Page 18 of Soul of Discretion

CHAPTER SIX

Nick’s mind raced as quickly as they were driving down the Gardner Expressway toward the Beaches in Downtown Toronto. This was where Jack and Margaret Teeman lived, in an expansive three-bedroom condominium according to the information he’d gathered. The couple had been married over ten years, and Margaret was quite the socialite.

“Are we going to sit here and pretend as if we don’t even know each other, Northernsalute?” Simon asked, bringing him back to the situation brewing in his own police cruiser.

“I didn’t imagine you would let it lie, would you? Say we had a good run and call it a day,” Nick suggested with no real strength behind it.

“Not a chance. If you’ll recall, we have a prior arrangement that supersedes this latest change in roles. I don’t back out on my word.”

“And you think I would? This is on a completely new level that our prior agreement wasn’t prepared to consider. Mr Simon Bridgeworth.”

“Ah, but where there’s a will there’s a way. I’m sure they must have taught you that in boot camp.”

“Don’t go quoting the force’s mottos to me.”

Simon lowered his head and Nick felt horrible. The poor man had lost a friend in Jack and to add to it, the man he had trusted had stolen from him. “Listen, Simon, how about we play this by ear, see how it works out?”

“I’ve already planned to take over the suite next to mine under an assumed name I use when travelling. There’s a connecting door between the two suites so we have one for us in private and the other where I shut the door and I’m Mr Bridgeworth again,” Simon explained.

Nick was a little surprised at how thorough Simon had been. “You’re saying we meet in the other suite, so no one assumes I’m with you. What if someone comes knocking at the door?”

“Well, that depends on which room they knocked. If it’s the original suite, I’ll close the door between rooms and lock it before carrying on with the visitor. No one will know you’re in the other room.”

“That’s all good, but this is an ongoing investigation that your friend was involved in, I don’t know if it will be that easy. I might have some awkward questions to ask you. I’m an RCMP officer and won’t bend the laws for anyone. If you lie to me or keep me away from the truth to protect him, this won’t work out personally or professionally.”

Nick noticed Simon’s eyebrows rise a little.

“What makes you think I’d give you anything less than the truth?” Simon asked mildly. “I didn’t fly all this way over here to whitewash what may have been going on within my company. You have my word I will be open with you. I’m a victim here too. I misjudged him and now I’m paying the price.” He looked away, dismissing Nick. A few moments later, he sighed, then muttered, “If you’re still interested, the suite is one oh oh two, and there’ll be a key card for you at the front desk.”

The rest of their journey was silent. Nick took the off ramp to the surface streets leading to the waterfront area of Lake Ontario. He pulled up to a glass and stone tower where a single-bedroom condominium could run around one million dollars. A three-bedroom would be outrageously priced.

Nick turned to Simon. There was something he needed to ask before they went any further. “Do you know why Jack stole the money from your company and why he’s dealing with an Italian mob boss’s lackeys?” Nick asked, straightforward, no emotion or thought, only straight questions to which he needed answers.

Simon’s honey-coloured eyes looked straight back at him without anger or fear. “No, I have no idea where my money is, and I definitely had no idea Jack was dealing with the mob. I’m here trying to find out the same things you are as they pertain to my company.”

In that instant Nick had what he needed. Simon wasn’t lying to him. He’d spent most of his life being lied to overseas and as an RCMP officer; you could say he had a knack for uncovering it. His fellow officers would often joke about him being a human lie detector.

“Okay,” Nick said before turning to open his driver’s door.

“Okay, that’s it? A simple okay and you believe me?”

“Yeah.” This time he grabbed his RCMP jacket and got out. The cold breeze blowing in off the lake was enough to take his breath away. In a month, the weather would warm up and there would be no sign of snow left. As it stood now, the roads and sidewalks were covered in sand, not snow.

Simon walked around the front of Nick’s cruiser and walked with him to the front doors of the large building. Once inside, where the wind was at bay, Simon turned to Nick. “You say you trust me but only as far as you can throw me, right?”

“No, I trust you until you do something that breaks that trust.” Nick walked past Simon and spoke with the condominiums’ receptionist. Simon joined him but said nothing more.

Minutes later the duo stood outside penthouse #2, which took up half the top floor. “What’s Jack’s salary again?

Simon looked around before answering, “One hundred forty thousand pounds plus bonuses is typical for COOs in England. However, I must admit I paid him more because of our history—one hundred sixty thousand pounds. That amount of money can buy you a lot of things, but I don’t believe it’s a penthouse this big.”

“I’ve never coveted money and the problems it brings. Let’s see, one hundred sixty thousand pounds works out to roughly two hundred ninety thousand Canadian. We have to keep all avenues open to find everyone involved,” Nick advised before knocking on the door.

“You think Margaret’s involved? She can’t be, she’s the sweetest woman you’d ever want to meet. She would send pastries to the office when they lived in England.”

“No McVities, how could you survive?” Nick teased as the door opened. Simon smirked at Nick’s comment but turned all his attention to the woman at the door.

“Margaret?” Simon questioned softly, and that was Nick’s first clue that something wasn’t right.