“There’s coffee if you like,” I said.
He nodded and filled a cup.
“I’m going to go check my e-mail,” he said, and with that he disappeared into my room.
Martin found a perfect spot, located in the warehouse of an industrial site along the waterfront of Lake Ontario.
The new technology demanded an area with enough room for the heavy equipment. The open interior of the warehouse was ideal for this type of manufacturing.
This would confine them to one location, but they had no choice. Too much money had already been wasted and now it was time to earn some back. Once Nex was produced and distributed they would find another location, but for now this would have to do.
Martin saw three U-Hauls enter the warehouse. He was determined to have Nex ready in the next couple of days. Ms. Zee was not available, so everything had to be done by him. She was busy trying to get rid of Joey.
I lay on the sofa with my eyes closed. It was close to afternoon and Joey was still in the bedroom. I didn’t want to bother him. In fact, I didn’t want him to bother me. I was not his babysitter. I was doing my job, while resting at home.
I tossed over. I was restless. I was upset at myself for not getting her name. She was friendly. A real damsel in distress and I couldn’t help her. Maybe I could go to her home. What home? I didn’t know where she lived. She pointed to a street but I didn’t know the exact house. Maybe I could go and knock on each door and ask for someone I didn’t know the name of. I tossed once more and decided to watch TV.
There was a knock on the door and grudgingly I opened it. It was Beadsworth. He entered without saying a word. I went back and flopped onto the sofa.
“Where’s Joey?” he asked.
“In the bedroom,” I answered.
He seemed relieved.
“So, what can I do for you?” I said.
“We found the body of Mr. Armand Dempiers. He used to be an employee of Bantam Pharmaceuticals Limited.”
“Barnes and Herrera already briefed me on him,” I said.
Beadsworth took a seat and then leaned over towards the bedroom.
“He’s on the computer,” I said.
Beadsworth fixed his tie. “They’ll be performing an autopsy on Mr. Dempiers.” Beadsworth looked nervous. I had never seen him nervous. “Um…we’re waiting for the results…has anyone from the force visited Joey?”
“No, why?” I said.
“Sergeant Aldrich was upset that I requested Joey be put under your supervision.”
“He was? Good. It’s about time the man grows some white hair. I don’t like him.”
“Can I have a word with Joey?” Beadsworth asked.
“Go ahead.”
Beadsworth got up to go over to the room when there was a knock on the door. Beadsworth answered.
Aldrich came in, but no Garnett.
I got up.
I sensed tension between Beadsworth and Aldrich. They exchanged welcomes, which I felt were contrived.
“Officer Rupret,” Aldrich said, with a nod.
I knew he wasn’t here for me so I called out for Joey. He came out of the room looking red-eyed. He’d been staring at the monitor for hours.
Aldrich got right to the point, “We’ve found the body that you mentioned. You were correct. It is why you must tell us more. Time is running out.” He shoved a stack of paper at Joey. “Sign it and you’ll have your protection.”
Joey looked at the bundle. He scanned it and then scribbled his signature. He then gave them an address. “You can find them there.”
“I will have Detective Garnett pick you up tomorrow,” Aldrich said.
Joey shrugged an okay.
Both Aldrich and Beadsworth left.
I lay back on the sofa and Joey sat on the opposite chair.
The ringing of the telephone broke the awkward silence, and I was glad it did.
“Hello,” I answered it.
“Hi, is this Jon Rupret?” said a female voice.
I recognized the voice. It was the woman with the red hair. I immediately felt energized.
“Yes, speaking,” I said, calming myself.
“Hi, we met outside your house…”
“Yes, yes, of course. Did you get your vehicle?”
“Exactly where you said it would be,” she laughed.
I laughed.
Joey quietly picked up a magazine and began flipping the pages.
“How did you get my number?” I asked.
“The phone book.”
“I didn’t get your name?”
“It’s Laura,” she paused. “Um…I didn’t mention it earlier, but I’m here visiting my sister. She lives around the block from your house and…I’ll be leaving for the U.S.”
My heart sank. “You’re leaving?”
“Yes, tomorrow. I was hoping we could meet…maybe over dinner.”
“I don’t know…” I looked across at Joey. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
“You can’t even spare an hour?”
I squirmed. I wanted to go. I really did.
“Okay,” I finally said, caving in.
TWENTY-THREE
Ed Burrows found Martin in the makeshift office. Martin didn’t look up; he was busy talking on the phone. Burrows walked back to the door and waited. He looked across to the middle of the warehouse, and saw two people unloading heavy barrels of gelatin from the U-Haul.
A tank of water had already been delivered, along with a truck filled with glycine and sodium hydroxide. Metal containers of dextroamphetamine were going to be delivered later in the day. Caffeine was the easiest component to get, so he wasn’t too worried about it.
Martin was off the phone now.
Burrows walked up to him.
Martin had the
“We still don’t have sodium laurylsulphate,” Burrows said.
