Page 20 of Final Ride

Bobby didn’t eat much anymore. He lost his appetite when Ray died and never really got it back.

When he got back to his room, the phone was fully charged. Bobby sat on the end of his bed and scrolled through the phone looking for a tracker.

“Anybody who knows Tammy is aware of her stealing and killing to get through the day. I’m guessing she stole this phone from her family or somebody close to her, and for their own sanity, that mom, dad, brother or sister placed a tracker on her.”

Bobby found the tracker and opened the little map. There was the red blip on the interstate in Virginia. This phone belonged to somebody who cared about Tammy and where she was.

“There she is, Cleo. Tammy is in Staunton, Virginia at the Best Western. We’ll get up early tomorrow and catch up with her. All I want to know is where she is. She ain’t gonna live long after I catch up with her.”

Wish I knew what she’s driving.

Chapter Five

Thursday, July 25th.

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

I set my alarm for a quarter to six and I was in the barn at ten to. Virge lagged a little behind because he still had dust on him from the Vicki fiasco and it was slowing him down.

Not fair of her to take off and leave him like that. If I ever saw that snarky little bitch again, I’d tell her to her face that my brother deserved better than her.

After chores, we washed up and changed into traveling clothes, then carried our luggage downstairs and set it by the door. Not much time to eat before we had to leave for Texas.

While Dad made fried egg sandwiches to eat in the truck on the way to the airport, Virge and I made sure Billy didn’t forget anything about the horses while we were gone.

Billy laughed at us and said he had it all written down and wouldn’t forget a thing. I didn’t see notes anywhere and I was worried.

“Trust me, boys,” he walked us onto the porch laughing. “I can feed those horses every bit as good as you and Virge can. I been feeding horses since I was six months old.”

That’s when I really started to worry.

We tossed our bags into the back of Dad’s Ford and waved goodbye to Billy. He stood there on the porch holding Max and Sarge by their leashes and they didn’t look happy about it. They wanted to go wherever Dad went, but they wouldn’t be coming with us until the day we moved from Montana to Texas.

“I hate leaving the dogs behind.” Travis drove out the laneway and couldn’t bear to look in the rearview.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Billy arrived at the station with Max and Sarge and the minute the dogs ran in alone, Molly was in tears. “It feels like Travis and the boys are already gone.”

“It does feel a tad empty in here,” said Ted. “What have we got going on today, Billy?”

“Not much. Call it a catch-up day and for me it will be more of a thinking day. I have to decide what I’m going to do at the end of my term as undersheriff.”

“You won’t leave me and Molly here all alone at the end of the month, will you, Billy?”

“I might not be able to. If I do decide to go with Travis and the boys, the county will require me to finish out my term and leave after the election of the new sheriff in November.”

Molly reached for another tissue. “If you decide to leave in November, Billy, it will be time for me to retire. I’m not starting over with a brand-new sheriff. It would be impossible for me to get used to somebody new after I’ve worked with the best there is.”

Ted nodded in agreement and Billy felt bad for both of them. This move would be hard on the entire staff of the Coyote Creek Sheriff’s Department.

Super Eight Motel. Newport. North Carolina.

Bobby grabbed a coffee and a muffin from the free breakfast buffet and after Cleo went for a short run around the Super Eight property, they hopped into the Wrangler and headed north.

Keeping a sharp eye on the tracker, Bobby was pleased to see that Tammy was still in the same spot. She was staying put at the Best Western and that gave him time to gain on her.

“Keep sleeping, Tammy. Let me catch up to you and whoever you’re with. I doubt if you’ll be alone. That’s not how you operate. You take advantage of men and leech off of them. Take what you want from your next target and then dump them or kill them.

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