“Coals to Newcastle.”
“Exactly. That is exactly what June said when she saw that truck. What the hell is a Florida trucker doing delivering oranges in Texas? That’s what we wondered.”
“So you two decided to follow him.”
“We sure did. All the way north from Dolores up to San Antonio. Never went over fifty-five. Didn’t take the Interstate, took the parallel state road. An hour later, he pulled over at a little rest stop just south of town. Remote, you know. So we just pulled in behind him. Only two vehicles in the parking lot since it was about two in the morning. Got out of the truck, both of us, and went around to the cab. June on the passenger side, me on the driver’s side.”
“Carrying the shotgun?”
“Damn straight. June says that Homer’s got a weird feeling about these trucks. And I’ve seen enough and heard enough to share that feeling. I banged on the window with the muzzle of the gun. Nothing.”
“Nothing.”
“No one in the truck, far as we could tell. And then we climbed up on the running boards and tried to look in. The windows weren’t just smoked, Franklin, they’re really dark, like blacked out completely.”
“Blacked-out windows are not a felony.”
“Anyway, the damn ghost truck takes off with us still on the running board! I mean, come on! So I yelled at June and we both jumped off before he got rolling too good. She hurt her ankle anyway but she can still walk. I’ve got ice on it at McDonald’s.”
“So you jumped back in the pickup and followed him to San Antone.”
“We did. And now, we’ve got him cornered. You know, Homer thinks these trucks are—”
“Speaking of Homer, where is he? I’ve been trying to reach him all day.”
“Looking for you, too. He took the day off. Says he’s got the flu. But we know different because we saw him. He finally called Wyatt. He’s following that convoy headed north, is what he’s doing.”
“Wyatt’s got an APB out on that van we caught looting and Wyatt’s got the Medical Examiner’s office trying to identify the men June shot. He’s also covering Homer’s butt on the J.T. Rawls shooting, not that it needs covering in my humble estimation.”
“Wyatt’s a fine peace officer.”
“He’s not you, but never mind that, here we are.”
Daisy pulled into the parking lot on the backside of the old McDonald’s on Commerce Street. There was one spot left in the shade of an oak and she took it. Even though it was January, it was a warm day.
“I don’t see any truck,” Franklin said, climbing out.
“Right around the front, parked in an alley off Commerce. Here, we can just use this back entrance.”
They hurried inside and found June sitting on a banquette near the front. She seemed very upset and shook her head at the sight of the sheriff coming quickly toward her.
“Hey, June,” Franklin said, smiling at her as he approached the table where she sat. “That videotape of yours is being looked at by the president of the United States this afternoon.”
“It is?” she said. “That’s great.”
“How ’bout that, June? Isn’t that fantastic? What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, Daisy. Sorry, Sheriff. I lost the truck.”
“Lost the truck? What?” Daisy said, running over to the window.
She looked back at June and her husband and said, “She’s right. Shoot! The truck’s gone!”
65
H ow in heck’s name could you lose a truck, June?”
“I swear I was only gone three or four minutes,” June said,
“Damn it to hell!”
“Tell us what happened, June,” Daisy said, calming down a little.
“Oh, the Secretariat Syndrome. You know.”
“What’s that?” Franklin asked.
“She had to pee,” Daisy told her puzzled husband.
June said, “Yeah. Couldn’t hold it another second. Went back to the ladies’ room and, wham, he was gone when I came back.”
Daisy already had one foot out the door. “We’ll find him. Let’s go, honey. He can’t have gotten far.”
“Sheriff?” June said, climbing to her feet, “Homer called my cell-phone here maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago. Asked that you call him back. Sounded kinda urgent.”
“Where’s the phone?”
“Right here.”
“Where is he?”
“Somewhere in Virginia. Some pretty little farm, he said. He’s got it staked out but he needs to know what to do next.”
She handed Franklin the phone.
“Now what?” he said, looking at it.
“Just hit star 69. It’ll ring him automatically.”
“Homer?” Franklin said, a few seconds later.
He’d walked with the phone and sat down at a table over by the window where nobody could hear his conversation. He’d sent Daisy and June out to look for the Big Orange rig. Seemed like a wild goose chase, but then, he’d been wrong before.
“Yessir. I’m glad you called,” Homer said on the line.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“You know I followed the trucks. You know I shot and killed J.T. Rawls.”
“I do.”
“You ain’t mad?”
“Homer, I heard what happened in Gunbarrel from Wyatt. He says it was a clear case of self-defense. We don’t have time for this now. Tell me where you are and what your situation is.”
“Sheriff, I’m in a little farm town in Virginia. Somewhere south of Washington, DC.”
“All right. You know the name of the place?”
“Lee’s Ferry. It’s right on a river.”
“What have you got?”
“Okay, the truck I followed all the way? We came up Route #1 north of Richmond. All the way to Fredericksburg. Then he cut east till he came to the river.”
“Where’s the truck now?”
“It’s an old farm. Couple of hundred acres. Pretty place. The Yankee Slugger is tucked away under some trees by the river. Just setting there in the snow. Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. They came out and looked at it a few hours ago. Just walked around it a few times. Bent down and looked underneath. Then they all went back inside the house and pulled all the curtains shut.”
“Who is ‘they’?”
“Folks living here.”
“Where are you calling from right now?”
“The kitchen.”
“Their kitchen?”
“Yessir. There is a couple living here, like I said. And, Sheriff, these folks don’t look like native Virginians to me. Arab, I think, if you’ll excuse the racial profiling. A man and woman and a younger guy, I guess their son maybe. They got in a car and left here, oh, about half an hour ago. Driving a late-model Cadillac, maroon in color. Thought I’d have a look around inside the house while they were gone. Nice and warm in here. Fire going and all. That’s when I called June to check in.”
“Homer. They left the fire burning. That means they won’t be gone long. Can you see or hear the owners
