White Cell

by B Regan Asher

  Tears welled up in his eyes, this time tears of relief. He blinked them away. Tears were too damned uncharacteristic, he thought. Then she saw him too and she came running toward him. The two embraced in front of the stretcher but neither realized what they were doing or that everyone was looking at them.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” said Jim.

  “That’s okay,” said Penny. “It’s all over now,” she added and gave him a heartfelt hug.

  Chapter 26 - Providence

  Fri May 21st

  The late afternoon sun shone down between the downtown buildings and onto the Sparks Street mall. In the middle of the mall, cordoned off by a wrought iron fence, was the outdoor portion of the pub that Jim and Ben had often frequented. Today Jim and Ben sat across from Penny and Cindy while the sun warmed them up and the breeze cooled them down. The table, much too large for the four of them, was half empty at one end, the extra chairs sitting unoccupied. From their viewpoint Jim and Ben could just see a newspaper box outside the indoor portion of the pub, one headline just readable in bold print: “It’s Finally Over!”

  The waitress walked out of the nearest building, where the indoor part of the pub was situated, carrying a tray with four large beer steins. She approached their table and distributed the beer to the four friends. Ben held his beer up to the others.

  “To friends!” said Ben.

  The others raised their glasses and clinked with one another in the centre of the table. “To friends!” they all repeated.

  “So,” Jim said to Ben. “While Penny and I were fighting the bad guys, you were all snug and cozy in the arms of a policeman?”

  Ben laughed. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said.

  “The police got to Ben before Verde’s man?” asked Penny.

  “Not exactly,” said Jim. “It looks like Verde wasn’t interested in Ben. I had asked Desjardin to send someone to look out for Ben but he was never in any danger.”

  “But I did see someone following us,” said Ben, referring to himself and Jim.

  “That’s right,” said Jim. “But he wasn’t really following us. It turns out he was just following me.”

  “So why did this Verde kidnap Penny?” asked Cindy, looking around the table, but at no one in particular.

  “That’s easy,” said Penny. “He told me that all men were weak when it came to women.”

  “You’re a woman?” asked Cindy, raising an eyebrow and giving her a questioning smile.

  “Damned right,” said Penny. “He said that since Jim and I had spent so much time together in a short period, he was sure to be protective.”

  “Is that true?” Ben asked Jim. “Have you gone soft?’

  Jim poked his stomach. “I guess so.” They all had another sip from their drinks. Then Jim turned to Penny. “One thing I don’t understand,” he said. “Why was Verde wearing your shirt? It almost gave me a heart attack when I saw your shirt sticking out from the body bag.”

  “That guy spent all of his time in the hotel room staring out the window,” explained Penny. “And so when he saw the police cars arrive, he knew they were for him. At first he couldn’t figure out how to get out of the hotel but then he started looking at me funny. It turns out he was looking at my shirt because it was so obviously not a man’s. He decided he had a chance of sneaking out of the building if he changed out of his golf shirt and into my pink one. He had sent one of his men down to the lobby to buy him a woman’s hat to complete the costume.”

  “He wasn’t worried about his pants?” asked Cindy.

  “Not really,” said Penny. “He was wearing beige slacks. They could have been worn by a woman.”

  “But they wouldn’t have matched a pink top.”

  “Who said he had any sense of style?” asked Penny. They all laughed and then Penny continued. “But the funniest thing to see was him forcing himself into the shirt,” she said. “I could hear the material ripping as he pushed his arms into it.”

  “How far did he get?” asked Cindy.

  “He didn’t even make it out of the hotel room,” said Penny. The police broke in before Verde’s man returned with the hat. Verde pulled a gun and they shot him.”

  No one said anything for a while. Then, turning to Jim, Ben broke the silence. “Did Verde know that you had gone to the RCMP?”

  “Not at first,” said Jim. “But when he saw the police moving in on his house, he suspected I had been involved. Apparently Verde had a lot of faith in me.”

  “Right,” said Ben derisively.

  They all returned to their drinks. Everyone at the table had had a difficult few days and, though they were all thankful for the opportunity to find out more about what happened, they were also thankful the ordeal was over and were enjoying the peace and quiet this setting had provided.

  After sitting for a few minutes, enjoying the silence and company of friends, Cindy looked at Penny. “How did they treat you?”

  “Oh, they treated me alright,” said Penny. “Except for the chloroform, that is. But I was scared out of my mind.”

  “I bet,” said Ben.

  Something occurred to Penny and a look of confusion fell over her face. “And Verde was also responsible for the kidnapping of the transport Minister?” she asked.

  “Yep,” said Jim. “He didn’t know who exactly he was working for but he arranged for the kidnapping. He transferred the Minister to the terrorists a few hours after the kidnapping and that was it. He wasn’t involved after that.”

  “And what about your Mom?” asked Cindy. “She had been followed by Verde, right?”

  Jim closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “She’s pretty shook up.”

  “But I thought a policeman was watching her,” said Ben. “Just like one was watching me.

  “True,” said Jim. “But, unlike you, Verde did have a man watching Mom. And Verde decided he needed one more bit of leverage. He wanted to kill Mom so that I would know he was serious about hurting Penny. He was a real bastard that guy!”

  “Okay, okay,” said Penny. “I get it! So what happened to your mother?”

  “Verde’s man rang Mom’s doorbell and got into her house before the policeman saw what was going on. The guy had his gun out and was going to shoot her when the cop shot him in the back.”

  “Oh my God!” exclaimed Cindy, her mouth agape and her hand going to cover it.

  “Yeah,” said Jim. “Anyhow, Mom wasn’t hurt but she was … well, she was traumatized.”

  “Will she be okay?” asked Penny.

  “Yeah,” said Jim. “But the doctors say she should get a lot of rest.”

  “I’m surprised you’re here,” said Penny. “Shouldn’t you be in Toronto with your Mom.”

  “Oh no,” said Jim. “Mom’s not in Toronto. She’s here in Ottawa and she’s staying in my apartment right now. I want her close by from now on. I invited her to come along with us this afternoon but she was so tired she decided to take a nap. She has the phone number of the pub in case she needs me.”

  “You’re a good son,” said Cindy.

  There was a long silence. A cloud moved overhead in front of the sun and the temperature dropped precipitously. Penny shivered. From the mall behind them they could hear English words with a thick French Canadian accent. “I think we should arrest the lot of them!” It was Roger Desjardins and, standing beside him, was Charles Gordon.

  “How did you know we were here?” asked Jim.

  “Ben told us,” said Gordon.

  Jim looked at Ben. “Really?”

  Ben shrugged and the two RCMP inspectors walked around the wrought iron fence until they could enter through the front entrance of the outdoor pub. Desjardins walked behind Jim and have him a slap on the back and, then, grabbed a shoulder and shook it. “How are you doing, my friend?” he asked.

  “Fine,” said Jim, nodding.

  The inspectors pulled out two of the empty seats. The waitress, having seen them arrive, came by quickl
y and took their order for two more beers. Gordon was smiling, a capability that Jim did not know he possessed. “You did a good job, Jim,” said Gordon. “I don’t think we could have done it without you.”

  Desjardins nodded and raised his glass. “To Jim!” he called out and everyone but Jim joined them in their salute.

  When they were done, Jim raised his glass. “To the RCMP!” he called and, again, everyone, including Desjardins and Gordon, raised theirs. Then, everyone turned to look at Penny. She was looking down at her beer, shaking her head.

  “What’s the matter Penny?” asked Cily.

  “Something’s missing,” said Penny. She stuck out her index finger, to indicate the first of several points she was going to count out. She looked at Jim. “The police were watching Ben and your Mom.” She stuck out a second finger. “Verde was watching your Mom and me.” She opened her hands in a question. “Who was following you if it wasn’t the police or Verde?”

  Jim pursed his lips and shook his head. “I just don’t know,” he said. “I don’t suppose I’ll ever know.”

  “Never say never,” said Charles Gordon, pointing out to the mall. Parked at the far end of the mall on the street with its door ajar, was a limousine. A man dressed in a blue pinstriped suit was walking away from the limousine and towards the pub. Even from a distance the man looked familiar to both Jim and Ben. He walked through the opening in the fence, saw Gordon waving, his hand high above his head, and joined their table at one of the remaining empty seats.

  Jim and Ben looked at one another. They knew this man but what could he have to do with the police? Sheldon Mintz sat down in one of the remaining empty seats and looked at the group but said nothing.

  “Jim Kincaid,” Gordon said, introducing the two men. “May I introduce Mr. Sheldon Mintz.”

  Mintz now held out his hand, reaching across the table to Jim. “Pleased to meet you Mr. Kincaid,” said Mintz. His face was professional, expressionless, seemingly cast of stone.

  Jim took his hand. “Me too,” he said awkwardly, looking directly at Mintz.

  When the handshake was finished, Mintz nodded to everyone else at the table but no introductions were made. “Mr. Mintz was having you followed,” said Gordon. “We only found out about his involvement this morning when he called us.”

  Jim looked at Mintz. “Mr. Mintz,” began Jim. “Were you following me because I am going to work for you next month?”

  For the first time since he arrived, Sheldon Mintz seemed to relax. His stone expression turned into a wide smile and then he started laughing. “You think I follow all of my prospective employees?” he asked. “My goodness, no.” His laugh turned into a chuckle as he shook his head back and forth. “No, no, that’s not it,” he continued to laugh.

  Jim’s face was pure bewilderment. He looked over at Ben who looked just as confused.

  “I think you should explain it yourself, sir,” said Gordon.

  “Very well,” said Mintz. “I spoke to your mother about an hour ago,” he said to Jim. “And she has given me permission to tell you.”

  Jim stood up. “My mother?” he asked. “She told me she knew you,” he said thoughtfully. “But how is my mother involved?”

  “Sit down Jim,” said Desjardins. When Jim did not listen, Desjardins stood up and pushed Jim down with a hand on his shoulder.

  Once Jim had sat down again, Mintz continued. “It’s a long story,” he said. “But I will give you the very short version.”

  Jim stared at Mintz wide eyed. He was concentrating all of his efforts on this man. Somewhere deep within he had a feeling that his whole life was going to change. And perhaps his somewhat bizarre life was also going to be explained. He forgot about Penny, Cindy, Ben, Desjardins and Gordon. In the whole world right now there were just two people: Sheldon Mintz and Jim Kincaid. For now, nothing else mattered.

  Mintz continued. “I suppose the best way to explain it is to just say it outright.” He looked to Jim for approval but Jim said nothing. He just waited. “James Kincaid, you are adopted.” Mintz paused to look at Jim. There had been no reaction. “And I am your uncle,” he continued.

  Jim did not flinch. He just sat there staring at Mintz. How could this be? Neither of his parents had ever said anything to him. Mintz must be wrong, he thought.

  “I’m adopted?” asked Jim.

  “Yes,” confirmed Mintz.

  Jim looked up at the sky for guidance. The sun had now moved out from behind the clouds and the warmth from it felt good on his skin. And then, as if by some revelation, everything made sense to Jim.

  “You’re Jewish?” asked Jim.

  “Yes,” said Mintz.

  “And that’s why my parents made me keep kosher?”

  “Yes.”

  “My parents do not believe that Christians have to keep kosher?”

  “I don’t believe so,” said Mintz. “They did that as a favour to your father.” He paused. “And to me.”

  “Maybe this explains why I like computers so much?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Who was my father?” asked Jim.

  The sun, which had been shining on them, providing warmth and bright light, disappeared again and a cool shadow fell over the table. The girls shivered involuntarily.

  “Your father’s name was Isaac Mintz,” said Mintz. “He was a very, very good man but he took too much responsibility on himself. He always wanted to do the right thing. When circumstances were such that he was unable to do the right thing, the pressure was too much for him.”

  “He killed himself?” asked Jim, somehow knowing that this was the correct answer.

  Mintz closed his eyes and a small, single tear appeared in the corner of one eye under his eye lashes. He opened his eyes and the single tear rolled down his cheek. “Yes,” said Mintz. “I only wish he would have talked to me. He was my only brother, my only sibling. I could have helped him.”

  Then from beside him, someone else spoke, interrupting their conversation. “Why did he kill himself?” asked Penny. Jim would normally have found this intrusion into a very private conversation unforgivable. Yet, to his surprise and delight, he found that he did not mind Penny intruding in this way.

  Mintz looked at her. “Miss Stein,” said Mintz, holding out his hand. “So good to finally meet you.” Penny shook his hand but also shook her head as she did so. She wondered how he knew her name.

  Mintz then sighed and began to answer her question, speaking as a storyteller telling a fable to school children. “The answer to your question lies in a story that begins a long time ago,” he began, and then turned to look back at Jim. “About thirty years ago my brother had an affair with a beautiful girl called Elizabeth Prentice, who, according to Isaac, only had one flaw. And the flaw was that she was Catholic, not Jewish. Unfortunately, during his liaison with her, she became pregnant. The pregnancy created a huge dilemma for Isaac. He couldn’t marry Elizabeth because she would not convert to Judaism and he couldn’t keep the child because he felt he would not be a good single parent. As he was torn apart by having a son he could not keep, he began to lose touch with reality and Elizabeth eventually had to leave him.”

  Mintz paused, looking around the table. He had their attention and, more specifically, he had Jim’s attention, so he continued. “Isaac felt he could not raise his son on his own and so he came to me for help. But he told me he just wanted to find a good home for the boy. We had both known Martin and Ellen Kincaid for years. I knew they could not have children and both Isaac and I knew that they were wonderful people. Martin had worked for me for many years and he was very happy to have an adopted son.”

  Mintz stopped again. Everyone around the table was totally focussed on him. “Isaac and I insisted on just two simple provisos,” he said and then stopped, looking tired.

  “What were the provisos?” This time it was Ben who interrupted. Jim decided he did not mind this interruption either.

  Mintz turned to address Ben. “That Jim be brought up
in a reasonably Jewish environment, especially as concerns the dietary laws. And that Jim not be told the truth until he reached the age of thirty five.”

  “So Jim would have found out eventually anyway,” said Penny.

  “Yes,” said Mintz. “But circumstances, being what they are, I have decided to move the timetable forward.”

  There was a loud bang and all of the drinks on the table shook. Everyone looked to the table where a hand had been slammed down. Everyone looked from the hand to the arm to the body to the face of the person who had made the bang. It had been Jim.

  “It all makes sense now,” said Jim.

  “What makes sense?” asked Ben.

  “Everything,” said Jim. “Not just the kosher business at home, not just my interest in computers, but everything. Like why I have always felt a kinship to Jewish people.” He pointed his hands to his chest. “Look at me!” he said to Ben. “You’re my best friend … and you’re Jewish.” Jim pointed to Penny. “Look at my lovely new girlfriend! She’s Jewish.” He looked around the table. “In Ottawa what are the chances?” he asked.

  It was a rhetorical question and no one answered him. Instead, Penny said, “My parents will be so pleased.”

  “Why?” asked Jim.

  “Because you’re Jewish,” she said.

  “I thought they didn’t care?”

  “Oh, they care,” said Penny. “Big time. It’s me who doesn’t care.”

  “Parents always care,” confirmed Ben.

  Mintz looked at Jim. “Now,” said Mintz, interrupting the current conversation. “I know you have accepted the job offer to NAT, and I want you to start the job and learn everything you can there. But six months from now I want you to come work in the executive offices with me. I would like you to get involved in the running of the company. Does that appeal to you?”