Ogrodnik Interior 2.0c (7 page)

“Wow, are you sure? It’s hard to believe that anyone would want to hurt your dad.”

“That’s the standing theory that I’m trying to prove, or not. Do you remember him talking about anything he was working on, or looking into, recently? Some of the things I’ve found in the house point to him researching
a pharmaceutical company named Biovonix. Does any of that ring a bell?”

Anne bit her lower lip with a look of concentration and waited to let an overhead jet pass until its dull roar faded. “I don’t remember him ever mentioning anything about that company. Elliot, our conversations were light. We both loved mystery books, we bitched about Quebec politics and gossiped about the neighbors, but we never talked about anything too personal or worldly.”

Anne was quiet, and Elliot could tell she was reflecting on something. He let the conversation lag until she was ready to speak again.

“I have to say that he had not been himself for a few weeks,” she finally said. “I sometimes joined him on his walks up the mountain and also spent a good deal of time back here on the deck with him. He seemed distracted for a few weeks prior to his death, so much so that I asked him a couple of times if there was anything wrong. He never admitted to anything, but in my mind, he was clearly struggling with a weighty issue. Then, the week before he was killed, he seemed like his usual self, as if he had resolved whatever conflict he’d had. Maybe you know what it was?” she asked.

Elliot’s cheeks reddened. He’d just heard that his father had been struggling with a huge decision for weeks, but he knew nothing about it. “No, I wasn’t aware that he was stressed about anything,” he replied quietly. He sat back and sipped his water thinking about which way to steer the conversation next.

“Did you know that there was a theft in the house in the past couple of weeks?”

“No! When? What was taken?” she said sitting up in her chair to face Elliot.

“I don’t know exactly when. It was in the past two weeks. As far as I can tell, they only took his computer and maybe some files.”

“How did they get in? Should I be worried? Did you call the police?”

“Slow down. There’s nothing to worry about. I think the robbers had a key."

“Good God. Murder. Theft. What was he involved in?”

“You know Dad. He wouldn’t spit gum on the sidewalk for fear of breaking the law. My theory is that he became privy to information; maybe he saw something or heard something that he shouldn’t have that ended up putting his life in danger. He knew he was in danger, but he didn’t reach out for help. Instead he continued on and felt it was more appropriate to leave me a few obscure clues.”

Elliot stopped talking and thought about how much he should tell Anne. He didn’t want to involve her to the point where she might also be in harm's way, but his father may have inadvertently told her something that would be valuable to the investigation. He continued.

“I know that Dad met with an executive at Biovonix the week before his death. Did he mention someone named Alex Banik?”

“No, I don’t recall ever hearing that name before,” she replied casually, but when he said the name Alex Banik, Elliot noticed a slight intake of breath through her nose, imperceptible if you weren’t looking for it, but he was. He didn’t push the point but filed the information to reflect on later.

“Have you ever seen a vehicle in the neighborhood with someone in it as if they were on surveillance?” he asked.

“You mean like a stakeout? No. Do you think he was being watched?” she asked.

“The killer had to have known when Dad started his hike up the mountain so he could meet him at the top. It only makes sense that someone was watching him.”

“No. I haven’t seen anything like that.”

“It was a long shot that you would have noticed anything, but I had to ask,” he said as he sat back, closed his eyes and waited for Anne to direct the conversation.

He’s a good looking man,
Anne thought as she looked at Elliot relaxing. He didn’t have the chiseled outdoorsy face that she preferred in men, but there was a refined quality about him that she found attractive. Physically, he would never be mistaken for someone who labored for a living, but he kept his tall frame in good shape and had just enough rough spots that he wouldn’t be considered soft. What drew him to her was his natural, easy-going manner that invited relaxed conversation. She thought that he must be popular with his students.

“Elliot, have you decided what you’re going to do with the house? If you plan on selling it, I’ll need to find a new apartment; if you do decide to sell, could you ask the real estate agent if my continuing to rent the basement is still possible? It may even be a selling point to have a reliable renter already lined up.”

He could tell she was nervous by the way she sped through her spiel. She’d probably rehearsed it flawlessly a hundred times in front of the mirror. It made her seem that much more vulnerable in his eyes.

“I haven’t decided yet, but when I do, I’ll give you as much time as possible,” he was leaning toward selling the house, but dealing with it now was not a priority. A squirrel caught his attention as it peeled across the telephone line like a four-legged circus performer on speed. His eyes dropped down when the squirrel disappeared behind the pole, and he noticed the fishing boat sitting in the corner of the yard just inside the fence. Last year’s grass was growing around the trailer wheels and up around the axles. His father had named the boat “Sea of Tranquility IV” and painted the name at the back of boat on the flat portion where the motor mounted. He thought back to the good chuckle he and Jake had shared when they saw the name and had to ask the great Captain Hubert what happened to I, II, and III. It occurred to him at that time that he’d include the boat when he sold the house.

They sat on the deck without talking for a few minutes, and Elliot realized that he felt totally content for the first time in a long time. This feeling was not the result of being relaxed and having no pressing matters on his mind. Au contraire, although he was faced with a situation that was consuming his every thought, he was finally doing what he was meant to do. After a lifetime of preparing himself to serve Lady Justice, he was actually doing something about it,
and all it took to get me started was the murder of my father,
he thought.

The deck they were sitting on was “L” shaped with the bigger area spread across the entire width of the back of the house. The lesser portion of the “L” was an alcove on the back right of the house where the patio door was located. Even though there were houses on each side as well as behind the house, it was a private, even intimate setting. The few noises from the city around them were swept away by the warm spring breeze that percolated through the trees in the yard, and when Elliot closed his eyes, he could easily imagine he was somewhere far away from humanity and the problems in his life. He heard Anne pick up her book but didn’t let it interrupt his peace. He pushed the case out of his mind, concentrated on nothing and allowed himself to skip off the surface of sleep until he eventually heard the rustle of fabric as Anne repositioned herself in her chair. He opened his eyes and saw that she was holding her book but looking at him. He had to suppress the urge to reach out and touch her hand. She had a peculiar look on her face that reminded him of the way Sarah sometimes looked at Jake when he was napping as a tyke. He could have sat there all afternoon, but duty was calling like a distant voice on the wind. He forced himself back to the present.

He noticed the book Anne was reading, a James Lee Burke novel called
Purple Cane Road.

“I haven’t read that one. Is it good?” he asked.

“Yes, I love the Dave Robicheaux novels,” she replied. “I like the way he captures the atmosphere of the Deep South. The way he describes the New Orleans area and the people who live there tells me that there are still places where people can live the simple life. Free from all the corruption and depravity we see in the city.”

”I agree. Burke is a master,” he replied as he got up to leave. To his surprise, Anne got up with him and gave him a hug. It may have been his imagination, but it seemed that she hung on to the hug just a little longer and little tighter than protocol called for.

Walking through the house to go to the car, Elliot thought back to her comments about the book; her cynicism had taken him by surprise. Although he didn’t know Anne well, he didn’t expect her to have such a jaded interpretation of the world. There was definitely more to Anne than he imagined, and he’d be interested one day to hear her story.

Elliot spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon at the office taking care of administrative chores he had been ignoring over the past few weeks.

At 3:15 he readied for his 4:00 meeting at Biovonix with Dr. Banik. After refueling at the coffee machine, he hopped onto the Decarie Expressway and headed north until it emptied out onto Route 40 westbound. About fifteen minutes later, he arrived at Biovonix, a medium sized campus of buildings off Route 40 in an area known as the West Island.

Elliot asked for Dr. Banik at reception and was almost immediately greeted by an escort to take him to Banik’s office. The escort was a stocky fellow, and due to an apparent love affair with his Bowflex, his head seemed to rest directly on his shoulders as if he had no neck at all. His laser straight posture and short cropped hair immediately made him think of someone with a military background. The escort seemed completely out of place in his surroundings and looked as comfortable in his suit as your grandfather might look in drag.

With a minimum of protocol, he motioned Elliot to follow through a warren of hallways that eventually led them to Banik’s second-floor office. Outside the office in a spacious foyer was an admin assistant, whom he assumed to be the one he spoke to on the phone.

“Good afternoon. I’m here to see Dr. Banik.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Forsman. My name is Emily, and if you wait right here, I will see if Dr. Banik is ready to see you.”

On the other side of the open area was a desk with another suited pretender propped up behind it. This man also clearly came from a military background, the same close cropped hair, the same straight posture, the same humorless demeanor. The only obvious difference was a cheesy moustache that dripped down off the sides of his mouth like a '70s porn star might have. The man across the office reminded Elliot of someone, someone he knew. Moustache looked up to see Elliot eyeing him and stared right back as if a challenge had been thrown. Elliot continued to stare back because he was sure that he knew that man, or at least had met him at some point in the recent past, but he couldn’t recall where or when. Elliot looked away when Emily came back and ushered him into Banik’s office.

Banik’s office was impressive. A huge square area bounded by glass on three sides and mahogany and stainless steel on the entry wall. The lighting, furniture, and décor were flawlessly executed, and Elliot knew immediately that this office was a showpiece for the entire company. A tall, distinguished man he presumed to be Dr. Banik met him inside the door and introduced himself.

“Mr. Forsman, please come in,” the man said as he offered his hand.

“Dr. Banik. Thank you for seeing me today on such short notice, and please, call me Elliot,” he said as he looked around in awe. “This is quite an office.”

“It is. Let me give you the tour before we get started,” Banik replied as he walked over to the glass wall on the right with the expectation that Elliot would follow. He did.

Their small talk was interrupted when they reached a windowed wall that looked out over a roofed area that was open to the outdoors. The area below was filled with tables, chairs, and benches. Elliot saw that there was already a number of staff eating and relaxing.

“This is an area where the staff can eat, have a coffee, relax and socialize. On Friday afternoons, we serve cold refreshments like beer and wine, all complimentary, of course. We believe strongly that our staff is our most valuable asset, and this is one of the many ways we express that belief.”

Elliot nodded in appreciation, not knowing what else to say. They continued walking over to the far wall that looked south over the Biovonix property toward Highway 40. “You’ll notice that our current campus only occupies a small portion of the Biovonix property,” said Banik as he swept his arm across a considerable mown area that fronted and surrounded the existing campus.

“We have a plan to build on the unused land and foresee that in five years the Biovonix campus will be quadruple the size it is today.” He pointed to future sites for various production facilities as they walked along the front wall.

The wall on the left of the room overlooked a large laboratory area. “This is where the magic happens,” Banik stated proudly. “Most of our research and development is done right here in this room and the surrounding supporting areas.”

“Very impressive, Dr. Banik,” Elliot said. “Is this also where the pre-clinical test trials occur?”

“No. We do little trial work onsite. Almost all of the pre-clinical trials are performed by university affiliates. Most pharmaceutical companies work in this manner.”

Banik moved over to an area behind his desk where the solid wall was covered with accreditations, diplomas, and awards; obviously, Banik wanted Elliot to appreciate his importance. “You have quite an impressive resume of recognition on the wall,” he said, now understanding that acknowledging Banik’s grandeur was part of the dance he orchestrated. It was at that time that Elliot clued in that he needed this huge office to house his over-inflated ego.

“Thank you. But these are only pieces of paper on the wall. My real accomplishment is the work I do to make our world a better, healthier place to live in.”

His modesty was as false as a prom night promise, but Elliot continued walking along the queue of framed pomposity until he reached the last one, a small, framed certificate that had a burgundy colored square in the center of a gold frame. He stopped and read this one only because it was much smaller and quite different from all the others.