billy. “I’ll get your questions from her before I interview her again.”

“Copy that.”

Watson Residence. North Carolina.

With each passing day, Tammy was healing and doing better. She wanted to leave the cabin before anyone found out Willy-John Watson had been helping her.

Willy was one of the best guys she’d ever met—next to Travis—and leaving the cabin was the best thing she could do for Willy after he’d saved her life. A life that wasn’t worth saving.

Willy called and pulled her back to reality. “Breakfast, Tammy. Do you need help to get to the table, or can you make it on your own?”

“I’m stronger than you think, Willy.”

He laughed. “Attagirl.”

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