Race (29 page)

Joey never ventured out of the building alone.
 
Never.
 
He knew the consequences if he did.
 

Kong returned, displeased.

“What now?”
Hause
said.

“He must have gone to his parents’ house,” Ms. Zee said.
 
“Go check.”

TWENTY-ONE

I lay still, silently staring up at the ceiling.
 
It had been more than an hour since
Beadsworth
had left.
  
I was thinking about nothing in particular.
 
My mind was shifting from one thought to another.
 
There was so much I wanted to understand.
 

I felt Operation Anti-RACE had been set up too quickly.
  
The team needed members with experience in catching criminals like RACE.
 

Now the team was being disbanded just like…the drug squad.

There was a loud bang.

I listened.

Bang, bang, bang came in rapid succession.

I got up and went to the door.

I opened it.

“Hey, Jeff!” I started.
 
“What’re you doing here?”

The shaggy-haired kid looked nervous.

“Hey, man,” he said.
  
“I’m glad you recognized me.”

“How did you get up here?” I asked, thinking about my ultra-protective-security, my landlady.
  

Jeff said, “There was an old woman outside cleaning up stuff and I told her I was your friend.”

“And she let you in?” I said. I must have a word with her.
 

“Can I come in?” he said.

I glanced back at the apartment and then said, “Sure.
 
Come in.”

He entered but leaped back, almost hitting the wall, when he saw Michael Jordan.
 
“Oh, it’s only cardboard,” he said, laughing.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said.
 

I led him to the sofa, where he sat down.
 

I offered him a drink but he declined.

I sat opposite him.

“What happened to you?” he said.
 

I touched my stuffed nose, “Long story.”

He rubbed his hands nervously and seemed to be shaking.

I said, “I don’t remember giving you my address at the club.”

“I looked you up in the phone directory,” he replied.

“Right, right,” I said, nodding.
 
“What can I do for you?”

“You’re a cop, right?”

I nodded, slowly.
 
“You could say that.”

He seemed relieved.
 
“Good, then I’m safe.”

“Safe from what?” I said.

“Do these walls have ears,” he said.

“Um…I don’t think so.
 
But if you talk loud enough my landlady downstairs will hear you.”

“Then I’ll talk quietly,” he said, lowering his voice.
 
“I’m in serious trouble.”

I listened.

“I can’t say right now from who but if I get protection, like those victim protection programs, then I’ll tell you everything.”

“Jeff, you have to first tell me why you are in trouble.”

He lowered his head and stared at his fingers.
 
“My name is not Jeff.
 
It’s Joseph Lenard.”

“Okay, Joseph.”

“Joey.”

“Okay, Joey,” I said.
 
“Why are you in trouble?”

“There is…” he searched for the right words.
 
“This group that is very dangerous.”

I listened.

“They are trying to make—no, they are in the process of completing this drug.”

“RACE,” I blurted.

“Who?”

“RACE,” I said. “I mean, Radical Association of Criminal Ethnicities.”

“No,” he shook his head.
 
“I think you’re confusing it with something else.
 
But this group is working on this drug—”

“
Nex
?” I said.

His eyes widened and he said, “Yes.
 
You do know?”

I immediately picked up the phone.
 

“No, don’t,” he said grabbing at it.
  
“Please listen to me first.”

His hand was on top of mine.
 

“There is a mole inside the force,” he said.

“A mole?”

“Yes, someone was feeding information to us.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“No.”

“Don’t worry, I’m calling my partner,” I said.

“Can you trust him?”

I thought about it.
 
I hadn’t known
Beadsworth
long, but he was the only one I could call right now.
 

“Yes.”

Joey released my hand and I called
Beadsworth
.

***

Beadsworth
was in my apartment in less than half an hour.
 
He eyed Joey suspiciously.
 
Joey stared at his fingers.
 
Beadsworth
sat across from him and unbuttoned his jacket.

I said to Joey, “Tell him what you told me.”

Joey coughed.
 
“I need protection,” he said, not looking up.

“From whom?”
Beadsworth
said.

“I can’t say that right now.
 
I need a guarantee first that I will be protected.
 
The people I was working for are making a drug that’s bigger than anything…it’s going to be bigger than Ecstasy.”

“
Nex
,”
Beadsworth
said.

“Yes,” Joey said.
 

“Do they have the drug?”

“Yes.”

Beadsworth
went silent.
 
He was mulling over something in his mind.
  
“Where can we find these people you worked for?”

“Not so fast,” Joey said, waving his hands in the air.
 
“First, my protection.”

“I can’t give you that,”
Beadsworth
said.

Joey and I both looked at him.

“Why not?” I said.

“But I know someone who can.”

“Who?”

“Sergeant Aldrich.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said.

“Can you trust him?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, can
we
trust him?” I said.
 
“There’s a mole inside the force.”

Beadsworth’s
face went pale.
 
“Do you know who it is?”

Joey shook his head.

Beadsworth
said slowly, “Sergeant Aldrich is in charge and our superior.
 
It is our duty to inform him of this situation.”

Joey nodded, understanding.

“Why are you helping us?”
Beadsworth
inquired.

“My life is in danger.
 
I’m no longer needed.
 
If I stayed they would kill me.”

“All right,”
Beadsworth
said.
 
“Let me see if I can arrange something.”
 
He got up and headed for the door.
 
I followed.

“Watch over him,” he said.
 

With that he left.

***

With
Beadsworth
gone I was left with Joey.
 
He massaged his hands while examining the interior of my apartment.
 
There wasn’t much to look at.
  
The walls were adorned with old picture frames that I’d picked up from yard sales.
 
They looked antique so I bought them.
 
The previous tenant had left behind the sofa.
 
After much shampooing it looked almost brand new.
 
Almost.
 

The floor was hardwood, so no carpet was needed, and no vacuuming either.
 
My landlady donated the dining table after she saw me eating on my sofa.
 
She had bought a new one and was going to give it away anyway. My mother paid for the bedroom set, which was my moving away gift.
      

The television was probably the one thing that was new and the most expensive in the apartment.
 
It was a Sony fifty-two-inch flat screen high definition with built-in stereo surround sound.
 
It was my pride and joy.
 
It made me want to come home every night.

“Nice television,” said Joey.

“Thanks,” I beamed like a proud father.
 
“It’s a Sony.”

He relaxed.

“You want a drink?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

I brought him a can of Fruitopia.
 

After taking a sip he passed his hand through his thick hair.
 
He leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
 
I looked up at the ceiling too, but I couldn’t find anything particularly interesting up there.
 
I concluded he was tired.

***

Hause
returned, shaking his head.
 
Joey was not at his parents’ house.
 
Ms. Zee was worried.
 
Where could he have gone?
 

Kong appeared behind the door.
  
He didn’t look her in the eye.
 
She knew he was angry for not being allowed to kill Joey earlier.
 
Maybe, she should have let him.
 
It would not have caused this problem now.
  

The phone rang and she picked it up.
  
She listened to the voice on the other end and hung up with a smile.

“We know where he is,” she said.

***

“Do you have a computer?” Joey suddenly said.

“It’s old,” I answered.

“Does it have internet?”

“Yes.”

“Can I use it?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s in the bedroom.”

He jumped up and then disappeared.
  

A long while later he emerged looking distressed.
 

“You find what you were looking for?” I asked.
      

“Kind of,” he said.
 
“One of my friends from college lives outside Toronto.
 
I called him before I came to you but his number had changed.
 
I did have his e-mail address so I just sent him a message.
 
Hopefully he’ll e-mail back.”