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“Travis, I’m finished the autopsy on Kala Bronowski and the official cause of death was asphyxiation. No water in her lungs. She was strangled before she went into the river.”

“Huh. So, it’s officially murder.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I’ll take care of it, Doc. I’ll head up to Ethridge and bring Evan Bronowski in on murder charges.”

“The cause of death was difficult to discern with all the water damage to the body. The killer almost got away with it.”

“Nice work, Doc. I’ll have Bronowski locked up by the end of the day.”

Harrison County Courthouse. Coyote Creek.

We transported the prisoners without too much difficulty. The three of them were a docile lot. A bit of cursing and that was as far as it went.

The first case called was Norma Wilson. She had a hotshot lawyer from Great Falls representing her—a guy in an expensive suit named Colby Chesterton. Didn’t impress me much because I’d never heard of him. Didn’t know many people in Montana and I wasn’t good at making friends.

The judge granted Norma Wilson bail and she left with the bailiff to arrange the bond.

Next up was Jonah Hacking—third member of the horse thief gang—last man standing, as it were. Jonah plednot guilty, but his charges were much more severe than the two women. His bail was denied by the judge who was a long-time buddy of Randy Quade.

Hard to be impartial when a guy kills your friends and stands in front of you saying he didn’t do it.

Amanda Hubbard was the last case to be called. She made bail but I wasn’t sure she could afford the ten percent to secure the bond. As it turned out, she had enough room on her credit card to float the five thousand bucks she needed.

I was surprised, but relieved that I wouldn’t have her in my jail any longer. Having Jonah Hacking was enough.

What I needed to find out, was the name of the person who retained Colby Chesterton on behalf of the ring of thieves and murderers. An ideal job that Billy could do at home while he was reclining on the sofa and cursing his battered leg.

Every time he complained about his injury, I got a sinking feeling that Billy would never be able to work again. Not something I would say out loud, and not something I wanted to be true. If Billy didn’t come back to work and take over the sheriff’s job, I’d be stuck until the next election.

Horror story.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

Clear of the arraignments, we picked Jonah Hacking up from the bailiff at the back door of the courthouse and delivered him back to his cell at the station.

While Ted locked him up in the run, I told Molly that Norma Wilson and Amanda Hubbard made bail and weren’t staying with us any longer.

“Just Hacking for lunch, Molly.” I filled her in on Doctor Olson’s ruling on Kala Bronowski and she was surprised.

“I thought that would turn out to be an accidental drowning.”

“Nope. Going to Ethridge now to pick up the husband. Back as soon as we get him.”

“Be careful, Travis. He killed his wife, and he won’t care if he kills you or one of the boys.”

“We’ll be careful.”

Bronowski Residence. Ethridge.

Without calling ahead or giving any warning, we descended on Evan Bronowski and found him in his workshop. Welding gear on his head and a torch in his hand, I pulled my gun in case he had any ideas about turning the torch on me.

“Mister Bronowski, put the torch down and put your hands behind your back. You are under arrest for the murder of Kala Bronowski.”

Bronowski took off his protective head gear, turned off the acetylene and put the torch back in its cradle. He stepped away from the work bench and just stood there.

Ted grabbed the big guy and cuffed his hands behind his back while I read him his rights.