So it's the size of the project that bothers you? You know, I'm told this project will bring in an extra twenty five million dollars a year in property taxes alone. The city could use the extra money could it not."
"Look Mr. Rodchencko, I appreciate you taking the time to come in to see me, but this isn't something I'm going to change my mind on."
"Mr. Wilson, this project is very important to the people I represent and they're willing to make this very worthwhile for you. Tell us what it is we can do to bring you over to our side of the issue."
"There's nothing you can say or do that will bring me over to the other side of this issue Mr. Rodchencko. The tenants don't want to see this project go through and neither do I. Now if you'll excuse me I have other matters to tend to."
Anatoly rose, "Thank you for seeing me Mr. Wilson. Please keep in mind what I said. This project will go through and I think you would be much better off if you were on the winning side of this proposal."
"I don't know where you get your information Mr. Rodchencko, but this project doesn't have a chance in hell of going through. Like I told my constituents, the only hope they have of bringing this in, is over my dead body."
"I'm sorry to hear you feel that way Mr. Wilson. I was hoping I could get you to change your mind but it appears I'm not going to be able to do that. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."
After leaving councillor Wilson's constituency office, Anatoly walked south two blocks on Sherbourne St. and entered a Starbucks coffee shop. He ordered a small coffee made with beans from the rainforest and made his way to a table that was occupied by a lone man of European descent.
"Our client was right about Mr. Wilson. He is not of a mind to listen to someone else's side of the story. Such a shame."
"Do we want him out of commission for a little while or would it be better if he were decommissioned permanently?"
"I think it would be in our best interest if Mr. Wilson were to retire permanently. He is too determined to make life difficult for our associates."
"Is there a timeline I need to be sensitive to?"
"It doesn't have to be today, but the sooner the better. Within the next week would be suitable."
Having received his instructions, the man rose and walked out onto the street. He took a deep breath of air and smiled. Life was good. He turned left and made his way to the city carpark one block south of the coffee shop where he had left his automobile.
Chapter 18
I decided to park about a half block down the road from Fenton's house. I wasn't quite sure why I thought I should do that but I had learned to follow my instincts a long time ago. I scanned my gut to see if there was some sort of premonition lurking just below the surface, but there wasn't - not yet anyway.
As I walked up to the house, I couldn't shake the feeling that Fenton could be the missing link. Hell, I didn't just think it, I felt it. Terry Reynolds had been put out of commission by a skilled assassin. The odds that his death was the result of a simple robbery were much higher than the odds for the biggest lottery of the year. Common thieves didn't use a knife the way Terry Reynold's killer did.
The lawns of the ranch style bungalow that Mark Fenton lived in were very well groomed as was the rest of the property. Fenton answered the door only seconds after I pressed the buzzer, as if he'd been expecting someone.
"Sorry to come unannounced Mr. Fenton, but I need to have a word with you. My name is Nick Borman. The Piermont family has hired me to look into the death of Terry Reynolds."
"Of course, come in. I knew Terry from church. I didn't know there was an investigation into his death." Fenton closed the door behind me.
"Terry's family doesn't think it was just a robbery Mr. Fenton. They've hired me to look into what happened that day and see if we can find who is responsible."
"Let's go downstairs to my office. We'll be more comfortable there." Fenton turned and started walking downstairs to his office.
I took the chair Fenton offered as he sat behind his desk. "I spoke to detective Stan Novak. He told me he had talked to you as well. It seems you were one of the last people who saw Terry Reynolds alive."
"I was shocked when I heard about the robbery and his death. It's hard to understand how some people would kill for so little."
That was the second time Fenton suggested that he bought into the robbery story. "I'm not so sure it was just a simple robbery Mr. Fenton. I understand you met with him the day he died."
"Yes, we met for lunch at the Ming Palace restaurant."
"Could you tell me a bit about what you talked about?"
"Did you say you were working with the police department Mr. Borman?"
"No Mr. Fenton, I'm not. I'm a private security consultant and I was hired by the family to find out what happened that day."
"I see. Well, as I told the police Mr. Borman, we didn't meet about anything important really. Terry and I went to the same church and we worked together on church functions at times."
"Yes, Detective Novak mentioned that. Could you tell me what it was you met about that day? Were you reporting some irregularities at one of the firms you do work for?"
"No, no. Nothing like that at all. I've been thinking about making a change in career this past while and Terry and I had talked about it a bit at church the weekend before. We found it hard to carry on a conversation with all the church members around so we agreed to meet over a coffee or lunch during the week to talk some more."
"I see. Were you and Terry close friends?"
"I wouldn't say we were close friends. More like casual acquaintances."
"Did you and Terry meet often to discuss personal matters like work?"
"No. Actually, this was the first time. As I said earlier, we had started talking about it at church but other people kept coming up and interrupting the conversation so we decided we would meet later on, someplace where there wouldn't be so many interruptions."
"Did Terry talk to you about anything going on in his life? Was he upset about something?"
"Terry rarely talked about himself or his work. This was really the first time we'd met outside of church Mr. Borman - we weren't that close."
"Is there anything you can think of that might help us figure out what happened that day Mr. Fenton?"
"I'm afraid not Mr. Borman. I wish there was something I could do to help; poor Julia must be devastated. Unfortunately I have no idea what happened that day and I don't see how our meeting at lunch could have anything to do with the robbery and his death."
"There may not be any obvious connection. Terry Reynolds met with a violent death shortly after meeting with you. His friend Stan Novak says he didn't think Terry was working on anything at the time that might attract that kind of violence. Was there any special reason why you met at the Pacific Mall? It mostly caters to orientals from what I understand."
"No. No special reason. It's close to where I work and Terry and I both liked Chinese food."
"I see. Well, that about covers it for now Mr. Fenton. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me and please give me a call if you think of anything that might help us figure out what happened."
I gave Fenton one of my cards and I made my way back upstairs. Fenton followed me up. We shook hands at the door.
I left Fenton's house feeling like I had made a bit of progress. It wasn't so much anything Fenton had said as it was what he hadn't said.
A lot of what I do in my line of work comes from the gut. There isn't always a trail to follow and you learn to follow your instincts.
I could feel in my gut that Fenton wasn't telling the whole story. In fact, I was sure he had left out quite a bit. You learn to read people after spending years in the security business. Fenton was hiding something; the question was, what?
I drove back downtown to the Four Seasons Hotel on Yorkville Avenue. The strip of Bloor Street that runs between Bay St. and Avenue Rd. is known as the Mink Mile. It is the priciest retail space in Canada, famous for it
s high end stores and luxury shopping.
Many merchandisers locate their flagship stores in the Bloor-Yorkville location. Tiffany, Prada, Chanel, D&G, Gucci, Hermès and other high-end boutiques and designers can all be found here.
I was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in the very heart of the district. I had rented a suite for a month so I could set up a temporary war room that wouldn't be disturbed by cleaning staff coming in every day.
I had set up a large blackboard and two four by six foot cork boards so I could post pictures and notes as the case developed. The hotel had fiber gigabit internet access which made online research a breeze. I bought a high speed, wireless color printer to use with my laptop.
I spent the next couple of hours tacking up notes and printout images that showed any links or connections as soon as I made them; it was a habit I had developed over the years. Visuals work on a deeper level in the brain and my mind keeps working on a case subconsciously even when I'm busy doing something else or even sleeping for that matter.
Chapter 19
The fact that I agreed with him gave Stan Novak the boost in confidence he needed to give it another shot.
He made up his mind he was going to push Captain Gallagher to give up the name of the person or persons who were putting the kibosh on investigating Terry Reynold's murder. The average pickpocket doesn't stick a knife in his victims and when they did, it wasn't done with the deadly accuracy of a skilled assassin.
He pulled into the parking lot and went straight up to Captain Gallagher's office. He stuck his head in the open doorway. "Got a minute Captain?"
"Sure Stan. Listen, I hope you're not letting Rossi and Patrick get to you."
"I don't. I know they're constantly rehearsing for a TV show that doesn't exist."
"So what's on your mind Stan?"
"I want you to level with me Captain. Why haven't we launched an investigation into Terry's murder? I can't shake the feeling that you've been holding out on me."
Gallagher looked out the window for a moment, "You're right Stan. I have been holding out on you. I should have opened up to you about this sooner, but I've held off because I know how emotional you are about this. And you should be, he was a close friend."
"So what's it about John. This just isn't right. A prominent news reporter gets knifed in a city parking lot and it gets treated like a robbery. Whoever did this is getting away with murder because we're not even looking for him."
"Look Stan. Personally, I agree with you. But my hands are tied. This comes from higher up. The big brass wants us to leave it to them to take care of."
Novak felt some relief. At least the captain agreed that he didn't think it was a robbery either. "Who higher up? And why are we being asked to keep hands off?"
"Orders came straight from Deputy Chief James Galecki. He made it very clear he wants us to back off and leave it in his hands."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean. Is Galecki investigating or is it being swept under the rug?"
"It means we keep our noses out of it Stan. Look, I don't like this any more than you do but my hands are tied. And you've been here long enough to know it doesn't do any good to bang heads with the brass."
"What's this really about Captain. Why does Deputy Chief Galecki want to take over from us?"
Gallagher looked down for a moment, "Alright. But this is strictly off the record. Terry may have stumbled across something that could implicate some very important people. That's why Galecki wants to be the one looking into it."
"What are you talking about? Was he working with a whistleblower?"
"Not really. He was approached by a whistleblower. Political stuff - possibly even a few people on the force. The guy wanted immunity. We approached Galecki; he said he couldn't do it without knowing details. He wanted to meet the guy."
"So what happened?"
"Terry was killed before we heard back from the whistleblower. We don't know who he or she was or whether the person had any real proof for that matter."
"That makes it even more likely that he was killed because of what he knew."
"It's possible Stan. We just don't know. We don't even have a name or any way of knowing whether any of the claims were true."
"That doesn't explain why we can't call Terry's death what it was: a murder."
"Because the media would have a heyday with it and it's all speculation. We don't have any witnesses or even a real motive at this point. We just can't go public without any evidence."
"So in the meantime we let everyone think he couldn't defend himself from a common thief or a junkie and the murderer makes a clean getaway."
"I don't like this either Stan. But we can't have a story like this go public without anything to back it up. Rumors of political corruption could affect the next election results. We can't be responsible for that."
"This is bullshit Captain. Complete bullshit."
"Don't make me regret telling you about this Stan. I know what you're going through so I thought it might help if you knew the truth. But you have to walk away, for now anyway."
"Can you talk to Galecki and see if I can work with him on this?"
"You know how this works Stan. You're too close. There's no way you could be involved in this and still keep it quiet. Besides, Galecki only uses his own people."
Novak was looking down, shaking his head, "Somebody's going to pay for Terry's death."
Chapter 20
The St. James Town Community Center was packed for the rally. Community residents came out in droves to support city councillor Tim Wilson in his effort to save St. James Town from the wrecking ball.
Wilson took the podium, "I want to thank all of you for coming out to show your support. We're here for a very important reason tonight.
The working class in Toronto is in danger of being forced out of the city."
The crowd broke into applause and cheers.
"Greedy developers want to tear your homes down to make a fast buck. They would have you spend hours every day commuting back and forth between your jobs and your homes.
I don't have to tell you that many people who live in St. James Town can't afford cars. For many of you, living in St. James Town means being able to walk to work; that leaves you more money to put food on the table. It gives you more money to buy clothes for your children.
Make no mistake friends, the people who are in favor of the redevelopment don't care about you. They don't care about your children. They only care about their bank accounts.
And it's not just the developers. I know many of you voted for the current mayor during the last election. That man is in office because of your votes.
How is he repaying you for your loyalty? Is he working to keep you in your homes? Well, in case you haven't been following the voting, I'm here to tell you he voted to put you out on the street!
Remember that the next time you vote. Mayor Corbett doesn't care about you either."
Chapter 21
I had arranged to meet with Detective Stan Novak back at the Fox and Firkin. It was 3pm and Novak was sitting in the booth waiting for me when I got there.
"You look tired Stan. Been getting any sleep?"
"If you can call it that. I just talked to Captain Gallagher and I've got a bit of news. You first though, anything new?"
"I talked to Mark Fenton earlier today. He gave me the same line he gave you."
"I take it you don't believe him either?"
"No I don't. I think he's hiding something. I did a bit of research on the people Fenton works for. You had mentioned that Mogilevich was a land developer who owns the Executive Suites. He also owns a string of retirement homes under two different franchises."
"That's quite the mix of businesses for one guy."
"It's just a gut feeling but I think Fenton is hiding something. I'm going to dig a bit deeper and see what comes up. It could be that Fenton is the missing link that connected Terry to the problem he ran into."
"I'll see wh
at I can find out from my end. I just talked to Captain Gallagher again to see if I could get a better feel for why we're not investigating the murder."
"How'd that go?"
"Like a one-way ticket to Siberia."
"Could be Terry stumbled onto something big that implicates some powerful people. It wouldn't be the first time someone died to keep a secret from coming to light. Let's keep digging and see what turns up."
"Funny you should say that. Gallagher finally opened up a bit today. He told me Terry was approached by a whistleblower. The person supposedly could expose some big political scandal that might possibly even involve some people on the force."
The Borman Factor Page 5