Chapter 1190: Stolen Goods "Donated"

Following Interstate 20, the three of them arrived at a small town called Heflin. After witnessing the flourishing scene in Margrave, the dilapidated atmosphere here felt even more pronounced.

Even when driving through the town center, they saw fewer than a handful of living people. If a zombie apocalypse were to occur, southern states like this in the USA would make for pretty good survival bases.

A state trooper vehicle brought the FBI agents to the crime scene. The bodies had already been removed, and what remained was a Volvo VNL long-nose truck, its chrome front grille gleaming.

Compared to the relatively cramped layout of flat-nose trucks, these American-style long-nose rigs with their prominent front ends were naturally more aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, with the engine mounted in front, noise and other factors were less likely to affect the cabin.

Thanks to the large front end acting as a natural energy-absorbing buffer, safety was also significantly improved for the truck driver.

The vast and sparsely populated North American plains made the large turning radius and poor forward visibility of long-nose trucks minor issues at best.

Long-haul driving placed a premium on cabin comfort, and the spacious interior of these trucks was especially friendly to tall drivers with long limbs.

That’s why, whenever the Fugitive Task Force's command vehicle was deployed, they took turns driving. After all, no one could resist the temptation of driving a big rig.

After inspecting the trailer section attached to the truck, Aubrey discovered a set of footprints. After comparing photos and ruling out those belonging to the Bodet couple, Jack sent them to Alice.

“This is an almost brand-new Volvo VNL760. It cost no less than \$170,000,” Clay said meaningfully.

Jack nodded in acknowledgment. “Have Alice do a thorough check of their bank accounts. We’ll go ask around and see if anyone on this shipping route knew the couple.”

At their request, the state troopers took them to the parking lot where the dashcam had been disabled. The trio walked around for quite a while before they finally located a functioning security camera.

Aubrey went to the parking lot office to retrieve the footage, while Jack and Clay wandered into a bar next to the rest area.

The bartender was a Black woman with dreadlocks who instantly recognized the photo of the Bodet couple on Jack’s phone.

“Yes, I saw them last night,” she said while wiping a glass and rambling. “Maybe I’ve seen them before too, but I didn’t really take note of them. That old lady last night though—she gave me a reason to remember.”

“What do you mean?” Jack pulled out a \$20 bill but only ordered a glass of iced water, immediately getting the bartender talking.

“Because she was stupid enough to get into an argument over darts. Someone accused her of cheating.”

“An argument over darts? What kind? Was it serious?” Jack gestured for her to elaborate.

“Just a shouting match. From what I saw, it was just some drunk guy who couldn’t stand losing to a woman. That kind of thing.”

The bartender's loud voice woke up a Black old man dozing on the bar.

“You talkin’ about ‘Ribs’ and ‘Elmer’ last night?”

Jack showed him the phone screen. The old man glanced at it and drawled, “Ah-ha, yup, that’s them two.”

“So ‘Ribs’ and ‘Elmer’ are their nicknames? Where’d they come from?” Jack tried to lean in closer but nearly choked on the old man’s reeking alcohol breath.

The old man just chuckled and didn’t take his eyes off the empty glass Jack had just set down—half a minute ago, that glass had a \$20 bill under it.

Since he’d accidentally “shown his wealth,” Jack no longer bothered leveraging his FBI identity and waved to the bartender for a glass of whiskey.

Sure enough, the old man knew about the couple. “‘Ribs’ is ‘cause Teddy made some good ribs, and after the ’80s, the guy got so fat you couldn’t see his ribs no more. As for his wife, she’s called ‘Elmer’—officially because of the cartoon ‘Rabbit Run,’ but really it’s because of Elmer’s Glue.”

Jack took a second to connect the dots. The villain always going up against Bugs Bunny in “Rabbit Run” was Elmer Fudd. As for the glue...

“You mean she was sticky-fingered?”

“Shoplifting, cheating—yeah, stuff like that. Why’re you asking about them two? You cops?”

The old man downed the whiskey in two gulps, looking gleeful.

Clay lifted his T-shirt to show the firearm and badge on his belt. “Close enough. We’re FBI. The two of them were murdered last night.”

“Goddamn, no way!” The old man’s tongue rolled off a stream of Southern slang so fast it was hard to follow, and his bloodshot eyes nearly popped out.

“I saw them just last night.”

“So you’re probably one of the last people to see them.” Jack signaled for another drink from the bartender, who still wore a shocked expression, and resumed questioning.

“Tell us more about what they were like.”

The old man made the sign of the cross on his chest, took another sip for composure, and said, “Ain’t much to say, really. Those two were the type who didn’t like playing by the rules.

Fatigued driving, undercutting prices—that was standard for them. Plus a few other things that broke the law.”

“Like transporting contraband?” Clay asked.

“That I don’t know. Maybe.” The old man gave a slight shrug.

——

“The parking lot footage has been sent to Alice. It did catch the Volvo VNL760, but she said not to get our hopes up.

The angle’s terrible, it was at night, and the image resolution sucks. If we can make out the license plate, we’ll be counting our blessings.”

Aubrey had just rejoined them outside the bar with this bad news.

“Any confirmation on the stolen cargo?” Jack asked.

“Mainly tablets. At least 200 of them. High value and easy to fence—pretty much says it all.”

Aubrey frowned as he spoke. “But here’s the weird part—there were still other high-value goods in the truck, like smartphones, LCD TVs, and hard drives.”

As he spoke, his phone buzzed again. This time it was a text message. After reading it, Aubrey’s expression turned interesting.

“It’s from Alice. She forwarded a report just now. The police department in nearby Blue Springs got a tip—the missing tablets were found.

The local elementary school principal called it in. Someone dropped off eight boxes of brand-new tablets at their front door—over 200 units total.”