Page 76 of River Ride

“Designated shooter,” mumbled the doctor. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Five minutes later, the boys came out of the house with Trevor Carpenter in cuffs. The kid saw his father lying in a lake of blood on the porch and started screaming like a banshee.

“You killed my father, you fucking butchers.”

“Secure him in the squad, boys. We have to wait for Doc Olsen to come for Jed.”

“Copy that, Dad.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Ted and Billy had Graham Arnott booked and locked in a cell when we got back to the station. “Sorry for the delay,” said Travis. “Jed tried his best to kill me, and Virge shot him. We had to wait for Doc Olsen to come from Cut Bank and take the body.”

“No problem,” said Billy. “Ted, you book Trevor—same charges—and put him in a cell at the opposite end of the run from his buddy, Graham.”

“Copy that, boss.”

The front door of the station flew open, and Mister and Mrs. Arnott rushed in. “Sheriff Frost, we want to see our son.”

Travis strode down the hallway into the squad room and told them the way it worked. “Nope. We have no visitation facilities here. If you hire an attorney for Graham, he will be allowed atwenty-minute visit with his client. Other than that, you won’t see your son until his arraignment at the county courthouse on Monday morning. Best I can do.”

“That can’t be right.” Mrs. Arnott began sobbing. “Do something, Dan. You have to do something. I need to see Graham and make sure he’s all right. People get beat up in prisons all the time. I’ve seen it on TV.”

“Graham is not getting beat up, Mrs. Arnott, and this ain’t a prison. It’s a county jail. Your son is in a cell all by himself. But your boy is in a lot of trouble. You should focus on getting him legal counsel as soon as possible. He needs it.”

“Graham would never murder anyone,” said Mister Arnott. “We raised him better than that.”

“Kody Kollard, the game warden for this district is dead,” said Travis. “Graham and Trevor were both at the scene when it happened. We have evidence to verify their presence, and your son already told us several times he was there with Trevor when they drowned the game warden in the Milk River. Graham admitted it to Sheriff Johnson and Deputy Wallace.”

“That’s not true,” said Mister Arnott. “It can’t be true. You must have heard him wrong.”

“My advice to you,” said Travis, “y’all get the best attorney you can afford, and do it quickly. You’ll need to have him on retainer before Monday morning if you have any expectations of Graham being freed on a bail bond.”

Mrs. Arnott grabbed her husband’s arm. “You heard the sheriff, Dan. We have to get Graham a lawyer and we have to do it now.”

“We can’t afford a lawyer,” mumbled Arnott.

Mainliner Diner. Coyote Creek. Montana.

Me and Virge were starved when we finally had time to run across the street to the diner and eat. Maryanne brought ourdouble burgers to our table, and we just started to eat when Penny Darkers came in.

She saw us and sat down at our table. Virge shoved over to make room for her on his side and she gave me her sad, pouty face.

“Can we go out this weekend, Harlan? I’ve been so bored and I’ve been missing you.”

“Sorry, I can’t go out this weekend.”

Virge got a wicked smirk on his face, and I wanted to smack him.

“Want to tell me why we can’t go out, Harlan?”

“Nope.” I kept on eating and Penny left mad as hell at me. She moved to the counter and put her order in.

Virge chuckled. “I’m guessing you two are done.”

“I saw her with those guys from the mill, so I don’t trust her, bro. She cheated on me and I’m not going there anymore.”

“I’m not liking Vicki anymore either,” said Virge. “We’re in the same boat. You and I have to start over with new girlfriends.”

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