Free Missy's Gentle Giant by P D Miller

stopped at the motel on his
way to work the next morning but Ben wasn’t there.  He wanted to get to
the bottom of everything and make Ben understand they knew what he was up
to.  At work he was busier than hell with orders flooding in from several
companies, and they were rushed to get the trucks repaired and running. 
He stopped at the motel on his way home, but still Ben wasn’t there.  When
he got home, Ben’s truck loomed at him.  He dropped tiredly on the sofa
and told his father they needed more help to make all the runs.  Dinner
was subdued. Neither Mrs. Sanchez nor Missy would speak or even look at
anyone.  Most of the boys were ashamed to look up anyway because of their
black eyes.  Gonzalo took off to check the motel again that evening. 
Ben had checked out. 
    The next day was the same, busier
than hell, and so was the third except Gonzalo was finally forced to hire two
independent truckers who owned their own trucks.  Gonzalo was totally worn
out when a DEA agent came by, showed his identification and said he’d come to
take Ben’s truck.  According to him, they suspected an illegal substance
on the truck, and it was being confiscated.  As soon as the guy left
Gonzalo started upstairs but his father stopped him.
    “Your friend—he was doing something
illegal?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You don’t sound surprised?”
    “I guessed.  Ben, well he’s
the Mafioso kind—”  Gonzalo shrugged.  “I think he remembered writing
Missy and telling her a long time ago he’d marry her someday, and he was using
her since we wouldn’t let him buy into the company.  I’m sorry Pop; I
should never have trusted him.”  He raced upstairs to his room feeling
like hell for lying about Ben, but damn, Ben had let him—no all of them down
with his tricks.  Especially Missy.
    Each day business became more
rushed until Gonzalo was ready to throw up his hands and scream.  He had
to hire two more independent truckers to help with runs, and he worried about
whether he could trust them or not.  All four were seedy looking
characters.  A kind of “gradual speaking term” came over the Sanchez
household, with a minimum of words between the women and men.  Talk was
necessary because Gonzalo needed Missy to come and help with paperwork. 
She quietly consented.
    Gonzalo worried.  If Missy had
been withdrawn before, it was nothing compared to now.  She refused to
talk to anyone more than necessary and managed to keep her back turned so much
she hardly saw anyone talk to her.  During the day she filed forms,
checked orders, and typed.  As soon as she got home, she went to the
kitchen to help her mother, silently ate dinner, helped clean up and went to
her room.  Gonzalo hated to look at her the way she was suffering, but he
didn’t know what to do.  Several times he tried to apologize to her, even
tried to explain, but she’d turn away from him.  More and more he wanted
to get Charger.  On top of it all, no one from DEA came around to help,
and he worried what with all their renewed business someone would plant more
coke.  DEA had apparently walked out with Ben.
    Eduardo started coming around after
a week.  He sported two huge black eyes and a wide grin while he told
Pedro and Luis he ran into Ben and beat the hell out of him.  Gonzalo
didn’t believe him.  Ben get beaten up by one guy?  No way.  A
gang of Sanchez brothers maybe, but by one guy, impossible.  Missy spent
more time in her room with Eduardo hanging around, and Gonzalo was seriously
thinking about taking on the bastard himself.
     
    The first threatening call came two
weeks after the fight.  Gonzalo was harried and running behind schedule
when he yelled because no one answered the phone.  Then he saw only Missy
was in the office, and he picked it up. 
    “ Better watch out for illegal
stuff in your trucks .”  A man said and hung up.
    Gonzalo called the DEA office and
was told they had people working on his case, nothing