CHAPTER SEVEN
2ND SUNDAY
“Daddy, daddy. Wake up” Mike feels a weight on his chest and sleepily tries to get an exuberant daughter to ease up her jumping on his torso.
“I’m awake, Jan. What’s all this excitement about?”
“Come on for breakfast.”
“Did your mother send you up here to get me up?”
“Mommy says breakfast is ready. Come on.”
“Tell your mother I’m coming right down. Okay?”
“I’ll tell her.”
Janet dashes out of the room and Mike looks at the clock. He groans. It’s only eight thirty and it’s Sunday morning. What ever happened to sleeping in on the weekends, he wonders. He gets a hot shower and feels better. He dons a robe and joins the family in the kitchen.
Marlene is feeding the kids and getting them around for Sunday School. “It’s nice of you to join us for breakfast one day of the week, dear.” She sounds sarcastic but smiles as he kisses her then pats her rump on the way to the table.
After breakfast Marlene gets the children around and by ten she loads them into the station wagon and leaves. Mike comes upstairs from his office to get coffee and notices Jeff working in his yard. He takes his coffee and wanders over.
“Morning neighbor.” He greets Jeff.
“Hi Mike. Hang on, I’ll get a cup and join you.”
He goes into the house and soon reappears with coffee. They sit on the porch steps talking.
“Marlene take the children to church?”
“Yeah. Don’t know why they had to wake me up to do it.”
“She snarly this morning?”
“No, just edgy. My work takes me a long way from home a lot and she gets jealous, I guess.”
“Uh, I’ve heard her tirade about you sleeping with half the waitresses at every truck stop.”
Mike grins and says, “I guess you have!”
“You’re taking this awfully calmly… or are you boiling inside? Do you want to take a poke at me?”
Mike grins again. “I prefer my way of getting even. How is she this morning?”
A dark look comes over Jeff’s face but he controls his emotions and says, “She’s not too friendly with me right now.”
Mike chuckles.
“You can laugh. You don’t have to live with her. Don’t get me wrong, I love that girl, but she can put a man through hell when she wants to. Right now I’m in the pot and she’s keeping the fire burning under me.”
Nina steps out on the porch in her robe and says with a big smile, “Good morning, Mike.” She steps by Jeff and kisses him then turns to Jeff and says, “I thought you were working out here? Go ahead, I can keep Mike company for a while.”
Mike stands and says, “Don’t get me in the middle. I got enough troubles of my own. I was just leaving anyway.”
Nina pouts and goes back into the house.
He looks at Jeff and says, “I see what you mean. Have fun. You know you brought this on yourself. Why did you ever start that affair with Marlene?”
“I don’t know. It was a day last fall, a Friday. I was raking leaves, for some reason I was home all day. Anyway she wandered over here with a cup of coffee, just like you did this morning, and we chatted about how we never seemed to chum around together any more. She mentioned you were always away on the road and we went into the house to get her a refill and me a cup. Somehow we ended up in bed. I felt really guilty about it for a week or so, but she called me at the office and said she was lonely. I came to her and it became a habit. She’s quite a woman, you know. I guess you know.”
“Nina’s quite a woman, too. She proves the old adage, that good things come in small packages.”
“I know she is but beside her Marlene is like an Amazon. She’s tough and always challenging. Nina is gentle and loving. It has been fun, I guess that’s the word, maybe interesting would be a better way to describe the last month’s.”
“Do you plan to continue? After all, I’ll be on the road again Tuesday. Nina will be working. What’s to stop you if she calls?”
He looks Mike in the eyes and says, “Honestly, I don’t know. With Nina giving me hell at home it will be a strong temptation. Are you planning to start something with Nina?”
“I might. I’ve always liked her and one taste has set me on fire, I’ll admit it. With me too, I’m tempted because of the rough time I’m getting at home.”
“You must have dozens of women just waiting for you on the road. Why Nina?”
“Don’t believe that rumor that truck drivers have women waiting for them all over the country. I haven’t found them yet. Besides, we’re too busy trying to make a buck and keep the boss happy.”
Just then a Matsqui Police cruiser pulls up into Mike’s drive. He says to Jeff, “I’ll be right back. I have to get something for Ken. Do you know Ken Dryden?”
“I don’t think so.”
Mike goes over and greets Ken. They go in the side door together and Mike leaves him in the kitchen while he gets the packaged jack knife he had found in the gravel pit from his office. He brings it back to Ken.
“I hope they can lift some prints off this. If they can prove one of your arsonists was on the scene where the car was burned, it’ll help your case. Good luck with this one.”
“Thanks, Mike. This might work. I’ll let you know.”
They walk back out to the cruiser together. Then Ken leaves and Mike walks back over to Jeff’s.
“Some insurance fraud business. We’re trying to catch them, not do it ourselves.” He grins and Jeff breaks out laughing.
Mike studies the other man for a moment then says, “I been thinking. Why don’t we make the women happy and swap wives tonight. You could come over after the kids have gone to bed. I could then go to your place. If we set the alarms for about five AM, the kids won’t ever know and the neighbors won’t be up yet when we both go home. We won’t get much sleep but the women should be easier to live with. Am I crazy? What do you think?”
“That might not be a bad idea. Let’s see what Nina thinks. I’ll get her.”
“Hold on. Why don’t we surprise them? We could set up a signal to indicate when everyone has gone to bed then get up to supposedly go to the bathroom, rush over to the other house and go back to bed. They won’t even know until the fun begins. Now, how can we signal each other.”
“The porch lights. We’ll turn them off just as we’re going to bed so when the lights are both off we can change any time. I can see your light from our bedroom. If we both strive to go to bed about the same time, it should work.”
“What time do you and Nina normally go to bed?”
“Oh, around eleven.”
“Yeah, I guess Marlene goes to bed around twelve. I’m not sure because I often work late in the office or I’m not home when she goes to bed. I could try to get her to bed by eleven but she may decide to stay up reading till midnight.”
“Hmmmm, I could try to get Nina to stay up till eleven thirty or so then watch for your light to go out. After you turn your light out I will give you twenty minutes then I’ll come over and meet you at your side door. How’s that?”
“Do you know your way to our bedroom in the dark?”
“Oh yes.”
“Of course you do. Marlene sleeps on the right hand side of the bed when you’re standing at the foot of it. How about Nina?”
“She sleeps on the same side. She may be asleep when you get here. Will you wake her?”
“Won’t know that until I get here, will I?”
“I really don’t want to know what you two will be doing. Are we doing something idiotic? What if Nina calls the cops? Shit, she works with them. Maybe it’s not such a hot idea. Do you want to call it off? Maybe we should discuss it with her first.”
“Do you think Marlene will call the cops?”
“Of course not. She’ll be delighted. Oops, sorry.”
“You let me worry about how Nina will react. It’ll be all right. You’ll see. There’s Marlene now. I’ll see you later.”
Mike goes over to where Marlene is getting out of the car. She says, “I see you talking to Jeff. You guys aren’t fighting, are you?”
“No dear, just chatting about work. Want me to pick the kids up after Sunday School?”
“Can if you want.” She goes into the house and Mike follows her. She busies herself putting together food for lunch. Mike goes to his office and pulls out the list of suspects in the murder case. He studies it and tentatively crosses Robert Hanson’s name off. He calls Trudy with his cell phone.
“Feel like doing some leg work for me today?”
“I can think of other parts of my anatomy I would rather work for you today. What you got?”
“I need addresses on these suspects and any additional information you can dig up. Got a pen?”
“Hang on. Okay, go ahead.”
“Ron Harrison, POCO Realtor, married. Got it?”
“Yep, who else?”
“Jay Scanlon, POCO cab driver, single. Okay? And Anton Vanuetche, may be under Tony Vanuetche, CPX truck driver, single. Lives in either POCO or Port Moody. Can you get away on Tuesday? I’ve got a run and it will probably be a two dayer. Calgary for a start.”
“It may take some doing but I’ll get away. Len going with us?”
“I imagine so.”
“Okay. I will let you have what I’ve got then on your suspects. See ya. Behave.”
Mike studies the list and puts it away. He goes to get the children from Sunday school. On the way home he’s shadowed by another black car with two men in it. He drives downtown and out through Clearbrook then back on the freeway and back into town. They grow tired of following him and he heads for home. He thinks, “Damn, I shouldn’t have used that cell phone to call Trudy. Now they know I have their suspects list.” He only used it so Marlene wouldn’t see any calls to her on the phone bill.
As they come in Janet is bubbling over to tell her mother something. “Daddy took us for a nice long ride around town and out the freeway.”
“You better not be taking those kids to visit your floosies. Come on now, let’s get those good clothes changed.” She hustles the kids away to their bedrooms. Mike goes to the front window and studies the street. He spots the car about a block away with a single occupant. He goes back to the kitchen and gets a cup of coffee. He takes it to his office. He opens his briefcase and removes the RCMP files. He tips his office chair back and places his hand flat against the underside of the seat. He twists his wrist savagely and the seat bottom panel moves a fraction of an inch. He twists again and finally works it free. As he manipulates the panel of metal and frees it from the cross supports, a cavity is revealed. He places the files in the hole and fit’s the panel back in place. He has to work with it a bit before finally being satisfied that it wouldn’t move any more. He rights the chair and sits down in it.
Next he takes the list of suspects and copies it into his computer. Then he makes a copy and puts it into his briefcase. The copy on RCMP letterhead he burns in the wastebasket as he opens a window. He mixes up the ashes so they never can be put back together then replaces the garbage that was in the can. Out his high window he looks at ground level and sees his neighbors coming home from church. All is peaceful. He closes the window and goes back upstairs with his coffee.
Marlene has lunch on. The family sits down to eat. Marlene comments, “It smells like the neighbors are burning trash. Why do they always do that on Sunday?”
“I don’t know, dear. Did you want me to burn some of yours?”
“Heavens, no! That will just add to the pollution. Put it out to the curb in the morning.”
After lunch he takes the kids out to the airport to watch the planes coming and going, while he jogs for half an hour. They come home and Marlene is lying down, so he asks them to do something quiet so she can rest. Rick wants to go play with a friend and the girls decide to draw and color. Mike goes back to the front window to check on his shadow. He can’t see any vehicles that might be police so he goes back and lies down on the couch. He drops off to sleep.
After supper and much later that night, Mike anxiously waits for Marlene to finish putting the kids to bed. It’s after nine and he paces then goes up to help tuck them in. They come back down to the kitchen and Marlene gets her book. Mike goes to the front window and stands back in shadow to peer up the street. He can’t find any surveillance people in sight, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Around eleven Marlene says, “I’m turning in. Please try not to wake me when you come up.”
“Good night, dear.” Mike goes to the kitchen window and checks. Jeff’s porch light is still on. He turns out the lights throughout the house and sits down in the gloom by the table in the kitchen. He watches Jeff’s light and thinks about Nina. He’s beginning to have some doubts about the swap when he starts and realizes the light has gone out. He gives them about ten minutes then goes to the front door and turns out his porch light. Glancing at his watch, he goes upstairs to check on Marlene. He finds her sound asleep. He smiles and goes back down to the kitchen. He fidgets and waits, glancing at his watch. Finally he goes down to the side door and waits there. He looks at his watch again. Then a shadow catches his eye and he realizes that Jeff is standing just outside the door in a dark robe and slippers.
He steps outside and they whisper to each other.
“Nina’s asleep. Are you sure you want to do this? She may not be as happy to see you as you think she will. I think we should have told her.”
“Let me worry about that. I’ve set the alarm for five. It’s right by the bedside. Marlene’s asleep, too. If the kids wake up, stay out of sight and let her handle them. I guess that’s it. Did you leave your front door unlocked?”
“Yeah. I left the inside door open an inch or two. Nina has the alarm set for five. She likes to get up early to fix herself for work. See you in the morning.”
Mike slips away down the drive and again surveys the street. No unusual vehicles. Good. He walks quietly to Jeff’s front door and takes off his shoes. He steps inside and is surprised at how dark it is. As his eyes get used to the gloom he moves to the couch and strips off his clothes.
Next he goes to the bathroom, no longer worried about a little noise. He steps out of the door and walks boldly into the master bedroom. There she is on the far side of the waterbed. His heart races as he pulls back the covers and sits then lies on the bed. He listens to her even breathing and rolls closer to her. He likes the feel of the rolling motion of the bed as he lies near her. Gently he lays a hand on her hip and finds flannelette pajamas. He rolls a bit closer against her and slides his arm down around her waist. She murmurs in her sleep and snuggles back against him. He feels a throbbing urgency in his loins and rubs her pelvis through the cloth with the flat of his hand.
She gives a little gasp and grabs his hand. Half awake she says, “How dare you? Get over on your own side of the bed and go to sleep.”
Mike rolls her towards himself and when she’s flat, kisses her as his hands seek her breasts. She breaks away and says, “Oh, if you insist. Let’s get it over with. I have to get up early, you know.” She peels her bottoms off and reaches for him. “You took off your pajamas already. You were pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you? For two cents I’d put mine back on and send you over to Marlene. That’s where you want to be, isn’t it?”
He starts to unbutton her top when she says, “Don’t fool around now. Stick it in here and blow your load. I told you I have to get some sleep.”
With her top open, Mike brings her firmly against his chest and kisses her. She seems surprised but slowly she melts in his arms as he kisses her nose, her ears, her neck and finally her breasts. As he nibbles on one breast then takes the whole areola into his mouth to gently suck and tease the nipple with his tongue and teeth, he hears her first soft moan. “Oh Jeff. Marlene has taught you some new tricks. Do that some more.”
Before he enters her she’s panting and he can’t keep up the charade any longer. He whispers, “My itty bitty pretty one, I need you like never before.”
“Mike? Mike! MIKE!!! But how? Oh God, who cares! Take me, I’m all yours!”
They only sleep for about an hour when the alarm goes off. Sleepily they kiss and Mike says he has to leave. Jeff will be back in a few minutes. More ardently she kisses him again and clings to him. “Stay until he gets here, please.”
“All right, but I’ll have to get dressed.”
“No, I mean stay right here.” She kisses him again and moves on top of him. When Jeff comes in he says, “What the hell? You two can’t still be at it!”
Nina looks up at him, moving her hips and says, “Jeff! Is it five o clock already?” Mike just grins as Jeff goes fuming out to the kitchen. She giggles as she undulates on top of him.
When Mike gets home it’s just after six and Marlene is in a wonderful mood. She kisses him and says, “Your the best husband a wife could ever wish for. He was terrific and we went on for half the night. How can I ever thank you?”
“By letting me sleep with Nina again sometime, sometime real soon.”
“Your really taken by that little mink, aren’t you? Maybe you haven’t been fooling around with other women as much as I thought.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m worn out. I’m going to lay down.” He crashes on the couch in the living room. Later he hears her getting the kids off to school but dozes off again.
CHAPTER EIGHT
3RD MONDAY
The phone wakes him around ten. When he catches it, its Jerry, one of the local dispatchers at CPX, “Mike, I’ve got an early run for you tomorrow. It will be loaded tonight so you can go whenever you like after midnight. Two loads for Calgary and pick up a long box in Sicamous on your way back. Central dispatch in T.O. says they may have a load for you to run up to Edmonton when you get into Calgary, so make sure you call them. I guess they’re real busy up in cow town.”
“Do you know if the shops got a headlight in that rig of mine. I left a work order on it but I haven’t been back to the yard since.”
“Hang on, I’ll check.” He puts Mike on hold and in a few minutes he’s back. “Headlights in and they said they fixed a turn signal light as well. Guess they checked her all out for you.”
“Thanks, Jerry. Len with me on this one?”
“No, he’s out with another driver. You won’t need him. It’s all terminal to terminal.”
“Okay Jerry. You take care.”
Mike hangs up and checks to see where Marlene is. She’s lying down in the bedroom, but the phone woke her up so he tells her he’s going out but will be back for lunch.
He heads for ABC Security. He could have called in but feels he wants to be on site to check for any more work. He gives them the go ahead on the ICBC fraud claim and the boss shakes his hand.
“Well done, Mike. I don’t have anything else right now, unless you want to try an arson investigation. One of the mills out in Whonnock burned down last night and I have a call from the Fire Marshall on it. They want immediate action. Got time to give it a try.”
“I’d love to but I have a two or three day run scheduled this week. Sorry.”
“That’s alright. I’ll do the investigation myself. When you due out?”
“After midnight tonight.”
“Oh well, thanks again for the fast job on that fraud case. You’ll get a nice chunk of change from them on that job. Where you going to spend it all?”
“With three kids, you have to ask me that?
They both laugh and Mike heads home for lunch.
While they’re eating the phone rings. It’s Nina.
“Mike, I have to see you tonight. Something’s come up. They have more forensic evidence and your not going to like it. It looks like Ray is probably the killer.”
“Where are you?”
“At the drugstore. I’m using the payphone. Why?”
“Don’t say any more. I’ll see you tonight.”
“What’s the matter? Never mind, I’ll talk to you later, I might even do more than talk.” She giggles and hangs up.
Mike no more than gets back to the table when the phone rings again. “Go ahead and eat. I’ll get it.”
Marlene comes back and hands the phone to him. “It’s for you, dear.”
He takes it into the living room and says, “Hello.”
“Mike, it’s Ray. My lawyer sprung me this morning. I’m out on bail. How are you making out with your investigation?”
“I can’t talk now, Ray. Where are you staying?”
“At home. I went down to the yard and they said to report in for work tomorrow morning. Ain’t that something?”
“I told you that a lot of us don’t believe you had anything to do with that murder. Now do you believe me?”
“Yeah, I do. I checked my locker while I was there. They said the cops had been through it. My boots and coveralls are gone. Do you suppose they have them?”
“Probably. Was it locked?”
“I don’t have a padlock. I only close it with the catch. Nothing of value in there, anyway.”
“I have to run here Ray. If anything comes up I’ll catch you at home or at work. Take care, now.”
He finishes his lunch pondering what’s going on. Mike is sure the cops haven’t yet had a chance to tap his phone, but he wouldn’t bet his life on it. While he’s away on this run he’s sure they’ll try. When they figure out the link between him and Nina that will end that source of information. She will probably get demoted, even if they can’t prove she helped him. Damn! Best to get what he can as fast as he can. Or maybe it’s time to beard the lion in his den.
Mike picks up the phone again and dials the POCO Detachment. “Port Coquitlam Detachment, may I help you.”
“Nina?”
“She’s out at the moment. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yeah, put me through to your boss. It’s concerning the Flo Hanson murder.”
“Yes sir.”
In a moment a hard male voice says, “Staff Sgt. Lindross here. To whom am I speaking?”
“Mike Claymore. I want you to remove the tail on me. Kapish?”
“Well, you’ve decided to speak to us, have you? Getting hot, is it? What have you got? Bring it in and we’ll talk. Until then everything stays status quo. Kapish?”
“I want you to know that I overheard two of your team discussing the suspects in the case and I’m compiling information on those suspects. I am as sure as I can be that you have the wrong man charged in the case. Can we work out a deal and work together on it?”
“Bring what you’ve got and we’ll discuss it.”
“Not likely. You’ll confiscate my notes as being in the best interests of the law. You want them, get a court order.”
“Be careful, lad. Don’t cross the line or we might just do that.”
“Look, I have a license to do private investigations under the law, the same as you do. You have me under surveillance. I’d like to know why?”
“You haven’t been very forthcoming with your cooperation now, have you?”
“What! If I hadn’t told your guys in the van that Hanson’s old lady was home, they’d have wasted the taxpayers’ money for God knows how long, watching for her. I think that falls under cooperation!”
“I concede you were helpful in that instance. See, we can work together. Why don’t you bring in whatever you have on the case and we’ll go over it together?”
“I don’t have that much. Just the suspects list and some leads I’m following. Why not give me some slack and I’ll call you in to make the arrest?”
They both laugh at that one and Mike says, “I see I’m wasting my time. You have a good day, Staff Sgt. Lindross.”
As he hangs up he thinks that he now knows who’s in charge of the case. Maybe they’ll ease up on him, maybe not. Time will tell.
He putters in the afternoon with the kids at a local mini golf course and makes sure he’s home well before five. He has watched all afternoon and his shadow disappeared about three. He hopes that’s permanent. He drops the kids off and heads out towards Mission. He parks along the Abby-Mission highway where he can see everyone and everything in all directions and waits to see Nina’s car approach. As he spots her Pinto he flashes his lights and waves. She waves back and he sees brake lights as she passes. She stops and he runs across the highway. He gets into her car. “Take off!” he says and she floors it, blending back into traffic.
“Turn left on Clayburn then left again at the next crossroad. Head for the river and take the last crossroad to the right. Let me know when we’re behind Sumas Mountain.” He lies by her foot on the floor.
“What’s going on?” She turns onto Clayburn Road.
“RCMP have me under surveillance. I shook them this afternoon but I don’t want to get you involved, if I can help it. What’ve you got for me? Just tell me, don’t try and get it out yet. If we get stopped, you haven’t given me anything. I got the suspects list by overhearing two members of the investigations team discussing the suspects. I might have told you that at any time. That’s all I have that you know of.”
As she applies the brakes she says, “Mike, if they catch you they’ll have me too. I don’t care. I won’t let them blame you alone. It was my fault as well.”
“Keep going! Don’t stop! We can work this out…”
“I was just slowing down for the corner, idiot.” The car picks up speed again. “We’re headed towards the Fraser. How will I know the last crossroad.”
“It’s a dead end.”
“You could have told me.”
“You didn’t ask till now.”
“I have a further Forensic Report on the coveralls and boots taken from Ray’s locker at work. Flo’s blood and urine are on both of them and the boots match the footprints taken at the scene. It looks hopeless for your friend. Are you sure he didn’t do it?”
Mike just groans.
Before they drive in behind the mountain, Mike has her check they are not being followed. When they have gone a few miles they come to a gravel pit and Mike has her pull in. He is sitting now and asks her for the report. She gets it out of her purse and puts it behind her back. “Kiss me first.”
“Oh no you don’t. You know I won’t stop with a kiss.”
“Kiss me if you want it.” She watches him with a triumphant smile curving her lips.
Mike takes a deep breath and wraps his arms around her, deftly removing the papers from her hand. He gets out of the car and studies the reports in detail, leaning against the fender. He ends up by touching a match to the corner of them. As they turn to ash he drops them and watches the flames consume the last bits. Nina comes around the car and says, “Why did you do that?”
“They’re too close. Don’t bring me anything else. If you can memorize documents in the future, all right. But don’t copy anything. You must not get caught.” He scatters the ashes with his foot and turns back towards the car. He hears gravel stones crunching under car tires and grabs her. “You wanted a kiss.” He bends her back against the fender and kisses her long and hard. She has her arms around his neck and she runs the tip of her tongue under his upper lip as he opens her blouse and exposes a breast by lifting her bra aside. He glances up and confronts an RCMP officer in uniform who looks him up and down.
“Are you Mike Claymore? Miss, please step away from him. And make yourself decent!”
“I am and I think she’s pretty decent as she is. Go way and leave us alone. They paying you guys to patrol morals, now?”
“I have a warrant here to search your person and the area in which you are found. That includes the car.” A second officer has come forward and has Mike place his hands on the vehicle. They frisk him then ask him to stand to one side. He then approaches Nina and says, “Ma’am, will you give me permission to pat you down? If not, I will have to radio for a female officer to come and do it?”
“Tell me what your looking for and I’ll give it to you, if I have it.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You have to do it our way. How about it?”
She grins at his red face and says, “Be gentle.” She holds up her arms. The officer looks at his buddy, shakes his head and proceeds with a very quick pat down.
“Thank you, Ma’am, now your purse? Will you open it, please?”
“This is ridiculous. I work at the POCO Detachment. I hope you have a good reason for this.” She opens her purse and the officer uses a lead pencil to move the items around without touching anything.
“Thank you, ma’am. Now please move over with the gentleman.”
They proceed to search the car very thoroughly and come up empty handed. They turn back to thank the owner and find her exposed again and Mike working on her breasts while he kisses her. One officer clears his throat and says, “Sorry to have bothered you folks. Have a good day.” They quickly retreat.
Mike grins and says, “You know what they were looking for.” He nods towards the ground and the scattered ashes. “I was afraid of this. Thank goodness I caught you before you got home. They are probably waiting there, as well. This means they know you’re helping me. Damn! I didn’t want you to become involved in this. Now you won’t be able to help me at all and will probably get a demotion, if not fired.”
“What should I do?”
“Go in to work tomorrow as usual and if anything is said, complain bitterly about this stop today. You know nothing about how I get my information. Nothing! Got it?”
She sighs and slumps against him. “Oh, I feel weak. Help me to the car.” He seats her on the passenger side with her feet out of the car.
“You can’t drive. It’s shock. Your system was pushing all kinds of adrenaline through your veins a few minutes ago and now has stopped. Relax and get your breath. Put your head down between your legs and try to breath deeply.”
In a moment she looks up red faced. “I feel better. I’ll be alright now.” She stands and promptly passes out. Mike catches her and seats her again in the car. He goes around and gets behind the wheel. He heads for home.
In less than three minutes she wakens and he says, “Relax, you’ll soon be home.”
“Are they following us?”
Mike looks in the mirror and all around. “I never thought to look. I was too worried about you. I don’t think they are.”
“Oh Mike. I think you’re wonderful.”
Mike pulls in the driveway, noting a van sitting up the street. Jeff comes out and walks stiffly to the car. “What are you doing here, Mike? Wasn’t last night enough… what’s wrong with Nina?”
He rushes around the car and helps her out. She waves him away and looks for Mike. Together they help her up the steps. She sits in a lounger on the porch and says, “Jeff, give Mike a ride to get his car. He can explain. I’m alright now.”
Jeff is rather cool as he says, “We’ll take Nina’s car. Let’s go.”
Mike studies Nina, but she nods and he leaves.
They drive in silence across town. Jeff breaks the quiet with, “What happened?”
“Nina and I agreed to meet on the Abby-Mission highway and go somewhere private, where we could be alone. We took her car and went to the gravel pit on the other side of Sumas Mountain. Police came when we were in a rather compromising position, searched each of us and the vehicle. They may have been looking for drugs, I don’t know and they wouldn’t say. She became emotionally upset and passed out. That’s when I brought her home.”
“Did they touch her?”
“They were most respectful.”
“Didn’t she say she worked for the police? Didn’t they look at her I.D. card?”
“Of course. They said they still had their job to do.”
Jeff is silent for a while then blurts out, “Bullshit! There’s more to it than that. What have you got her into? There’s something you’re not telling me. I deal with evasive customers every day who are trying to hide a bad credit history. I know when someone is evading the truth. What’s really going on?”
“The reason for our meeting is private. Only she can tell you that. That’s all of it. My car is just ahead there on the shoulder.”
Jeff lets him out and spins gravel stones before squealing the tires as he pulls away. Mike walks over to his Mustang and finds a ticket under the wiper blade. He crumples it in his hand and tosses it on the seat as he turns and follows the direction Jeff took.
At home he finds Nina in tears in his living room with Marlene consoling her. She sees Mike and reaches for him blindly. “Oh Mike, he won’t let me alone. He insists on knowing why I had to meet you.”
Marlene says, “I tried to talk to him and he told me to get out of his house. He told ME that!”
Mike goes to them and takes Nina’s hand. “Do you want me to tell him?”
“No. He’s too straight laced. He believes in law and order. The police can do no wrong. He might go to them and report the whole thing. Don’t you see? We could both go to jail.”
Marlene looks first at Nina then Mike. “What’s she talking about, Mike?”
“Truthfully, I can’t say. I will say this, and only once will I say it.” He whispers, “Our phones and this house may be bugged. That’s why I had to meet her away from the house. Don’t say anything!”
Nina looks shocked but Marlene seems to take it in stride. She says, “Who wants coffee… or maybe a martini?” They all manage to smile at that. Mike goes to the front window to study the street. The van is back. He walks purposely to the stairs and descends to the office. He opens his briefcase and checks the contents. Everything pertaining to the suspects and interviews, including the insurance fraud personal papers are in his computer. He closes the case and locks it.
He walks up the street to the van and rips the back door open. A surprised pair of men are playing cards at a low table in the back. He tosses the briefcase onto the table and says, “Tell Staff Sgt. Lindross that’s all of it.” He tosses them the key, turns and walks back to the house. As he enters he hears the phone ringing. He picks it up and says, “Lindross, call them off!” He hangs up the phone.
In a few minutes the phone rings again. Mike is at the front window so Marlene answers it. “It’s for you, Mike.”
“Mike Claymore.”
“Your not very polite to your new partners, are you Mike? What have you done with the Forensic report that came in today? We know she took it to you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Very clever, aren’t you? We’ll be watching you two very closely from now on. But why do you have to do everything the hard way. Let’s both of us put all our cards on the table and work on this case together.”
“You have my cards. That’s it.”
“An interview with Mr. Chauffe, an interview with Ms. Mathers and a list of suspects. I think not.”
“When you have what you want, I’d like my briefcase back. Is there anything else, Staff Sgt. Lindross?”
Nina turns white when he mentions the name. She puts her head in her hands and starts crying again at the table.
“Tell the young lady she can have the day off tomorrow to recuperate. I’m sorry if we upset your little love nest this afternoon. Good day, Mr. Claymore.” The phone line goes click.
“Bastard! You rotten bastard! He hung up on me.”
“You were talking to my boss.” She’s crying and has the hic cups. Mike scratches his head and says nothing.
Marlene stands over Nina trying to soothe her as the kids come in from playing and want to know what’s wrong. Marlene takes Nina upstairs to lie down on their bed and comes down to feed the kids their supper. Mike lays down on the couch to try and get some rest before he has to go on his run. After a while he gets up, goes upstairs and quietly packs his bag for the trip. Nina is sleeping so he leaves a note beside her on the pillow saying she has the day off tomorrow. He brushes the hair back from her eyes and gently kisses her brow then leaves the room.
Back downstairs he tells Marlene to remind Nina she has the day off tomorrow then says good-bye to her and the kids. He goes out to the car and looks over at Jeff’s place. He shakes his head and drives away.
At the CPX yard he asks the spotter to wake him at eleven fifteen then climbs into his sleeper and calls Trudy. He tells her he’ll be leaving the yard after midnight and will see her around one thirty. Then he goes to sleep.