In Sparks, Hugh pulled into the truck stop, and began a circuit through the parking area. He had no trouble spotting James’ truck. He was a contract driver like Hugh, but his truck had a custom paint job, a blue like the famously beautiful blue color trademarked by WestAm Trucking.
Hugh found a spot nearby, and backed in. As he was shutting down, and logging off, he could see James walking toward his truck.
“Jump down,” he told Charlie. “You’re going to meet James. Prepare yourself.”
Charlie gave Hugh a quizzical look, but did as she was told.
Hugh caught her look. “James really likes the ladies. Especially beautiful, tall, brunette ones. And lucky for James, women like him too.”
When he saw Charlie come out from around the front of Hugh’s truck, James said, “Wow! Aren’t you just one tall drink of cool water on a hot day.”
To Hugh, he said, “Hugh, you didn’t tell me she was a beauty.”
“Yeah. Well, the subject never came up,” Hugh replied.
Looking a little embarrassed by James’ flirtation, Charlie offered her hand for James to shake. He took her hand, then pulled her toward him and gave her a hug. “Any friend of Hugh’s is a friend of mine,” he said.
James, an ex-Navy SEAL, was fit for his mid-fifties. Tall, good looking, with a youthful face, he commanded attention. And, like Hugh, he was dangerous in a fight – as Hugh knew from personal experience while siding James in a brutal confrontation with hijackers a long time ago.
They went into the truck stop restaurant and took a corner booth. Charlie sat in the middle and Hugh and James flanked her on both sides.
When the waitress had left after taking their orders, James opened the conversation.
“I made some phone calls after we talked. It might be nothing, but one of the dispatchers at the Phoenix terminal has a boyfriend who knows a guy, who works for a big-shot attorney in town.”
“You have names?”
“I can maybe get them. The dispatcher who has the boyfriend isn’t your dispatcher, by the way.”
“That’s good to know. So, where does that leave us?” Hugh asked.
“I think it’s safe to say from what you told me about Charlie here,” James said, nodding toward Charlie, “an attorney has cooked up this fake-kidnap scheme to get Charlie on your truck to discredit you so he could cash out with a large verdict in his lawsuit.”
“That about sums it up, and how I see it,” Hugh said, picking up on the thread. “The key is finding out the name of the attorney who had filed the settlement claim against our carrier. I’m betting his name will also be on the lawsuit complaint when it is filed. And I’m also betting when we drill down it will lead right to the WestAm dispatch center mole.”
“Right,” Charlie said. “And don’t forget the Rico Investigations link. Obviously, Frank Rico knows who the client is, probably the attorney, and they both know who the WestAm dispatch center connection is.”
“I’m getting the picture,” Hugh said. “We pull a few threads, and their whole evil plot can begin to unravel. We need to go to authorities with this, but we need proof.”
“And you do realize,” Charlie said, “from what I saw on the news, people died. Two adults for sure horribly burned to death, and maybe two kids. More is involved here than just thwarting an insurance or lawsuit scam. These guys are murderers.”
She looked at Hugh. His face had turned deathly pale.
She put her hand on Hugh’s arm. “Oh my God, Hugh. I’m so sorry. I forgot.”
The waitress came and delivered their orders.
They ate in silence, with mostly small talk between James and Charlie, who were getting along quite well.
Over coffee, they tackled the subject again.
“So, how do we get the proof – with names?” Hugh asked.
Hugh and James both looked at Charlie.
“It’s got to be you, sweetheart,” James said. “You’re the only one who knows most of the parties involved in this subterfuge, and are in contact with them. You’ve got to trick them into giving up some names. Like Hugh said, we can get the name of the attorney, but I highly doubt he’ll reveal his accomplices – the ones who staged the deadly crash in the first place.”
“And without those additional names, we have no credible evidence to present to the law to accuse the attorney with,” Hugh said.
Hugh looked at Charlie. “OK. We’ll have to work up a plan.”
He left James and Charlie at the table while he went to the front of the restaurant to pay for their meals.
When he got back to the table, James suggested Hugh go ahead and park here for the night.
“I could, I suppose. It is getting late,” Hugh said. “I’ll have to push it hard to make it to Portland tomorrow before my eleven is up. But it’s doable, weather and traffic permitting. My delivery isn’t until the next morning.”
“Good. It’s settled then,” James said.
“One more favor, buddy,” he added. “Would you mind turning loose of your charming companion for a little while?”
That one caught Hugh completely by surprise.
“Of course. It’s up to her.”
Charlie nodded.
“It’s just that this old guy doesn’t get much chance to talk to a pretty girl.”
“Say no more,” he said to James.
To Charlie, he said, “Have fun. I’ll see you later back at the truck.”
“Thanks, kid,” James said.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hugh awoke with the first light.
The sleeper had an empty quietness of a kind one senses from being the sole occupant of a room. Hugh sensed no stirring in the upper bunk, and he heard no rhythmic breathing coming from that direction.
He
