Scrap CH THREE part 7

Scrap CH THREE part 7
Ken Chapman is intrigued to discover how Fat Frank managed to filch a full pallet of oranges from right under the stevedores’ noses. He has had the curtains drawn back so he can check the number of pallets and it all adds up, so maybe they were just playing a joke on him and he hasn’t really nicked anything at all. He closes the curtains and secures them before anyone sees what he is doing; he doesn’t want his workers thinking he doesn’t trust them.
What he doesn’t know is that after loading the first eight pallets, four each side of the trailer, the stevedores knocked off for a tea break. Whilst they were elsewhere Frank drew the curtains part way along the trailer and stacked the fifty crates from one pallet in the space down the middle of the load where they cannot be seen. He then turned the empty pallet on its side and slid it between the loaded ones, thus making a whole pallet load disappear. The fifty crates of oranges will pay towards the three piece suite he has his eye on.
Frank follows Scotty to the yard at 9pm and they arrange to meet at the docks once they have finished their deliveries. Scotty has had a good laugh at Frank’s latest scam and wishes that he had had the nerve to try it when he had the chance. As they drive out the yard Frank remembers he meant to give his pal the Deep Heat spray, but it will keep until the morning.
It’s a rare treat driving a lorry and being able to listen to the radio at the same time and Frank is singing along to a Beatles number enjoying the cool early summer air blowing in through the open windows. He spots an interesting sign near the motorway as he coasts down the long drag to the Medway Bridge. Someone is offering £2 each for clean four way pallets. He has been wondering what happens to all the empties and now he sees an opportunity to make a few bob. It will be but a short detour on his way back tomorrow.
Most of the stands at the markets are locked and deserted. Frank has to remember where to find the keys to the wire mesh cages before he can drop off his deliveries. Fortunately there is a fork lift truck available at most stands so there’s no need to hand stack and he helps make room by relieving the stall holders of unwanted used pallets so that by the end of his deliveries he has a useful amount on the trailer ready to cash in. He eats the cheese and pickle doorstep sandwich he made earlier, washed down with a flask of tepid tea before setting off to find the pallet dealer.
This is another perk which Scotty will have missed out on as Frank says he drives around with his eyes shut half the time and wouldn’t have seen the 20ft high sign board at the side of the motorway. The dealer is delighted to part with £62 for the almost new pallets, for which he will get three times that amount, and Frank drives away with a healthy wad of used fivers for his trouble. Happy days are here again.
Arriving at the docks at 4am Frank is at the front of the queue and he settles down for a cosy nap in his new, comfortable cab. Two hours later he is woken by his own laughter. Goodness knows what he was dreaming about but it has put him in a good mood despite the lack of sleep and he rubs his face awake, looks around at the now busy scene and gets out to stretch his legs. Scotty has just pulled in at the far end of the queue and pips his feeble hooter. Frank waits for him and they go into the café for breakfast and a gossip.
‘You’re looking pleased with yourself,’ observes Scotty as Frank magnanimously hands over the cash to pay for both meals, ‘what have you been up to this time?’ They each take a mug of freshly brewed tea and seat themselves at a window table. ‘You never told me about the empty pallets,’ says Frank. ‘Never told you what about the empty pallets?’ His pal is frowning as he takes a sip of the hot tea, decides it needs more sugar and stirs in an extra two spoonsful. ‘They fetch two quid each at a place just off the M2,’ explains Frank, ‘the stall holders want rid of them and the bloke at Gillingham can’t get enough of them so it’s money for nothing as far as I’m concerned.’ Scotty has not considered what happens once the pallets are unloaded; if he had done he would have been in the money after all the weeks driving the new rig. Why is it that he never spots the obvious when Frank sees it from the off? ‘I take it you missed out on that one then?’ Frank leans back as Rita Dixon, the new assistant places the breakfasts on the table. ‘Thanks love,’ says Scotty, who has known the girl for years as her family live in the same road. He points his fork in Frank’s direction in mock warning, ‘okay so I’m a mug; don’t rub it in. I got a nice little bonus for the extra trays of tomatoes I managed to find though so I must be doing something right.’ They tuck in to their breakfasts and watch as the café fills with weary drivers who, like them, have been out working all night and need sustenance to help them through the morning.
There are no extras today as the stevedores fail to take one of their early tea breaks but Frank is not bothered. It is much easier to simply load up with unwanted pallets and sell them on the way home and it doesn’t involve any risk either. It does seem rather odd that all these pallets just get left but who is he to complain when he can make a nice little side-line out of re-circulating them?
He is almost back to the yard when he realises he still has the aerosol can of Deep Heat he meant to give Scotty. Funny, he never mentioned his bad back today. Oh well, he’ll give it to him later. He fills the diesel tank from the storage tank in the yard then parks up for the day. ‘I’m off to get some kip,’ he says to Ken, who looks up from his telephone conversation and raises a staying hand. Frank waits for him to replace the receiver and asks what he wants. ‘The Old Bill were in here asking if anyone knew the bloke who was found floating in the dock yesterday. Did you see the picture they put out?’ Frank says he did see it and thought that he may have seen the man somewhere. ‘He wasn’t wearing the tie when I saw him though,’ he adds. ‘Can’t remember where I saw him though so that’s no use to the cops is it?’ Ken says probably not and adds that he will be out when Frank picks up the lorry later. ‘Maybe see you tomorrow then,’ says Frank as he gets into his car and makes his escape. He knows full well where he saw the deceased, it was at Danny Casey’s yard and the two of them were acting very suspiciously but he decides it’s none of his business so he keeps the information to himself.