Addiction - Chapter VII

“Jeffords?”

“Indeed…”

I looked carefully at the embossed card and resisted the urge to smile at the detective.

“Jeffords Industries?”

“Ah, as I said,” the detective was sitting in one of the chairs and leaning forward, “this is the best lead on whoever was trying to poison you.”

I knew that my rival on the railroad would never really go away, but I did not expect this.

“You should really make things clear to me, Detective…Morris.”

“Norris.” He had another mint in his mouth.

“Sorry. I really need you to explain what you found and why this is connected with what happened.”

Now, as I promised, I would explain the card, but this part is so tedious that I prefer to just give you some of the basics: they traced my last shipment; they found out that it did not pass through the usual…hands; the card was found by a police officer who was called in on a drug bust; the detective was an old buddy who often got leads from his old contacts. And here he was.

“They found a card and now this is proof that he tried to kill me.”

“Ah no, sir. Not proof.” The detective stood up and looked out one of the floor-length windows. It was a very beautiful view. “It is what we would call a lead. I think that there might be more to it, myself, but the police think like…well, cops. They want something real and final, like the proverbial smoking gun.” He was actually smiling as he said that, and that was when I figured out what the detective was all about.

“You don’t think like a cop.”

“Not anymore.”

A former cop who decided to work for himself… I was beginning to respect him.

“All right. A lead. And what do you recommend, detective?”

He turned to look at me finally, staring past me as he formed a thought.

“Well, first, don’t take drugs.”

I said nothing.

“Okay, bad joke. You do what you want to do there. What you could do is try to get whatever supplier you have to be extra careful with your…habit.”

Habit… It is still strange to me how certain words take on all types of meanings when you use them. I know that people can have good ones and bad ones. I know that I would not have made a success of my life without them. I know that I have managed to make it this far by that careful balance between the two.

What I did not know was how I was going to play this next step.

“I’ll send Laura in to show you out.”

A panel slid open on another wall, startling the man and Laura soon appeared with her clipboard and a worried look on her face.

“Laura, Detective Norris is done here.”

“Ah, done is a tricky word, sir. There might be more to come.”

“I beg your pardon.”

He seemed to be grooming himself for what he was about to say, hands working over his coat and tie in one smooth wave.

“This was just a lead, not a final clue. Someone you know could still be after you. Someone you trust completely…”

He left, walking ahead of Laura, leaving us both staring at each other for a moment as I let his thought linger in the air.

“Laura…”

“I’ll…show him out.”

And that was when I realized that I still had the card in my hand. There was a web and email address on it…but also a phone number. This was not the standard 1-800 one you get when you are working through the main switchboard and reception desk. This was written on the back in green ink…

Green…

I was beginning to have one of my flashes back to my past.

Guess the story has to continue, right?

Here we go…

*

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