He called Sergei on his cell phone to let him know he would be in the hotel's Atrium restaurant in about fifteen minutes. Anatoly was the director of the International Negotiation Services Group (INSG).
INSG had a reputation for getting things done and as director, Anatoly was the one who made sure each job was assigned to the right consultant. He personally micro-managed each assignment to make sure any obstacles were overcome quickly. INSG services didn't come cheap.
The limo pulled up to the main entrance and Anatoly went into the Atrium restaurant and ordered a coffee. The driver parked where he could keep his eye on the front entrance. He was on retainer for the day.
As Sergei made his way to Anatoly's table, he stopped and made small talk with some of his regular patrons. Many of the world's largest corporate clients stayed at his hotel and he made a point of providing personal service to every VP client.
"Anatoly, how are you today!"
"Very well Sergei, and you?"
"I'm well thank you. Did you have a pleasant flight?"
"Yes. I always think of a flight as a meditation session. It's easy to feel like you've escaped all your everyday problems when you're flying high above the clouds."
"I suppose. I hate flying myself and I avoid it as much as I can."
"How are things going with your newest project. You've run into a snag I suppose, or I wouldn't be here."
"Yes Anatoly, we have. We are very close to getting city council to vote in favor of approving the project. We just need a few more yes votes to carry the motion."
Anatoly's face broke into a bit of a smile. "I've always admired your optimism Sergei. You speak in terms of the council being in favor rather than against, as so many people would."
"I don't play to lose. We've put a lot of time, effort and money into this project. It's a good thing for the city and for my company."
"Where do you think we should focus our efforts Sergei. Is there one influential person who could sway the votes of a few others or do we need to negotiate with several individuals?"
"Sergei passed Anatoly a slip of paper with a name and an address on it. This is our main problem at the moment. Councillor Tim Wilson. He's been working very hard to prevent our project from going forward. In fact, he's become the face of the opposition.
I doubt very much we can persuade him to vote for the project, but if we could at least get him to abstain from voting, I'm sure we could bring a few of the dissenters across the aisle. I've made an appointment for you to meet with him at 11am this morning at his constituency office."
"Does this Wilson fellow have a pet project we could use to our advantage Sergei? Some favor we can do for him to gain his approval?"
"I don't know of any way we could get Wilson's approval. Both the Mayor and James Turkell have approached him and offered to make concessions that would help him push some of his pet projects through. He's been completely obstinate. In fact he's been lobbying even harder against our project recently. That's why I've called you in to work your magic Anatoly."
"The INS group has some unusual resources at our disposal. I'm sure we can find a way to get our Mr. Wilson to abstain from voting, if we can't get him to join our cause. It appears it would be best if he were to take a neutral stance."
"It would and I'm counting on you to convey that message Anatoly."
"I imagine you would like this business to be completed as quickly as possible?"
"Yes. Every day that goes by means lost income. It also increases the odds that something else might happen that could delay our project. It would be nice if we could have the matter settled within a week."
Anatoly put the slip of paper in his pocket and rose to leave. "It's been good seeing you again Sergei. We will take care of this problem for you quickly so you can get on with your business."
They shook hands and Anatoly walked out and looked around for a moment while the limo pulled up. He instructed the driver to take him to the councillors office.
The meeting was just a formality really. He made it a practice to always give people the chance to deal with problems in the most sensible way. Having done that, he would have a clear conscience. Even the most unreasonable person deserved the chance to make the right decision.
Chapter 15
As soon as I checked in to my hotel room I put in a call to Detective Stan Novak at 53 Division.
"My name is Nick Borman detective Novak. Bill Piermont has asked me to look into the death of his son-in-law Terry Reynolds. I understand you were friends and I'd like to ask you a few questions if that's OK with you. Could we meet for a beer after you get off today?"
"I'd be glad to meet with you Mr. Borman. Terry was a good friend. I could meet you at the Fox and Firkin on Bloor around 4."
"I'm not familiar with the Fox and Firkin, but I'm sure I can find it. I'll see you at 4."
The Fox and Firkin was a dimly lit Canadian version of a British pub. I recognized Stan Novak from the description Bill gave me: 50, thin, balding and light blue eyes. Someone fitting that description was sitting at a booth near the back of the room. I got a beer at the bar and asked the waitress to bring the detective another of whatever it was he was having.
I sat across from Novak, "Thanks for taking the time to meet with me Detective. I'm sorry we have to meet under such terrible circumstances; I'm sure it's difficult, just having lost a close friend."
"Thanks. Terry's death is eating away at me. I just wish I had been there; I really don't know how this could have happened to him, but I know it would have gone down differently if I had been with him."
"What do you know about how it happened?"
"Very little. He was found leaning up against the front wheel of his car in a parking lot outside the Pacific Mall up in Markham. A lady walking by on the sidewalk noticed him and called 911. She thought he'd had a stoke or a seizure of some sort."
"No one saw how it happened? Nothing in the surveillance tapes?"
"No witnesses have come forward and none of the cameras in the parking lot covered the area where he was killed. Terry always parked far from other cars to avoid getting nicks in his Charger. He was just like a kid when it came to cars - a real car buff."
"Do you know what he was doing at the mall? Is that somewhere he would normally shop?"
"As far as we know, he was having lunch with a friend of the family at the Ming Palace restaurant. The restaurant is in the mall. I talked to the friend and he said Terry was going to look around for some electronic gear after lunch."
"This friend was the last person who saw Terry? Do you have any reason to suspect the friend's story?"
"We have no evidence to the contrary so we're assuming he was just shopping for a while. I don't know whether he ever shopped there before; it's not something we talked about. Most of the mall's tenants are orientals and they do sell a lot of cheap electronic gear there."
Something about that just didn't sound right to me. Stan Novak didn't look like he was buying into the shopping trip idea either.
"What do you think happened Stan? You were a close friend and probably knew him as well as anyone. Was Terry working on something that could have got him killed?"
"I wouldn't share this with most people but Bill Piermont called and told me a bit about you and what he's asked you to do for him. Terry wasn't working on anything at the time that could have got him in that kind of mess as far as I know. But I do know he'd been trying to break a story with a new source, possibly a whistleblower. I know very little about it. Terry kept his sources very confidential."
"What kind of source? Drugs or gang stuff?"
"You never know with Terry. I don't think it would have been anything related to drugs. He was more likely working on something related to white collar crime but I don't know for sure because he was protecting his source. Whoever it was, the guy hadn't completely made up his mind to come forward yet. He was having guilt issues I think and he was testing the waters by talking to Terry."
"Is there any way you could let me have a look at what's in the file so far Stan; the notes and coroner's report?"
Novak grabbed a folder that had been sitting on the bench next to him. "I thought you might ask for that. I can't leave it with you but you can have a look."
I was starting to like Stan Novak a lot more already. There wasn't much in the file as far as notes go; a statement from the woman who'd dialed 911 to report finding the body. There was a newspaper clipping from the day after the incident. The headline read:
Thief takes life along with watch and wallet
The coroner's report was a bit more telling. There was a photograph showing the stab wounds. It was a stabbing pattern that anyone with combat training with knives would recognize. The wounds were usually delivered in a cycle that started with one to the heart and one to each lung. The attack finished with one more to the heart for good measure. It was not likely anyone had ever survived such an attack.
"This stabbing pattern doesn't look like the work of an amateur."
"I couldn't agree more."
"So what's the deal Stan. Why isn't this being treated like the work of an assassin?"
"I'm sure you've heard the official line. No witnesses and no motive. They're saying the press would hound them until it was solved and they don't want an unsolved crime of this nature on the books because of the upcoming election."
"Sounds pretty thin doesn't it?"
"Yes and no. It wouldn't be the first time politicians cared more about themselves and their election campaigns than anything else."
"I know political egos have no bounds but we're talking about a prominent reporter who was probably killed while doing his job."
Novak was shaking his head "I can't tell you how pissed I am about how this is being handled. Terry was my friend and he was one hell of a good reporter. He's exposed fraud and corruption in places most people couldn't touch. He deserves a lot better than this.
I've been trying to investigate his murder on my own but I've been told to let it go or else I might end up looking for another job."
"Really. Who's behind the order?"
"Deputy Chief James Galecki for one; he's head of special operations. The order came down from him to Captain Gallagher. We're to stand down and let him take care of it."
"Is he quietly running an investigation on his own?"
"He said we were to leave this in his hands and let him take care of it but I don't see any investigating being done."
I was starting to understand why Bill Piermont was so frustrated. Terry Reynolds' best friend, a detective wanted to investigate on his own, but he wasn't being allowed to do it.
"Did Terry have any enemies Stan. Could there be something else going on here that would explain this?"
"I don't think he had enemies that would go out and kill him. He was an investigative reporter. Pissing people off goes with the territory. But most reporters don't end up dead because of their job."
"Well. We don't have much to go on just yet Stan, but I'm thinking there is a possibility that this new source Terry was working on might have something to do with his murder in some way. Do we know anything about this person, where Terry met him, what he does for a living?"
"I have no idea. He didn't tell me and I don't know whether or not he told anyone else. Terry might have talked to Captain Gallagher to see if they could work out an immunity deal for the guy, but I don't know that for sure."
"Who was the friend that Terry met for lunch?"
"His name is Mark Fenton. He's an accountant and VP for one of the developers in the city; guy named Sergei Mogilevich. He owns the Executive Suites Hotel in Markham. Fenton and Terry know each other from church; they work on church committees together. Fenton said he'd talked to Terry about a career change. He tried to play it down and make it sound like it was just everyday stuff."
"You don't buy his story?"
"No, I don't. I think there's more to it but Fenton isn't willing to talk about it just yet." He gave me Fenton's home address and phone number.
"You've been a great help Stan. I hope it's alright if I get in touch with you if I need something cleared up."
"You can call me anytime Nick. I'll be more than happy to do anything I can to help bring in whoever is responsible for Terry's murder. I'll have to do it unofficially mind you, I've been warned more than once to back off on conducting an unofficial murder investigation."
We shook hands and I headed back to the hotel.
Chapter 16
After my meeting with Stan Novak I went to see Julia Piermont Reynolds. It's funny how life gets in the way of friendships. Julia and I used to see each other every week when we were kids. Now I'm going to see her because her husband was brutally murdered under suspicious circumstances.
Growing up, her family would come to our house or we would sometimes go to theirs. Us kids played together and the mothers socialized while our fathers worked in the basement on some new secret project.
The basement was usually off limits to the rest of us, so we rarely got to see what it was they were working on. Our dads lived and breathed computers and computer code. They loved their work with a passion that energized all of us.
Julia opened the door and started crying the minute she saw me. I stepped inside and closed the door. "I'm so sorry Julia."
I took her in my arms and held her while she wept deep sobs of anguish. We stood there locked in each others arms for who knows how long. Eventually the tears stopped flowing and she stood back, "What brings you to the city?"
"Your dad called me yesterday and asked me to come up and see him. I met with him early this morning - that's when I got the news. I had a short meeting with Stan Novak when I left your dad's office and then I came straight over to see you."
Chapter 17
Tim Wilson's secretary came through on his intercom "Mr. Rodchencko is here for his meeting with you Mr. Wilson."
"Send him in Gloria." Gloria walked Anatoly to Wilson's office and let him in.
"Good day Mr. Rodchencko. Have a seat, can I have Gloria get you something to drink; a coffee or a bottled water?"
"Thank you, I'm fine Councillor Wilson."
"So tell me, what can I help you with today sir?"
"I represent a group of people who would like to see major improvements come to the St. James Town area, Councillor. I'm told your vote could make a big difference in making this happen."
"Well, it might if I were in favor of the development Mr. Rodchencko, but I'm not. I'm not about to vote for any motion that would see twenty five thousand people displaced from their homes without anywhere to put them."
"If I understand correctly Mr. Wilson, these twenty five thousand people are very unhappy with the living conditions in St. James Town. These are old buildings that are run down and were not properly designed in the first place. Isn't replacing them with newer buildings the only feasible way to correct the problem?"
"That would be the case if the plan was to replace them with structures that were designed for the low income individuals that live there Mr. Rodchencko, but it's not. The plan that's being put forward calls for the buildings to be torn down and replaced with executive style buildings. None of the existing tenants would be able to afford to live in the new buildings and there isn't any housing subsidy available to allow low income individuals to rent in luxury buildings."
"Of course councillor, but in the usual turn of events, wouldn't these new buildings become occupied by tenants that move over from buildings that were considered upscale ten years ago? And wouldn't these newly vacated buildings become available to lower income people like the ones currently living in St. James Town?"
"I know that's the theory Mr. Rodchencko, but this process would take several years. There's also no way to control which buildings get vacated. A lot of these tenants don't have cars Mr. Rodchenko. Where would these people live while all of this gets sorted out? You see the problem? In real life, tens of thousands of people would be displa
ced with nowhere to go immediately. And many of them wouldn't be able to find accommodations in the same part of town."
"Do we not have one of the best public transportation systems in the world here in Toronto Mr. Wilson. I'm sure the city and the developers would be amenable to helping the tenants make the transition. If an acceptable plan were presented to help them make the move, would that be enough to make you change your mind about supporting the development?"
"No, it would not Mr. Rodchencko. These people live here. It's their home. Many of them work in the area and can walk to work from their apartment. Asking twenty five thousand people to uproot and move to another part of the city is just not something I'm going to support."
The Borman Factor Page 4