Race

THIRTY

The Sundance braked and then turned sharply into another parking lot. Ms. Zee had sent Suraj to the BUBBLE T SHOP. She knew Kong would have no problem in killing the two officers but would need help in disposing of their bodies. It was no longer possible to let the officers live, since they had seen her.

From behind the wheel Suraj saw a cluster of police cars in front of the shop. He dialed Ms. Zee’s number and told her of the situation. She was not pleased. She told him to get back.

I was sitting in the passenger side of my car. I had four first-aid stitches on my upper lip from the paramedics and I was given painkillers. I had refused to go to the hospital. We were getting closer to RACE and I wanted to be part of the big bust. I didn’t want to see it on the news while lying in a hospital bed.

I saw Beadsworth talking to Susan, the cashier of the BUBBLE T SHOP. It looked as if he was thanking her. A moment later he came over and slid into the driver’s seat.

“You should have a doctor look at you,” he said.

“Naw, I’m fine,” I said, which would be true until the painkillers wore off.

“How did Garnett find us?” I asked.

“When I was following you, I notified him of my whereabouts. When he didn’t hear from me he came down. He found the BUBBLE T SHOP closed. He tried my cell phone but the blond gentleman had stripped me of it earlier. He then questioned the neighbours. Inside the coffee shop across the street was that girl.” Beadsworth moved his head in the direction of Susan. “She told Garnett she saw you earlier, looking in. Garnett returned with other members and broke through the door.”

“I’m glad you called Garnett,” I said.

He turned and looked me straight in the eyes. “That’s what we do, Officer Rupret. We’re a team. We look out for one another.”

“Hey, I didn’t know which side you were on.”

He didn’t say anything. He just nodded.

“We hope our assailant is more talkative,” he said. “Perhaps, we can finally break this case.” He looked across to the many vehicles littering the parking lot. “We are now searching for the owner of the shop. He goes by the name of Martin. But no matter, we’ll find him.”

“What about Aldrich?” I asked.

“Nothing yet.”

“What do you mean nothing yet?” I said. I could feel the pain coming on. “We know he’s working with RACE.”

“What do you suggest?”

“We go and bust his ass.”

“It’s not that simple. Sergeant Aldrich is our superior. There will be a formal complaint filed and then an investigation by Internal Affairs. Meanwhile, we need to find RACE,” he raised an eyebrow toward me. “And persuade them to come forward with any evidence against him.”

“You need witnesses.” I smiled.

He smiled back.

Ms. Zee was furious. Aldrich was on the other line and she was giving him an earful. Operation Anti-RACE was supposed to be shut down. How could he lose control of his team? Why didn’t he reprimand the officer who had followed them? Why didn’t he know about the raid at the BUBBLE T SHOP? Why didn’t he do anything to stop it?

Aldrich pleaded that it all happened behind his back.

He was supposed to protect them, she insisted. If she went down she would take him with her.

Now it was Aldrich’s turn. Why wasn’t Nex produced and distributed by now? Did she think he was going to fool the squad forever? She had told him she would have it in a matter of days, not several weeks. She was naive to think he could always clean up after her.

“They have Kong,” she yelled and slammed the phone down. She covered her face. What was she going to do?

Martin entered.

She looked up, more composed.

“We have to move,” she said.

Martin understood. “Burrows isn’t too happy,” he said.

“I don’t care,” she snapped. She then bit her lip and said, “Why not?”

“I’ll get him,” he said.

Burrows entered the office, followed by Martin. “We cannot move,” Burrows said. “Not now.”

She waited for him to explain.

“Our finest batch is in the freezing process,” he said. “If we take it out now the tablets will collapse.”

A lot of money was riding on that batch and she didn’t want to see it go to waste.

“Mr. Burrows,” she said as carefully as possible. “Our situation has changed. We have no choice but find another location-perhaps a better one. We have to move tonight.”

“We could wait a few more hours,” Martin spoke. “That should be enough time to take a prepared batch with us.”

Burrows agreed.

Ms. Zee thought about it. “Fine. But start clearing the warehouse. The freeze-dryers will be the last to move.”

A sweet melody woke me up. I was inside my car, which was being driven by Beadsworth. The melody was coming from Beadsworth’s cell phone. Garnett had found it at the BUBBLE T SHOP. We were the last to leave Scarborough and were on our way to his house. Beadsworth had insisted I get home and get some rest.

He answered it, spoke a few words, and hung up.

“Who was it?” I asked.

“Detective Garnett has been unavailable to get any information from your assailant. He won’t talk.”

That wasn’t a surprise. The man hadn’t spoken two words when he was smacking me around.

“He will talk,” Beadsworth said, assuring me. “Detective Garnett can be very persuasive.”

We were in Forest Hill; the magnificent houses gave that away. We entered Beadsworth’s driveway and parked.

Amy opened the door and her face turned to horror. “Oh, my-”

“I’m fine,” I said with a weak smile. I had bruises all over my face and stitches on my upper lip.

Noel was in the living room watching whatever show kids his age watch.

Amy looked over at her husband. He just kissed her. He would fill her in on the details later.

She took our coats and asked if we wanted anything. I shook my head. I’m not sure what Beadsworth said.

I went into the living room and flopped on the sofa. Noel was too mesmerized to see me come in. He was watching some weird cartoon. The characters had big eyes and small mouths. Every so often they would fly in the air and make a pose. Their lips weren’t even in sync with their voices. What ever happened to high-quality cartoons like the Looney Tunes?

Beadsworth and Amy were in the kitchen.

I closed my eyes. I tried to tune out the sounds from the TV. I should go up and straight to bed. In a minute, I promised myself.