Murder on the Mainline: another Mike Claymore Mystery Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
4TH MONDAY

It’s Monday and Mike is pulling out of the yard on Kingsway in POCO with a load for Sicamous. He’ll drop it there for another truck from Calgary to pick it up and he will hook onto the other fellow’s load, a long box, to bring back to POCO. He pulls out around ten and drives east along the Fraser. It’s a clear day and the sun tries to invade his large dark cavern of a cab. The diesel purrs as he rolls along through the relatively flat valley countryside. He thumbs his cell phone and speaks briefly with Marlene, telling her he’ll be in late tonight. She sounds happy and contented again.

Next he dials Trudy’s number but there is no answer. He decides to swing over to Abbotsford and the freeway out to Laidlaw. Maybe she’s at the truck stop.

At eleven twenty he pulls into the yard at Laidlaw and parks. He sees Trudy’s little compact Sprint parked by the back door and smiles. As he nears the front doors she bursts out and down the step. “Mike, good morning.” She runs into his arms for a kiss. “Did you get any more information yesterday?”

“I told you I wouldn’t go back down to POCO till you could go with me. I stayed home yesterday. A guy needs a day of rest, you know.”

“Did I tucker you out, Sweetie?” Suddenly she gives him a black look. “Or did Marlene and Nina screw your ass off?”

“Aren’t you working today? Tonight I mean. What are you doing here?”

“I just came back from Chilliwack and stopped for coffee… and to give my notice. I’m moving. The Husky in Sardis is where I’ll be working after next week.”

“When are you moving?”

“As soon as you can get a day free to move me.” She grins as he orders coffee.

“Maybe later in the week. You’ve checked on the schools for Crystal?”

“I checked in Chilliwack but I haven’t seen them in Hope yet. I’m going there after lunch. You going to have lunch with me?”

“I don’t really have time. Got to meet another truck at Sicamous and bring back his load. I’ll stop on my way back through tonight.”

“Shall I tell the boss I won’t be in tonight?” She has a mischievous look in her eye. “The worst he can do is fire me.”

“Better not. This will be a quick and boring trip.”

“I could liven it up for you.” She rolls her pretty eyes and bats her lashes. Mike grins and thinks about what she’s saying.

“Well, it’s up to you.”

“I’ll run home and pack a picnic lunch for us. Then I’ll call the baby sitter while I wait for you.” She goes back behind the counter and he hears arguing faintly in the back office. When she comes back out she’s laughing and waves as she heads for the door. “See you at the house.” He watches her red Sprint head out the highway for Hope.

He finishes his coffee then checks tires and brakes before rolling out of the yard heading east. When he pulls along the shoulder in front of her place, she waves out the window at him. He can see she’s on the phone so he climbs down to help her with the lunch. He crosses the road and walks up the drive. She’s just locking the door so he picks up the hamper and peeks into it under the cover: Chicken and a salad and a pair of panties. He grins.

She runs ahead of him and is partway up into the cab when he gets there. He passes up the hamper of food and gets an eyeful of pink bottom and curly hair as he climbs behind her. She goes over his seat and stops on the console. “Where we stopping for lunch?”

He pulls onto the black top and starts for the highway. “Whenever your hungry. We don’t have to stop, we could eat as I drive.”

“When I get hungry it won’t necessarily be for food,” is her comeback.

“We don’t have time for that. Maybe on our way home.”

They follow the highway up into the Coquihalla. This time it’s straight to Merrit on five then Kamloops to Sicamous. The diesel blows black smoke as they climb the long grade for the summit. He figures they’ll make Sicamous by six. Should be home by midnight, unless they make a stop.

“When’re you going to see the school in Hope about Crystal?”

“Tomorrow, I guess.”

“If I have another run this week it may be the weekend before I can help you move. Maybe we better set a date. How about next Sunday?”

“Okay, I’ll get a U-Haul trailer. Can you tow one with your Mustang?”

“You’ll have to get a strap on ball when you get it. I don’t have any hitch on it. Get the smallest trailer that will handle all your stuff and let me load it.