“Isn’t Billings an odd choice of places to look in cemeteries?” she wondered aloud. “Do we have anybody around here with relatives in Billings? Maybe somebody’s cousin or aunt or uncle who died recently was buried there?”
Gil smiled. “You’re a wonder. That’s a great idea. I’ll start checking.”
She grinned. It made her feel good that she wasn’t totally useless. She went back to work on the check forger. She tracked him to a restaurant in the middle of town, where he was eating steak and potatoes.
He saw her coming and just sighed. He put down his fork and knife and sipped black coffee. “You’re the sheriff’s new investigator, yeah?” he asked with resignation. “I guess I’m arrested. My girl wanted a diamond ring, and that old man had a million dollars in a money market account. I didn’t think he’d miss a couple of thousand, you know?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but theft is theft, regardless of how rich the victim is.”
“Well, I’ll go quietly. I don’t want to end up like Russell Harris,” he added with a faint grin. “Gil’s pretty fierce, isn’t he?”
“He is.”
He cocked his head. “You were with the FBI. You must be some hotshot investigator, to track me down this quick.”
She hid the pride the words invoked. “Just doing my job. If you’re willing to come along without making a fuss, I won’t cuff you.”
He got up, smiling. “Thanks. That’s damned decent of you.”
She walked out with him. “Been in trouble with the law before?”
“Never. This new girl, she wants lots of pretty stuff.” He sighed. “Guess I should have given her up. I just work for wages, you know. Not many diamond rings lying around my old house.”
“A woman who loves you won’t care if you’re dead broke,” she said flatly.
“I know that. I just can’t resist bad girls.”
“Jail may tweak that mind-set a bit,” she pointed out.
“That’s what they say.”
She put him in the back of the patrol car and got in under the wheel. “If you haven’t been arrested before, you can get first offender status. Keep your nose clean and they’ll wipe your record.”
“They will?” He sounded enthusiastic. “Will I go to jail?”
“Maybe not for long. It’s not a murder charge,” she added dryly.
He leaned back. “Thanks,” he said. “I should have turned myself in. Thought about it, but my girl said that was a bad idea.”
“Pardon me, but your girl is a bad idea,” she returned. “If you want to stay out of trouble, you’d do better to find someone less greedy.”
“You may have a point.”
* * *
She took him to detention to be booked. Then she went back to Jeff’s office to report what happened.
“He just came with you with no fight?” Jeff asked, stunned.
“Yes. He was very polite.” She cocked her head. “Why do you look so surprised?”
“Because Tuck Freeman is one of the meanest men in town,” he replied. “We’ve never locked him up, but we’ve pulled him out of a couple of nasty fights where his opponents had to go to the emergency room. He’s not known for his polite manner.”
“Well!” she exclaimed.
“Did he say why he went quietly?”
She laughed. “Yes, he did. He said that Gil was fierce and he didn’t want to end up like Russell with extra felony charges from resisting arrest.”