Behling had promised to meet Tuck at the airport and take him to his apartment, where hed left his car. Tuck would stay the night there. His brother Pierce would be in from Quantico the following morning. Together they planned to head to the Thunder Horse Ranch, a good three-and-a-half-hour drive, to enjoy their
R & R together.
The last text read 911 with a phone number following.
Tuck clicked on the voice mail from Behling, frowning at the three voice mails from a Blocked Sender. Before Behlings message could begin, his phone buzzed, indicating an incoming call. He hit the talk button.
Oh, good, you must be on the ground. Behlings voice came over the line, intense, urgent. Im here to pick you up, but weve had a change of plan. Do you have a bag to claim?
No. I carried it aboard.
The plane pulled to a stop at the gate and the fasten-seat-belt sign blinked off. Passengers filled the aisle, retrieving carry-on baggage from the overhead bins.
Tuck unbuckled and stood, bumping his head on the low storage compartments. Being over six feet tall had its disadvantages on mass transit. He muttered a curse and reached up to grab his suitcase, his hand holding the phone to his ear. Whats the plan?
Well Josh heaved a sigh. Sorry to disappoint, but Im not taking you to your apartment.
No? Tuck grinned. Are we going out on the town for old times sake? He inched his way down the aisle toward the hatch, juggling the cell phone against his ear and being careful not to bump the guy in front of him with his case.
No, we had an agent of the National Indian Gaming Commission murdered tonight. His body was found along the shore of Lake Oahe. We also found a dead woman we havent identified yet.
Tuck stopped at the door of the plane, his breath lodging in his throat. Anyone we know? Hed met a few of the NIGC reps, having dealt with them on occasion over the years.
No. The guy was covering the casino near Fort Yates. Not sure whats going on down there, but the Sioux County sheriff asked for our help.
At the mention of Fort Yates, a flood of memories crashed over Tuck. The last time hed been in the town near the South Dakota border, hed been on a vacation that had ended in total disaster. He sucked in a deep breath as he pushed the memories away and asked, When did it happen?
Dont know yet. I was just getting ready to leave for the site when your plane landed. McGowans out sick. I need a partner and figured youd want to be in on the investigation.
Im supposed to be off for the next week.
Yeah, Behling said, but how often do we have an NIGC murdered in North Dakota?
Once in a blue moon.
Right. Are you in, or do I have to call in our supervisor to cover?
Im on my way. Do we have air transportation available, or are we driving down?
Behling chuckled. Got a chopper ready and waiting for us.
See you out front. Tuck clicked the off button, pocketed his cell phone and sighed. The thought of getting back in the air after having just landed was only slightly more appealing than getting on the road in the opposite direction from the Thunder Horse Ranch. And to be heading to the place hed sworn off since that fateful night over a year ago Well, he wasnt exactly thrilled. Yet, he was curious enough to take the bait. Murders in North Dakota came few and far between andwho knew? While he was in Fort Yates, he might run into her. Whoa, now. He pushed that errant thought to the back of his mind.
Behling picked him up outside the airport terminal in his black four-by-four SUV. He didnt wait for Tuck to buckle his belt before he drove away from the curb.
You mentioned a woman. His chest tightened as he asked, Who is she?
Behling glanced in his rearview mirror and merged into the traffic leaving the airport. Before he made it to the airport expressway, he took a turn to the right, heading for the line of hangars where private planes and helicopters parked. The Sioux County sheriff wasnt forthcoming. He seemed more concerned about the dead commissioner.
Are we only dealing with the Sioux County Sheriffs Department, or will the Standing Rock Tribal Police be involved, as well?
Both. So far theyve been cooperative, but Im not getting much information from them.
Tuck dropped down out of the SUV, and together they entered the building.
Are you two all thats going? A man in a navy blue jumpsuit met them at the door to an office, carrying a flight bag and a small clipboard.
Hi, Rick. Were it. Josh shook hands with the man and turned to Tuck. Dont know if you two have met. I had to beg, borrow and steal to get use of this chopper. He grinned. Tuck Thunder Horse, meet Rick Knoell.
The men shook hands and headed out to the tarmac, where a sleek black helicopter sat.
Tuck whistled. We have the budget for this?
Like I said, I had to beg, borrow and steal. Josh jerked his head toward Rick. Rick needed some night flight time. He owed me a favor, and we needed a quick trip to Fort Yates. It all adds up. He shrugged.
Behling climbed aboard the bird, slipping into the passenger seat.
Tuck slid into the seat behind him. While Rick performed the preflight check, Tuck listened to his other voice-mail messages. One from Behling, indicating the chance of being late to the airport. The other messages from the blocked sender were nothing but air and an odd sound like a baby gurgling in the background. Tuck shook his head. He didnt know anyone with a baby. Probably a wrong number. But something about the calls made him uneasy. Why would a wrong number call back twice?
He didnt have long to worry about it. By the time hed deleted the messages, Rick had climbed into the pilot seat and started the engine.
Once they were in the air, Tuck settled the flight headset in place over his ears and sat back for the ride, static and the rumble of the rotors numbing him, creating white noise in which his thoughts churned.
The last time hed been to Fort Yates, a little over a year ago, hed gone down for a weekend of boating, gambling and drinking. The memories were a mix of blurred impressions and startlingly clear images. The ending of that vacation was not one hed ever experienced before. After all, it wasnt every day that a man got engaged, married and ditched all in the span of forty-eight hours, more or less. He still wasnt sure how it had all happened, but he had the pictures and annulment papers that proved it hadnt been a bad dream.
As they neared the small outpost of Fort Yates, the neon lights of the Running Buffalo Casino rose up out of the grasslands, a beacon of garish illumination on the dark prairie. The red, yellow, blue and green neon lights reflected off the still waters of Lake Oahe, a lake formed by a strategically placed dam near Pierre, South Dakota. The lake provided miles of fishing and camping for the residents of North and South Dakota, its shores following the Missouri Rivers path from Pierre almost to Bismarck.
Tucks chest tightened as he leaned forward to stare out the window of the helicopter. The casino and the surrounding resort looked just as they had the last time hed been there. Nothing had changed. Except him. Gone was his carefree, reckless sense of taking each day one at a time. He still didnt know why hed jumped into the wedding andmore disturbingwhy shed ended it so quickly. The whole situation had made him step back and take stock of his life, and he hadnt much liked the direction hed been heading.