In The Company of Deceit

Chapter 4 - Secrets and Lies

A sharp, static announcement over the speaker informed the passengers that they would be stopping in fifteen minutes for dinner in Beaver, Utah. The driver gave them a few notes about the area and said they would be there for one and a half hours. He suggested they don't go too far afield looking for dinner spots and that the hotel nearest the bus station had a decent dining room.

There was an immediate bustling of preparation among the passengers; shoes being put back on, belongings organized, a moment or two for some to check hair and makeup. Everyone had some little ritual to perform before the bus made the stop for dinner.

The older of the two ladies seemed particularly concerned with her pull along luggage cart, and with what Kate felt looked like a fearful glance down the aisle, took it with them to the dining room. Had to be more than just clothes, she mused.

Beaver was a medium-sized town in the Wasatch Mountain Range at the junctions of Highways 91 and 21. In the blackness of night there was no opportunity to appreciate the surrounding scenic beauty, but then the bus passengers had seen nothing but scenery for hours and were happy to just sit inside a different environment and sate their hungry appetites.

Various islands of privacy were staked out as the guests were seated and presented with dinner menus.

"Mind if I join you, I don't speak Spanish and I don't think the two old ladies can offer much company?"

Kate looked up at the grinning face of the person she had dubbed 'Jimmy Dean' and looked around the room before half-heartedly agreeing.

"Thanks. I don't much care to eat alone. It's bad enough sitting' on that wreck of a bus by myself for so long. By the way, my name's Mickey Wireton, Los Angeles born and bred." The grin returned like an attentive valet.

"Kate Semple." She said, returning to the menu.

"So, you headed to Salt Lake?"

She muttered a yes without looking away from the menu.

"Live there?"

Kate set the menu down and looked at him. "I really don't want to have small talk, okay? I just want to have a quiet dinner and do some thinking."

"Whew, hey, look at me, just trying' to be sociable."

Annoyed with the attitude and the patter, Kate responded coolly. "Why not try with the other lady on the bus or even the driver; he's more your age."

Mickey felt his face redden, and he didn't quite know how to react. He wanted to leave but it had to be with face not like a whipped puppy.

"Sorry I bothered you, ma'am. You should have picked a different place for your quiet thinking'." He stood and shoved his chair back under the table and swaggered off toward the suggested first party.

Kate blew out a tired breath and stared into her water glass, wondering about her own attitude until she heard him deliver the same line to the woman who had the laptop. Jerk, she muttered to herself.

Belinda and Muriel Ashbury-Stark chose a small table for two under a massive bear head trophy. It almost looked like they were the dinner for the ferocious looking decoration. Belinda sat poised with the menu in front and a pair of eyeglasses held away from her face as she read. Her daughter Muriel waited patiently to be told what they would be eating.

"I see a house special of roast beef, boiled potatoes and carrots. It comes with a small green salad, coffee or tea and an ice wafer for dessert."

"Is that what we're having?"

Belinda made a deciding noise then closed the menu and set it down on the table. "I think so, yes."

"Could we have some wine?"

"I don't see a list anywhere."

"We could ask."

"Really Muriel, you make everything so complicated."

Belinda turned and raised a hand toward a waitress.

"Considering our reason for this... miserly transport to Salt Lake, I don't think asking for some wine is overly complicated, mother."

"That's no way to repay all I've tried to do for you since your- your─"

"Cancer diagnosis? Say it, mother, it isn't contracted through conversation. And if all you could do is buy a bus ticket after what we just accomplished then there isn't much to repay is there?"

"It is the least attention getting mode, my dear and the reason for what we just accomplished, as you so cavalierly put it, was for your personal benefit."

"I don't see you doing without as a result, mother."

Belinda pursed her lips and glared at the menu again. When she harnessed her anger over the remark she looked up and made a different face at her daughter.

"Just remember, until we are well away from Vegas and you are under care in the hospital we must not be attracting unwanted attention." She paused and glanced across the room. "And whatever you do don't acknowledge him. How he could have picked the same bus is beyond me."

"I think he is probably feeling the same way." Muriel observed with compassion.

The summoned waitress arrived, halting any further discussion and Belinda ordered the two identical dinners and a small glass of wine each. Dinner continued as a silent affair with both mother and daughter studiously avoiding anything provocative in their actions.

Muriel thought about her relationship with her mother and how long she had been under her dictatorial thumb. It wasn't until she had been diagnosed with the brain tumour that her mother had seemed to realize she was indeed a mother and turned to providing more attention and concern to her needs.

As time passed and the doctor's assessment remained cautious but optimistic while they awaited results from a myriad of tests, Belinda began reverting to her old officious custom. Young men were discouraged from calling on Muriel if they didn't represent suitably wealthy or significantly important backgrounds.

Her activities were restricted to all things related to those attributes: fundraisers, charitable events and the arts, when they concerned the former. She had no life of her own except when it concerned her medical condition, and it was there she sought all the other aspects she was missing.

The deliberate seduction of a young intern, resulting in his dismissal from the hospital, the off hours consult with the handsome, married radiologist, and her blatant conduct in pursuing a relationship with one of the examining nurses, culminated in a blistering face to face argument with her mother.

When at last they were called in for a consultation and informed of the fact that the tumour was cancerous, could possibly cause abhorrent behaviour, and presented a very complicated surgery costing thousands of dollars, both women left with different but equal concerns. Muriel agonized over her cruel fate while Belinda began scheming for a way to acquire money, ultimately leading to a most uncharacteristic decision.

Watching the pair while she ate, Kate grew more curious over the odd relationship they seemed to share and the inordinate attention the older woman paid to her baggage. The other curiosity that caught her attention was the peculiar look she had been throwing across the room every chance she got at the man who sat behind Kate on the bus.

Carlos Haters and his companion Jose Ramos sat together far away from the others. They had little English and even less in common with their fellow passengers. Keeping to themselves was the safest way to avoid questions and therefore careless answers. Since stealing their way into the country and keeping low profiles, they had managed to find odd jobs that would afford meagre living expenses while they looked for some place safe that might provide steadier employment.

The trip north to Utah was in hopes of finding that goal. Back in Mexico they had learned that seasonal work in agriculture was given to foreigners with little interest in their legal standing. The trick was to find areas that needed seasonal workers. Acquaintances had told of the opportunities as far north as Canada, so north was where they were headed.