1. WhenCharlesDufantbecame a trashtruck driver,he felthe hadfoundthe lowesttitle he couldfindto
keephislife stable.Paythatputhim inthe uppermiddle classasa rookie driver,Chuckwasfinally
beginningtofeel comfortablewithhisnewlyfoundurbanlife.Peoplethrew awaythe damndestthings…
stereos,televisions,computers,antiquefurniture,artwork,hell this wasgoingtomake hisnew pad
pimpedoutina verybig way.He couldstandall the “What’s up Chuck?”jokesaboutthe griminessof his
positionandthe snide looksfromthe uptightwalkerswhocouldn’tstandtosee theirowntrashbeing
handledforfearof the rap.This wasgoingto be all right.
Little didhe knowwhatwas to come. He beginstonotice that hisroute includesterritorythatisbeing
handledbylocal thugs,whoare veryupfront abouttheirexpectationof payinreturnforprotection.
Hailingfromsmall town,Iowa,Charlesisn’taccustomedtoanythingbutthe windturbinescausingthis
kindof pollutionanddisturbance.These guysfeedthe local seagull’s antacidtabletseverymorningas
theygatheraround formorningcoffee justtowatchand laughas theypuff up anddie.Theyare hard
core hardenedthugswhose only interestinthe daystakes,andwhat of it will make itonthe books,and
whatof it theywill take home totheirwivesandmistresses.
Whenhe movesdistrictinLos Angeles,he findsthathislife isindanger. Now workingdeeperintothe
streetsthatsee the actual back alleyactionthose white collardollarearningheatmakers create with
theirside businessesof smugglinganddeliveryknockoverpayoutsonnonpayingshopkeepers,Charles
isgettingworried.These foolsare approachinghimona dailybasistryingtonegotiate some kindof
relationshipthatiscomingoff more and more forcedas if somethingverydeadlyiscoming. He noticesa
local renownedhitman,Tutlie Snipesinthe earlymorningdew packingapiece veryopenlystalkinga
beatdowncorner crack dealer,andhe beginstoget scared.
Finally,the situationbecomesall tooclear.Large payoutsare beingforcedonhimto ignore the dumping
of moband gang murdervictimsbeinglaidtowaste inhisroutesdumpsters. Everyweekhe isexpected
to accept tribute inexchange forignoringthe contentsof histruckasit pullsawayfromanotherunlucky
customer’s almostfinal restingplace.He isforcedtoavoiddumpheavyequipmentoperatorssituating
the trash to accept hisloads,forfearof a Johnor Jane Doe poppingoutinfrontof them.Atnight,he
dreamsof facelessvictimsbeingstackedinhiswaitingreceptacles,theirgravesleftemptyforthose who
wouldgrieve. The worstof itall comeswhenTutlie isactuallypresentandfinishingthe jobone morning
as he makeshispickup.Fromthe lookonthe man’s face,andhis demeanor,Charlesknowshisonly
paymentisthat he remainsalive.
Whena body isobservedbeingremovedbyapassingbeatcop,he gets the heatturnedup onhim to
helpwiththe recentspree of neighborhoodganglandslayingsanddisappearances,orcatch a charge as
2. a co- conspirator. The beatcop came up onhimas he wasclosingthe back, andthis poor unfortunate
fellowsarmjusthappenedtobe danglingout. Withthe recentupswingof neighborhooddisappearances
of some verykeylocal players,there isnodenyingthatthe heathas beenonChuckfor quite some time.
He confesseshisunwillinginvolvement,andpraysthathe will make itthroughto the endof this
nightmare bothfree andalive. Still afraidof fingeringTutlie,Charleskeepsthisone tidbitof information
to himself,assuagingthatthe investigationhasgottenenoughoutof himto turn the tide.He doesn’t
needa hitman huntinghimtoo.
As hisroute coolsdown,he is forcedtoidentifydatesanddumplocationswithinthe landfill wherethe
victim’sremainsmaybe amongstthe trash. Homicide DetectiveRangerandhis team’sforensicsexpert
Corrine Finlandbeginasystematicexaminationof the timeline of landfill deliveriesmade byCharles
truck, tryingto findthe bodiesof the missingvictims.Whattheyuncoverisagruesome messof partly
decomposed,nearlyunrecognizable victimswhoseidentificationandevidence gatheringprocesseshave
themall wonderingwhatthe big“What’sup Chuck?”joke wasabout to beginwith.
As the diggingthroughthe dirtdelvesdeeper,Chuckfindshimselfstuckholdingabuck anda truck load
of muckhe can barelyhandle. The heatisnotoff of himfromeitherthe authoritiesorthe local muscle,
and he is consideringaone way plane ticketoutof town.He steelshimself,convincedthatthe wheelsof
justice will prevail andultimatelyfree bothhimandhislife of thisentanglement,andwearilycontinues
hisroute. Thenin the earlymorninghours,alocal made man,Sal The Sicilianapproacheshim, andtells
himto beware,thatTutlie isonthe loose,anddoingjobshe wasn’taskedto.This night,Charles buyshis
plane ticketbackhome,butcannot geta bookingonhisbudgetwithhispayfreeze due tothe
investigationuntilthe followingweek.
In the earlymorninghoursitall comesto a headwhenhe witnessesamurderfirsthand.Ashe
endeavorstopinthe toe tag on the killerandgetit off hisown,he findshislife asa trash truck driver
has turnedoutto be farfrom simple. Ithasturnedintohandson handlingof the worstkind.Tutlie is
gunningdowna local prostitute inthe alleywhenCharlespullsup.Withaninstinctual reactiontosave
hislife,andthe life of the poorgirl,he runs downTutlie tothe deadendof the alley.AsTutlie takesaim,
sneeringthatCharleshasn’tthe ballstofinishthe job;Chuckputsitin drive andslamshim, pinned
betweenthe truckandthe wall,cuttinghimneatlyinhalf.
