Race (12 page)

“This guy is clean,” I said.

“Not quite,”
Beadsworth
said.
 
“I then did a search on the Criminal Information Processing System, alternating between the two sets of names.
 
I managed a hit.
 
Max Vernon had a collision on Highway 427 in 1999.
 
From there I was able to acquire his address.”

“So we go and pay him a visit,” I said.

“Tomorrow.
 
Right now we have to meet Detective
Nemdharry
and Constable Terries.”

We were rushing down the stairs when my landlady popped her head out her door.

I stopped and introduced her to my new partner.
 
Living alone and having no alarm system, she was my only security.
 
If an unknown person ever came into our building I had instructed her to call the police.
 
She was my first and last line of
defence
against would-be thieves and robbers.
 
My partner gave a small courteous bow.
  
She smiled back.

***

We drove to Scarborough and parked in the back of a coffee shop.
 
We found
Nemdharry
and Terries sitting near the front windows.
   

Nemdharry
spoke first. “Thanks for coming,” he said.

We sat
opposite them.
 

Terries smiled—at me—and I smiled back.
 

“Phil,”
Nemdharry
started.
 
“I think we’re on to something.”

Nemdharry’s
grayish hair was gelled back, and his light brown skin was smooth and without a blemish.
 
He looked much younger than his age, around
Beadsworth’s
.
 

He looked out the window. There was a huge white building across from the coffee shop.
 
It had a wide sign that read: OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE.
 

“I think there’s something going on in there,”
Nemdharry
said.
 
“A tip from our informant gave this address.
 
The owner of the coffee shop says he’s seen some peculiar people come in.
 
Not too friendly.
 
Couple of days ago he saw a moving van in front of the building.
 
I spoke to the company that manages the building and they say it’s an export company.”

“What do they export?”
Beadsworth
asked.

“Clothes.”

“To where?”

“Southeast Asia,”
Nemdharry
said.

“What’s the name of the company?”

“LLPM Imports & Exports.”

“What does LLPM stand for?”

“Don’t know.”

I caught Terries staring at me.
 
Her cheeks flushed.
 
I turned back to
Nemdharry
as if it happened all the time.

“You think it could be RACE?”
Beadsworth
asked.

Terries spoke, “I paid the company a visit. I told them I was looking for some cheap space to rent.
 
I was willing to share space with someone, maybe a quarter of the portion.
 
The receptionist was very polite but said they needed all the space.”
 
As Terries spoke I realized I was staring at her.
  
Her long hair slid down her back, her tiny nose moved up and down while she spoke, her eyes, full of excitement…I blinked and then blinked again…
focus, Jon
...She was saying, “The floor space is huge about—two thousand square feet. But there’s a large divider in the middle.”

“How do they operate?”
Beadsworth
said.

“They purchase used clothes in bulk from places like the Goodwill and the Salvation Army and they sell it to countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.”

That didn’t make sense so I interrupted.
 
“Don’t we import clothes from these countries because it’s cheaper to produce there?”

“That’s what doesn’t make sense,” she said with admiration.

I felt smart.

“What could be behind the divider?”
Beadsworth
asked.

Terries replied, “It could be a production lab for
Nex
.”

We all thought about it.

“Can’t be a clandestine lab,”
Nemdharry
said.
 
“Too risky.”

“Too many people,”
Beadsworth
concurred.
  

“Should we go in?”
Nemdharry
said.

Beadsworth
shook his head, “No. Let’s not jump the gun.
 
It could be something or it could be nothing.”

***

He walked out of Mount Sinai Hospital with a heavy bandage wrapped around his head.
 
He was well over six-feet-four and close to three hundred pounds.
 
He made his way to the parking lot.
  
With his fat fingers he rummaged through his pockets searching for the keys.
 
He pulled out the set, but being on medication he was unsteady and uncoordinated. The keys fell to the ground.

He cursed.

Huffing and puffing, he knelt down on one knee and retrieved them.

“Mr. Burrows,” said a voice from behind.

He turned.

A man in a nice suit stood holding a briefcase.
 
“My name is Martin.
 
My last name is not important, but I am a representative and business advisor to someone who is interested in you.”

Ed Burrows was not interested in anyone right now.
 
He was getting a massive headache and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep.
 
“Buzz off,” he said.

“Sir, if you hear me out I promise you’ll be interested in what I have to say.”

“I said buzz off.”
 
Burrows was on his feet now.
  
He was gigantic but that didn’t bother Martin.
 
Someone sitting in a car not far away was much bigger and more menacing than Burrows.

“You used to work for Bantam Pharmaceuticals.”

“Those rat bastards,” Burrows cursed.

“You were working on a painkiller, model P147, until your unfortunate departure.”

“I got fired.
 
Plain as that.”

“Yes, we’re interested in what you know about this painkiller.”

“It was months ago,” he said, finding the right key.
 
“Whatever I worked on, Bantam owns it.”

“We have the design.”

He stopped.
 
“You’re…” His eyes narrowed. “You’re not supposed to have that.”

“We do and we need you to work on it.”

“You’re not from Bantam, are you?”

“No.”

“Then what you want me to do is illegal?”
 
Burrows scratched the growth of hair under his chin.

“That’s right.”

“No, thank you.
 
I’ve got my own troubles”

“Yes, we know.
 
What do you say to ten thousand?”

“Dollars?”

“Yes.
 
That would clear up your immediate troubles, no?”

Burrows touched the heavy bandage above his eye.
 
“You know?”

“Of course.
  
You do what we say and don’t ask any questions and we assist you in alleviating your troubles.”

Burrows looked around the parking lot.
 
It was empty.
 
“Is this some kind of prank? Am I on some reality TV show?”

“Not quite.”

He eyed Martin hard. “You said I won’t have any more problems?”

“None whatsoever, If you do as we say.”

Burrows nodded.
 
“Okay. I’m not doing anything anyways.”

Martin gave a signal and a white Lincoln drove up with
Hause
at the wheel.
 
Kong and
Suraj
emerged from the vehicle.
 

“What about my car?” Burrows asked.

“We’ll park it at your home.”
 

Burrows reluctantly handed over the keys to
Suraj
who immediately went to work.
  
“Mr. Burrows, get in.
 
You’ve got a lot to do.”
         

NINE

Burrows sifted through the pile of paper—reading and glancing at the writing, scribbles and notations.
 
Finally he said, “This is not what we were working on at Bantam.”

Ms. Zee, sitting across and watching his every move, said, “The chemist took liberties and made some modifications. Some of the ingredients in our product are…not officially permitted.”

“Who designed this?” he asked.

“That is not important, only that the product is made.”

“It can be made, but I need some time.”

“A few days are all we can give.”

“About my ten thousand…”