because of his connection to the motorcycle gang? And, do you think this may have been some organized crime turf war?"
"My guy has been there a while and he's seen things, but he needs the work and seems to value his life. He knows better than to stick his nose where it doesn't belong," said Jim. "He also told me, the mob involvement runs deep in this city -- whatever that means. He wouldn't get into it."
"Jim, I take it your guy's still working at the docks."
"As far as I know he is. Hey, do you have anything connecting Garneau to the death of James Elliott?" Jim asked.
And here comes the favour.
"So far, we have no reason to believe there is any connection, but it does make you wonder, doesn't it? Jim, would you mind checking in with your guy to see if he knows anything?"
"I've already put a call out to him, but haven't heard back yet," he said. "I'll let you know if I do, though."
Chapter 14
Rick Evans
Constable Evans was waiting patiently when a tall, thin blonde walked into the room, drinking from a bottle of water. It was obvious she spent a lot of time in the gym, and he felt a bit embarrassed by the tone of her muscled body. She had a pleasant look on her face even with him interrupting her workout.
“You must be Samantha,” he said. “I’m Detective Constable Evans of the Toronto Police. I'd like to ask you a few questions.” He extended his hand.
She shook his hand with a grip that could bring most men to tears. “No problem, officer. What would you like to know?”
“I understand you are friends with Sarah Elliott. Would you mind telling me what you can about her relationship with her husband?” he asked.
“From what I know, everything's fine. She always speaks well of him, and I know he's supportive of her training. I met him a few times at races and occasionally we've had dinner together. He seems like a nice guy,” she said.
She must not know he’s lying in the morgue right now.
“Are you aware of any problems between them? Any fights, any signs of either of them being upset with the other?” he asked.
There was no hesitation before answering. “I have never seen any signs of problems. They've always gotten along and I've never heard her say anything negative about him. What’s this about officer?”
He ignored her question and asked, “Was everything going okay with Sarah? Anything different in the past few weeks you can think of?”
She didn't say anything for a minute as she looked down at the table. Then she said she couldn't think of anything different. She reported that they were progressively increasing the intensity and duration of each of their workouts. Both she and Sarah were on track.
“Sarah and I have been working out with a new girl called Natalia for the past few months or so, until she stopped showing up a couple of weeks ago. She was prepping for the triathlon as well, and working out regularly with us. She seemed pretty pumped for it. This was going to be her first one, but I don't know where she's been lately."
Remembering his days of marathon running, Evans thought of the hours of intense training -- looking for any way to improve your endurance, increase your speed, increase your distance. Unfortunately, since his kids were born, he didn't have either the time or energy to devote to it. He was lucky to get out two or three times a week for a casual run.
Thinking back to his training, and the dedication involved, the only thing that would pull him out of training this close to a race, would be an injury.
Why would Mrs. Elliott do anything to jeopardize her race? And what happened to her friend? Something isn't making sense.
"How close is Sarah to your friend Natalia?" he asked Samantha.
"We all meet here and train together. We run, swim, bike and do weights -- not together all the time, but more often than not. We compare plans, goals, nutrition tips -- things we’ve read or heard. We help encourage each other in any way we can. This is why we found it strange Natalia would drop off the Earth -- and now you’re asking a bunch of questions about Sarah. What is going on here?” she asked, getting visibly upset.
“Do you have a number where we can reach your friend Natalia? I’d like to ask her a few