tucked in as Jed ploughed his way through biscuits and gravy like he
hadn’t eaten in a month.
I watched him intermittently between
mouthfuls eyeing the parking lot, anxious for his radio buddy to make an
appearance and give him a servicing. The guy was an animal, and an animal who
probably had a wife back home looking after a cluster of kids I mused, staring
out at the heavy blizzard that was now beginning to sweep in.
As Jed mopped up his plate, a bright
neon-pink rig birthed through the white haze suddenly, like some mechanical
monster from a computer game. It was carrying what looked like agricultural
machinery.
I watched in disbelief as it parked up
and a muscular blonde jumped out with spray on jeans and a thick winter coat
half-open, revealing her beetroot bust to the elements. Jed grunted his
approval, stood up, adjusted his crutch again and looked down at me. His friend
had arrived.
‘Guna take a peess. Might be some
tiiime.’
I nodded and enjoyed the rest of my
coffee in silence as Jed followed the bubble butt of the female trucker
straight to the toilets. While they were doing whatever they were doing, I
scanned the place for trouble like I always did in new surroundings.
There were around a dozen customers in
the place I estimated. Some were sat in the booths in pairs, others just by
themselves at the counter on high chrome stools, working their way through a
variety of generous carb-heavy dishes. The only women in the joint that I could
see were the two serving and the bit of rough that Jed had ensnared on the
airwaves.
I finished the rank coffee then waited
ten minutes more for Jed to return from the restroom in vain. When it hit twenty,
I started to fidget. When it got to the half-hour mark, I felt myself getting
mildly annoyed. I cursed under my breath and ordered another coffee, anxious to
get back on the road and get on with the case.
I wanted to get to Minneapolis before sun
up if possible, sort out a motel and recharge my batteries as much as I could.
I had a lot of legwork planned for the following day and I didn’t want to be
waiting on Jed while he nailed some pumped-up Barbie doll in the toilets…
I worked my way through the second drink,
then stood up seriously agitated and wandered through to the men’s room where I
heard moans and grunts coming from the second cubicle along. They were still
going at it hammer and tongs. Jesus...I walked over and cleared my throat, then
heard laughter in response.
‘Jed...’
I stood there self-consciously as they
worked their way through a conveyor belt of carnal exchanges without reply,
then contemplated my options as my anger levels started creeping into the red.
A verbal confrontation wasn’t wise when I had to share a cab with the bloke for
the next few hours that was for sure. I could do without that sort of
atmosphere. Who knows how he would react too if I barged the door down...The
guy was a Neanderthal.
As the cubicle started to shake
violently, I turned and headed out of the toilet and strolled back to the table
trying to keep my frustration under control. If we had an argument in the cafe
then the cops would be called. Bad move. For now, I was just going to have to
bite my lip, stick to the plan and keep my nose out of trouble.
I shook my head in continuing annoyance,
then sat back down and stared out of the window as I thought about Laura for a
second. She would have loved a road trip across the States, I was sure of it. Who
knows, she might have even ended up in the same line of work as her father if
she’d got bored of conservation. Jackie would have loved that...
After another ten minutes had elapsed I
decided I’d reached my limit with Jed. I stared at the table mindlessly trying
to think of a new plan then suddenly saw the solution lying right in front of
me. I put my jacket on, threw enough money on the table to cover the tab,
picked up the trucker’s keys that he’d left next to his wallet, and walked
calmly out into
hadn’t eaten in a month.
I watched him intermittently between
mouthfuls eyeing the parking lot, anxious for his radio buddy to make an
appearance and give him a servicing. The guy was an animal, and an animal who
probably had a wife back home looking after a cluster of kids I mused, staring
out at the heavy blizzard that was now beginning to sweep in.
As Jed mopped up his plate, a bright
neon-pink rig birthed through the white haze suddenly, like some mechanical
monster from a computer game. It was carrying what looked like agricultural
machinery.
I watched in disbelief as it parked up
and a muscular blonde jumped out with spray on jeans and a thick winter coat
half-open, revealing her beetroot bust to the elements. Jed grunted his
approval, stood up, adjusted his crutch again and looked down at me. His friend
had arrived.
‘Guna take a peess. Might be some
tiiime.’
I nodded and enjoyed the rest of my
coffee in silence as Jed followed the bubble butt of the female trucker
straight to the toilets. While they were doing whatever they were doing, I
scanned the place for trouble like I always did in new surroundings.
There were around a dozen customers in
the place I estimated. Some were sat in the booths in pairs, others just by
themselves at the counter on high chrome stools, working their way through a
variety of generous carb-heavy dishes. The only women in the joint that I could
see were the two serving and the bit of rough that Jed had ensnared on the
airwaves.
I finished the rank coffee then waited
ten minutes more for Jed to return from the restroom in vain. When it hit twenty,
I started to fidget. When it got to the half-hour mark, I felt myself getting
mildly annoyed. I cursed under my breath and ordered another coffee, anxious to
get back on the road and get on with the case.
I wanted to get to Minneapolis before sun
up if possible, sort out a motel and recharge my batteries as much as I could.
I had a lot of legwork planned for the following day and I didn’t want to be
waiting on Jed while he nailed some pumped-up Barbie doll in the toilets…
I worked my way through the second drink,
then stood up seriously agitated and wandered through to the men’s room where I
heard moans and grunts coming from the second cubicle along. They were still
going at it hammer and tongs. Jesus...I walked over and cleared my throat, then
heard laughter in response.
‘Jed...’
I stood there self-consciously as they
worked their way through a conveyor belt of carnal exchanges without reply,
then contemplated my options as my anger levels started creeping into the red.
A verbal confrontation wasn’t wise when I had to share a cab with the bloke for
the next few hours that was for sure. I could do without that sort of
atmosphere. Who knows how he would react too if I barged the door down...The
guy was a Neanderthal.
As the cubicle started to shake
violently, I turned and headed out of the toilet and strolled back to the table
trying to keep my frustration under control. If we had an argument in the cafe
then the cops would be called. Bad move. For now, I was just going to have to
bite my lip, stick to the plan and keep my nose out of trouble.
I shook my head in continuing annoyance,
then sat back down and stared out of the window as I thought about Laura for a
second. She would have loved a road trip across the States, I was sure of it. Who
knows, she might have even ended up in the same line of work as her father if
she’d got bored of conservation. Jackie would have loved that...
After another ten minutes had elapsed I
decided I’d reached my limit with Jed. I stared at the table mindlessly trying
to think of a new plan then suddenly saw the solution lying right in front of
me. I put my jacket on, threw enough money on the table to cover the tab,
picked up the trucker’s keys that he’d left next to his wallet, and walked
calmly out into
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