deliver to the prison every Friday. Now, let me see..." She shuffled through some papers that unlike the office were filed and stacked in neat rows on her desk. The phone was clean and a small photo of a little boy probably her grandson sat just right next to a pencil holder. "Here it is. Yes, Gus was the driver this last Friday." She handed him a paper with a photocopy of his driver's license. Kirk took the paper and looked at it with his eyebrows down. "Is he here? I need to ask him some questions."
"Hold on. Let me check..." pulling out what looked like a time sheet, she glanced at it and nodded. "Yes, he should be out back cleaning his truck. You can go talk to him if you like." She pointed to a door behind her. Kirk thanked her and headed toward the door.
Kirk looked over his shoulder and asked. "Besides food what else do you deliver to David's Island?"
"Just that, we are a food servicing plant, we provide anything edible, but that's it."
Kirk nodded and pushed through the swinging door ignoring the mandatory safety glasses warning and walked into the huge open warehouse.
The small office was a different world compared to where Kirk stood now. The structure had metal beams stretching across to metal columns and even the siding was metal. It had to be forty feet tall and well over two football fields long but
SWEET
DREAMS
53
Kirk could not see all of it. Loading docks ran along the east wall, and to the west were huge walk-in freezers. Forklifts drove in and out through hanging thick plastic that groaned and popped each time a driver went through. They were honking and driving like lunatics stocking shelves and unloading trucks. Shelves loaded with frozen food went from floor to ceiling. Most of the forklift drivers had on winter gear to keep from freezing in the iceboxes that were from twelve below zero, to twenty below.
Kirk saw a stocky Hispanic man who was probably in his mid-thirties with thick black hair and a thin mustache. He was sweeping a long eighteen-wheeler at the fourth loading dock from the end. Kirk double-checked the picture he was holding. It was Gus, all right.
Gus Martinez looked up from his broom. He could tell that Kirk was a cop from the badge on his belt and the way he walked. All cops walked the same way, with that swaggerer as if they owned the world or something . He shifted his feet nervously as Kirk approached.
"Are you Gus Martinez?" Kirk asked
Gus nodded in the affirmative but didn't say anything.
"I'm Detective Weston; I have some questions for you if you don't mind." Kirk was pulling out all of his nice guy charm and even said the sappy bull, "if you don't mind" --he was on a roll now.
"Sure, Am I in some kind of trouble?" Gus blinked at Kirk like a scared rabbit.
"No, no trouble I just had a few questions about your deliveries to David's Island?" He could see Gus shifting his feet and looking down at the floor, not a good sign so far.
"Um...what you need to know?" His English was broken, but still understandable. His dark hair was unkempt and had a streak of gray that ran through it. Kirk didn't see this gray before but up close he could see the spots and the large streaks making their way through the dark jungle. He shoved his hands into his pockets and fiddled with his keys nervously.
"Well, as I'm sure you know from the news, there was an incident out there on Friday, the same day you delivered food to the place."
"Some people got sick...I saw on news..." He looked toward the big rollup door and then back at Kirk, his eyes darting back and forth.
"No. They all died, Gus. The news was just trying to keep everyone from panicking, just in case it was an outbreak of some kind." Kirk's eyes narrowed, reading Gus's body language. This guy is gonna run! Kirk thought, though he hoped he would be wrong.
Gus looked like he had seen a ghost. "Died? But they said..." He took one more look at Kirk, and then bolted for the door.
"Aw, crap!" Kirk pulled out his gun, diving after
"Hold on. Let me check..." pulling out what looked like a time sheet, she glanced at it and nodded. "Yes, he should be out back cleaning his truck. You can go talk to him if you like." She pointed to a door behind her. Kirk thanked her and headed toward the door.
Kirk looked over his shoulder and asked. "Besides food what else do you deliver to David's Island?"
"Just that, we are a food servicing plant, we provide anything edible, but that's it."
Kirk nodded and pushed through the swinging door ignoring the mandatory safety glasses warning and walked into the huge open warehouse.
The small office was a different world compared to where Kirk stood now. The structure had metal beams stretching across to metal columns and even the siding was metal. It had to be forty feet tall and well over two football fields long but
SWEET
DREAMS
53
Kirk could not see all of it. Loading docks ran along the east wall, and to the west were huge walk-in freezers. Forklifts drove in and out through hanging thick plastic that groaned and popped each time a driver went through. They were honking and driving like lunatics stocking shelves and unloading trucks. Shelves loaded with frozen food went from floor to ceiling. Most of the forklift drivers had on winter gear to keep from freezing in the iceboxes that were from twelve below zero, to twenty below.
Kirk saw a stocky Hispanic man who was probably in his mid-thirties with thick black hair and a thin mustache. He was sweeping a long eighteen-wheeler at the fourth loading dock from the end. Kirk double-checked the picture he was holding. It was Gus, all right.
Gus Martinez looked up from his broom. He could tell that Kirk was a cop from the badge on his belt and the way he walked. All cops walked the same way, with that swaggerer as if they owned the world or something . He shifted his feet nervously as Kirk approached.
"Are you Gus Martinez?" Kirk asked
Gus nodded in the affirmative but didn't say anything.
"I'm Detective Weston; I have some questions for you if you don't mind." Kirk was pulling out all of his nice guy charm and even said the sappy bull, "if you don't mind" --he was on a roll now.
"Sure, Am I in some kind of trouble?" Gus blinked at Kirk like a scared rabbit.
"No, no trouble I just had a few questions about your deliveries to David's Island?" He could see Gus shifting his feet and looking down at the floor, not a good sign so far.
"Um...what you need to know?" His English was broken, but still understandable. His dark hair was unkempt and had a streak of gray that ran through it. Kirk didn't see this gray before but up close he could see the spots and the large streaks making their way through the dark jungle. He shoved his hands into his pockets and fiddled with his keys nervously.
"Well, as I'm sure you know from the news, there was an incident out there on Friday, the same day you delivered food to the place."
"Some people got sick...I saw on news..." He looked toward the big rollup door and then back at Kirk, his eyes darting back and forth.
"No. They all died, Gus. The news was just trying to keep everyone from panicking, just in case it was an outbreak of some kind." Kirk's eyes narrowed, reading Gus's body language. This guy is gonna run! Kirk thought, though he hoped he would be wrong.
Gus looked like he had seen a ghost. "Died? But they said..." He took one more look at Kirk, and then bolted for the door.
"Aw, crap!" Kirk pulled out his gun, diving after
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