“Not to worry everyone, said Michael. “I’ve got it covered. I’m going to pay a visit to Batlan’s little party. I’ll be looking to buy some weed and while I’m there, I plan on taking some pictures. I have a lapel camera,” he announced with glee.
“What a great idea!” For me, with all cameras it’s love at first sight.
“I bought it yesterday in a shop on Hastings Street—a spy shop.” He was clearly delighted with the purchase and took a few snaps of us. “As soon as your dinner arrives, we’ll go down.”
“Does Batlan usually book the Mackenzie Suite?” asked Bart.
“Always, apparently,” said Michael.
“This room is perfect,” said Lucas, looking out the peep hole. “No one can get by us.”
CHAPTER 34
The air was cool and damp. Everything shrouded in a thick blanket of mist. Seth, hot and flushed with fever, didn’t feel the cold. He stumbled towards the garage. Wanted to get Ange’s car, to take Carey home, a surprise for her. Georgina wanted to go home. That’s all she wanted. What they all wanted. What he wanted. Too late for him. Too late now. He’d done so many things. Bad things. Too many.
When he turned back to look for the gatehouse, it had disappeared. He moved in a slow circle, but it was gone. Completely disoriented now, he kept going, trying to find a landmark. He heard the distant, muffled sound of a dog barking close by. Ange didn’t have a dog. His house was up high, the last house on the street, such a beautiful house. He slept there sometimes, when there were no children to take care of; to pick up food for; to drive to the clients; so many children, Ange’s beautiful children. Their faces in his dreams. Always in his dreams.
Walking was easier now. He was going downhill. He didn’t think he should be going downhill and thought he must be going the wrong way. He kept moving, stumbling into trees, tripping over rocks. Aimless now and near exhaustion, he lost his balance and was sliding, over the edge and falling, down, down. Suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Too tired to get up, he leaned back; rested his head. His mom was beside him. She covered him with a warm blanket. “Don’t need it mom,” he tried to tell her. “I’m so hot”. Her hand on his cheek was cool and gentle.
When Alex and Jeri arrived at the boat yard, no lights were visible in the yard or the main building. They parked a few blocks away and made their way to the outside perimeter of the property. A dense blanket of fog hovered at the base of the mountains. Only their tops were visible.
It took a few minutes to locate the entryway that Arenas had cut through the fence. Jeri used wire snips to quickly cut through the makeshift fix someone had rigged up.
“Did they really think this would keep anybody out?” she said, as they made their way through the fence into the yard and approached the building from the back. The broken window had been boarded up. They followed the wall around to the entrance. Jeri picked the lock and once they were inside, they pulled out flashlights and made their way to the front of the shop. It was so overcast that no light filtered through the windows in the reception area.
“They didn’t get the door fixed,” said Alex as they entered the office.
“No windows in here. We can risk putting on the overhead.”
Alex flicked the light switch with one gloved finger. Jeri got to work picking the cupboard locks. The shelves were empty.
“They must have moved the merchandise that night,” said Jeri.
They moved to an unlocked door along the back wall. It opened onto an empty, windowless room, as long as the main room was wide. There was no light source here. They had to make do with what light penetrated from the main office area and their flashlights.
“Notice the smell?” said Jeri. “Acetone.”
“The smell of acetone was strong In the truck box too.” Alex hunkered down to examine the floor area and a patch of wall in one corner. “It looks like blood staining here.”
“There’s a small spray up the wall there as well,” said Jeri, following it with her flashlight. The floor, which had the hard, unforgiving feel of concrete, was covered with threadbare, low nap carpeting.
Alex continued to focus his light on the floor, slowly traversing it, inch by inch. “What’s this,” he said, as he carefully fished a tiny blue pill from the carpet’s low nap.
“Can you read the imprint?”
“Barr,” said Alex.
“Diazepam. It showed up in O’Meara’s tox screen. She said she’d taken nothing that day, not even aspirin. Valium plus acetone fumes in the strength indicated by their presence in the room—she wouldn’t have been able to put up any kind of fight,” said Jeri.
“And if she’d never experienced the effect of either substance before, she wouldn’t have recognized her symptoms for what they were.” Alex returned the small blue pill to a spot not far from the blood stain and moved further along the wall.
“The smell is stronger over here. It could be a spill. The odor wouldn’t be able to dissipate in a small, closed space like this; no window or ventilation.”
They completed examining the room but found nothing else. They had barely returned to the office area when a loud, rhythmic banging started up. Jeri moved back into the smaller room.
“The banging is much louder in here. The docks: something must have started up on this side of the inlet. That’s the sound that O’Meara described in her statement.”
Alex’s burner cell buzzed. It was Morgan, texting them an update. Michael, Kate, and Bart had gone downstairs to have dinner. She was upstairs with Lucas. He texted that they were on their way and would let her know when they were at the club.
CHAPTER 35
Lucas was in the washroom when I heard the unmistakable thump of a suitcase against the door across from us. I got to the peephole in time to see a man in a suit and overcoat open the door to Batlan’s suite and enter. I saw him in profile, left side, as he moved his briefcase to his right hand and pulled the door open to enter ... clean-shaven, sharp nose, pale complexion, medium height, ash-blonde hair, worn longish.
“Damn it,” he said, loud enough for me to hear. He must have banged his hand on the door jam.
I watched the door close, then returned to my roast beef dinner. Lucas was back. I told him that someone just entered the room. “I heard him swear. He banged his hand. I got a good look at the guy from the side.” More noise from across the hall and I jumped up to look.
“Same guy. He left his suitcase and overcoat in the room.”
“Maybe he’s staying the night?”
“I want to get a look at the room. Everyone’s at dinner—this will probably be our only chance.” The suites all had original carved doors and the hardware, including the locks, all in surprisingly good shape, were original as well. Which may be why the locks hadn’t been fitted with deadbolts when the club was renovated. I’d been playing around with the lock on our door and found that, while it wasn’t easy, it could be disengaged with a plastic card.
“I’ll bet the doors all have the same type of lock. They really should consider dead bolts on these doors.”
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“A cousin.”
“Very helpful for us. I’ll keep watch outside the suite. If you hear one sound from me, get out of there, and quick!”
I grabbed my camera and my credit card, already badly nicked from practise. We left our room door off latch. Lucas kept watch beside me, while I fumbled with the door lock on Batlan’s suite. It wouldn’t budge and I was about to give up when it quietly opened, and I was in.
Batlan’s suite was more like an apartment and it was beautifully decorated. A king-size bed filled a nook at the far end. One of the windows provided a stunning view of the lights on the inner harbour. There were several couches, a beautiful, lacquered armoire, occasional chairs, quality side tables, cozy carpeting. A textured silk lamp and wall sconces provided soft, intimate lighting.
I took some photos and was just about to have
a go at the suitcase at the foot of the big bed when I heard Lucas whistle. I got out fast, pulling the door shut behind me. Lucas was holding our door open. I dashed through and he quickly followed.
“I heard the elevator ding,” he said.
“There wasn’t much lying around. I took some pictures. I didn’t have time to check the blonde’s suitcase.”
We stood, side by side, me looking through the peephole. Whoever had just arrived went into a room further down the hall.
We’d just started on dessert when there were sounds across the hall. I jumped up in time to see a woman in uniform push a cart stacked with fresh towels and linens into the room.
“I couldn’t see her face. Don’t cleaning staff usually leave their carts in the hallway,” I whispered. We finished dessert and were enjoying coffee when we heard more noise at Batlan’s door. This time, I got a good look at her face.
“She was at the back entrance when we came in. Michael nodded to her.”
“She could have been up here checking on supplies.”
“There were six stacked towels on the cart, same as when she went in. I think she came up to Batlan’s suite for a reason.”
“Maybe someone sent her up.”
The elevator chimed, indicating yet another visitor to the floor, but they entered a room further down the hall.
“I want to check out the suitcase the blonde guy left.”
“Wait Morgan. Just a few more minutes. The woman may return.”
“Honestly, Lucas, this is so frustrating.”
“I know honey, but we can’t afford to let those bastards know that we’re here. Let me see the pictures you took of the room.”
I knew he was trying to mollify me, but I handed him the camera and he pulled them up. I heard some noise and glanced through the peephole in time to see a man enter Batlan’s suite. This latest visitor was medium height and quite stocky.
I quickly motioned to Lucas, but too late.
“Another guy,” I said, describing him.
We hovered close by and it wasn’t long before there was more action at the door. Lucas was at the peephole when the thick-set man emerged.
“Thick set guy; probably the same guy you saw.
“I wish I could take pictures of these people.”
“These guys are probably at dinner with Batlan. We’ll have pictures when Michael gets back.”
It was close to 10:00 pm when Fernice and Desocarras parked beneath the club. She called Morgan.
“How’s it going?”
“Batlan’s room has had a few visitors.” I gave her a brief rundown.
“Who’s with you?”
“Lucas.”
“Check in with us every 10 to 15 minutes, even if nothing’s happening.”
“Okay.”
Kate, Michael, and Bart showed up soon after. Michael downloaded the shots he took of Batlan’s guests to his laptop. Kate slipped into the bathroom to pee, while the rest of us gathered around to have a look.
“I made sure Marvin Roche wasn’t in the room. Then I went in, pretending I was drunk, asking for Marvin. I wasn’t sure if I was getting decent shots. I walked to the head of the table, patting guys on the back, trying for different angles. They tolerated me for a bit but boy, they got pissed off fast. Then Roche arriving with the dinner trolley and I made arrangements to buy some dope, which I did, twenty minutes later. I figured I had to, or they’d be suspicious.”
“You did great Mike,” said Bart.
“Some of these pictures are a little fuzzy,” said Michael, peering at his laptop.
“Oh no, they’re fine, really!” I reassured him. “We can see everyone.”
“I count ten men,” said Bart.
“This guy was up here,” I said, pointing at a guy probably in his thirties with ash-blonde hair.”
“Him too,” said Lucas, pointing to a close-up of a thick-set man raising a glass to his lips.
As Michael scrolled through the pictures, I thought I recognized one of the men after the fact and asked him to scroll back.
“That guy, the one sitting to the right of the heavy-set guy. I’m sure I saw him at the VPD when I went in for my interview. He was at the front desk.”
“I don’t remember seeing him,” said Lucas.
“I noticed him because he was talking to someone. He has a beautiful voice; a deep baritone.”
“He’s definitely a person of authority,” said Bart. “His face, his whole demeanour. He’s used to being in charge.”
“What about the blonde?”
“Him too.”
There was one particularly good shot of the entire room. Marvin Roche could be seen, just inside the frame, close to the dumb waiter.
“Look at that,” said Bart. “Those two are in a pissing match. The blonde is glaring across the table at him,” he said, pointing to the VPD guy, “and he’s ignoring him. The blonde is royally pissed off.”
“I’d love to be a fly on their wall!” Kate was back.
“We need Batlan’s guest list,” said Michael. I’ll try to get it from one of the staff.”
“Oh Michael. What if Batlan finds out?” Kate didn’t like the idea one bit.
“Don’t worry, Kate. I’ll be careful. I’ll make sure Roche doesn’t get wind of it,” he said, glaring at his computer screen.”
“We should get these pictures to the sergeants. They’re in the parking lot below us.” I called down, put her on speaker and told her what we had.
“You said you were only going to observe!”
“I was very careful,” Michael assured her.
She gave us an email address and Michael sent her the pictures.
“I’m going now. Is the coast clear?” Michael asked Kate, who was on watch at the door.
“Yes—Oops, no!” she hissed. “Wait.”
“A woman in uniform just arrived and she’s very distracted,” Kate announced in a stage whisper. “Okay. Now.”
Michael slipped out the door and was down the hall in a shot.
“Let us know when she leaves, Kate, and look to see if she’s carrying anything.” She nodded.
Lucas had turned on my camera. “These are pictures Morgan took in Batlan’s suite,” he told Bart.
“What? You broke in?!”
“No, not me—Morgan. I kept watch by the door.”
Bart feigned heart palpitations, took the camera, and scrolled through the pictures, while the two of us looked on.
“Tall man leaving,” Kate whispered from the door.
“Kate, did you see him enter?”
“No, not while I’ve been watching.”
“Then where’d he come from?”
“Maybe he entered the room before the cleaning woman,” said Kate.
“Maybe we just missed him,” I said.
“Or maybe there’s another way into the suite,” said Kate, eyes wide. “It’s a heritage building. Who knows what went on here in the past? It’s downtown, in the heart of the business district, and so close to the harbour. For all we know, there could be a maze of secret doors and passageways. Maybe there’s an underground entrance that no one knows about!”
“Kate’s got a point,” said Lucas. “Batlan’s suite is the last one on that side of the hall. We should check out the area beside it.”
“Let’s go,” said Bart.
Checking first that the hallway was empty, Bart and Lucas slipped out, leaving Kate and I were alone in the room. We sat in tub chairs near the door. Kate slipped off her heels and wiggled her toes.
“What’s directly beside us?” Kate asked.
“Facing our door, a suite on our right and on the left, a storage room.” There was noise at Batlan’s door. We both jumped up.
“The woman’s leaving,” whispered Kate. “You look.”
I peeked at her as she locked up. “She was here earlier,” I whispered back.
“She’s carrying a p
lastic bag.”
We both heard the elevator ding. It was Michael. Moments later, Kate unlatched the door and he slipped into the room.
“Did you see that woman, the one with the dark hair pulled back in a bun?” he asked us. We both nodded.
“She’s the woman I talked to one night when I was up here checking things out, the one I got a sad vibe from, kind of scared. Remember Morgan, I told you about her.”
“I do. She’s been up here a few times.”
“Maybe I’m reading more into it than was there.”
“No, Michael, I think you’re right,” said Kate. “The second time she entered empty handed and when she left, she was carrying a small plastic garbage bag.”
“I was in the room earlier and there was no garbage anywhere. She must have been in there for at least ten minutes? What was she doing?”
“You were in the room, Morgan?” Michael was aghast.
“Just briefly, Michael. Lucas stood watch.”
“Where’s Lucas and Bart?”
“They went to check out the landing at the end of the hall. They should be back any minute now. Did you get the list?”
“I’ll have it shortly.” He flipped open his laptop and pulled up his pictures. “Which guys have been up here?”
“First, the guy we’re calling the blonde came and went. Then the housekeeper came and went. Then the heavy-set guy came and went. That one there,” I said. Then the housekeeper returned, and she just left. Kate saw a tall man leave, before the housekeeper left, but no one saw him enter the room. We could have missed him going in.”
“That’s the guy I saw leaving,” Kate said, pointing to the man I remembered from VPD headquarters.”
“VPD,” I said.
She looked at me, eyes wide. “VPD!”
Michael handed the laptop to Kate. “I’ll go see if the list of Batlan’s guests is ready. Then I’m thinking we should round everyone up and get out of here.”
Kate and I looked at him. “We can’t leave yet Michael!
Blue Star Page 22
