I looked at Lexus with shock. “Is Bobby your child?”
“No, Peter is. He is our love child. When he was little he lived with Grenville, who hired a nanny to look after him. I could not have him with me in this environment, it’s no place to raise a kid. I was always in close contact with him though. It was only later in life, when we realized that Peter was mentally challenged I decided to take him under my wings. I let him be my helper. It has been a secret for the longest time. No one questioned his living here and I did not volunteer any information. Hell, they were here to get screwed, they did not care who was in the house.”
“Bobby was our nanny’s son. He was the same age as Peter so they formed a bond when they were younger. They were like brothers. We remained close when the boys were growing up. Martha, the nanny, would babysit for me on many occasions. She was indispensable. Bobby, as he got older, came to work for Invor on Grenville’s recommendation.
“Forth eventually went back to his wife when he found out I was pregnant. Grenville and his affair was behind them and they managed to keep a professional working relationship. Years went by and time eased the pain.”
“Does Peter know he is your son?”
“Yes, most times he recognizes me as his mother. You must remember that with his condition, everything is magnified. He thinks he is on a mission to protect me, therefore his word is gold. I have no doubt he will take this secret to his grave.”
“But what I don’t understand is why Bobby is looking for you?
“When things got out of hand at Invor I left. I felt my life was in danger. I knew that Bobby would be okay. It was me they were after. I am only sorry that I did not contact him sooner. I did not trust anyone, not even him.”
“But he was like a son to you!”
“I know but I thought that they had gotten to him. He started to wear really expensive clothes and bought a car far beyond his resources. Either he was on the take or he was living beyond his means. You have to see my point of view. I was really frightened. That is when I went into hiding.”
“Why did you let me bring you to Lexus’ if you knew that you might be found out?”
“I guess that I was tired running. I knew she would not turn me in. I felt protected and I still do.” He looked at her lovingly and her eyes spoke words to him.
“Okay, let me get this straight. Peter is your son and remains here due to his mental condition. Bobby, no one has heard from for some time now. Why the hell don’t you all get together and straighten this out?”
Gritty looked at me with disbelief at what he had just heard. “Because he might still be working for Invor! What if they sent him to find me? He must be really desperate to live on the streets and be asking questions about me. And how did he know where to find me. I can’t figure it out. Adam I need you to find out his motives. You didn’t tell him where I was, did you?”
“No, I have been in this business long enough to keep information to myself. We have to figure something out without letting on to where you live.”
“Perhaps I could help,” said Lexus with concern. “Bobby trusts me. When his mother died a few years back, I became kind of like a surrogate mother to him. I am sure that when Gritty went missing, he felt terribly betrayed.”
I went into deep thought and then asked, “If Bobby was like a son, he obviously has been here several times. Right?”
“Right.”
“Well why didn’t he come to search for Gritty here in the first place?”
“He did,” answered Lexus. “That would have been too obvious, and Gritty was not here then, only lately. I am sure he must have gotten information and that is why he is hanging around.”
“That is why I am saying you have to fill him in on things. Unless he has given you reason for doubt, I don’t think that he would turn on you now.”
“Money is a funny thing; I can’t chance it,” answered Gritty.
Lexus must have been concerned about my take on things for she said, “If I had it to do over again, I would have done things differently. I feel that I have bestowed a lot of my mothering skills on you. Adam, I can only hope that in some small way I have helped replace the mother that you never had. Peter is always a reminder of the terrible mother that I was. I came to his rescue much too late in life.”
I felt sorry for her and needed in some way to give her reassurance. “You did help me and I will always be eternally grateful. Now let’s stop this sentimental gibberish and solve the case that is before us. We have added another link to it and that is Bobby. First things first; we have to find out his intentions.”
“Grit do you still have copies of the evidence against Invor?”
“Yes, they are in the safe downstairs.”
“Great, keep them there. I suggest we all lay low especially you Gritty. Do not venture outside these walls. Bobby is too close and you could easily blow your cover. I will have to meet with him and see what he knows. This is going to be tricky but that is where Richard just might come into play. He is on the inside and no one suspects anything from him. He can’t be linked to us. He can get information that will be very useful. He can let us know in what capacity Bobby is working there.
“I’ll talk to Richard when I get home and see where he stands with this. He is wanting desperately to become a private investigator and join my firm. This might be his ticket to partnership. Oh, and one more thing. You mentioned that Bobby’s mother died. Who was she? And who was his father?”
“Remember I mentioned that the mayor of Montreal was bedding his secretary? When he dumped her she went to work at Invor. This was what I meant by favours being exchanged. Bobby is the result of that affair. Problem solved! We needed a nanny and she was available.”
I felt this urge to be outside. These people were like animals. Passing around women and exchanging favours. I had to get out; it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and now I needed time to digest all the information presented to me. Poor Richard did not know what he signed up for. I wanted him to be safe; that was my only concern. I was feeling overwhelmed about Lexus. You think you know someone and then bang… a lifelong friendship can be changed within an hour. What really baffled me the most was Peter and how could a mother leave him? This was not the Lexus that I knew, the Lexus that I had grown to love. She was caring and had more maternal instincts than most mothers that I had come across. It just didn’t add up.
I was trying to go over the first time that I met Lexus. It must have been at least twenty years back. I was just starting out and eager to find clients. I had many cases relating to infidelity, not at all what I wanted but paying customers that I felt would hopefully spread my name. And they did. Business started to pick up. I was known as the hidden eye peering into windows and chasing down cheaters through the streets of Montreal. It seemed the regulars ended up at this so called hotel or Lexus’ brothel as I liked to call it. She made it easy for me. I promised her business dealings would remain safe with me and she in turn gave me information. It seemed that she knew a lot of people and the streets of Montreal had no hidden allies that she could not lead me to. Many times I would drop in for coffee while passing the area. She did become the mother that I never had. I do remember though at first we did not get along but her perpetual defense of the underdog made her have empathy for me, realizing my genre preference. It was one time being gay worked for me. The rest of our story is history.
It would make sense if we met up about twenty years ago. I remember Peter being a young boy, say about five years old. He was always there and I never questioned it. The time line was starting to come together. Peter probably stayed with Gritty until four or five and realizing that her son was having problems, she decided to take him in. He was young and probably accepted his fate. And time and age led to his confusion. As I recalled our past, I felt deceived.
Everything that we had was just a bloody lie.
Chapter Nine
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br /> “How was your day?”
“I don’t even know where to start. Anything new at Invor?”
“Adam, what’s wrong? You look deflated. Did something happen?”
Richard was in shock as I told him about my day. I had to make sure that our next move was carried out precisely without detection. I wanted to meet up with Bobby but did not want to confess I knew where Gritty lived. I was relieved that I had never disclosed his location. We had to have a plan and Richard was more than willing to climb on board. Lexus really bothered me, and her lack of disclosure made me question us. I always had an inkling that Peter was Lexus’ son but hated the fact that she never told me. And how much did Peter really remember about his past? So what if Lex had a child? No one really cared, especially her bevy of clients. There seemed to be too many discrepancies in their story but that was my job to investigate and find the truth. And I couldn’t help but think Bobby played a bigger part than they were letting on.
Richard and I sat down to decide what our next move would be.
“I’m finding it easier to get around Invor. Mr. Forth does not come in everyday but Jessica definitely had the hots for me. She is very free leaking company dealings. I feel if I play her right she will be a great asset to me. I asked her out to lunch on Friday.”
“Are you crazy? She will expect something in return.”
“I’m not stupid. I covered that already. I told her I was really into my faith and was saving myself for marriage. Sort of like a born again Christian, it did not chase her away but rather infatuated her more. You know the unobtainable is always such a mystery.”
I started to laugh uncontrollably. “That is brilliant. You, my man, are going to be a great PI. You definitely think on the spot. One question though, you have only been there a little over a week and you are at that level of personal chitchat. Seems a little early in the relationship, doesn’t it?”
“I sit with her at lunch and you can’t help but learn very quickly about someone when you work with them daily. She never shuts up, so it was easy to express my personal feelings. I realized that she was falling for me and I had to think about how I could get close, but not physically close, to use this to my advantage. The idea just came to me.”
“Now she has to fall in love with you. You have to flirt with her and make her trust you and then, get as much information as possible. Women do anything for love. It is mean but this has to be about us and our future.”
“I saw the company safe. It has all the files relating to lab reports as well as employee profiles. I went in with Jessica to get something. You always have to enter the safe with another person. No one is allowed alone and there is a camera on the wall. Now I just have to get in there alone and somehow access the files. My only concern is the camera. I will talk to Marc and see if he can come up with something to stop it from working for that time.”
“Marc is one with us but he will not break the law. Don’t even go there with him.”
“Okay, I will think of something.”
“I have this weird feeling that Lexus is covering something up,” I said, wanting Richard’s input.
“Like what?”
“She always seems to talk for Gritty, as if he is not in the room, even when he is very visibly present. I know she is a protector, but he is a grown man. I just don’t get it.”
“So you think there is more to it?”
“Yes. There have been many untruths and Lexus is not necessarily lying but by her lack of disclosure, it seems as if she does not want to tell all. She is silent and non- committal when talking about Gritty. There seems to be more to the story than I feel we are hearing.”
“You think she is covering something up for him?”
“I’m starting to feel that way. I can’t read him. He has a very unusual personality. You could tell him that someone was hit by a train and he would just shrug his shoulders. Nothing seems to faze him. Perhaps I am wrong … it is only an observation of course.”
“I wish that I could help you with that one but I don’t know him well enough. I’ve only met him a few times and he seems your average Joe.”
“Richard, don’t worry about it. I am only venting. You have your own problems at Invor and I want you to concentrate solely on that.”
“I will but I like it when we discuss what happened during the day. I have a funny feeling that the Quebec Alcohol Society (SAQ) will be making a huge profit this year. The sound of a shot hitting the crackling ice is music to my ears.”
* * * *
“We’ll have the usual.”
“Marc, I am sorry to bother you. Thank God you were able to get some time off and meet up with me.”
“I can only give you an hour. What’s up?”
I recapped what had transpired between Lexus and Gritty. Marc’s mouth got wider and wider as he looked in awe about what I was saying. After I finished explaining the set of circumstances as best I could, Marc remained silent for the longest time. I felt that he might get up and leave. He seemed exasperated with this new turn of events.
“What the fuck! None of this was in Grenville’s file. How could he have hidden that?”
“Perhaps he never took responsibility in regards to being a father. Remember Lexus was not married to him.”
“Do you think that you can get Peter’s birth certificate from Lexus?”
“Marc, now you are asking the impossible. She is overprotective. I’ll try but I don’t think so. Why do you want it?”
“We have to start somewhere. Lexus and Gritty say that Peter is their child but what if he isn’t? What if there is a bigger scheme to this? Maybe they are all working for Invor!”
“Now you are crazy! I’ve known Lex most of my life.”
“Apparently not! It seems that she has been hiding a whole bunch of stuff from you my friend.”
“That’s not fair!”
“I’m not in the business of softening the blow or being fair. Like I said, we have to start somewhere and that would be the birth certificate. Maybe Peter belongs to one of their clients and they raised him.”
“The only similarity that Peter has is his red hair, like Lexus’. Other than that, nothing.”
“Adam, I’m not going forward with this case until you produce the birth certificate. Until then I will let this matter rest with you. Do you understand me? I am serious about this. I have to go now. Hopefully the next time we meet, you will have some answers. You are the only one who can get that kind of information from Lexus.”
He got up and left without even turning his head in my direction. I knew that he was right but I also knew that it was a long shot that Lex would part with that kind of information. If not, that would be the end to Gritty versus Invor. And I did not want to see that happen. Surely Lexus would realize that in order to help her, she would have to come up with some facts. As of now, I was totally going on hearsay. We had to start somewhere, build a case on fact. Placing people in the order of their true identity was of first importance.
* * * *
“Look Adam, what’s that got to do with anything? I’d have to pull the house apart trying to find it. Who knows where I put it!”
“I can’t continue with this case until I have proof that Peter is yours. I told you before that my personal relationship with you would have to be separated from my professional one.”
“Are you serious? All that we have been through and now you are pulling that card on me. Really Adam?”
“Yes, unfortunately I am pulling that card out. I work with facts and if you want me to continue I need this evidence to go on. I am trying to help you not be the enemy. I have taken your word about everything so far and now it is time to act like a real private investigator and get the findings. If not, I will have to drop the case.”
I could not help but see and feel his presence. Gritty was hovering by the door
wanting desperately to enter. “You know where it is Lex. We have the certificate in the safe. What’s wrong with Adam seeing it?” He immediately realized that he stepped out of line. He started to fidget. His face became white with the realization of what he had said.
“You stay out of this. I’ll handle it.” She looked at him as if she wanted to commit a murder. “Gritty leave us alone.” And he left.
She sat down as if she were beaten and began to explain. “You know Adam, I very rarely leave these walls. My life is hidden and I don’t make many friends. It is just the nature of my business. My clients come from all professions; lawyers, doctors, politicians and many other walks of life. We have a bond between us. Now whether it be from fear of disclosure or a working relationship … what goes on at Lexus’ stays here.
“When I got pregnant with Peter, it was the same. I never stepped out of these confines. One of my clients was a doctor who looked in on me every now and again. He was carrying on an affair with his best friend’s wife and still is. They have been keeping this secret for thirty years. Oh, I feel his wife knows but she loves her life and all the luxuries that come with it. She chooses to turn a blind eye. As you can see, loyalty is everything between me and my men. This doctor helped with the delivery of Peter and even produced a birth certificate. Money and power can provide what is essential when needed. Now do you see the predicament that I am in? If it ever comes out, his life could be destroyed. I could never turn on this man, not now.”
“Well you have a choice. Would you believe me if I said it would not go any further than me?” I then went on to tell her about Marc and all the information that he shared with me on the hush-hush. If he were found out, his job would also be on the line. We all had something to lose here.
“If I let you see it, then that is all you want? It stops there! I don’t understand why you can’t take my word for it.”
“I think you should understand more than anyone. You have been very deceitful with me. I feel as though I can’t trust you anymore.”
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