Killing Time
Page 13
in and came back down stairs. He didn't follow the trail out the door. He stopped at the pantry door and opened it, looked inside and closed it. He talked with his partner in private for a few seconds, came back and said, "Who cleaned the floor for you?"
Gaston smiled and said, "My friend Eloi and his wife Cecilia volunteered to clean up my mess. Joe Boudreaux at the truck stop in Breaux Bridge steamed the blood from my truck floorboard. It's nice when friends help when you can't do things yourself."
"One more question Gaston. Why is there a larger clean spot in front of the pantry door?"
"I was hobbling on one foot because the glass was sticking out. I got in the pantry and found my mama's old cane to use. It didn't help all that much, but it did help a lot with driving the truck left footed. It's still in the truck if you want to see it." The trooper shook his head and started back to the living room. Gaston followed but they didn't sit. The lead trooper turned, said, "If you're released for work, we may have to call you back if the evidence changes." They opened the door, nosily plodded across the rickety pine wood porch and drove away in their shiny, clean State Police SUV.
Gaston went directly to the kitchen, poured double bourbon, added water and sat in the nearest chair. His heart rate was slowing, his nerves lost the edgy feel, and the bourbon soothed his fear. It seems that he passed the smell test.
The lead trooper, driving toward the hospital ER entrance, was telling his partner, "All the stories jibe, the parts fall in place. I am feeling more like our first take on the missing driver. Another long-haul trucker abducted her. Someday a body will be found on the route of a long-haul and it'll be her. It happens, Luke, just like I told you when we arrived at the truck stop. That was what my gut was telling me. Women long-hauls are always in danger. They're targets because of their bodies." In less than ten minutes they left the ER, walked back to the SUV, having been given verifying data that confirmed Gaston's version of his Saturday night. But Gaston didn't know that yet.
Gaston tested the foot. He could walk without pain so long as he didn't try to hurry which put more weight on the foot. If he can convince Landry that he can work without damaging the foot, he should be cleared to leave Sunday. Thursday afternoon, after having lunch with Eloi, he entered the kitchen, leaned the crutches in the corner behind the door and spent the rest of the day, with no shoes, walking on the foot. Friday morning, he put on his best sneakers, the New Balance with arch support, and went to his appointment with Landry walking without crutches. The nurse smiled when she saw him, checked his blood pressure and asked him to remove the shoe and sock. She checked the stitches and saw only a few dark spots remaining of the self dissolving thread. The wound had healed perfectly; his walking had done no damage. She tickled the bottom of his foot causing him to jerk, smiled and said, "All looks great to me but that's the doctors decision. He'll be in shortly. Keep the foot uncovered."
Landry tested the wound, put pressure up and down the scar area and said, "You're good, Gaston. We're finished. You can return to work immediately."
Gaston nodded, shook his hand and said, "Thanks for the good work. I hope you never have to do it again." Landry grinned and kidded, "But if you're not clumsy again, how do I make a living Gaston? Incidentally you provided a little excitement when the two State troopers showed up. But they were satisfied when I gave them the records." Once again Gaston was left to make his own way out. However, this time he was elated to be leaving on his own.
When he was at his home desk, he used his company provided short-wave radio to call Babineaux on the rig. When Jules answered, Gaston told him that he would be at the dock at ten Sunday morning ready to load his supplies. They talked for a few minutes about the mother rig and the two satellites. Jules assured him he had encountered no problems while Gaston was ashore. When they hung up, he called the grocer and cancelled the medical supplies he had ordered. He verified that the delivery van would be at the dock at nine-thirty. He spent the balance of the afternoon packing his suitcase with the clothes he had laundered and had ready for the return trip.
At seven, he left for Breaux Bridge. Eloi and the others were straggling in and all stopped at the table to satisfy their curiosity about Gaston's return to work. Gaston found himself at the table with four bourbons that were bought by his pals. It was nearly eight when Eloi came in, looked around and saw him at the table. Eloi sat, pulled the chair up closer and leaned forward, asking, "Everything went okay with the cops?"
Gaston nodded as he answered, "They looked around, wanted to know who cleaned the floor. I told them you and Cecilia and Joe did the truck. That was about all."
"What about the foot? What did the doctor say" Eloi shot across the table to him.
"Clean bill. I leave for the rig Sunday."
"That's when I leave also. I hop the copter at nine in Lafayette. Before we get away for another six weeks, if you don't mind, tell me what happened between you and blue shirt Saturday night."
"No, man, I don't mind. She blew me off. Told me she had to get her mandatory rest to be able to leave the next morning. When she went out the door, she went to her rig and then to the showers. I never saw her again."
"Yeah, that's what I told the cops that probably happened. I knew when you came back to the table and she left, it wasn't a connect. Damn shame about her though. Another trucker told me that in the last five years they've lost two women drivers that way. Some of those drivers have to be son-of-a-bitches about women drivers."
"It's way too bad about her. Even though I didn't know her name, she seemed to be a very nice lady. Remember, she called my ugly ass handsome. No one else has ever said that to me," and he laughed hard. Eloi was uncomfortable about his reference to being ugly but he joined the laughter to be sociable with his friend.
Gaston finished the second bourbon, picked up another and said, "I won't be here tomorrow night. I have to pack and be ready to meet my supply truck before I take the boat from Jules. Just wanted you to know in advance."
"Well, that makes me feel better because Cecelia insists that I go with her to her sister's for a birthday party in Church Point. I'll be able to make her happy about her sister for a change."
Eloi had eaten at home. Gaston was getting hungry so he ordered the Friday special. They drank while he ate and the talk was about what they would be doing on the rigs for the next six weeks. At ten, Eloi stood, said, "Want another bourbon? Gaston shook his head and then Eloi stuck t his hand out to shake and said, "See ya' in six, buddy. Have a safe time out there ya; hear." Gaston shook it and said, "Same to you. Tell Cecilia I send her my best."
Gaston slept late Saturday morning. Sleeping late wasn't one of the luxuries of working the rig. After he ate and drank a pot of Cajun coffee, he loaded his suitcase in the truck, spread a canvas tarp over the bed, backed the truck to where it was barely touching the edge of the porch about two inches or so from the top. Down was better than up. He went to his storage shed, took out his wheelbarrow and took it in the kitchen with him. He propped the screen door open with a flower pot and went to the freezer. He retrieved the key from his pocket, opened the door and stared at the frost covered naked body of Andy. She was frozen in the U configuration which would make it easier to fit the wheelbarrow. He put on his gloves, took her right arm and began the struggle of removing the frozen body from the freezer. Being frozen made it much easier than when he had put her in limber in that position. When he had her turned, he lifted her by her butt and put her on her right side in the wheelbarrow.
He pushed the body through the door, across the porch and into to covered bed of his truck. He raised the handles, she slid to the bed and he backed out with the wheelbarrow. He went back in the truck, pulled the tarp tightly over her and stuffed the ends under her body to secure them. He raised the tailgate, closed the door on the cap and took the wheelbarrow back to the shed. He pulled the truck forward and parked it under the moss-covered oak where the shade would protect it from the searing afternoon heat, but would thaw the body to make it plia
ble once more.
Back in the shed, Gaston filled the lawn mower with gas and wheeled it to the front yard. He went to the kitchen and brought two large bottles of iced water and sat them on the porch. He spent the rest of the afternoon mowing and trimming the yard. For the next six weeks, a professional service would do the yard twice.
After he had showered, he ordered a delivery pizza from Domino's. When it arrived, he sat on the front porch, rocked and ate the pizza while downing two cokes. When the sun started down over the trees at the end of his land, he went in, poured bourbon and turned the news to the local station in Lafayette. He was sipping his bourbon when his attention became riveted to a female reporter standing in front of the truck stop. He turned the volume up and was hearing her say. "State Police spokesperson Sarah Vadrine has said that investigators now believe that the missing trucker, Andrea Weatheral, was the victim of another long-haul trucker. Any local suspects have been cleared of all questions of Weatheral. Station KVOL has learned of other missing women truckers under similar circumstances. Stay tuned to KVOL for further developments when they become available."
Gaston sat back with his drink at his smiling lips. He felt