Page 54 of River Ride

“Is it far from here?” asked Tammy.

“Not too far. About an hour and a half south to Lubbock.”

“Are you sure you want me to come home with you, Darryl? You could drop me off here in the city if it would suit you better.”

Darryl gave her a hard stare. “What would you do alone in Amarillo with no money and no wheels?”

Tammy shrugged. “I’m not helpless, Darryl.”

“You’d better stay with me for a couple of days while you decide what to do.”

Tammy laughed. “That sounds like a sensible idea, Darryl. You’re the smart one. It ain’t me.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

When we got back to the station from Black Eagle Pass, we rebooked the Carpenters. As soon as Molly entered the new charges into the system, Travis allowed Jed Carpenter to call his attorney.

“You can sit at that desk over there and use that phone, Mister Carpenter.”

“Thank you, Sheriff.”

Carpenter had calmed down a lot on the ride to the station. He made the call and had a long chat with his lawyer.

Me and Virge were standing near Billy, and we could hear Jed’s side of the sad story he was telling his attorney.

Billy told us the lawyer would be telling Jed he couldn’t do much about getting him and Trevor out of jail until the arraignment. New charges against them while they were out on bail would nullify the original bond.

He figured it would be something like that. Billy wasn’t a lawyer, so he didn’t know the legal end of things, but he figured Carpenter would be pissed that he had to stay locked up.

And he was. He got all red in the face again and he was fuming mad.

Carpenter had the big bucks, but they couldn’t buy him his way out of our little Coyote Creek jail.

Money wasn’t talking. Not this time.

Grand Junction. Colorado.

“How do you like this motel, Cleo?” The big, black Newfie turned her head to look at Bobby when he said her name. “I’ll get us a room for tonight, then take you for a walk and feed you. Did you see the bill for all the fuckin dog stuff I bought for you? You are costing me huge, girl.” Bobby laughed.

Cleo wagged her shaggy tail and licked Bobby’s face.

She was a friendly dog and Bobby liked her a lot already. He liked having company in the Jeep. He figured he was missing Ray more than he thought he would, even with all the nagging.

That was another good thing about Cleo. She couldn’t talk or give him advice.

Green Acres Trailer Park. Lubbock. Texas.

Darryl parked in the driveway of a single-wide trailer on the last street in the park. The place was run-down and in need of paint and repairs.

Grass wasn’t cut and one window was boarded up with plywood. The gutters were stuffed with leaves and seemed to be home to more than one squirrel.

The trailer gave the impression nobody lived there and reminded Tammy a lot of the shabby trailer she lived in with Tibor Garrison for five terrifying years of her life. Revisiting that memory plunged her into a defensive mode of self-preservation.

Fight or flight.

Kill or be killed.

“I need to do a lot of work around here, Tammy, and I’ll get caught up while we’re home for a couple of days.” He laughed. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

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