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After the short visit, we exited the front door of the hospital and came down the steps. Max and Sarge ran up to us wagging their tails, all happy to see us.

“How’d they get out of the cruiser?” asked Harlan.

“Let’s find out.”

Parked on the street where I’d left it with the strobes flashing, the Bronco was empty. Clay Peterson was gone along with the cuffs and the D-ring he was attached to.

“Okay, that does it. We’ll get them. I’ll go with my plan to have the service center seized and that will knock Peterson back a few steps.”

“His guys must’ve been trailing him,” said Harlan. “Gives me the creeps knowing they’re watching us.”

“Yeah, they’re out there and it makes me wonder just how many we’re talking about. How big is Peterson’s operation?”

“Would Ted know?”

“If he does, he hasn’t mentioned it to me.”

“But he knew about it when he worked in the back of the garage,” said Harlan.

“Yep. He knew. Billy was working on the drug ring when he got hurt but I don’t think he had discovered how big the operation was. He would’ve passed that along if he knew.”

“Yeah, Billy would’ve told you,” said Harlan.

“Okay, forget about Peterson and his thugs for now. I’ll put a want out on him, but we have to work on our murder case.”

Floyd Boyd & Sons. Shelby.

Since we were going to Shelby anyway, Harlan hooked onto my truck at the roadhouse, and we towed it to the garage in Shelby that Molly had recommended for repairs.

After we got rid of the truck, we headed for Boyd’s construction office.

I held up my badge to the older lady at the front desk and asked how many female employees worked at Boyd Construction.

She smiled. “Only me, Sheriff.”

“Okay, thanks.” Harlan and I went back to the truck without talking to the boss and he was puzzled.

“What did we find out?”

“That the woman driving the construction truck at Tory Master’s house had to be Mrs. Boyd. There are no other women who could’ve been driving one of the company trucks.”

“Right. Only the old lady at the front desk. Do we know where the boss lives?”

“Ted got us the address for the Boyd residence, and they live here in Shelby. Let’s go talk to the wife.”

Boyd Residence. Shelby.

Tanya Boyd opened the door when I knocked, and she was prettier than expected—an attractive thirty-something—and much younger than her husband. Possibly second wife—trophy wife for Boyd—big construction heavy. She was a good possibility for fooling around with Tory Masters.

“Mrs. Boyd, do you mind if we come in for a few minutes and ask you a couple of questions about your relationship with Tory Masters?”

She opened the door a little wider and let us step into the foyer. “So sad, isn’t it? Tory worked for Floyd, but I didn’t know him well.”

We followed her into the living room and sat down on the dark gray sofa. Tanya Boyd sat in an armchair facing us.

“Since you were seen entering Tory Masters’ house shortly before he died, I thought you might have known him on a more personal level.”

“Umm…no. I had a check to drop off to him for some work he did for me…off the books.”