Page 53 of Rocky Ride

“Morning all. I just dropped in to say that my wife’s funeral will be on Friday at the funeral home here in Coyote Creek. Thank you all for helping me through this difficult time.”

I felt sorry for the guy because we ain’t told him yet that his wife was screwing around six ways from Sunday. When he found that out he might not be so fuckin sad.

Me and Virge sat down to have a coffee with Dad in his office—the break room—and we barely had our asses planted in the chairs when Sunday came in with papers in her hands.

“I’ve got three interviews on the pickup trucks ready to go. Billy will divide you into teams.”

“He waiting for us now?” asked Virge.

“Uh huh. He’s in his office.”

“The boys will be there as soon as they finish their coffee,” said Dad. “They just sat down. Give them five.”

“Sure. I didn’t mean to rush them.” She smiled and left the room.

“Finish telling me about what happened in the courtroom, then y’all can go talk to the truck owners.”

White Residence. Valier.

Frank White lived down near Valier. A little town on the edge of the lake. This time of the year the lake was frozen over and there were fish huts scattered far and wide over the icy surface.

The huts would be there until spring. Some guys always left their huts on the ice too long and the ice would crack, and thehut would sink to the bottom of the lake. You could count on it. Kind of a ritual.

Wait for it…

Frank and his wife lived in a winterized cottage on the shore about a half mile from the town. A dark red or wine-colored pickup sat in the driveway covered in snow. Didn’t look like it had been driven for a day or two.

I knocked on the door and Ted tossed his cigarette into the snowbank. A woman came to the door, and we figured it was Frank’s wife. Ordinary looking with her long hair in a ponytail.

“Sheriff’s Office?”

“We’d like to speak to Frank,” said Ted. “Only take a minute.”

“Frank’s not here. He had his appendix out a week ago and then he got infection. They haven’t let him out of the hospital yet.”

“Huh,” said Ted. “What day did Frank go to the hospital, ma’am?’

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Let me see. I think it was last Monday and he’s been in Cut Bank Hospital ever since.”

“Give our best to Frank when you see him, ma’am. Tell him the sheriff’s office was checking up on him.”

She smiled. “I’ll tell him. Do you people always do that when somebody gets their appendix out?”

“Almost always,” said Ted. “Just a courtesy call from the Sheriff.”

We had a chuckle when we jumped into the squad and went to our next call.

“Cross Frank off the list.”

Van Cedar Residence. Conrad.

Me and Billy drove down to Conrad to find our guy who owned a dark red pickup. Virge called on the way and told us to cross off Frank White because he’d been in the hospital the whole time.

One down.

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