“And they said…”
“To take them as far as I could, and that’s what I did.”
Myles scratched his head, trying to determine whether the two had walked into town, found another ride or headed into the mountains. He doubted they’d gone into the mountains. He’d checked on their Toyota before leaving Pineview. All the camping and fishing equipment he’d spotted earlier was still in the bed. “Where were you going?” he asked Ned.
“I bought Leland’s Christmas tree farm a few months ago, so I was on my way up there.”
Myles hadn’t heard this. “Insurance business must be good.”
“Same as always. Good enough. But I was looking for something I could do on the side, and when this opportunity came along, I decided to take it.”
For all his cowboy attire, Myles couldn’t see Ned as a farmer. “Do you know anything about growing Christmas trees?”
“Not much.” He produced a rueful grin. “But I’m learning.”
Myles hoped he was better at farming than softball. “So you were going to the farm when you picked up these boys.”
“Yeah. Turnoff’s right there.” He pointed. “Ain’t nothin’ up that road but trees so I figured they’d have a better shot of reaching town if I dropped them here.”
“They didn’t try to persuade you or…coerce you to take them any farther?”
“No, sir.”
Squatting at the side of the road, Myles examined the dirt for any sign of the shoe imprints they’d found at the scene of Pat’s murder but didn’t see any. “Did it look as if they were armed?”
“Not that I could tell. They didn’t have a rifle or anything obvious.”
Myles raised one hand against the glare of the sun. “What did they have with them?”
“Nothing but the clothes on their backs.”
“They tell you where they were hoping to go?”
“Pineview.”
He stood. “I mean once they got there. Did they mention a motel, a campground, some place to eat?”
“No.”
Myles kicked a pebble across the road. “They had to give some reason for needing a ride. There aren’t a lot of hitchhikers around here.”
“Said their truck broke down a ways back. That’s all.”
“You didn’t ask why they didn’t ride with the tow?”
“I didn’t know they’d been able to call one.”
Of course. How would he know Myles had found them on the side of the road and called Harvey? “What did you talk about while they were in your truck?”
“The weather, mostly. After we were driving for a bit, I brought up Pat’s murder. They asked me if the police had any leads on who did it and I said no.” He spat at the pavement. “But you suspect they killed Pat, right? That’s why you’ve been passing out flyers like the one I saw at the coffeehouse this morning.”
“That’s right. I’m pretty sure it’s them. Did you happen to notice the shoes they were wearing?”
“Tennis shoes.”
“What brand?”
He shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you. Didn’t pay close enough attention. They all look the same to someone who prefers boots.” With a proud gleam in his eye, he lifted one bowed leg to show off his fancy snakeskin boots.
“Nice,” Myles said, but scarcely glanced at them. He was too intent on what he was doing. “Did they both have on the same kind of tennis shoes?”
Ned’s eyebrows slid up. “Now that you mention it, I think they did.”
Would it do any good to search the area? It’d been yesterday afternoon that Ned had seen them…?.
Myles figured he’d check with Allen at least, and take a peek in his outbuildings. “Is there anything else you can tell me, Ned? Anything that might give me some idea where to search?”
He spat again and shook his head. “Wish I could. They pretended to be searching for someone themselves, and I stupidly believed them.”
“What do you mean?”
“The young guy told me he’d come to town hoping to reunite with his biological sister, who was adopted out at birth. Woman by the name of Laurel…something. Asked me if I’d heard of her. I told him I hadn’t and that was about it.”
Vivian… Because this was taking much longer than planned, Myles called the office and asked Deputy Campbell to ride over to Pineview and sit in front of her house until he could get there himself. “What’d they look like?”
“The one guy had tattoos everywhere, just like it says on the flyer. He didn’t say much. His younger friend did all the talking.”
“They give you their names?”
“Ron Howard and Peter Ferguson. Seemed like nice guys. I never would’ve guessed they were wanted by the police.” He offered Myles a grim smile. “Or that I was lucky to get away with my life.”
“Thanks for coming forward,” Myles said.
As Ned left, Myles knocked on Allen’s door. But he didn’t learn anything new. Allen insisted no one had stopped by. He hadn’t seen two men rambling around, and he doubted there was anyone on his property, but he helped search just in case.
“Where else do you think they might’ve gone?” Myles asked when they were done.
“Who knows? If it were me, I’d make my way to town. A man’s gotta eat.”
“Yeah.” Frustrated that he’d come up empty, Myles let Allen go on about his business, but he was reluctant to leave. There had to be some way to find Ink and the little asswipe who was with him before anyone else got hurt. He just needed to think like they would. There wasn’t much out here for two people without even a tent. Not only would they need food, they’d need shelter. It was easiest to come by those things in town. Town was also where they’d have a better chance of locating Vivian. And yet…this was where their trail had gone cold.
He drove around to a few cabins in the area but could document no other sightings. By the time he called it quits, it was getting dark and he felt like a bloodhound who wouldn’t give up on a scent.
Deputy Campbell checked in by radio just as he was getting into his car.
“How’s she doing?” Myles asked.
“Don’t know. She hasn’t come back.”
“What?”
“I’ve been sitting here all afternoon but haven’t seen a soul. I’m thinking she spent the day in Kalispell.”