Surest Poison, The by Chester D. Campbell Read Free Book Online Page A

level he wanted someone to pay
for the damage they had done to the people of this area. So far all he had
was a company name and a manager’s name. And only a
vague notion of where to find either of them.
     
     
     
    7
     
     
     
    Th e
crowd of protestors had dwindled
to a manageable swarm of sign-wavers by the time Sid eased his way out of
the fenced area. A haphazard line of cars and trucks remained along the
roadside. As he started toward Ashland City, his cell phone rang.
    “What’s your location?” Jaz asked.
    Cop talk, Sid thought. Anybody else would
ask where are you? He really was giving her a
chance to relive her past.
    “I just left the HarrCo plant on my way
to Ashland City. What about you?”
    “I’m in front of the burger place. I got
word the manager from last night came in early. I shouldn’t be here long. If
you want to meet for coffee, I’ll fill you in.”
    For Jaz that meant cappuccino. “You have
some place in mind?”
    She gave him the location of a small
restaurant not far from the courthouse.
    “I’ve been nosing around here and found
something a bit weird,” she said. “Somebody called the farm supply store
where Bobby Wallace works and said he wouldn’t be in this morning, that he
was sick.”
    “If it was Bobby, sounds like he might
have been up to no good.”
    “Not a chance. The person who took the
call said it didn’t sound like Bobby. She didn’t have any idea who it might
have been, though. I talked to a couple of his coworkers who confirmed he’s
a pretty straight guy, a devoted family man. He’s a little gullible in money
matters. They thought he’d jump at a suggestion he could make money by
meeting with some guy.”
    The phone call had distracted Sid so he
failed to notice the blue car, a small sedan traveling at the same speed a
couple of hundred feet behind, until he snapped the phone shut. How long had
it been there? Was it following him, or was it some protestor headed back to
Ashland City?
    He was on a narrow country road,
reversing the directions that had brought him to HarrCo Shipping. It was
also the most direct route back to the small town. He kept an eye on the car
all the way. It turned off to the right when he turned left into the
restaurant parking lot.
    Nothing to be concerned about, he
decided. But it reminded him he needed to find out how somebody knew he
would be in that downtown garage yesterday.
     
    Jaz parked in front of a big poster hawking 99-cent specials, with colorful illustrations
of artery-clogging delights. Inside, she introduced herself as Private Investigator Jasmine LeMieux to a
slick-headed young man whose badge identified him as “Gordie.” He had been
the manager on duty last night.
    “Hi, Miz LeMieux, what can I do for you?”
Gordie asked.
    Despite his hairless look, the kid was
young enough to be her son. He had a cloying grin she found a bit much. More
like the older guys who were always hitting on her. Those types she enjoyed
putting in their places, which had been especially true with her fellow cops
when she was a policewoman. This situation was different, though,
necessitating a little diplomacy. She held out a photo of Bobby Wallace.
    “Do you recall seeing this man here last
night?” she asked.
    Gordie stared at the photo. “I don’t
think so. What’d he do, like rob somebody, shoot his old lady?”
    “Nothing of the sort. He was supposed to meet someone here, but he’s disappeared. Did you see
anything in the parking lot last night that might not have seemed quite
right? Maybe someone urging another man into a
car?”
    “Sorry. Most of the time I’m, you know,
too busy to check out the parking lot. What time was he here?”
    “It would have been around seven.”
    He twitched his mouth from side to side.
“Maybe I did see a guy switching cars, you know. I’m not sure. That would
have been after dark. The lights out front are pretty bright. Whatever, I
can’t