Handlung

While visiting a friend in Texas, Jessica attempts to help the owner of a small trucking company clear his son of a murder charge.

At Houston Space Control for research, Jessica overhears Sam Mercer promise NASA's LG computers order, essential for the IT firm, is on its way, but the truck gets robbed by masked men on the open road in plain daylight. Her friend and host Wayne Platte, the truck driver, got hurt, and the firm was in bad enough shape, now suppliers demand immediate payment and insurance companies consider them a bad risk. His son Rob Platte, a college drop-out who works in the roadhouse, seems only interested in country singing, which doesn't bring in good money. Roadhouse owner Willie Greenwood is furious her accomplice Randy Jinks, waitress Cindy Warrick's ex, could have killed Wayne. Randy and Rob, Cindy's lover who never told his dad about her, fight till Willie pulls them apart to avoid damages. Randy haggles about the looted computer with a local electronics repair store who is acting as a fence. Willie reminds Wayne's secretary Meg Thomas her next debt payment is due. Ex-con Lance Taggart drops in at Willie's. She won't put him up but he follows Randy, gets him talking and makes her cut him in for 10% to keep him silent. Sheriff Jim Monday suspects Wayne hijacked his own truck to collect the insurance. When Wayne disapproves of Rob's proposal to Cindy, Rob quits as driver, too. Wayne hurts his arm badly changing a truck tire and is ready to close shop, but Rob returns. Jessica notices Styrofoam packing in the back of Randy's truck that makes the stolen computers. Randy is run over by a truck at night after stepping out of his pickup truck. A Platte name tag from the truck Rob drove is found there and the sheriff arrests Rob. Jessica snoops at the local electronics shop after noticing sales slip in Randy's pickup and tricks the owner into betraying himself as a fence, but he claims the computers were rubbish, impossible to sell even as parts. Then Jessica finds out the truck mileage was doctored so someone else could have driven Rob's truck.—KGF Vissers

Jessica Fletcher is visiting her friend Wayne Platte in Texas where his trucking firm has run into hard times. He's been the victim of several hijackings and most recently lost not only his rig but a a load of very expensive computers destined for NASA from manufacturer Sam Mercer. Now his insurance company is refusing him coverage and Mercer is seriously considering canceling future shipments with Wayne's company. He has other problems as well. His son Rob is engaged to a waitress at a local bar and doesn't really want to make the family trucking business a career. When one of the truck hijackers is run over by one of Wayne's trucks, Jessica has a murder to solve as the evidence seems to point Rob as the culprit.—garykmcd