"8 Minutes to Sunday" Episode 16, The Mystery of Dalton West Book 2

Today on 8 Minutes to Sunday, Sally meets Leeanne and Dalton gets suspicious about Sally's bag.

My heart raced. I peaked through a curtain. The girl from the diner was there. She looked scared. I opened the door.

If you haven't read the first Dalton West mystery, find the links here.

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8 Minutes to Sunday, Episode One

"Sally?” I said.

“Let me in,” she said.

She pushed past me into the living room. Leeanne was in the hall.

“Who is it, Dalton?” she asked.

“Sally,” I said. “Shhh!”

Someone had just run up and stopped in front of the house. I peaked through the crack of the door. In the dark it took a second to focus. Ty. Ty Crawford. He looked around. He paced up and down the block, checking intersections, looking under parked cars.

A noisy farm truck pulled up. The same one I’d seen leaving Boots’ place. The window rolled down.

“Where is she,” the driver asked.

His voice was harsh and raspy.

“Don’t know. She came this way, then disappeared,” Ty said.

A spotlight on the driver’s door of the truck came on. It swept the yard. I pulled back from the door crack a bit.

“Well, people don’t disappear,” the driver said. “They go somewhere.”

“Right. Well, wherever that is, I can’t find her,” he said.

“That West’s truck?” the driver asked.

“Uh, yeah, I think,” Ty said. “So, what?”

“So, what? He’s got her. This is how it starts,” the driver said.

“What do you want to do, shoot up the place?” Ty asked.

“No, you’re right. We can’t do anything tonight. That’s why you’re going to go get your truck and camp out on this house, you got me?” the driver asked.

“Yeah, sure, gotcha,” Ty said. “Give me a ride?”

“Feet busted?” the driver asked.

Ty sighed and started off toward downtown. The spotlight made a second pass, then it turned to the other side of the road. Finally, it clicked off. The truck started up and rolled away, creaking.

“Okay, he’s gone,” I said.

“Great, so can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Leeanne asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t live alone,” Sally said.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Leeanne said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t come here if you didn’t need help.”

“I ran into her at the diner. She’s been staying on the street. So, I took her to River Grove Inn, got her a room,” I said.

“But, the cowboy came back,” she said.

“The cowboy, you mean Ty?” I asked.

“Yeah, I guess so. Rodeo belt buckle, big Dodge truck,” she said.

“That’s Ty,” Leeanne said.

She turned on the light. I turned it off. She glared at me.

“What did you just do that for?” Leeanne said.

“He’s coming back,” I said. “I heard him talking with someone outside. He’s coming back to watch our house for her. So, close the door, keep the lights off, stay quiet.”

“Could have said that earlier,” Leeanne said. “Sorry, what’s your name?”

The girl looked scared. She looked at me. She couldn’t remember what name she’d given me, I realized.

“Sally Earl,” I said. “She said her name was Sally Earl.”

Leeanne smirked. She probably knew it was fake, but she didn’t say a word. Instead, she brought sheets and a pillow from the hall closet and made up a bed on the couch.

“You can sleep here tonight,” Leeanne said. “Then Sheriff West can figure this out in the morning.”

“Got somewhere safe I can store my bag?” Sally asked.

“Uh, sure, let me take that,” I said.

She brushed my hand off the straps.

“No!” she said.

She paused. She’d overplayed her hand. I wondered what was in the bag.

“Okay, well, bring it in here,” I said.

I took her into the hall.

“In here,” I said.

She shoved her bag under the bottom shelf in the hall closet. I locked the knob and shut it.

“Key’s on top of the door frame,” I said.

I showed her the key, then slid it back on top of the trim.

“Thanks,” she said. “That’s everything I own in there.”

I slept with the gun in the bedside table drawer. I didn’t know if I could use it on someone, but I wanted the option. At seven the alarm went off. Our guest was still sleeping on the sofa.

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