“Twenty pints. And I have lots for the kid’s lunches for the next week. I don’t think we’re going to lose any out of that box. The ones closest to spoiling are in the applesauce.”
“Your not only beautiful, your also thrifty.” He pats her on the behind and turns away. He hears her chuckle as he leaves the kitchen.
Mike spends the afternoon in his office getting paperwork caught up for his expenses on the job, both for security and for driving, so it will be easy at the end of the year to turn the figures over to his tax preparer. He likes to keep things in order. He again reviews the insurance fraud case and decides after supper he will go and visit Ray then come back after dark to the airport and check things out there.
After supper he drives to the LMRRC just outside Maple Ridge and parks in the asphalt lot. He looks up at the imposing five floor gray building with bars on the windows and remembers other times he’s visited this institution. He walks in the main doors and approaches the operations desk. A young secretary asks his business and he says he’s seeking a visit with Ray Chauffe. She checks her computer and asks his name.
“Mike Claymore, but you won’t find my name on his visitor’s list yet. Who’s the Keeper on shift this evening?”
“CF5 Bailey is keeper tonight.”
“Right. Could you page him for me?”
“One moment, please.” She does something on the computer and in a minute a phone rings by her elbow. She speaks quietly into it and hands the phone to Mike.
“Norm, how’s it hanging? Haven’t seen you in a coon’s age. What you up to?”
“Mike, it’s good to hear your voice. I’m tied up right now with the late supper line. Can you wait for a bit? I’ll be free in half an hour or so.”
“Tell you what, I’m out this way to check in with a friend who’s awaiting trial so how be you okay my visit with your girl here and I’ll catch you back here at the front desk in an hour.”
“Who we got that you want to see?”
“Ray Chauffe. Came in just in the last day or two and probably will be on bail later this week or early next.”
“Yeah, I know who you mean. Quiet guy, truck driver, mixed up with that POCO murder. Sure, put me back to the girl on the desk.”
“Thanks, see you in an hour.”
Mike hands the phone back to the girl and she speaks into it. She listens and says she will take care of everything. Hanging up she regards Mike with a new respect.
“Please give me a minute and I’ll see if he’s in his unit.” She plays with the computer again and says, “Do you have I.D.? I’m sorry for having to ask but we have our security practices and must not deviate for anyone.”
Mike just smiles and says he understands. He shows his Private Investigator’s License and she says thanks. She checks the picture against the real thing and makes a comment about the photo not doing him justice, smiling all the time. She passes it back to him, holding it a bit longer than necessary and bats her eyes; “You may meet him in the visit’s area in about ten minutes. The visit’s area is… oh, I’m sure you know where it is. I forgot!” She looks embarrassed and Mike winks at her. She turns quickly back to her computer.
Mike goes over to a comfortable looking chair and finds out it isn’t as he reads a magazine from those available on a low coffee table. He glances up frequently and catches the girl watching him. He smiles and she quickly looks back at her computer screen. Finally he gets up and approaching the desk again, says, “This isn’t fair. You now have my name and I don’t know yours. How about it?”
She turns to face him abruptly and blurts out “Jenny. I’m Jenny McLeod and I haven’t been here very long so I didn’t know you when you came in. I’m sorry sir.”
“Jenny, what did Norm tell you about me?”
She colors visibly and mumbles something about it’s not important. She studies her nails as if waiting for him to say something. Mike tries to think what Norm might have said to make her act like this; then he tries a feeler, “What time you get off work tonight, Jenny?”
Now she’s visibly agitated and says he can go in for his visit. She watches him as he goes to one of the doors in the round reception room. Mike raps and hears a door lock thud in the door. He opens it and steps into an antechamber with a guard. The guard ensures the door behind Mike is closed before he punches a button opening the door into a large visiting area with tables. Mike spots Ray and nods as he enters.
“Did you bring any beer?” Ray’s slow grin greets Mike as he comes forward to the table and sits across from him.
“I had to stop by and let you know that a lot of us are not convinced you had anything to do with the crime. In fact, if you can answer a few questions for me, I may be able to help you get clear of this crap. How about it? Are you willing to be grilled?” He grins and Ray shakes his head in the affirmative.
Mike pulls out a small notepad and pen. “First, was that you that I saw leaving the parking lot on Thursday night at about twelve twenty?”
“I guess. I was tired and never noticed which truck came in as I was leaving, but on thinking about it, it must have been your Kenworth. I know it was a big cabover but I didn’t know who at the time.”
“Okay. So what did you do on Thursday night?”
“I went drinking after supper at the local pub, you know, The Gardens. I guess I hung around there until after ten; then felt I should clean the truck up for the next day’s work. I like to drive a clean truck. I drove over to work and pulled the truck up into the wash rack. After I washed it down, I vacuumed it out and put it back in the lineup. Then I went home and went to bed.”
“Give me more detail. Did anyone see you washing the truck?”
“I suppose the yard spotter must have seen me pull the truck around to the wash rack and there was a shift working in the warehouse. Some of them might have seen me from the docks.”
“Was anyone around while you were at the wash rack?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Did you have your radio on? Did you hear dispatch talking to the spotter, telling him which door to put which trailer at and such?”
“Nope. I don’t think I had it on… or if I did I never noticed.”
“Do you know who the spotter was that night?”
“Probably Hughey.”
“You don’t know for sure, eh?”
“No.”
“Were you drunk? Tell me if you were but think about it before you answer.”
“I felt okay to drive so I guess I wasn’t drunk. If I had been stopped and my blood/alcohol level had been checked I probably wouldn’t have passed, but I wasn’t incapable of safely driving.”
“You were tired on top of that. Hmmmm. Okay, what about earlier, when you were at the Gardens. Did you talk with Florence Hanson?”
“Yeah, I remember trying to get her to go out with me. She turned me down.”
“Did you tell the police that?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t I have?”
“You know the drill. Let me ask the questions. I’m following a complicated formula of questioning in my mind and when you ask me a question it throws off my concentration. Can you do it my way, Ray, and trust me?”
“Yeah, Okay. Go ahead and ask away.”
“Did you know Flo was a prostitute?”
“I’d heard that but I don’t believe it? She was always a proper young lady around me. I thought she was rather nice and I felt sorry for her after what her old man put her through.”
“When you were trying to get her to go out with you, where did you plan to take her?”
“To the stage production of ‘Cats’ at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver. It was on for three weeks and I wanted her to go the next night… Friday night. She told me she had other plans.”
“Did she say what those plans were or who they were with?”
“I don’t remember. I was disappointed when she said no and didn’t pay much attention to why, I guess.”
“Now think, Ray. Did she mention what she was going to do after work that night? Any hint or suggestion that she might be going out with someone?”
“None that I noticed. I did see her talking to Tony a while before I left but Tony left before I did. She was still serving drinks when I left and waved to me as I left. I felt real sick when I heard what happened. Who would do such a thing, Mike?”
“I don’t know, Ray, but I’m going to try and find out. Now the police found some porn tapes at your place. Were they yours?”
“Yeah, I get them from one of the deep sea tug crewmen who picks them up in California when they’re down there. I suppose I’ll lose them?”
“You’ll probably get charged with possessing them. Most are on the prohibited list in Canada. Your buddy will get charged for importing them, as well. That’s peanuts though compared to murder. The other fact the police are using to put you into the shoes of the killer is that you often used prostitutes. Well?”
“Yeah, I often go down to Davies Street on the weekends and pick up a hooker. What the hell? I’m not married and no one gets hurt. I’m happy and she’s happy, so who gets hurt?”
“Know any of those girls personally who could vouch for your peaceful and loving nature?” Mike grins.
Ray grins as well and says, “Naw, none of them would go to court for me. You weren’t serious, were you?” They both laugh.
“One last question, Ray. Did you notice what Flo was wearing on Thursday night? Was she dolled up with jewelry or just in slacks?”
“She looked really nice in a button up dress with a lot of cleavage showing and she had a matching set of earrings and necklace.”
Boiiing – the thought hit Mike out of the blue. The necklace! In the photos her necklace was missing but the earrings were the same set she had worn for the shot in her file. He could see the crime photos in his mind and knew that was what had been bugging him earlier.
“What’s wrong, Mike, did I say something wrong?”
“No, you just gave me another piece of the puzzle, Ray. I’ve still got a long way to go, though. I want you to be patient and cooperate with your attorney. I’ll keep working on this and keep in touch with you. Oh, one other thing. What route did you take to go home?”
“Straight from the yard down to my place on Diamond Blvd. It’s not a five minute drive and I was probably in bed before you headed home to Abbotsford.”
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