The bus, as near as Huddy could tell, was now empty. Of Jake Pickett there was no sign. One of his people silently mounted the rear bumper and checked the bathroom in the back.He shook his head negatively. Not hiding in there.
The rest of the team watched him expectantly, waiting for a hint on how to proceed. Huddy quickly moved forward and confronted the driver before he entered the station.
“Excuse me.”
“Hey, this is only a ten minute rest stop for me, mister. You mind if I have my coffee?”
Huddy reached into a pocket, pulled out a wallet and extracted a twenty. “Have a coffee on me.” He handed it to the incredulous driver. This kind of thing only happened in movies and cop shows; not in real life. But the twenty was real enough.
“I’m looking for an old man,” Huddy explained as they entered the station and headed toward the cafeteria. “Slightly above average height, pot belly, deep voice. Talks short and concise. Not too bright.”
The driver thought a moment, then said, “I know the guy you mean. Not with me anymore.”
Huddy’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean, ‘anymore’?”
“Hell, he got off way back up the highway. Hours and hours ago.”
“Where?”
“That’s funny, you know. That’s why I remember him so easily.” He entered the cafeteria, held the swinging door for his benefactor. “Hi, Marge,” he said to the waitress. She nodded in recognition, automatically went for the coffee.
“It was just outside Kent, I think. Or maybe it was before Kent. Somewhere around there. I let him off on the side of the road. Empty country, mister.”
“He didn’t get off in town?”
“Nope. Said some people were going to meet him.”
Huddy’s mind fought to make sense of this utterly unexpected new development.
“Of course he might’ve been lying for all I know. None of my business why he wanted out right there. Maybe his ticket had run out and he didn’t want to fight with the agent down the line. I wouldn’t have hassled him, though. Nice old guy. But he wanted out, so I let him out.”
“Shit,” Huddy said tightly. He turned and rushed out of the cafeteria.
“Hey,” the driver called after him, “don’t you want some coffee?”
The waitress filled the upturned cup in front of the driver. “What did your friend want?”
The driver shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me, Marge. Some folks. You know. You still married?”
Huddy forced himself to slow down as he strode toward his command post. Members of his team eyed him curiously. Huddy ignored them. He was beginning to wish he’d never heard of Jake Pickett.
What the devil had made the old man decide to abandon the bus in the middle of nowhere? No witnesses in nowhere, of course. No one to see him flag down another bus or hitch a ride. Maybe the old bastard was smarter than they’d figured. That was a disturbing thought. A Jake Pickett without brains was threatening enough.
Slowly his people assembled around him. They didn’t ask questions. Their job was taking orders. Huddy liked them for that. Now he had to decide what to do with them. All had come up from San Antonio for this pick-up. There wasn’t going to be any pick-up. Nonetheless, everyone still had to be paid.
Huddy discovered he was beginning to hate Jake Pickett. If he’d had any qualms about harming the old man before, they were long gone now.
Jake woke up. The subtle vibration of the truck had changed, become softer and slightly rougher. They were pulling into a fair-sized city, rolling down an off-ramp. He blinked. The sun was gone and the moon already well towards its zenith.
“Where are we?”
“Abilene,” said the girl. “You dozed off. Ever been here before?”
Jake shook his head.
“Town’s grown like a terrier pup since the last time Jim and I came through,” the girl continued. “Oil boom. There’s a Motel Six on Main Street the other side of town.” She spared a questioning glance for her husband, then looked back at Jake. “They all have two doubles in each room. You’re welcome to one of ’em.”
“No,” he told her. “No, you’ve been good enough to me as it is.”
“Well, you’re welcome to go all the way into Fort Worth with us, but we can’t spare the time to hunt you down.”
“I’ll take a room close to you,” Jake told her. “I’ve got enough money for that. Not that I need much rest. I’ve been sleeping back here ever since you picked me up.”
“What, in this thing?”
“I can sleep anywhere,” Jake told her. “It’s a habit I picked up in the shipyards during the war.”
“Wish I could do that,” she said wistfully. “Jim can do it. Comes from working graveyard on the rigs.”
“One other thing,” Jake said. “I want to buy you two your supper.”
“Hey, that’s not necessary,” said the driver.
“I know it’s not,” said Jake. “That’s why I’ll enjoy doing it. Okay?”
“If you insist,” said the girl.
His belly was growling. “That’s settled, then. You know a decent place to eat here?”
