Steel Town

by Richard Whitten Barnes

  ~ * ~

  Complaints from Michigan that it had been two weeks since being supplied with product had Urban in a rant. He screamed into the throwaway cell phone, “What the hell is going on? Those dealers have customers that’ll go somewhere else! We’ve got to maintain supply!”

  “I’ve gotta lay low,” Savos said. “The OPP cops came smellin’ around here, plus the guy who goes across the bridge for me has been scarce. I gotta fix that. I think the Soo cops were asking him questions. Don’t worry. I’ll get him back across the bridge now that they seem to be leaving him be.”

  “Do it, then,” Urban said. “What have you done with that last shipment?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s safe. Moved it out of here just in time for the OPP to come around asking questions.”

  Urban thought about the strongbox under his credenza, and the recent visits by that annoying Detective Riccia. “That’s good, Savos. Let me know when you get that shipment across the bridge. Anything else?”

  “Well…sorta.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “OPP busted one of our customers. A pill machine here in the city. It’s okay. I got three others hot to take up his business.”

  “Okay? The fuck it is!” Urban yelled. “They can rat you out!”

  “I’m not worried. They don’t know names. At least they don’t know mine…or yours. Relax!”

  Urban calmed down a notch. If Savos wasn’t worried, maybe he shouldn’t be either. He ended the call and poured himself a scotch, taking it to the window. He was watching the river traffic of spring boaters when his cell rang. It was Savos again.

  “We might have a problem.”

  “Go on,” Urban said.

  “It’s Teach. He’s been picked up by the OPP.”

  Thirty-one

  Eddie had humped the last row of shopping carts into the building from the Home Depot parking lot, checked out at 6pm and was on his way home. As he drove into the garage at the back of the house, he didn’t see the red Corvette parked in front. He walked up the back steps to the kitchen and called Marly’s name.

  A male voice called, “In here.”

  Eddie entered the front room to find a terrified Marly sitting opposite Nick Savos who was holding a cigarette and drinking one of Eddie’s beers.

  “Sit down, Eddie. Your girl and I been havin’ a chat. Haven’t been able to get hold of you lately.”

  “I’ve…been around.”

  “Not for me, you ain’t. I need you workin’ for me Your girl here says you got another job.”

  “Nick! I gotta pay you back. I wasn’t makin’ a dent in what I owed you!”

  “It ain’t polite to quit without notice, Eddie.”

  “It wasn’t a real job—”

  “Shut the fuck up! You came around cryin’ for a job and I gave you one…trained you to do some shit for me, and now I rely on that. Now you think you can quit?” Savos looked around the room, his eyes coming to a rest on Marly. Eddy noticed her visibly shiver under Savos’ stare.

  “You ain’t leavin’ me high and dry, Eddie boy. You come around first thing in the morning in your clunker. Got a little trip lined up for you. Time you got some cheap Michigan gas in that crate.” He stood, stared at Marly for several seconds, then was out the door and into his car.

  Eddie put his arm around Marly’s trembling shoulders as Savos spun tires away from the curb. Only then did she collapse against him.

  “What did he do to you?” He turned her to face him.

  “Nothing…Eddie, he threatened to kill you. I think he would!”

  “Not if I do what he wants.”

  “You can’t! You’ll wind up in jail…or dead! He’s evil, Eddie. You gotta call that policeman, Riccia.”

  “No way! I’m not calling the cops! I’m a dead man if I do.” He turned to leave.

  “Where are you going?” She followed him to the rear door.

  “Back to his shop…tell him I’ll do whatever. Otherwise, he’s liable to come after you as well.”

  That’s crazy!” she called as he went down the steps, but he didn’t answer.

  Marly watched the only person she’d trusted over the past seven years drive away. She could let this happen or she could, at least, try to do something about it.

  She found her bag and pulled out a card, then punched in a number into her phone.

  ~ * ~

  Mrs. Pearl’s car hurrying Joey off to school made a left turn out of Urban’s driveway onto Queen St. He watched them go, still annoyed by the attitude she seemed to be displaying of late. Like it really mattered what she thought!

  To hell with her. He had to start thinking about business. The news about Savos’ goon being arrested wasn’t good, but he’d been told the man could be trusted not to talk. A more pressing matter was this week’s presentation of the new mall proposal to the mayor and his City Council. He needed to get started on that.

  Back in his office he checked the private network page he’d created for yesterday’s receipts. He was checking the current Bitcoin exchange rate when the front door chime sounded. He glanced at the time: half past eight. Who the hell?

  He opened the door to find that snotty Bryant woman from Social Services waiting. “What can we possibly have to discuss, Ms. Bryant? We said it all last time you were here.”

  “We’ve had other queries from concerned individuals about Joey’s welfare, Mr. Urban. Also, I’ve recently spoken with the staff at his school.”

  “I don’t care who—”

  She cut him off by handing him an envelope.

  “What’s this?” He dangled the envelope between thumb and forefinger in a show of distain.

  “A summons, sir. Next Monday. Ten a.m., I believe it says.” She turned on her heel, not waiting for a reply, returning to an idling car driven by another woman.

  He opened the envelope extracting a single sheet headed:

  Social Services

  District of Sault Ste. Marie

  Administration Board

  There two short paragraphs. One notifying him of the time and date of the hearing at 180 Brock St. The other a no-nonsense explanation that the request was, in fact, a summons.

  Not only was the letter infuriating, it had come at the worst time. He needed to maintain a positive public image in this town. It was key to his success as a developer. The positive outcome of the council presentation depended on it.

  His first instinct was to trash the letter but he thought better of it. He could handle a simple hearing. He’d talked his way out of worse over the years.

  ~ * ~

  Andy only noticed the message that morning. She had turned off her phone on the drive home, too tired to face another issue after turning in a busy ten-hour day.

  The message from the girl had been cryptic. “Detective, this is Marly Quinn. I think my friend Eddie could be in trouble. Please call me.”

  Andy returned the call, assuring Marly she would meet her ASAP and was told to come to the diner where she was working the 6 to 2 shift.

  It was a large food and service facility on TransCanada Hwy. 17. Four cross-country transports were parked side by side. There was a full lot of cars as well. The diner was known for good food, good service and reasonable prices.

  She saw Marly at once, hustling the booths along the windows, a pot of steaming coffee in one hand, a damp towel in the other, wiping off an empty table.

  “Marly?”

  The girl spun around, recognizing Andy. “Suzy!” she called to the older woman behind the counter. “Cover me for five minutes?”

  “Busy place,” Andy remarked.

  “The worst is soon over. Thanks for coming.” She set the coffee pot on the counter and led the way to a quieter part of the room.

  “You mentioned Eddie…Mr. Hoyne?”

  Marly squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to remember all the facts and slowly recounted how Eddie Hoyne had gotten involved with Savos, a man she was sure was dealing drugs not on
ly in Ontario, but across the international border into Michigan. “He hates it, Detective, but he’s afraid to quit.”

  “Afraid of Savos?”

  “Or his enforcer; the one Eddie calls ‘Teach.’”

  Andy told her that Raymond Teacher (Hobbs) had been arrested. This was solid confirmation that Hobbs (or Teacher) was connected with Nicholas Savos in the distribution of drugs. Andy started thinking about how she and Arnold Terry could put this information to work.

  “I’d like to have a chat with Eddie. Maybe we can help each other.”

  Marly’s eyes began to well up. “Oh…thank you!” She blotted her face with her towel.

  “Call me when he’s ready.” Andy put a reassuring hand to Marly’s cheek. “We can work this out.”

  ~ * ~

  The morning coffee ritual having been completed, Andy got around to telling Terry about her promise to help Eddie Hoyne.

  “Jesus, Blake! The guy’s broken the law. You’re playing with fire. You can’t guarantee anything to that kid!”

  “Our best chance to connect Hobbs’ activities to Savos is to get Eddie Hoyne to cooperate. I’m thinking his girlfriend will deny telling me anything if we don’t try to help them.”

  Terry hunched his shoulders. “There might be other ways…Hobbs might want to make a deal.”

  “Unlikely,” Andy countered.

  “We might crack the code on that computer of Savos.”

  “Any progress?”

  “The nerds tell me there must be a key somewhere to those figures, if they weren’t completely made up. There might even be another computer or list stashed away some place with the other half of the code. Then there’s the business with the Bitcoin. What’s a local hoodlum like Savos doing with Bitcoin? It’s not likely.”

  “Suggests he shares an account with someone more sophisticated?” Andy said.

  “That’s my thought.”

  “Interesting, but not real evidence. Raymond Hobbs is being arraigned this morning. Let’s push him as hard as we can. Then I expect to hear from Marly Quinn. Between them, maybe we’ll catch a break.”

  ~ * ~

  The two detectives sat at the table opposite Raymond “Teach” Hobbs and his lawyer, whom neither Terry nor Andy knew. She suspected he had flown up from Toronto on yesterday’s late flight. Terry had already turned on the recorder and dictated the time and circumstances of the interview.

  He began by reminding Hobbs of his rights but told him the evidence against him for both the assault and dealing drugs was strong. He should think carefully about cooperating if he was looking forward to any leniency in his ultimate sentencing.

  “What evidence?” his lawyer asked.

  Andy answered. “We have a positive ID from the assault victim who, by the way, has taken a turn for the worse. You’d better hope you don’t have a murder charge in your future. As to the distribution of drugs, we have three witnesses who can testify you have distributed Schedule One drugs, namely the opioid fentanyl.”

  She knew she was pushing the truth. She wasn’t sure both Charles Bell and Walter Fournier had been present when Hobbs delivered the Phantom 100 pills to Bell’s rented house. Also, she didn’t know how much Eddie Hoyne knew about Hobbs’ activities other than he worked for Savos. It was a bluff and she knew it. The thing was, did Hobbs or his lawyer?”

  The bluff was good enough that Hobbs’ eyes darted nervously from Terry to Andy. “Bullshit,” he finally said, sitting up straight in his chair.

  Terry cleared his throat. “This is your chance, Mr. Hobbs…or is it Teacher? We don’t care so much about you as knowing your source. Is it Nicholas Savos?”

  Hobbs’ eyes widened, but he said nothing. His lawyer leaned over to whisper a word or two. Hobbs nodded an affirmative.

  ”Mr. Hobbs admits only that, in the past, he has been employed by the man you mentioned.”

  “Savos,” Andy clarified.

  Hobbs said, “Yeah.”

  “That’s a start.” Terry leaned forward, elbows on the table. “What did you do for Mr. Savos?”

  Hobbs pulled a face. “Deliveries; stuff like that.”

  “Deliveries,” Terry repeated. “To where?”

  “Here and there.”

  Terry slapped his big hand down hard on the table, making the others start. “‘Here and there’ isn’t going to help you, Hobbs. Answer the question!”

  The lawyer put a hand on Hobbs’ shoulder. “That’s all, I’m afraid. My client is under no obligation to incriminate himself.”

  Andy said, “Let’s take a step back. You haven’t denied the assault charges?”

  Hobbs said, “That was just a fight between two guys.”

  Andy laughed. “Yes. You stick with that story. See how far it gets you. Are you planning to plead ‘not guilty’ to drug distribution?”

  Hobbs looked at his lawyer who said, “We defer judgement on that issue. In the meantime, we are arranging bond.”

  ~ * ~

  “That got us nowhere,” Terry said as they returned to their office.

  “I don’t know, Arnold. You saw how he reacted when you brought up Savos’ name. I’m more than ever convinced Savos is the main conduit of opioids in town. We need to know where he gets his supply before whoever that is gets nervous and hunkers down, finds another conduit, or both. I think we’re close!”

  Alice poked her head out as they entered the building. “You got my message?”

  Andy removed her phone from her bag. “Damn! Sorry! I had it turned off for the interview.”

  The message read, “Call Marly Quinn.” A phone number was included. Instead, she called Kevin Campbell.

  “Kev.” She greeted him without the usual courtesies. “Your pet love birds have become involved in my investigation. I think it would be helpful if you got involved as well.”

  Thirty-two

  He’d finished up for the day, having been put in a 7 to 3 shift. The job at Home Depot was working out well. After almost a week, he’d come to like his supervisor who was on their management training program and encouraged Eddie to think about qualifying for it. Eddie had made an early impression by his work ethic and facility in learning the aisles of merchandise.

  At this point, his major challenge was staying clear of Nick Savos. Yesterday, he’d gone to Savos’ shop as ordered to find the place locked and no sign of the man or his car. Marly was relieved when he returned home with the news. She urged him not to return; that there was no benefit to them in the long run by heeding his threats. She’d urged him to stick with his new job.

  Eddie returned home and walked in to find the kitchen table surrounded by Marly, Dr. Campbell, and that good-looking OPP detective. “What’s going on?”

  “I called them,” Marly said. “Savos scares me, Eddie. We’ve got to get out from under him some way.”

  “What way?”

  “You’ve gotta tell Detective Blake what you know.”

  Eddie’s gaze turned to Campbell, who responded, “Eddie, she’s right. If this man goes down, he may take you with him.”

  “Where’s that other detective?” Eddie said.

  Blake said, “The Sault Police investigations don’t presently include Nick Savos.” She pointed to the empty chair. “Mr. Hoyne, why don’t you relax? Marly and Dr. Campbell are right. If you’ve been in any way involved with Savos, you could be a big help in my investigations of drug trafficking in the area..”

  Eddie let out a breath and took the chair. “What do you want to know?”

  The detective folded her hands in her lap. “First, can you testify that Nicholas Savos deals drugs?”

  “I’ve only seen what he sold me…that’s OxyContin, over-the counter stuff.”

  Marly broke in. “That’s bullshit, Eddie. It was counterfeit, for starters, and that crap you got sick on must have been laced with something.”

  “Maybe,” Eddie conceded.

  “Fentanyl?” Detective Blake asked.

  Campbell said, “From how
Marly described it, yes, could be.”

  “What exactly did you do, working for Savos? Tell me everything.” Blake said.

  “I told you before.”

  “Tell me again!”

  Eddie told her about his trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, at first to introduce himself to the distributors there, later to pick up envelopes he assumed contained cash. “I was scheduled across with a big delivery, but it was called off. I don’t know why.”

  “You never delivered drugs here in Ontario?”

  “No. I think Teach did all that. I think they used me because of the customs. I don’t have a police record like Teach must have.”

  “So that’s all you did?”

  “Except the two deliveries to Joey’s house.”

  She leaned forward. “Tell me about that.”

  “Savos and Teach got into some kind of argument. It was a bad one. Teach walked out. I haven’t seen him since. Anyway, Nick told me to make a delivery to an address on East Queen. I brought a package I think was money, but I didn’t look inside. The other time it was just a report in a small envelope. I know it was a report, because I heard them talking on the phone about it.”

  “This was the Urban house where you made the deliveries…I just want to clarify,” she said. She turned to Campbell and said, “This is the guy in the news that’s trying to transform the riverfront?”

  “The same,” Campbell said.

  Eddie stood. “That’s all I got. If I knew more, I’d tell you.”

  “No, that’s good. We’ll follow up on this,” the detective said. Then, to Campbell, “Kevin, walk me to my car.”

  Marly said, “Thanks Dr. C, and Ms. Blake. Eddie deserves a break.”

  “Yeah, thanks, I guess,” Eddie said.

  ~ * ~

  “Thanks for coming,” Andy said as Campbell joined her outside the house. “I think he was more comfortable with you there.”