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Cut Bank Hospital.

Before going back to the station, we detoured to the hospital in Cut Bank to see if Savanna was awake. She’d be our best witness when she was up to talking to us.

The doctor was with her when we got there and a nurse asked us to wait until he was finished. Jack was sitting in the waiting room reading an old magazine and there was another guy there too that I’d never seen before. Could’ve been the lawyer boyfriend that didn’t make the cut.

I sat down next to Jack. “Did you get in to see her yet?”

“Five minutes was all I got. She’s all drugged up and never opened her eyes while I was in there.”

“Be patient. She made it through the night and that’s a good sign right there.”

“You find any sign of the rotten bastards?” Jack looked exhausted. Stress plus very little sleep.

“We just came from Mrs. Foster’s house down by Lake Frances and she wasn’t helpful at all. Hard to tell if it was by chance or by choice. I’m not finished with her yet.”

“I don’t know her,” said Jack. “Where did you say she lived?”

“Down at Lake Frances.”

“Jeeze, Travis, that’s a desolate area. It’s a wonder you didn’t get stuck in the snow.”

“Miracle we didn’t,” said Billy. “Snow right up to our asses.”

As we waited for our turn to see Savanna, I couldn't help but feel a certain tension between Jack and the mystery man sitting across from us. The stranger had a sharp jawline and piercing green eyes that seemed to be sizing Jack up. Was he the lawyer Savanna had recently broken up with? Lyle…somebody? Jack would know. I tried to focus on the case at hand, but the energy in the room was palpable.

Finally, the doctor came out and we all stood up to hear what he had to say about Savanna. He looked at us with a somber expression on his face. “Miss Larson is stable, but she’s not out of the woods yet. We had to perform emergency surgery to repair damage done by the stabbing, and while we were able to stop the bleeding and transfuse her, she’s still in critical condition. She’s heavily sedated right now, but she should wake up soon. When she does, try not to overwhelm her with questions. She needs rest and time to recover.”

“Thanks so much, Doctor.”

“You can go first, Sheriff,” he gestured towards the door of the ICU. “I’ll give you five minutes with her.”

“Thanks.” I strode in past the other patients, sat down next to Savanna’s bed and picked up her hand.

“Travis.” Her voice was weak. “Burke Foster,” she whispered. Then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

I came out of the unit and Jack was standing next to the nurses’ station waiting for me. “She say anything?”

I held up two fingers. “Two words.”

“What?”

“Burke Foster.”

ReMax Office. Coyote Creek.

I dropped Billy at the station to help Molly with all the reports we had to file from the robbery while I went to talk to the ReMax agent—the only one I knew.

“Linda Brown, please.” I stood at the reception desk with snow on my boots and my coat done up around my neck. I couldn’t get warm after being down at Lake Frances and catching that bitter wind off the lake.

Linda came out wearing a big smile and escorted me into her office. “Sheriff Frost. So nice to see you. Terrible what happened at the feed store. Did you catch the robbers yet?”

“No, but we’re following several leads.”

Christ, I sound like a TV cop.

She sat down at her desk and I sat in the chair facing her. “What can I do for you today?”

“I want my ranch sold as soon as possible. I’m acting sheriff until the election in November and as soon as the new sheriff takes over, I’m moving back to Texas.”