“This is fun. What are some other ones?” Kelly asked.
“Let’s see. There’s reefer for a refrigerated trailer and skate barn for a livestock trailer. Floating is when you shift gears without using the clutch. Here are the tire ones. Steers are the front tires, drives are the back tires on the tractor, and tandems are the trailer axle and tires. Those are kind of the basic ones.”
“This really is a different world. Thanks again for asking me to join you, I’m having fun.”
“We’re almost at the truck stop. I don’t plan on spending much time there. I’ve got a big load I’m carrying that’s going to take a while to get unloaded, so we’ll just grab a cup of coffee and you can see what the inside of a truck stop looks like and get a sense of the people who hang out there.”
“Okay. I think I’ll use the restroom as long as we’re here,” she said as they pulled into the truck lot.
CHAPTER 7
Snacks bit off the top of the potato chip bag with his teeth and poured a double handful of chips directly into his mouth from the bag. He stuck the bag in the console next to him. A few years after he became a trucker, he’d bought a mobile office organizer console.
Only Snacks didn’t use it for office paraphernalia, he used it for things like tootsie rolls, candies, pretzels, etc. The beautiful thing about the organizer was that it took care of all of his trash. At the end of a run, he didn’t have a cab littered with paper from his snacks, and all he had to do was dump the contents of the organizer into one of the big trash bins at the back of the truck lots.
He finished off the potato chips, threw the empty potato chip bag in the organizer, and thought about what Kimberly was doing to him. It was very simple. She was cheating him. He’d given her the startup money for her bookmaking operation after she’d approached him about it and he’d thought about it for a few days.
Snacks thought it was a pretty foolproof way to make a lot of money. They both knew Mac, the truck stop owner, would come unglued if he thought one of his employees was running a bookmaking operation on his property.
He could see why Mac would be furious if anyone found out, because Mac could be arrested and lose the truck stop. Kimberly and Snacks were pretty certain none of the other truckers would tell him, because almost all of the regulars were now Kimberly’s customers. She and Snacks had decided when they started the operation that a trucker would have to become really well-known to one of them before he or she was allowed to place a bet.
Snacks had known from the beginning that this was a handshake deal. Even if he and Kimberly had a written agreement, it would never be enforced in a court of law, because it dealt with an operation which was illegal. Snacks and Kimberly had made a handshake deal, and every week, Kimberly paid him half of the money she’d taken in. It was a huge amount of money, far more than he’d ever thought they’d make.
Lately he’d noticed that Kimberly was wearing new clothes and they looked to be a little more expensive than the clothes he was used to seeing her in. Once, when she was getting ready to leave the truck stop for the day, he’d even noticed her put on a pair of shoes that had red soles.
They’d caught his attention because he’d read an article about the signature mark of a really, really expensive pair of shoes being a red sole. The article said if you could find a pair of Christian Laboutin shoes for $800, you were one of the lucky ones. It said that was almost dirt cheap for the brand.
Snacks had gone on to read the whole article and found out that the red came from when Laboutin was starting out and painted the soles of a pair of shoes with red nail polish to make them look different from other shoes. It had become his signature mark, and now they were highly sought after.
If Kimberly was wearing shoes like that, sporting a new diamond ring, and had new clothes, his instincts must be right. She’d told him business had been slow the last few weeks, but that sure didn’t sync with what she was wearing.
He’d watched her leave the truck stop and walk across the highway to her home. From the corner of his eye he noticed one of the truckers getting up from his seat at the counter, walk out the door, cross the highway, and go into the open front door of Kimberly’s house.
Snacks knew the trucker, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t going over to Kimberly’s house to convince her to attend church with him. The trucker had been a long-time customer of Lizzie’s, but it looked like he wasn’t anymore. Snacks wondered if Lizzie knew something about Kimberly and decided to pay her a visit.
An hour later, when he left her house, he was absolutely certain that Kimberly was taking some of Lizzie’s prostitution business, and she was cheating him when it came to the split of the profits from the bookmaking operation. Lizzie had told him she’d seen a BMW convertible in Kimberly’s garage that looked new. She said she’d watched for several days to see if it was a client of Kimberly’s, or if the car was Kimberly’s. Several days later the car was still there, and she assumed it was Kimberly’s.
The more he thought about it, the madder he got. Not only was Kimberly cheating him, she was also cutting into Lizzie’s business. He’d known Lizzie for a long time and while she may not have been the type you bring home to meet the family, she’d always been honest, had a warm smile for him, and he enjoyed being with her.
He’d decided to confront Kimberly, but it hadn’t gone well. She’d told him if he didn’t believe her about business being down, she’d just go to the police, confess everything, and tell the police that Snacks was the one who had thought it up and provided the seed money. Unfortunately, the part about him providing the seed money was true. He didn’t think the police would care that Kimberly was the one who had approached him.
The next few days he had a recurring thought as he drove the highways. What if something happened to Kimberly? What if she wasn’t around any longer? He was pretty sure Lizzie would be interested in the bookmaking business, and Snacks knew he had enough money to start another one up.
It really wouldn’t be all that hard to get rid of Kimberly. She was a creature of habit and the truckers had even laughed about her bathroom breaks. Everyone knew what time she was in the bathroom, although these days she seemed to be gone a little longer, playing with some of the new makeup he’d seen in her purse.
Yes, he thought. Hate to do it, but she’s cheating me, and she’s hurting Lizzie’s business. I should have gone with Lizzie in the first place, it was just that Kimberly approached me, and before I knew what happened, she and I were in business.
CHAPTER 8
Jesse walked around the cab of his big rig, opened Kelly’s door, and helped her jump down. “I’ll get our coffee while you use the restroom. How do you take yours?”
“I’d like just a little bit of cream in it. Can’t seem to break that habit. From the number of trucks in the lot, it doesn’t look all that busy. Is this about the usual number for this time of day?”
“Usually it’s a little busier, but it varies. I don’t see any of my team’s trucks here, so I guess you’ll have to wait until Roxie invites you to one of her brother’s parties to meet my trucker mates.”
“I hope she does. I think I’d enjoy that. Which way is the restroom?” she asked as they walked towards the front of the truck stop with the words “Truck Stop” displayed above the doors in bright red neon lights. A few of the booths and seats at the counter were taken, but it looked quite uncrowded to Kelly.
“Right down that hall before the door with the exit sign. Women’s is on the left. Men’s is on the right. Both of them have showers. You’ll also notice that the room I told you about, the one that has the Wi-Fi and everything, is right before you get to the restroom. It has a window so you can see in it. Behind it is a room with some beds in it for truckers who want to sleep for a while. Meet you by the front door in a few minutes.”
Kelly walked down the hall and looked through the window at a few scattered truckers who were watching television, talking, or using laptops hooked up to Wi-Fi.
&nb
sp; She walked into the ladies restroom and stopped, with a surprised look on her face. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. Very attractive grey and cream tile covered the walls, the floors, and the showers. It was absolutely spotless.
Kelly noticed something red on the floor at the far end of the row of cubicles and showers and thought perhaps someone had left a towel or a washcloth. She walked towards it, intending to put it by the sink so if someone came looking for it, it would be easy to find. When she reached the shower stall at the end of the room, she realized what she’d seen was a pool of blood oozing out from under the shower door, and not a misplaced towel or washcloth.
She quickly opened the shower door and saw the body of a young woman lying on the floor. She was wearing a t-shirt with the words “Truck Stop” on it. The white t-shirt was now red where blood from what Kelly assumed was a gunshot wound had seeped out of a large open wound in her chest. She’d seen enough dead people over the last few years to know there was no point in trying to take the pulse of the woman lying on the floor to see if she was alive. Clearly, she was dead.
Kelly turned and rushed out of the ladies restroom and then ran down the hall to find Jesse. “Jesse, there’s a dead woman in the restroom. I need to call my husband and tell him. We better tell the owner, too. And no one should be allowed to go into the restroom until the sheriff gets here.”
The two of them ran back down the hall and stopped in front of the door to the ladies restroom. Kelly said, “I’ll stay out here in the hallway. She’s in the end shower on the right. She’s wearing a truck stop t-shirt. Maybe she works here, and you can identify her. I’ll call Mike while you check her out.”
Kelly pulled her phone out of her purse and pressed Favorites. A moment later Mike groggily answered the phone. “Mike, I’m at a truck stop with Jesse, and I just discovered the body of a woman when I went into the restroom. It looks like she’s been shot, and she’s dead. I’m quite certain the truck stop is probably in your jurisdiction. It’s only about an hour out of Cedar Bay.”
“Kelly, I’m so sick I can’t get out of bed. Let me call my deputy, Josh. He and some of the other deputies should be there in about thirty minutes. I’ll call you back after I talk to him. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m just a little shaken. Is there something I should do before your deputies get here?”
“Yes. Has the manager or owner been told? If not, tell him or her about it and see if they have some masking tape or something to cordon off the area. Stand outside the restroom until Josh and my deputies get there. Don’t let anyone go in there,” Mike said as he ended the call.
Moments later, Jesse stepped out of the restroom and said, in a raggedy voice, clearly unaccustomed to seeing a dead person, “Kelly, I can’t believe this. The woman who’s dead is Kimberly Laughlin. She’s a waitress here. I talked to her yesterday. This is horrible.”
“Jesse, I just talked to my husband, Mike. He’s the sheriff and the truck stop’s location is in his jurisdiction, but he’s got a bad case of the flu and can’t come to the scene. He’s sending some of his men and they should be here within a half hour or so. He did ask that we tell the owner or manager and keep people from going into the restroom. Would you do that? And see if they have masking tape or something we can use to secure the area for now.”
“Sure. There’s a store here just for truckers. I’ll get some masking tape and orange cones. The owner’s office is at the far end of the store. I’ll tell him. I just can’t believe that someone would want to murder Kimberly,” Jesse said as he walked down the hall, shaking his head.
*****
“You must be Mrs. Reynolds. The sheriff told me that you’d be guarding the bathroom door. You can call me Deputy Josh,” the tall blond deputy sheriff said as he walked towards Kelly, flanked by two other deputy sheriffs.
“I am. You sure got here fast. The woman’s body is in the restroom at the end on the right. It’s in a shower stall. No one else has been in the restroom since I discovered the body, other than my friend Jesse. As you can see, I used masking tape to cordon off the area,” Kelly said as Jesse stood next to her.
“Mrs. Reynolds we’ll take over from here. If you give me just a minute, I’ll go in with my men and tell them what I want done and then I’d like to take a statement from you. The coroner should be here momentarily.” He turned to Jesse and said, “And you, sir. What is your involvement in this?”
“I was giving Kelly a taste of what a trucker’s life is like. I picked her up at her coffee shop about an hour ago. We stopped here for a cup of coffee, and she decided to use the restroom. That’s where she found Kimberly. She called for me, and I went into the restroom and realized who it was that had been murdered.”
He was interrupted by a man who was hurrying down the hall. “Sheriff, I’m Mac Ambrose, the owner of the truck stop. The murdered woman is one of my employees. I can’t believe this has happened.”
“Sir, I’d like to take a statement from you when I finish up with these two. Would you mind waiting here? I won’t be long.”
“No, that’s fine. I’d like to get this over with. Several customers overheard Jesse tell me about the murder, and they’re really nervous. This isn’t good for business.”
“Murder is never good for business, Mr. Ambrose. As I said, I’ll be with you shortly.”
CHAPTER 9
An hour later, Kelly, Jesse, and Mac had all given their statements to Deputy Josh when Kelly’s phone rang. It was Mike checking to see what was going on.
“Mike, we’re just finishing up with Deputy Josh. He said he’s going back to the station and write up a report. After all this, I don’t feel like finishing my truck drive with Jesse. Do you think it would be all right if I asked Sheriff Josh to give me a ride home? I’m sure Jesse needs to get on the road. He called the place where he was to make his delivery and told them what had happened, but even so, this has made for a really long day for him.”
“Yes, if Josh has finished with his statement, tell Jesse to take off. Let me speak to Josh.”
“Josh,” Mike said, “I told Kelly to tell Jesse he’s free to go. And I’d also like you to drive Kelly to our home. Why don’t you call me back after you finish up?”
“Will do, Sheriff. Heard you were sick. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t ask. Talk to you later.” Josh ended the call and turned to Jesse. “You’re free to go. Thanks for taking care of Mrs. Reynolds. I’m going to drive her home. I have your contact information if I need to get in touch with you.”
“Ms. K, I’m sorry our day turned out this way. I hope whoever did this is caught. Kimberly seemed like such a nice person. It’s hard to imagine why someone would want to do this.”
“I agree,” Kelly responded. “I really enjoyed the hour we had before we got here. Thanks for picking me up and bringing me along. One question, I overheard you tell Deputy Josh that you had no idea who could have murdered Kimberly or even what the motive could possibly be. You also mentioned that there was a loose circle of truckers who worked for Roxie’s brother, Pete. Think any of them might know something?”
“They’ve been around a lot longer than I have, so yes, it probably would be worth talking to them. You can get Pete’s telephone number from Roxie. Let me know what you find out. I have mixed feelings about coming back here to the truck stop, but I probably will, and I imagine I’ll hear something then.”
“Jesse, I hope all the truckers don’t feel like you do or I’ll have to close shop,” Mac said. “This is just one of those things that sometimes happens for no rhyme or reason. It was probably some transient we never even noticed. I can’t believe one of my customers would be involved in something like this.”
“I hope so, too. Okay, I need to get on the road. Wait till Cash hears about this. I take his mother for a ride, and we find a dead body at the first place we stop.” He walked down the hall and when he got to the front door, turned and waved.
&n
bsp; “From what I’ve heard Sheriff Reynolds say, Mrs. Reynolds,” Josh said, “this isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with something like this. And based on how lousy Sheriff Reynolds sounded on the phone, I might have to recruit you to help me. That flu has decimated the station and believe me, the last thing we need is having a new murder case on our hands that we have to solve.”
“Of course, Josh. I’d be happy to help, but right now I’d like to get home and see how Mike is doing. I think I’ll make a big batch of homemade chicken noodle soup, and he can live on that for the next couple of days.” She turned to Mac and said, “I’m sure your truck stop will survive this tragedy. People’s memories are short, and hopefully this crime will be solved in a just a few days.”
“Believe me, Mrs. Reynolds, you’re not the only one who hopes it will be solved quickly. Deputy, thank you and I hope you’ll have good news for me soon. Now I need to find someone to cover Kimberly’s shifts.”
Kelly and Deputy Josh walked out to his car. He turned on the flashing overhead lights and siren as he started up the car. He looked over at her and said, “You’ve had a pretty grueling morning. I’ll get you home as fast as I can. Rather imagine Sheriff Reynolds needs you more right now than we do.”
Fifteen minutes later Kelly’s cell phone rang. She looked inquiringly over at Deputy Josh who said, “Feel free to answer it. I don’t mind.”
“This is Kelly.”
“Ms. K, I just wanted to tell you that every trucker from miles around is talking about Kimberly’s murder on their CBs,” Jesse said, “and some of the things aren’t real complimentary. I thought she was a pretty sweet young woman, but I guess I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there’s a lot of talk about her being a Lot Lizard and even talk that she ran a bookie operation out of the truck stop. Ms. K, enough guys are talking about it that it sounds like there’s probably some truth to it. I thought maybe you should pass it on to Deputy Josh.”
Murder at the Truck Stop: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 16) Page 3