Driven to Drive
There is no sex in this story.
I recognized him as soon as I saw him. The man having lunch with my wife, Marcy, was Craig Butler, her old college boyfriend from twenty-three years ago. Once a Frat boy, always a Frat boy. I didn’t like him then, and I still didn’t like him. She hadn’t mentioned having lunch with anyone when I left for work this morning. I assumed that it was going to be a normal workday for both of us.
My name is John Turrell. Everybody calls me the xerox man, even though I don’t fix them. It was a name I got years ago when xerox was the standard of the industry. Today, I take care of just about any type of office machine. I am not nuts about the job, but it paid the mortgage and put my two daughters through college.
Monday is my usual day to be in Harrisburg, but sometimes things change. I was urgently needed at the Americo Insurance Company in Allentown. I didn’t need my regular service truck, so I took a company car. I finished quicker than I expected and decided to stop at The Outback for a quick lunch. She didn’t see me come in or leave.
I found Marcy’s yellow Mustang in the parking lot and waited for them to depart. The white company car was nondescript, so I had no trouble following them to a nearby subdivision.
It was a small ranch house. He pulled his BMW into the garage, but Marcy parked out front along the street. They got out of their cars and talked for a few minutes in front of the house. She was smiling and laughing. Every once in a while, she would shake her head ‘no’ but smiled when she did it. I was parked halfway down the street but had a good view. She finally gave him a small kiss on the cheek and walked back toward her car. He waited a moment and then waved as he went in the front door.
That was when things got nasty. Marcy opened her car door but did not get in. She hesitated. She sighed as she looked back toward the house. It seemed like a long time but was probably only a few seconds. I watched with fascination as she took off her wedding rings and placed them in the front seat console. She hesitated again and then took off her earrings. They appeared to be the diamond solitaires that I got her for her last birthday. They also went into the console, along with her cell phone.
She slowly walked up to the front door and knocked.
I wasn’t big on confrontations, so I decided not to do anything stupid. I slowly walked over to the car, removed all the items from the center console, and then drove home to Reading. In less than an hour, I had quit my job and cleaned out the bank account. Two hours later, I was in Frackville having a beer with my brother, Ken. I left her rings, earrings, and phone on the kitchen table with no note or explanation. I was sure that she would be able to figure it out.
I spend the next few days with Ken and his wife, trying to drink all of the Yuengling in Schuylkill County. Friday morning, I was in Carlisle at the Franklin Driving Institute. Three months later, I had completed all of my training and apprenticeship requirements and became a fully certified over-the-road trucker. I had no trouble getting affiliated with the reefer division of Franklin National, which gave me a guaranteed income and a brand new rig to drive.
Shortly after I left, I called Clair, my oldest daughter. I explained what happened to her, and in return, I got a five-minute lecture on how insensitive and inconsiderate I was. I haven’t contacted either one of my daughters since.
I got a new cell phone.
I will not bore you with the unbelievable complexities of interstate trucking. Between the government regulations and the company rules, it was truly oppressing. Yet, I persevered. I was happy, though a bit lonely.
For the next two years, I was able to stash away most of my salary. My needs and expenses were minimal. I did stop and see my brother a few times, but never overnight. Marcy had never contacted my brother, and he had no information on what her status was.
It didn’t take long for me to figure out how to make the most of my time on the road. I got into various programs with Love’s, Pilot Flying J, and Travel Centers of America. Free showers, laundry, and gyms made life a lot easier.
oooOOOooo
I met Norma Langford in Enid, Oklahoma. She was trying to buy gas with a dead credit card and cursing like a sailor. Being a gentleman, I asked her if I could help and was quickly told to mind my own business and go to hell.
Ten minutes later, I was just starting to enjoy a Chick-fil-a sandwich when she plops down at my table.
“I am sorry I acted like a bitch out there. Things are not going well right now, and it is not fair for me to take it out on you or anybody else.”
I just looked at her and nodded.
“Norma. Norma Jean Langford.” she held out her hand, and I gave it a half-hearted shake in response.
“John.”
After a few minutes, she spoke again. “You offered to help when we were outside. I actually could use a little help. Is that offer still good?”
“What do you need?”
“Could you spare two bucks for one of those microwave burritos?”
I slid a ten spot across the table. “Here. Go over to the Chick-fil-a counter and get something decent.” She grabbed it without hesitation and headed for the counter. Five minutes later, she returned with a tray and pushed three ones and some change back to me.
It took her twice as long to eat as it should have. She was a chatterbox. I finished my lunch and sat and watched her. It was a bit fascinating, to say the least. Her voice wasn’t unpleasant, but it was continuous. She never said anything important, just ran on and on. As unusual as it sounds, I was not annoyed by it, in fact, it was just the opposite. The only conversation that I had with any woman over the past three years was with waitresses. I was smiling to myself over the ridiculous things she was saying.
When she finished, she picked up her tray and mine and cleaned off the table.
“So John. Where are you headed?”
“Provo.”
“Oh, good. Can I get a ride with you?”
“What about your car?” A quick glance showed it was still sitting in front of the pumps.
“I don’t think it is going to make it.”
“Not without gas, it won’t.”
She didn’t answer me. Finally, I got up and started toward my rig. Norma Jean followed me, acting as if I had said yes to her request. I opened the passengers’ door, and she hopped in. She had no clothes or personal belongings. I have no idea what happened to the abandoned car.
No! I can not explain it, but later that day, we stopped at a Walmart, and I got her a few things; jeans, tops, underwear, and comfortable shoes. It was nice to have someone to talk to; I mean, listen to.
Norma Jean and I never had sex or even got close. It was a platonic relationship from the start and never anything more. She told me that her husband had died and did not elaborate further. She had no children, and her parents were retired in Florida. I did tell her about my situation with Marcy, and she seemed genuinely interested.
Norma Jean slept while I drove, and while I slept, she did the laundry and busied herself at the truck stops. My fuel purchases paid for her showers and occasional gym workouts as well as mine. It was a bit awkward at first but quickly smoothed out. A few times, Norma Jean asked me why I hadn’t tried to have sex with her. I didn’t have a good answer, so I just told her that I thought of her as a sister. She didn’t push it.
Things were fine for about nine months. The only glitch that ever came up was her adamant refusal to enter the state of Pennsylvania. On two different occasions, I had to drop her off in Hagerstown and pick her up later.
And then it all came to an end.
I received a message from the home office that seemed a bit ominous. I was to return as soon as possible for a meeting with the Pennsylvania State Police and a representative from the National Transportation Safety Board. Norma Jean was not happy. She didn’t talk to me for the last few hours before I dropped her off at one of the facilities in Hagerstown. I promised to pick her up the next day.
OooOOOooo
“MisterTerrell. I am detective Naranja from the Pennsylvania State Police and this is Bill Fritz from the NTSB.” As if I was supposed to know what that was.
We were in one of the offices at Franklin headquarters. I felt like it was a police interrogation.
“Mister Terrell, do you know this woman?” Naranja slid a photo of Norma Jean across the table.
“Yeah! That’s Norma Jean. She is my swamper. Been with me for over nine months now. Why?”
“What do you know about her?”
“Just what she told me. She had been married but, her husband died. She has no children, and her parents live in Florida. She talks a lot but doesn’t say much. If you know what I mean.”
“Anything peculiar or odd?”
“Yeah, I guess. She doesn’t like mayonnaise. She hates County and Western music. She likes butter pecan ice cream.”
“We mean personality-wise.” Bill Fitz was trying to fit in.
“Well, she refuses to enter the state of Pennsylvania. Whenever I have a job requiring me to go into or through PA, she has me drop her off someplace. I pick her up later. Is that the kind of thing you mean?”
“Exactly.”
“Would one of you gentlemen care to explain to me what I am doing here and exactly what you are trying to do? Norma Jean is a good friend and, I don’t feel good about hanging her out to dry, especially when I don’t know why.”
“Bill Fitz leaned in close and ask “Where is she right now?”
“I don’t know. I left her at Love’s in Hagerstown.”
Fitz immediately left the room. Naranja brought me a cup of coffee.
“Norma Jean is suspected of killing six men. Five of them were truckers. The first one was her husband. We are baffled because you are still alive.”
“Bullshit!”
“It’s a fact, Mister Terrell. It took a while to connect all the dots, but that is what happened. All six of them died immediately after having sex with Norma Jean. The FBI crime lab was able to collect and compare data from several hundred possible crimes scenes. Six of them matched. Norma Jean was the common factor.”
“But I am still alive.”
“Right! And there has not been a fatality in the last nine months. Other than the fact that you never had sex with her, we don’t know why she stopped.”
“How did she kill them?”
“It looks like she gave them sleeping pills or some sort of sedative and then put a plastic bag over their heads. She even left the bags there with her prints on them.”
“All six of them?”
“Yeah! There might have been more than six, but that is all we know about at this point.”
Bill Fitz came back into the room. “She is gone. They have her on CCTV earlier in the day, but she is gone now.”
“How did you know that she was with me?”
“Hundreds and hundreds of hours searching CCTV footage from hundreds of service centers. Almost every picture that we found of her included you. Of course, it took a while to determine who you were. We were worried that you might be in this together.”
“And now?”
“You’re clear. By the way, your wife is anxious to hear from you.”
“How would you know that?”
“That is the first place we went to to try and find you. We had no idea that you were estranged. Sorry if we screwed anything up. By the way, she is living in West Chester now, with her parents.”
“Am I free to go?”
“Yeah!”
“First, I have to drop off a load. Would it be a bad idea for me to go back to Hagerstown?”
“Probably. But, we can’t stop you. We will be looking for her, and you might lead us to her if you know what I mean.”
“What you are saying is that by looking for her, I might inadvertently expose her.”
“That is right.”
oooOOOooo
No, I did not contact Marcy or either of my daughters. I was still a little bit bitter about her affair and my daughters’ support of it.
I did not go back to Hagerstown when I left Pennsylvania. I wanted to, but I did not want to risk it for my friend’s sake.
Three months later, I got a call from Detective Naranja. “John, I just wanted to let you know that she has struck again. This time it was back in Pennsylvania.”
“Sorry to hear that. Was it another trucker?”
“No. Just a normal guy this time. His name was Craig Butler from Allentown.”