"I see you, honey." "I don't know how Carcass Lady does it." "Her name's Holly Whitish." "She's been doing it for 10 years, so..." "All things considered you should thank her." "Yeah?" "Why's that?" "Cleaning up roadkill used to be the deputies' job." "In a few months, this will all be high-dollar topsoil." "Here." "This will help mask the scent." " It's hazelnut." " We're fine." " Speak for yourself." " Here." "I'm glad you guys got here quick as you did 'cause, I mean, I'm pretty used to the poor animals, but, you know, seeing an actual dead person, it just kind of hits you different, you know?" "Yeah." "We appreciate the call." "Look like you have your hands full here, so..." "Yeah, well, it's my busiest time of year." "After the Wyoming winter, all these horny kids start chasing each other back and forth on the highway, and I pick up the pieces." "There's a wound on his chest... gunshot." "He's got..." "Bruises and scratches all over his face." "Abrasions on his right hand." "Looks like he got a couple last licks in, himself." "You recognize him?" "No." "It's a Smith  Wesson .40." "It's for mercy killings." "It's registered, though." "There's no wallet, but I found his tobacco." "Actually, that's mine." "Oh, careful." "Sheriff, you're stepping on big Charlie's foot right there." "When did you find big Charlie?" "Two evenings ago." "And her?" "Slender Betsy." "I just brought her home yesterday morning." "It was just after dawn." "Victim was sandwiched between these two, so time of death's probably somewhere between dinnertime two days ago and 6:00 a.m. yesterday." "You mind giving me the names of everybody who had access to your place the last 48 hours?" "I wish I could, but I'm out on the road all the time, and I just leave this place open to the public." "Ever since they wrote that article about me in the paper last week, people just like to drive by and have a look." "All my martyrs for love." "Cady?" "You home?" "I can barely read doc bloomfield's report." "Says the victim died from a gunshot wound." "Doesn't say what caliber." "Looks like a .38." "Holly was carrying a .40, so..." "My... mylea...?" "Malee...?" "Mal... malee...?" ""Meleagris gallopavo, A. platyrhynchos"" "and "Gallus domesticus."" "Latin." "It's the contents of the victim's stomach." "That's ground Turkey, duck, and chicken." "Turducken?" "What hillbilly hellhole serves a Turducken burger?" "Henry." "Have you started serving Turkey?" "Never have and never will." "What's wrong with Turkey?" "It's a Thanksgiving thing." "You mean "thanks-taking"?" "God, you people really hold a grudge." "We're looking for a place that serves Turducken burgers." "Found some in a murder victim's stomach." "I know of only one place:" "Saddle Horn Truck Stop." "Thanks, Henry." "If you're trying to sneak up on someone, approach from upwind, or they will smell you two coming from a mile away." "I'm sorry." "I don't recognize him." "But it's not like I spend a lot of my time back here checking out dudes." "So, I hear that you guys serve up a real badass Turducken burger." "Is it good?" "Tastes like a regular burger." "But you don't start serving these burgers till 5:00 p.m., right?" "Yeah, that's right." "Dinner specials begin as soon as the night shift starts in about half an hour." "And you serve the Turducken burger every night?" "Till beef prices go down." "Thanks for your time." "If our victim had the house specialty, then he wasn't here till after 5:00." "Why would a guy come out here to the middle of nowhere for a so-so burger?" "Maybe he didn't come for the Turducken." "Maybe he came for the atmosphere." "So, what's the plan?" "Come back later, talk to the night shift?" "Take the bronco, round up branch and Ferg, meet me back here." "Let's see." "Peggy Thomas reported an intruder in her basement." "Turned out to be a badger." "None of our night-shift guys recognized our victim." "These are really good." "Do you want a bite?" "What is wrong with you?" "Nothing." "Just..." "Concerned about Walt cowboying into someone else's county." "That's all." "All right, everybody." "Let's get ready." "Sheriff's department!" "Get out of here!" "Hands up!" "Hands down!" "Elrod, someone here to see you!" "Night's up, fellas." "Hit the ground!" "Damn it." "Stop!" "Stop the truck!" "Stop the truck!" "Stop the truck!" "The TA portion of your evening is now over." "But the qa portion is about to begin." "So, I need customers on this side, customer service on this side." "Hookers, Johns." "Do any of you recognize this man?" "We're looking for a name or a vehicle description." "You?" " You?" " You sure?" " What about you?" "No?" " All right." "If they won't talk, send 'em home." "Absaroka county wishes you all a fine evening... at home." "Go." "Now!" " Come on." "Go home." " Let's go!" "Except you." "You were smiling when we showed you that." "I'm told I have a sunny disposition." "24 19A2 Green minivan." "24 is my county and your pimp's vehicle." "I saw him drop you off this afternoon." "Let me guess if I don't cooperate, you'll tell him what?" "If you cooperate," "I'll make sure your pimp's arrested, which will allow you to get out of here, if that's what you want." "What's his name?" "Let me check my credit-card receipts." "What can you tell me?" "He stunk." "Like what?" "Like tar." "We've been doing this all morning." "How many more of these damn road crews are there?" "Just to let you know, badge or no badge, the foreman really doesn't like people snooping around his site without his approval." "How does he feel about people abandoning their post?" "Crap!" "What the...?" "!" "Do your job or lose it!" "Sorry, sir!" "This job is dangerous enough without distractions, sheriff." "This won't take long." "That's Ross Lanten." "What happened?" "Was he on your crew?" "For the last two years." "What can you tell us about him?" "Ross is Ross." "He was just kind of there and then he wasn't." "Quit showing up a few days ago." "Were you concerned?" "Yeah, for the 10 minutes that it took to replace him." "Just hold it together a bit longer." "Ross have any problems with other men in the crew?" "Any fights?" "No, in fact, he'd go on and on about how he wanted to hang out after work." ""Let's grab some beers and broads."" "That was his line." "You join him?" "Never." "Don't drink." "I'm mormon." "Okay." "Great." "Thanks." "A crime report was filled out five years ago on Ross Lanten in Sheridan, sexual assault." "What happened?" "The usual: nothing." "The victim refused to prosecute." "Charges were dropped." "You know, you didn't have to buy this for me." "I broke your old one." "Should have bought yourself one, too." "Why?" "I just use yours." "This is Lanten's listed address and registered truck." "Ross didn't sound like a family man." "Wonder how Mrs. Lanten feels about Ross' "beers and broads" routine." "Maybe the neighbors know." "Cady, you home?" "Walt:" "Sorry to intrude." "No." "No, not at all." "I was just finishing my warm-up." "Can I get you something to drink?" "No, we're good." "Thanks." "Iraq?" "Yeah." "Army driver." "Two tours." "Guess I got addicted to the adrenaline." "I wanted to ask you a few questions about your neighbor, Ross Lanten." "He's an ass." "Anything else you want to know?" "Greg collette." "What happened to your face?" "I own the gym on memorial drive." "We do a little boxing." "Sometimes things get out of hand when we spar." "Is this a bad time?" "I usually go running about now." "She keeps a pretty tight schedule." "I do." "It can wait, though." "Tell us about Ross Lanten." "When he's not getting drunk and leering at my wife, he's over there screaming at his own." "His wife doesn't seem to be home right now." "You know where I might find her?" "North Carolina, hopefully." "Because?" "Marcie actually left Ross about two weeks ago, said she was going to live with her mother." "Finally convinced her to take the kids and leave him." " How did you manage that?" " Video." "Ross and Marcie got into another one of their big blowouts." "And when Ross left, Greg decided to follow him." "I was so mad, I thought I was gonna confront him at first, and then he pulled into saddle horn truck stop" "so I grabbed the phone and I took some video." "When we showed Marcie, that's what finally convinced her to leave him." "Greg Collette has a black eye, and Ross Lanten had defense wounds on his hands." "The Collettes aren't shy about how much they hate the man." "Not too shy about interfering in his marriage, either." "Neither one of them even asked why we had questions about Lanten." "So, what now?" "Try and track down Ross Lanten's wife." "Let's keep an eye on those two." "Good evening, sheriff." "I'm not sheriff quite yet." "Maybe you could use some help with that." "Some inspiration, perhaps." "Maybe a racy scandal?" "And the first thing that you learn is, don't encourage them." "Now, you give them an inch, and they think..." "You reek." "Get off me." "Ma'am." "Miss Whitish, I think you have had enough." ""Me condescending big concern chief."" "You need to step outside and get some air." "Right now." "All right." "So, do you always send off your drunks to drive themselves home?" "Holly's keys." "A cab is on its way." "Have you heard from Cady lately?" "No, I have not." "If you do..." "Will you let me know?" "I most certainly will not." "Come on!" "It's time for you to meet your daddy!" "Say hello." "Say hello." "Miss Whitish, that is enough!" "Please!" "Say hello!" "Say, don't you touch me!" "Don't you touch me." "Ma'am." "Put the weapon down." "Drop the knife." "I'm sorry, sheriff." "I'm sorry." "It's just that I knew him." "Knew who?" "I knew Ross Lanten." "I knew him." "You're okay." "Come on." "I lied to you." "Now you hate me." "You hate everything about me." "That's not true." "Holly." "Look at me." "Why didn't you tell me you knew Ross Lanten?" "Because he..." "It's okay." "I'm right here." "Ross Lanten raped me." "When?" "20 years ago." "Can you tell me how it happened?" "I was someplace I shouldn't have been." "This old place called the clunk music hall, and it had this old jukebox that I just really loved, and I used to play it all night." "Is that where you met Lanten?" "He bought me a drink." "Bought me several drinks." "And then when I started feeling dizzy, he said he would drive me home." "Just thought he was being a gentleman." "But then he pulled down this gravel road and he raped me." "And then he just kicked me out of the car when he was done." "Left me there." "And I just laid there." "I just wanted to die." "But I didn't." "So I just... just got up and walked home." "Tried to tell my parents." "What did they do?" "They told me it was God's punishment." "He was punishing me for disobeying them and that I brought it upon myself." "They were wrong." "Anyone else know what Ross Lanten did to you?" "No." "Just my parents." "And they're dead." "I never told anyone else, not my ex-husband, not my son." "Holly, did you kill Ross Lanten?" "No." "But I know who did." "Was this the man?" "No." "It was God." "I prayed so hard for Ross Lanten to be punished for what he did." "And all these years," "I just thought that God was ignoring me." "But he wasn't." "I guess he just had other people's prayers to answer first." "What the hell are you doing sleeping in here?" "More comfortable than the stairs." "Morning, sheriff." "That it is." "I told her not to wake you." "And here's your toothbrush." "So..." "We track down Ross Lanten's wife?" "Yeah, she's been in north Carolina with her mom for the last 10 days." "Hey, Walt, why's Holly Whitish snoring in your office?" "Ross Lanten raped her 20 years ago." "What?" "!" "She kill him?" "She pinned it on someone else." "Hey, Ruby." "Has a Detective from Denver called?" "Fales?" "Not for you, he hasn't." "Thanks." "God's gonna be tough to prosecute." "And meantime," "Holly's ex-husband's out of state and her son's at Madison river college over near Bozeman." "I don't think she's got anyone to take her home." "Would do you mind giving her a ride, Vic?" "Sure." "Walt, am I missing something?" "Ross Lanten raped Holly Whitish." "He was found dead on her property." "She claims that God is the killer, and we're not gonna investigate her as a suspect?" "I didn't say that." "If you want, go to the courthouse, get a warrant, search Hol's place." "Okay." "Why are you so quick to dismiss Holly as a suspect?" "She had 20 years to get revenge." "Why do it now?" "Hold something like that inside, you'll snap eventually." "Saw it with my own eyes." "That lady lost it." "Ferg, hold up." "Branch is going with you." "See if you're right." "Maybe Ross has a more recent rape victim who came after him." "Maybe." "Listen." "Do me a favor." "When Holly wakes up, take her to lunch, then take her home." "That'll give branch and Ferg time to search her place." "Okay." "What are you gonna do?" "I'm gonna keep a promise I made to a lady." "Ma'am." "Welcome to the rodeo, cowboy." "Pick your ride." "How about her?" "My pimp is monitoring us, so don't try anything weird." "Then I should tell you" "I have a friend who will be joining us." "That's fine." "Costs double." "I just want to talk." "I doubt either of you have that kind of money." "I have enough to pay for a bus ticket to anywhere in the lower 48." "You remember that pimp that you never arrested?" "He'd kill me before I crossed county line." "Not today, he won't." "Brought him in this afternoon." "Remember you told me that dead guy smelled like tar?" "What else can you tell me?" "The other girls warned me about him." "I didn't know his face, but we all knew to stay away from that freak in the old brown truck." "Why?" "He was rough." "Did you see him four nights ago?" "Yeah." "He came up to me outside the bathroom stall." "I didn't see his truck, so I didn't know that it was him until he had me in there." "He backhanded me a few times, and then he got on me, and he wouldn't let up until he finished." "So he raped you." "No, he paid, just like anyone else." "What, you want to feel sorry for me?" "That's an extra $20." "After Lanten paid you, you see him leave?" "He got into the passenger side of a car." "That's what pissed me off so much is that he had someone drive him out here just so we wouldn't recognize his truck." "What kind of car was it?" "Dark sedan." "I'm pretty sure it had tinted windows." "Dark sedan, tinted windows." "I knew the Collettes were hiding something." "Down!" "Get down!" "Shit!" "Was that a kettle-ball?" "Wait." "Wait." "Listen." "No pierced metal." "No broken glass." "Haven't hit a thing." "Walt!" "Get down!" "That gun's shooting blanks." "Or maybe they're just a really bad shot." "Either way." "Sergeant Collette?" "The Hajis have surrounded us, sir!" "The terp gave away our position!" "Sergeant Collette, this is your commanding officer!" "Our position's secure!" "Stand down!" "Sergeant Collette?" "!" "The children are dead, sir!" "All of them!" "It has all gone to shit!" "Arrest me." "Brandi." "Did you kill Ross Lanten?" "I don't know." "I could have." "No." "You couldn't have." "Ross Lanten was killed four nights ago." "Where were you that night?" "She was at home." "Did Ross Lanten provoke you?" "Did he say something?" "Leave her alone." "Did he do something?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I had a blackout." "Greg didn't find me till morning." "Where did he find you?" "Our car." "I don't remember anything." "I don't know anything." "I don't know how I got there." "Nothing." "Listen." "Sheriff." "This has happened before." "No one has ever gotten hurt." "No, nobody except for you gets hurt." "You have to understand what Brandi's gone through." "Stop protecting me, please." "I do not want you to protect me!" "Greg Collette seems like the kind of man who would do anything to protect his wife." "Meaning?" "Maybe Brandi killed Ross Lanten in one of her PTSD blackouts and he's covering for her." "They had a small arsenal in their house." "You find any ammo?" "Just blanks." "You find a .38?" "Not in here, but maybe Greg dumped it." "You two find anything at Holly's place?" "Ferg sure did." "I found a .38." "Same caliber as the murder weapon, tucked under Holly Whitish's bed." "One bullet missing." "We did the tests." "The bullets we pulled out of Holly Whitish's .38 match the one that doc bloomfield pulled out of a dead Ross Lanten." "And, by the way, Holly's .38 wasn't registered." "I know." "Look, you like the woman." "Wonderful." "But if you don't want to make the arrest, I'll do it." "You think Holly killed Ross Lanten and then called us in?" "Here are the facts." "Holly's rapist is found dead on her property." "She doesn't have an alibi, and she owns the murder weapon." ""Balance probabilities and choose the most likely."" "Page 47." "I read your damn book." "Branch, to convict someone in a court of law, you must prove they're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." "If I arrest Holly Whitish now, the first thing her lawyer will do is bring in Brandi collette, Lanten's neighbor." "Lanten was last seen getting into a vehicle that matches the Collettes' car." "Brandi suffers from violent PTSD blackouts, and she had one the night of the murder." "When I brought her in, she begged me to arrest her for killing him." "You're a bright man, branch." "I think you're probably catching on by now." "Fine." "You don't want to solve the murder, let's work on a different case." "A missing-persons case." "Fine." "Who's missing?" "Your daughter." "Why didn't you tell me Cady left town?" "'Cause it's none of your business." "Why did she leave?" "You'd have to ask her." "Okay." "Tell me where she is, and I will." "You don't even know where your own daughter is, do you?" "No, I don't." "Parents seldom do." "Why did I drive all the way to Montana to meet you?" "I want to talk to Dacus Whitish." "Holly's son?" "Think he knows something about his mother, something she's not telling us?" "I bet he knows more than Holly thinks he does." "Tragic hero finds his downfall less through his flaws than through his seeming virtues." "Can I help you?" "Absaroka county, Wyoming." "I'd like to talk to Dacus Whitish." "Kid from the road crew." "Dacus!" "Wait!" "Ross Lanten got into a dark sedan with tinted windows." "Ended up dead on your mother's property." "I couldn't figure out the link between the car and your mother." "Till now." "We found this on campus." "This is your car." "You're the link." "Dacus, why did you apply for a job on the same road crew as Ross Lanten?" "Your mother doesn't realize, does she?" "That you know what Ross Lanten did to her?" "What are you doing here?" "Dacus has some things he wants to tell you." "I think you should sit down." "What happened?" "Look at your mother." "Look her in the eyes and answer." "I know that Ross Lanten raped you." "What?" "Dacus." "And he had to pay for what he did to both of us." "What did Ross Lanten do to you?" "Well, he made me." "Ross Lanten was my father." "You weren't supposed to know." "When did you find that out?" "When I was 12." "I looked up "Whitish" in the phone book, and I found my grandparents' names in there." "So, I skipped school one day, and..." "I remember I was really excited to meet them." "What did they tell you?" "They told me that I was not welcome in their home, that my father was a rapist, and that I would grow up to be a rapist, just like him." "No." "No." "Just ever since then, I've..." "I don't know." "I've stayed away from girls because I'm afraid of what of what I might do to them." "Listen, baby." "Baby." "You're supposed to fall in love, and you..." "I thought I was in love before, mom." "But I couldn't even kiss her!" "And I didn't know how to explain that to her, so I..." "I don't know." "She got frustrated." "And she started dating one of my friends." "That's when I made up my mind." "How did you find out Ross Lanten was your father?" "The registrar's office." "I..." "I broke in one day, and..." "You know, I just had to see my birth certificate, you know?" "Just look at it." "And his name was just written right there." "So you made a plan to kill him?" "What?" "No." "No." "I..." "Not exactly." "I..." "Dacus." "You took your mother's gun." "I had to see whether or not he deserved to live." "After our shift, he was asking around for a ride to the truck stop." ""Beers and broads."" "So, I told him I'd drive him, and he gave me all this shit for not wanting to get laid." "Later, he took off with this hooker." "And I waited." "And when I saw the look on his face after he left the men's room, I knew." "Trust me, she liked it." "The more that he talked, the angrier I got." "I told myself, "if he says the word 'bitch' one more time..."" "I couldn't let him live." "Then I had to make him disappear." "Come on." "That's why I hid him in mom's compost pile, because I thought nobody would ever find him." "I just wanted him gone, like he never..." "like he never existed." "I guess your parents were right about me, huh?" "I mean, I'm my father all over again." "I'm him." "I am him." "Dacus..." "Listen to me." "You are not him." "You're nothing like him." "You're beautiful, Dacus." "Oh, no." "No." "Baby, listen." "I only ever prayed two times in my life." "Once" "to not feel so alone." "And once for Ross Lanten to be punished for what he did." "Baby, you were the answer to both my prayers." "Hey, you've reached Cady." "Leave your name and number, and I'll get back to you if I can." "Hey, punk, it's me." "I know you don't want to talk to me." "I know what it's like not to want to talk to anyone, so..." "Your mother always said you and I were..." "we're too alike." "You know?" "Just don't make the same mistake I made." "Don't bury the pain." "Don't lock it all up inside." "It'll tear you up in the long run, so..." "Don't go down that road." "Just come home." "I'm here." "I always will be." "Excuse me." "Hi." "I'm looking for one of your detectives." "Detective Fales." "He expecting you?" "No, but just tell him Cady Longmire's here."