Fiction

When Toxic Rivers Flow Part 7

A Sunny Alexander-Johnson and Henry James Series By P.G. & Sharon Barnett

My name is Sunny Alexander-Johnson, and I’m Henry James, and we’re writers for Dark Sides of the Truth Magazine.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

We hastily formed somewhat of a plan, which included Robert and us heading to Uttar Textiles while Manny stayed back and monitored the video/audio feeds. Although we seriously doubted they would, we needed to cover all the bases if Roberto or Tim or both came back online.

None of us expected Tim Rice to do what he did. It was a rookie move, poking around that warehouse in broad daylight and worse, doing it during the plant’s operation hours. In our line of work, the ability to snoop around is practically an art form, and from what we’d witnessed over the last two weeks, Tim was playing way out of his league.

And now this. No contact with either of the men. No audio. No video. We were heading to the plant with absolutely no idea what we were up against. Which, if we’d stopped to think about it, would have pretty much been an average day for us.

It wasn’t much of a plan, but we knew whatever we did, we needed to do it quickly. At this point, if Tim and Roberto were still alive, something told us they wouldn’t be for long.

Images of the two men’s bodies floating in the Colorado River with bullets in their brains had stoked our urgency levels to almost critical mass.

Robert guided his car to an area just outside the main entrance to the plant and parked then shut the engine off. We remained seated as he got out and walked to the back, opened the trunk, and retrieved a pair of binoculars and a monocular. When he returned, the three of us scanned the hustle and bustle of a textile plant in full production.

“Anybody see anything unusual?”

“Not really.”

“Not unusual, but maybe the reason our boys were made. See the entrance to the offices? The cars in the parking lot? One of those looks like a squad car.”

“Where Henry?”

“To the right of the entrance Sunny, six cars down three rows back in our direction.”

“Ah, damn. You’re right. It’s definitely a police car.”

“So evidently we weren’t fast enough. Whoever killed Louis Delgado knows about Tim and Roberto coming to work here, and no sooner did they come on board, but the police show up? They probably connected the dots.”

“Yeah, Robert. I’m pretty sure they did.”

“Now what?”

“My guess is whoever’s pulling the strings isn’t going to make a move while the cops are in the house, plus if they’re starting to feel the heat, they’re going to want to get rid of the evidence quick. I’m guessing the minute the sun goes down.”

“By get rid of the evidence, do you mean the toxic waste or Tim and Roberto?”

“Probably both, princess. Okay, everybody, the local cops are coming out and heading to their vehicle.”

We watched as two uniformed officers got into their squad car, then saw the car back out and head in our direction. In unison, we slid out of sight, waiting for the vehicle to pass us and make it to the main road.

“Well, that’s it then. I’m calling Manny.”

“What the hell for Robert?”

“He needs to contact the authorities and let them know what’s going on. When they come back, it needs to be with a search warrant.”

“When they come back, there may not be anything for them to find.”

“I understand that, Henry. That’s where the three of us come in. We wait until the plant closes and we move in.”

“Robert, see those gates?”

“Yeah, so?”

“When the plant closes, so do those gates. Shouldn’t we already be inside?”

“Got a better idea?”

“You shouldn’t have asked him that question honey. Henry always has a better idea.”

“Bite me, princess. Okay, here’s the plan. We park in the parking lot, get out, and find someplace to settle in and wait until the plant closes. Then we find Tim and Roberto.”

“And?”

“No and Robert.”

“That’s your plan?”

“Yeap.”

“Not much of a plan, Henry.”

“What’s the worse that could happen?”

“Oh dear God Henry, did you have to say that?”

After placing a call to Manny and filling him in on our overly simplistic plan, we made the short trip to the main parking lot and cruised around until we spotted a secondary parking lot on the west side of the complex. There were only four cars in the secondary lot, and it faced a stand-alone building that effectively blocked the view of the entrance to the main offices.

Instead of immediately getting out of the car, we scoured the area around us. Whatever place we picked, we needed to make it there as fast as possible. The less we were out in the open, the better our chances were.

“What’s that over there?”

“Where Sunny?”

“That small building with the garage door and the normal-sized door to the left of it.”

“Looks like some kind of repair station. Like for forklifts or small vehicles.”

“Okay, Henry, you and Sunny stay put. Let me go check it out.”

Robert eased out of the vehicle and after gazing around quickly walked over to the building. We saw him try the handle of the door, watched as he opened the door and took a quick look in, then closed it and returned to the vehicle.

As he closed the car door, he said, “it’s clear. Looks like a small office next to a repair bay. Ought to be perfect. Let’s get some flashlights and wait it out until dusk, then we need to find them pretty damn fast.”

“You know Robert when we start walking around this place with flashlights, we’re going to be moving targets? You know that, right?”

“Yeah, honey I know. I just hope me and Henry’s reaction time and our aim is better than theirs is.”

“Henry? Please tell me you’ve been practicing with that pistol of yours.”

“I have princess, not that it matters.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“When Cynthia finds out about this, I’m guessing we’re as good as dead anyway.”

Read On — When Toxic Rivers Flow Part 8