Race (15 page)

“Uh?” I said.
 

“The most accurate drug testing method available.
 
It will tell us accurately what substances are in the tablets and how much.”

Beadsworth
touched his beard as if in deep thought.
 
“What I don’t understand is, this isn’t something new or innovative.”

“That’s what I thought too. We’ve had hundreds of pills or tablets that contain these kinds of ingredients.
  
I’ve even had pills brought in that are sold as Ecstasy with just caffeine, sugar, and flu medications in them.”

“A perfect cure for the common cold,” I laughed.
 
But neither of them laughed back.

“The only way it could be unique is if the delivery is as fast as it states,” she said.

“But you said that is not possible,”
Beadsworth
said.

“That’s right.”
 
She pulled out the form
Beadsworth
had submitted.
 
She adjusted her glasses and then glanced over it, reading it again.
 
“I can’t see this doing what it says.
 
It’s like any other tablet out there.”

Beadsworth
nodded and his eyes narrowed in contemplation.
 

Eileen said, “I’ll provide you with a Certificate of Analyst when I thoroughly process the tablets.”

We thanked her and left.

***

The sign, BUBBLE T SHOP, had just been placed out in the front.
  
From inside Martin stared out to the street across.
 
He had leased the shop for six months.
 
The plan was to set up several
Nex
labs all over Toronto.
 
Instead of one large manufacturing plant, they would have several mini labs.

The costs were large, of course, but the logic was that if one lab got raided the others would keep up production.
  
With a product like
Nex
the costs were nothing compared to the profits.
  
All that was needed was demand.
 
Once demand was established, supply was no problem.
 

Martin was on the phone now.
 
The cops standing across the street had made him a little edgy.
  
Many things made him edgy.

For one, he was now unsure if the desired
Nex
could actually be produced.
  
He was, in fact, becoming unsure of the whole scheme.
  
There were too many factors he could not avoid.
 
One: how potent
Nex
could be.
 
Two: whether they could be the sole providers of
Nex
when it came out.
  
Others would make generic versions of it.
 
Three:
 
whether Ms. Zee could handle such a massive operation.
  
But how could he complain, with the kind of money he was being offered?
 
Lawyers are a dime a dozen and this was good money.

He shut the phone and closed his eyes.
  
He had been arguing with Ms. Zee about moving the store elsewhere.
 
The cops were too close.
 
Their focus was on the building across the way, but in the end it’d divert to them.
 
He’d advised they relocate as soon as possible.
 
But Ms. Zee thought otherwise.
 
The cops would not look under their noses.
 
They were expecting
Nex
to be produced in a large building, not underneath a retail store.
 

Then Martin thought of their informant in the police force.
 

***

Driving back from DAS I was excited.
 
This was just another regular, made-in-the-basement type of drug.
 
Aldrich was getting all worked up about nothing.
 
I turned to
Beadsworth
but saw that he didn’t share my enthusiasm.

“Cheer up,” I said.
 
“This isn’t as bad as we thought, is it?”

Beadsworth
didn’t answer.

I tapped the steering wheel with my fingers.
 
“We can cruise through this investigation,” I said.
 
I was looking forward to wrapping this case up.
 
I was also looking forward to Aldrich’s commitment that once we had completed this investigation I would be transferred to the intelligence unit.
 
I would fit in nicely in the intelligence unit.
 

I smiled, the widest smile possible.
 

“This isn’t right,” I heard
Beadsworth
say.

His comments snapped me out of my happy thoughts. “How is it not right?” I said.
 

“This could mean many things,” he started.
 
“One, this is a decoy. Provide us with different versions of the drug, hoping that we will get off track.
 
Two, the desired drug has already been produced.”

I thought about it and it kind of made sense.

I hadn’t known
Beadsworth
long enough, but now I could count on him to ruin my happiness.

ELEVEN

Next morning I was ready to leave the house when I got a call from Ronald Garnett.

“Rupert, I’m going to tag along with you,” he said.
 
This wasn’t a request, it was an order.
 
“Pick me up from headquarters.”

I was ready to make some excuse, like I was taking the subway, but thought against it.

“Yes, sir,” was all I could say.

***

The drive to headquarters was painful.
 
I had to pick up Garnett there, who, in my opinion, was waiting to bite my head off, then drive to Scarborough and meet up with
Nemdharry
and Terries.
 
Beadsworth
would join us later.

The lonely ride with Garnett was not going to be pleasant.
 
What would we talk about?
 
So Ronny, can I call you Ronny? Buddy, how’s it going?
 
Sorry I screwed up your investigation.
 
What’s one investigation when crime is everywhere?
 
What’s four months?
 
Maybe the next one will be quick; you might even wrap it up in one month
.

I found Garnett standing in front of the main entrance.
 
He opened the passenger door with a bewildered look over his face.
 
He tried, to the best of his abilities, to get into the car.
 
Ronald Garnett is enormous.
 
He is massive.
 
He could be someone’s bodyguard or even a bouncer at a club.
 

“You’re late,” he growled.

“I had to stop at the red lights,” I said.

He didn’t find my comment very amusing.

I told him we were meeting
Beadsworth
in Scarborough.
 
He made no comment, which was good.
 
I didn’t want any small talk either.
  

While I drove, I found my body gravitated toward him.
 
In fact, the entire car seemed lopsided.
 
Wait a minute. Garnett’s side seemed lower.
 
Great, there go my shocks.

“Can’t this toy go any faster?” Garnett said.
 
It was ninety
kilometre
per hour on this highway.
  
My car was barely going over eighty.

I wanted to say,
Get out of my car.
 
You’re too damn heavy
.
 
Stop eating entire cows for lunch.

I pressed harder on the accelerator.
 
The car jerked and I saw the hand on the speedometer quiver and touch ninety.

Happy
?
This vehicle will fall apart any minute.
 
This is an economy class vehicle.
 
It’s not a truck.
 
It can’t handle your weight
.

“I don’t like you,” Garnett said.
 
He turned to me.
 
“I don’t have to like you.” He looked like a deranged bulldog.

“I don’t like you either,” I said, but then all the data started bombarding my head: stuck in car with Garnett, driving
fast
on highway, no possible chance of escape.
 
I then wished I hadn’t said that.

“I don’t know why Sergeant Aldrich chose you but I think it was a mistake.”

I thought it was a mistake too, but you wouldn’t hear me mention it to everyone.
 

“You’re not even fit to give parking tickets,” he said.

I think he was trying to provoke me.
 
He wanted me to say something so Aldrich would dismiss me from the team.
 
I wasn’t going to let him win so I just smiled.

“What’re you smiling at?” he said.

The smile on my face vanished.
 
But inside, I was still smiling.
 

“Just stay out of my way,” he finally said.

Sure, I nodded.
 
I had no desire to get pulverized.

If ever I was in trouble I couldn’t see Garnett saving my ass.
 
I couldn’t see him saving anyone else’s either.

I don’t know how, but we reached Scarborough.

***

Once
Nemdharry
saw our car approach he got out of his.
 
He was surprised to see Garnett.

“Morning, Ron,” he said.
 
“Didn’t know you’d be joining us.”

Garnett smiled and said, “Sergeant Aldrich wanted me to assist you guys in any way I can.”

“How’s tight-ass doing anyways?”

Tight-ass?

I thought Garnett would lose his top but he replied, “Cut him some slack.
 
He’s under a lot of pressure.”

“I bet he is,”
Nemdharry
said.

“It’s not his fault what happened.”

“I don’t like working under him.
 
Wouldn’t have minded if you were heading the operation.”

Garnett just shrugged.
 

“I don’t like his decisions,”
Nemdharry
said.

Garnett looked in my direction.
 
“Neither do I.”

Subtlety wasn’t Garnett’s strong quality.

“Anything?” Garnett asked.

Nemdharry
looked over at the building across and said, “I checked to see what LLPM stood for but came up empty.
 
But I did find the company was registered two months ago.”
   

Garnett said, “You said something about a white truck?”

“Oh, yeah.
 
We were able to get a better view this time. They brought in empty cardboard boxes—”

“How’d you know they were empty?” Garnett asked.

“They were flat sheets, you know.
 
Later they were assembled, I guess.
 
We did clearly see them load the truck with the boxes afterwards.
 
Forty-five minutes later they were gone.”

“Are they shipping
Nex
in those boxes?” I said.

“Can’t say,”
Nemdharry
answered.
 
“If a dealer could set up shop in the middle of city hall and not be caught he would do it.
  
It’s all about finding that one way of getting away with it.” He scratched his clean-shaven cheek.
 
“I wouldn’t open a clan lab here.
 
No.
 
There are too many people around.
 
It’s too risky.
 
But you can’t underestimate these guys.
 
Hell.
 
They might be thinking we won’t come looking for them here.”