Chapter 85
We went with Avery’s car to a Thai restaurant 20 min by car from FoodTech labs. It was small and we were the only customers. I wondered how Avery knew about it. It certainly wasn’t one of those spots you notice, and I couldn’t even understand how the owners of the place could support themselves with their business.
While waiting for our food Brad and Alice had been doing all the questioning, and Avery and I all the talking: Italy, the last events, the shooting. They seemed to be reluctant to say what had happened to them, the same way I was reluctant to recall what had happened to me. I looked around, wishing I could be elsewhere.
An Asian girl came with what we had ordered almost immediately, she seemed happy we finally gave her the chance to do something. The food was tasty and cheap, and the service good in spite of the vaguely desolate feel the place had to it. We began eating, and there was a pause in our conversation.
A break, finally, I thought
Then Avery asked, “So you said they kicked you out of FoodTech labs?”
“So it seems”, said Alice
“I think they want to bury the whole polymer episode, make sure nobody remembers about it so that they can move on”, Brad added
“Is ‘they’ Michael Gill?”, asked Avery
“Yes”, nodded Alice
“You think this is his decision or someone else’s?”, asked Avery
“What do you mean?”, replied Brad
Instead of answering the question Avery took her cell and dialed a number.
“Hello Luke, can you run a search for me?”
Something was said on the other end of the line
“Michael Gill”, Avery replied
Another question from Luke
“What do I want to know? I want to check if he is Mark Gill’s brother or relative in general”
A pause
“Yes Mark. Mark Gill. The guy I’ve interrogated the other day”, Avery said
Luke said something, chunks of his words were audible to us but it was hard to decipher what he was saying
“I’ll tell you later. I will be back to the office soon, now I am in a restaurant”, replied Avery
“Around 2.30. I have to drive back Iris Celati first”, she said then
Another pause
“You found him?”, Avery asked, a pitch of thrill in her voice
Luke said something
“They are? Bingo!”, Avery exclaimed
They were…brothers?, I wondered
“Thanks Luke, see you later”, Avery said and hang up.
“Michael Gill is Mark Gill’s brother”, said Avery, looking at us with the adrenaline marking her voice with a high pitch
“Now, Mark Gill is involved with McMurrich’s death. That I am sure about, although I still don’t know how things went and why he killed her. Is Mark Gill involved with something that has to do with the polymer? Did he just run analyses for you or did he go beyond that?”, she continued, speaking quickly
“So you think Michael Gill wants to close the polymer business and get rid of us to cover up his brother?”, I asked
“I don’t know, I’m trying to understand this”, she replied, then added, “We have two brothers, the lover of one of them, a murder and a chemical that’s killing people. What is the connection?”
“Maybe McMurrich was trying to sell the polymer and Mark Gill wanted it for himself. Maybe he kept our sample when we brought it to him for the analyses. McMurrich found out and he killed her”, said Brad
“Or maybe he found out that she wanted to sell it, they had a fight and he killed her”, Alice said, reversing the perspective
“Or maybe Mark Gill didn’t kill McMurrich himself but knows who did. Maybe it was his brother”, Avery added. Her tone was enigmatic and doubtful at once
I bugged my eyes, trying to read her thoughts
“How so? Wasn’t Mark Gill at McMurrich’s place when she died?”
“Yes, but there were traces of other tires too around the house”, Avery told me
“You hadn’t mentioned it”, I frowned, wondering how many other things Avery had not told me
“I know…but now I am curious to know when Michael Gill came in town, and what was he doing the night McMurrich was killed”, said Avery
“Are you guys done here?”, asked the waitress, seeing that we had all stopped eating although our dishes were only half empty
Yes, we said, because none of us was hungry anymore. So we paid, leaving a big tip, and drove away.