Courting Death - Carol Stephenson [59]
After reading her rights in front of witnesses, Sam had escorted the woman out to the car. Gladys sat quietly handcuffed in the back seat. Beyond the parking lot I could hear voices as the investigators worked the crime scene.
Sam knelt by the car. “Do you have any family, Gladys?”
“A teenage boy and girl.” She sniffed.
“Is there someone you can call to stay with them? Your husband?”
“I’m divorced.” She lifted her hands and swiped at her eyes. “You could say that’s how I got in this mess.”
“How’s that?”
“The bastard ran up the credit cards to the hilt while driving this business to the ground before he took off.”
She pressed her lips together. “I want an attorney. The state has to give me a public defender if I can’t afford one, don’t they?”
I shot Sam a warning look. “Yes, they do.”
“Then I can use my call to contact my sister to stay with my kids, can’t I?”
“You can do it now, if you give me her number.” I pulled out my phone. “I’ll call her for you.”
After she gave me the number, I reached the sister and placed the phone over Gladys’s ear. She hunched her shoulder to secure it. I motioned for Sam to move and give her privacy. When he scowled, I jerked my thumb.
He rose and followed me for only several steps. “That’s far enough, Red. Privacy is one thing. Giving her an opportunity to pull something stupid is another.”
I glanced at the burly patrol officer leaning against the driver’s side. “Somehow I doubt she’d get very far.”
“You’d be surprised what a desperate person is capable of.”
“True. Sam, I doubt if she’s the ringleader. I suspect her role is even smaller than Depp’s was. A collection point rather than a processing center.”
“You may be right.” Someone called out his name, and he touched my elbow. “Stay here and see if you can keep out of trouble.”
I folded my arms across my chest and raised an eyebrow. He grinned and moved away.
“Miss,” Gladys called out. I walked over to her. “I’ve made my call.”
I grabbed the end of the phone as she lifted her head. “Thanks for letting me use it.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Say, I recognize you. You’re the attorney that Joe so stupidly tried to run down.”
“Yes.”
“I fired his ass for that. Lost me a truck. It’s still impounded as evidence. I may even lose my insurance. But when Danny failed to show for work after that day, I had to let Joe back on the property…”
Suddenly it clicked. “Because on the day he chased me, he left those containers in the cooler to be delivered.”
Gladys’s mouth thinned.
“Gotcha.” I looked at the gaily painted trucks. “I imagine the gas bill on these trucks can be high.”
“You bet. I used to let the drivers have a gas credit card until I caught several using the cards for personal use. After that I switched to expense reports.”
“So the drivers would have to track their mileage.”
“Yes, they keep clipboards in the trucks to log their routes along with beginning and ending mileage except for…” Once more Gladys fell silent.
“Got it.”
“Ms. Sterling.” The patrol officer stood by the driver’s door. “I need to take the suspect in.”
“All right. Gladys, the public defender’s office has a number of good attorneys.” She was going to need one. I moved so he could shut the door.
With a resigned expression, she stared out at me as the officer drove her away. I turned and studied the trucks again. I looked around but at this point the investigation was in full tilt, and no one was paying me any attention.
I crossed the lot to the first truck we’d seen and opened the driver’s door. With all the spotlights that had been set up, it was light enough for me to see the interior. Whoever drove this one was a pig. Garbage littered the floor and cigarette stubs filled the open trash drawer. I clambered in so I could shift through the debris.
Beneath one crushed paper bag, I found the clipboard. Handwritten at the top of the sheet of paper was the name Danny Lopez. I flipped through the pages and whistled softly. Every Thursday Danny