Going Under_ A Bill Roberts Thriller - Silas Payton Page 0,19

sent it to Sergeant Wilcock.

Bill, Cathy and Evans started listing what they had on Mr. James Elliott, the dead Terminal Manager.

Cathy started with a few things she had. "The C.E.O. of the Toronto Port Authority is a man named Niccolo Coppola. He's been running things for roughly three years now. Shortly after he started, Coppola hired Mr. Elliott as the manager of the Toronto ports. They have both held those positions since then, without incident, until the dock worker was found dead two months ago."

Evans was jotting the points on the board as she listed them off.

"We've covered a few points on the dock worker," Bill said. "We'll come back to him later, but I'm concerned about the possible connection to a biker gang. We've had constant concerns the ports are tied to the Italian Mafia, although we haven't been able to prove it in recent years. It's possible we may have a turf war going on."

"How would Elliott's wife play into this?" asked Evans.

"That's what we have to find out," said Bill.

"You met her Bill. Which side do you think she's on? Is she a member of the Darksiders motorcycle club or part of the Italian Mafia?" asked Cliff.

Before he could answer, Bill's cell phone rang.

"Inspector Bill Roberts," he said.

"Inspector, it's Sergeant Frank Wilcock. I wanted to let you know, we've found the body, and based on the photo on record with the DMV, it's a match. I've notified his wife and she'll have to confirm his ID when she can. The body is being sent to the Kingston morgue until she can ID him."

"Thanks, Sergeant. Sorry to hear. Not the way you wanted to spend the evening, I'm sure."

"All part of the job -- but I don't have to tell you that. Let me know if there's anything you need on my end."

Before Bill had hung up his phone, Cliff's was ringing.

Chapter 20

Cliff Jones

Cliff answered, and was surprised to find the wife of Andrew Livingston on the other end.

"We just heard from Sergeant Wilcock. I'm so very sorry, Mrs. Livingston."

She was crying, but managed to say, "Thank you, Mr. Jones. This isn't right, Andrew wouldn't do this. He loves us, he's happy -- was happy." She paused and the crying continued. "Andrew was terrified of heights. He didn't even like driving over bridges. I know he wouldn't jump off that bridge."

Cliff decided to let her continue without asking any questions yet.

"Mr. Jones, I'm sorry I didn't tell you when you were here, but Andrew told me I wasn't supposed to say anything."

"What didn't you tell me, Mrs. Livingston?" he asked.

"You asked about Andrew's work, and I told you he didn't talk about it much. Mr. Jones, he talked about it a few months ago when it was bothering him. He didn't go into specifics, but there was something going on he didn't agree with. When Andrew spoke up at work about it, things got real bad. He was afraid someone was after him. Do you think this may have had anything to do with what happened to Andrew?"

"I don't know, Mrs. Livingston. We can look into it. Mrs. Livingston, you had mentioned he was upset about something when I was there, but you didn't say what upset him. We'll try and get some answers for you, but if there is anything else you can tell me, I need it now."

Cliff stopped to wait for a response. When nothing came, he asked, "Mrs. Livingston? Do you know what sort of a case or file your husband was working on when he got upset?"

Again, there was a pause on the other end. "I do," she finally said. "He told me he was working on the accounting for the Mayor's office."

"Mrs. Livingston. Did you say, Andrew had concerns with the accounting of the Mayor's office?"

"That's correct, sir."

He thanked her and told her he'd definitely be contacting her again soon.

The room had gone quiet when Cliff had mentioned the Mayor's office. When he got off the phone, all eyes were on him.

"Are you telling me, a few months ago this guy was somehow involved in the Mayor's office, had some issues, got upset, thought he was being followed, and now he drives three and a half hours away and jumps off a bridge?" Bill asked.

"And he was deathly afraid of heights -- pardon the choice of words," added Cliff.

All eyes went from Cliff to Bill.

Evans was the one to break the silence. "The same Mayor currently being investigated for connections to organized