Page 47 of Rocky Ride

Travis shook his head. “Nope. She saved my life and stayed with me at the cabin keeping the stove going and feeding me and making sure I didn’t die, and I owe her for that. But that’s it. Nothing else.”

Billy smiled. “Great. I’m not sure if I should say anything to her, but I do like her.”

“Go ahead, Billy. Do whatever you think. I’m good with it.”

“Thanks.”

Now that he had theall-clearfrom Travis, Billy had to think about it a lot more. No fast moves. Friends first.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

From the vehicle registration database, Molly produced a long list of maroon pickups in the general area of Harrison County.

Paul Granby’s truck was a Ford F-150, but from the vague description given by Sandra Ellington’s neighbor, any other make and model was possible as long as the color was similar.

“I narrowed the list down to the owners with addresses within a twenty-mile range,” said Molly. She handed the list to Sunday.

“I’ll see if I can eliminate more of them by age,” said Sunday. “The guys horsing around with the victim were probably in the twenty-five to forty range. Do you agree, Molly?”

“Yes, I do. We can eliminate the older men.”

“Let me see what I can do,” said Sunday. “When I cut the list down to size it will be time for the boys to start interviewing them and verifying alibis.”

Working on the table in the break room, Travis plowed through reports he had to read and sign off on. Not a task he liked, but it came with the job of being the county sheriff.

While he was in the middle of it, Bob Ellington called to see if his wife’s body had been released from the morgue.

“I’ll call Doctor Olsen for you, sir, and let you know.”

“I’ve made tentative arrangements for the funeral, but I’d like to set an exact date so I can inform friends and family.”

“Sure. I’ll call the morgue now and let you know as soon as I can.”

“Appreciate it, Sheriff. I can’t ask about the ongoing investigation, but if there’s any news you can share with me, I’d appreciate it.”

“We have several leads, sir, and we’re working them diligently. I will not let the case go cold. I’ll tell you what I can.”

“Thank you so much. I’m having a hard time with this situation. It all seems so impossible. Who in the world would want to see my wife dead? It makes no sense to me at all.”

“I hope to have something for you soon, Mister Ellington. I’ll call.”

Travis called the morgue in Cut Bank and Doc Olsen had just finished the autopsy.

“I can give you a partial description of the blade that was used, Travis.”

“Fantastic. Tell me about the knife, Doc.”

“Not a kitchen knife. The weapon belonged to the killer. Probably a personal favorite. Expensive. The blade was curved like a Tanto or a military weapon.”

“Serrated blade?”

“Yes, I believe so. There were jagged cuts in the flesh on her neck.”

“Thanks, Doc. I’ll tell Mister Ellington he can instruct the funeral home to pick his wife up.”

“Any time between nine and five.”

Fingerprinting was Ted’s specialty because Dad taught him how to do it, and turned out Ted was the best in our shop at the job.

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