by C. M. Sutter
Bart huffed. “Have you heard the news yet?”
Donny said they hadn’t since they’d been driving for the last hour.
“Well, shall we watch together?” Bart pressed the play button on the remote, and the TV news segment came back on. It showed a replay of the accident on Highway 89 that had happened several hours earlier. “Just so happens that I was watching the coverage when you two walked in.” He pointed his chin at the couch. “Sit down and let’s listen to what the reporter on the scene had to say.”
Both men sat. Donny squirmed, Clarence fidgeted, and Bart gave them the shit-eye.
The reporter continued speaking from the point at which Bart had paused the TV. “As of now, we’ve been told of one fatality. The other occupant, said to be in critical condition, has been taken to Livingston Healthcare trauma center. We’ve been told that it was a one-car accident, and our guess is that the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel. Law enforcement is remaining quiet for now. This is Harry Belmont reporting live on Highway 89 just south of Clyde Park, Montana. Back to you.”
Bart paused the TV again and gave each man a long, hard look. “So, one is dead, and one isn’t. My bet is on the husband being the dead one. That was not what I told you to do. I said no matter what, the wife, the only witness to any damn thing, needed to die.” Bart pulled the crank on the recliner, stood, and lifted his pistol from the end table. “Get outside, Clarence.”
Clarence held up his hands and pleaded. “Boss, please, we don’t even know for sure which one died. I swear I aimed the gun mostly at the wife. Maybe she’s the dead one. Let me find out before you do anything drastic.”
“And how do you intend to find out?”
Clarence paced while avoiding eye contact with Bart. “I’ll go to the hospital myself and see which one was admitted. By now, the cops have to know they were shot. The husband didn’t just fall asleep at the wheel.”
“Exactly, which means there will likely be a guard at the door. So again, how do you intend to find out?”
“I’ll walk in with flowers like I’m going there to visit someone. I’ll pass the room and see whose name is on the door.”
“And if it’s the wife? What do you plan to do? Get past the guard, go in her room, and shoot her right there in the hospital?”
“Let me find out who it is. The husband never saw Donny, so his statement doesn’t matter anyway. If he’s still alive, well, who cares?”
“Don’t be flip with me, Clarence. You’re living on borrowed time as it is.”
“Sorry, Boss, but the news said the survivor was in critical condition. They may not live through the night, so maybe we don’t have to do anything. Give me until tomorrow to straighten everything out. I won’t let you down.”
“That’s the problem, Clarence. You already have. They were both supposed to be dead. Now you want to backpedal to find out who is and who isn’t. All you’d be doing is exposing yourself by walking into the hospital, and that’s too much of a risk.”
“But I’ll—”
Bart cocked the trigger and fired the revolver. Clarence’s head slammed backward against the wall, and he slid to the floor. Bart glared at Donny. “I told you what would happen if you two didn’t complete the act.”
Donny leapt to his feet. “I’ll fix it, Bart. I swear I will.”
“You better, or you’re next. Now clean up that mess and put his ass outside. I want him buried in the pasture tomorrow morning. Make the kids dig the hole.”
With fear written across his face, Donny grabbed Clarence by the ankles and dragged him out the door.
Chapter 44
We were halfway to Livingston when my phone rang. “It’s an unknown number. That has to be the sheriff.”
Renz nodded, and I tapped Speakerphone before answering. “Agent Monroe speaking.”
“Agent Monroe, it’s Sheriff Johnson returning your call.”
“Yes, sir. Did you have a chance to confirm our identities with Sheriff Burke?”
“I did. Are you on your way to Livingston?”
“Yes, we’ve just passed the halfway point, so we’ll be another half hour or so.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the hospital, and you can speak with me and the doctor on staff who’s attending the survivor.”
“Can you tell me who that survivor is?”
“It’s Tara Philips.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you, Sheriff Johnson. We’ll see you soon.” I hung up and looked at Renz. “That son of a bitch got to them. I just know it. How does a car crash like that and kill somebody when no other vehicles were involved?”
“Shit happens, Jade. Maybe a deer ran out in front of the car, or maybe it malfunctioned.”
“If you say so, but I’m not buying it. There aren’t that many coincidences in the world, and fate can’t be that cruel. I wonder if—”
Renz interrupted. “If the baby survived?”
I tipped my head then stared out at the dark sky.
After reaching the Livingston city limits, I made a courtesy call to Sheriff Johnson and told him to expect us at the hospital in five minutes. He said he was already there and awaiting our arrival. Minutes later, after I’d directed Renz to the medical facility’s main entrance, we parked and walked to the front door. The expansive building reminded me of a rustic hotel more than a hospital. It blended into nature beautifully. We entered through the sliding doors, and a man stood against the reception desk. Since he was dressed in tan sheriff’s attire, it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was. Sheriff Johnson approached us and shook our hands. We showed him our ID’s so there wasn’t any question about who we were.
“Go ahead and page Dr. Vallskey, Roberta,” he said.
“Yes, sir.” The woman behind the counter paged the attending doctor.
“We’ll find a private place to discuss the accident with you.” Sheriff Johnson looked back and forth between Renz and me. “And you said there’s a crime you’re investigating that Mr. and Mrs. Philips were witnesses to?”
“In a way,” I said. “Mrs. Philips saw the perp abduct and nearly kill a young lady who currently is in an induced coma up at the hospital in White Sulphur Springs. The doctor is optimistic that she’ll be okay to wake up tomorrow. Thankfully, the swelling on her brain has gone down.”
He nodded. “And where are you folks from?”
“Milwaukee, but we’re part of Quantico’s serial crimes team. Agent DeLeon and I have recently been in this general area, so we took the assignment.”
“What exactly was the assignment?”
Just then, the doctor walked out and approached us, interrupting my response. I thought it better to discuss the reason we were in Montana later, in a private setting that didn’t include someone unaffiliated with law enforcement.
The doctor extended his hand and shook ours as Sheriff Johnson made the introductions.
Dr. Vallskey suggested we go to a room down the hall, where we could discuss Tara’s condition. We entered the room and sat around a table as the doctor closed the door before taking his seat. He let out a deep sigh before beginning. Deep sighs never meant anything good.
“As you obviously know, Mrs. Philips was admitted here to our emergency department about three hours ago. She needed immediate surgery to address a broken pelvis, broken ribs, and a broken left arm. She had superficial injuries all over her body that required sutures too. She’s actually still in surgery.”
“Oh my God. I’m assuming the baby didn’t survive?”
“That’s correct, Agent Monroe. Tara was twelve weeks along, and we’ll remove the fetus tomorrow when she’s a little more stable.”
“I’m sure that news will devastate her, especially after hearing that Byron didn’t make it.”
The doctor nodded then gave Sheriff Johnson a concerned look. I noticed and asked about his expression.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“Tara’s broken arm and ribs were caused by bullets striking
her body. Her broken pelvis was likely caused by the car flipping. Thankfully, none of her major organs were damaged in the assault. As you know, her husband wasn’t that lucky, if you can call anything about that accident lucky.”
“We know one thing for sure,” Renz said. “Nothing about that crash was due to an accident.”
Sheriff Johnson took over. “The emergency room team retrieved two slugs from Mrs. Philips. They were turned over to me, and I dropped them off at our county forensics office a half hour ago. I’m sure the coroner will find many more than that in Mr. Philips once the autopsy is performed.”
“And when will that happen?” Renz asked.
“First thing in the morning,” the sheriff said.
“Our ICU is under armed guard and will remain that way until Mrs. Philips is released from our care,” the doctor said. He looked at the sheriff. “Thanks to the great work from Park County Sheriff’s Office.”
I took my turn. “Our young lady who is in the hospital in White Sulphur Springs is under armed guard as well. We’re pretty certain the perp is one and the same in both cases.”
Renz rubbed his head. “Although it would be quite the feat to take direct aim, fire a handgun, and hit a moving target accurately while driving a car.”
“So a driver and a shooter?” the sheriff asked.
“More than likely, and I’d say highly probable. Was the scene secured?”
“Nope. At that time, we assumed all the injuries were due to the accident.”
Dr. Vallskey took over. “It wasn’t until Mrs. Philips was on the operating table that we realized the injuries came from bullets cracking her bones rather than from the crash. All that blood camouflaged the entry wounds.”
Sheriff Johnson groaned. “There’s a chance that some of the bullets might have grazed her husband before they hit her. The doctor believes her bones would have been shattered rather than just cracked, otherwise. I hate to put out the image, but her husband’s body was pretty mangled. Most of his bones were held in place by tendons and skin.”
I’d seen mangled before, and it was always a hideous sight. “What about the scene itself now that it’s apparent it wasn’t an accident?”
“At first light, we’ll have a handful of deputies out there and scouring the area for shell casings. The car was towed to the county garage, but since we know the couple wasn’t involved in a true accident, I’ll have it transported to the crime lab’s garage for analysis. I’m sure under the lights, they’ll find bullet holes mixed in with the car’s structural damage.”
I looked at Renz. “How do you want to handle this?”
“Let’s discuss it at the sheriff’s office. I’m sure the doctor needs to keep an eye on his patients.”
“I do need to go back into the ER to help finish up Mrs. Philips’s surgery. Call here tomorrow. Depending on how she feels, there’s the chance we can let you speak with her.”
“That would be extremely helpful,” I said.
We thanked the doctor and walked out with Sheriff Johnson.
“Why don’t you folks follow me to the station? Seems like we have a lot to discuss.”
Chapter 45
Renz and I climbed into our rental and followed the sheriff the few blocks to his office.
“How the heck are we going to do this?”
“Which part?” Renz asked.
“The part where we need to be in two places at the same time.”
“Yeah, that’s going to be tricky. We need to speak with Tara, we need to take a look at their vehicle, and we need to get some shell casings from the scene. There’s a chance that with a second person in the car, he could have shot with a rifle rather than a handgun. We’ll have the casings from the mountaintop tomorrow. If the shooter from tonight actually used a rifle and we get our hands on some casings, chances are they’ll match.”
“What about matching the slugs the sheriff has to the slugs from the mountain lion. Did we ever get word back about that?”
“Nope, and that’s a good idea if Meagher County Sheriff’s Office actually followed up on it. We’ll call Burke first thing in the morning and find out. Somebody has to go to the scene and retrieve those casings from the two deputies who will lower them from the ledge. I’m sure Sheriff Burke is quite capable of doing that in our place if we decide to stay here tonight.”
“We have to. Tara is a witness to a crime for the second time, and we need to speak to her.” I shook my head. “If only they hadn’t stopped at that exact spot so Tara could use the bathroom, Byron and the baby would be alive right now.”
“True, but there’s a good chance that Jane Doe would be dead.”
We needed a way to get Tara and Jane in the same place. That hour’s distance between the two hospitals would work against us. “Hey, I have an idea.”
“Yeah, I hope it’s a good one.”
“I think it is. Tomorrow, let’s try to convince the daytime doctor to have Tara transported to the hospital in White Sulphur Springs. The investigation is centered in that area, and that’s where we need to be. The killer or killers live somewhere around there, and having both Tara and Jane under the watchful eyes of us and the sheriff’s office and in the same location is the prudent thing to do. The hospital in Livingston can go back to business as usual without needing an armed guard in their ICU.”
Renz cocked his head. “That’s actually a really smart idea, and we’ll suggest that first thing in the morning.”
After parking our rental, we met up with the sheriff inside the building. He led us to his office, where Renz explained the entire case.
“So somebody has dumped teenagers along interstates in Montana, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, and they all have the same brand on their left hip?”
I nodded. “That’s correct.”
“And now a teenaged girl is in Mountainview Medical Center with that same brand, and a man’s body was found in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, also with that same brand?”
I nodded again. “Tara saw the man with the teenager, and a day later, she’s in critical condition and her husband and baby are dead. That man in the woods had to have cut back, snapped a picture of their car when Tara and Byron were trying to help the girl, then watched us from a distance earlier today when we were at the site with Sheriff Burke, Tara, and Byron. When we parted ways, they followed Tara and Byron until they found a quiet spot on the freeway to take their shots. It’s the only scenario that makes sense.”
“I’d have to agree,” Renz said. “Jade brought up an idea as we were on our way here. I know we’ll have to run it by the doctor, but it’s a safe and logical thing to do, in our opinion.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Have Tara transferred to Mountainview Medical Center in White Sulphur Springs. The killer lives somewhere in that area, we’ll be working from there, and we can have Burke’s deputies guard both Tara and Jane Doe until the killer is apprehended.”
“Sounds like an excellent plan. We’ll need to contact Tara’s next of kin relatively soon, let them know where she’s at, and find out who Byron’s contacts are.”
“You have both their phones?” Renz asked.
“We do.”
“Good. We’re going to need them. Let’s hold off on contacting the family until after we speak with the doctor tomorrow. If he allows us to move Tara to White Sulphur Springs, then we’ll tell her family that she’s in the hospital there.”
“And we’ll look through Byron’s phone to find his family too. I believe some are in Minot, North Dakota.” I glanced at the clock, and it was getting late. “But there’s no need to create more of a problem tonight.” Renz and I stood to leave. “Have any hotel recommendations?”
“Yep, I’d say the Pine Creek Inn is the best for the money. They have a nice Continental breakfast, and it’s only a mile down the road on Highway 10 West.”
Renz knuckled the desk. “Good enough. We’ll talk to you in the morning, then.”
We c
hecked into the motel, grabbed a few items from the hallway vending machines, and found our rooms. Our plans had changed from what I was anticipating for tomorrow, but in the long run, having Tara near Jane might help both of them recover. We had plenty to do as soon as business hours opened in the morning, so I was ready for sleep and hoped it would come without too much effort. I said good night to Renz and closed the door at my back.
I tore open the bag of chips I’d bought from the vending machine, ate the entire twelve chips that were in the bag, and washed them down with a bottle of iced tea. After a shower and a quick text to Amber, I set my alarm for six thirty and shut off the light. I hoped I could shut off my mind, too, and fall asleep quickly.
Chapter 46
On Thursday morning, Bart sat on the four-wheeler and watched from a distance as the six teens Donny had yanked out of bed stood in the pasture, each with a shovel in hand, and dug the grave. Clarence’s bloody body lay in plain sight ten feet away as a reminder of what would happen to them if anyone tried to sneak away.
“Tell them to dig faster!” Bart yelled while shielding his eyes. “I want this shit over and done with. You have other responsibilities to take care of today.”
Donny nodded that he’d heard the orders, then he stepped up to the kids and told them to work faster. He wore the rifle slung over his shoulder as another warning to them.
Bart yelled out again to get Donny’s attention and waved him over.
“What’s up, Boss?”
“Get Liam and Cole to watch over them. Jackson, Phil, and Freddy can move the herd out to the north pasture. I want you to shadow everything the sheriff does today. See if that man and woman who was with him yesterday go along. Maybe they’ve left the area already, but I’d like to know who the hell they were. Have Carson tag along in a different vehicle. I want you on the sheriff at all times, and Carson can check the hotels and the hospital for the car those two were in. Do you have the color, model, and plate number?”