Page 57 of Final Ride

“Just a few days,” said Willy. “Dog bite. Nothing serious.”

“Where to?”

“The clinic in Gananoque. That’s where my truck is parked. They transferred me here.”

“Got it.” The cabbie took him back to the clinic where he’d been rescued from his old pickup and luckily, his truck was still there in the same spot. Not stolen or stripped of its tires.

Willy paid the driver and limped inside the clinic using his crutch. He wanted to see if the lady who had his dogs was at the clinic or if she was at home on a different shift.

While he waited in line, Willy heard the nurses talking to each other about a Jane Doe who was found floating in the Saint Lawrence River.

“Where did they take that girl?” Willy butted into the conversation because he had to know.

“To the Trauma Center in Watertown, New York. Last I heard, she was in a coma.”

“Thank you.” Willy stored that information away and asked about his dogs. He was told the lady who had the dogs was off shift and he’d find her at home.

He limped back to his pickup a little shook up. Tammy wasn’t dead. She was in a coma. That meant she had a chance to wake up. Wonderful news.

He drove to the cleaning woman’s house, not far from the clinic, and picked up the dogs and their food. George and Gracie were crazed to see him and amid jumping and barking and drooling, he managed to give the kind woman who cared for them fifty bucks for her trouble.

Willy’s direction changed when he found out about Tammy. She was alive and he couldn’t ignore that. Willy had to return to the U.S., and happily, he was only a few miles from the bridge.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Billy received the strange call from Detective Carmichael of the Watertown PD. “Sheriff Johnson, I’m looking for Sheriff Frost. I have information about his daughter, Tammy.”

“That’s wonderful,” said Billy. “You can tell me. I’m Sheriff Frost’s partner and a member of his family.”

“Tammy Traynor/Bristol was found floating in the Saint Lawrence River in upper New York State. She had no identification when found, and was brought in as a Jane Doe. She’s now resting in the Trauma Care Unit in Watertown.”

“Is she badly injured?” asked Billy.

“Very badly injured and she’s in a coma. The doctor isn’t sure she’ll ever wake up.”

“I see. I’ll tell her father, and he’ll probably call you for more details, Detective.”

“That’s fine. I may have more information on her by the time he calls. She’s wanted on a great many charges if she ever does wake up.”

“That’s true. She was in a mental facility for a long period of time,” said Billy. “Things have been difficult for her father, him being a county sheriff and Tammy being one of his deputies—it’s been hell for him.”

“I can imagine. Tell him I’m looking forward to his call.”

“I’ll do that, sir. Appreciate hearing from you.”

Billy called Travis straightaway and relayed all of the information including Carmichael’s cell number.

“Holy shit, Billy. What do they want me to do?”

“Nothing you can do, Travis. Tammy is in a coma in a hospital. Talk to the Detective and have him call you when she wakes up and they move her. That’s all you can do. They won’t let her go.”

“Copy that.”

Wild Stallion Ranch. Montana.

Me and Virge came in the from the garage to take a break from our packing and Travis had just hung up from a call from Billy. “Sit down, boys. Gotta tell y’all something.”

“What, Dad? You look kinda pale. They find Tammy?”

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