Part 9
The following morning, Lois began searching Al and Stan Rossi’s business background. As she was already aware, some of the buildings that they had managed were in good condition, so she began a search into their seedier properties. Her search revealed that in each case, Al and Stan were using William Turner, a sole practitioner, to handle many of the complaints, suits and liens that were against them.
Following the trail that opened up, she saw that Turner was directly responsible for appealing to the municipality to change the zoning on many of Al and Stan’s properties.
Lois called Amy Chester, an old acquaintance who had recently been made head of the Zoning Commission at City Hall. The women decided to meet for coffee in the City Hall cafeteria which was relatively empty at that time of the morning.
"Sure I’ve heard of Turner," Amy said when she and Lois sat down with their coffees. "He represents a lot of clients who want changes made to zoning by-laws. He has a fairly sophisticated business going."
"What does someone have to do to get land rezoned?"
"The usual process is to..."
"’The usual process’? Are you saying that he uses unusual methods?"
"That’s right. In the last six cases handled by Turner, the process has taken less than the expected six to eight months."
"How can that happen?"
"Well, this has to be off the record, Lois, since I’m investigating this, as a matter of fact."
"Off the record. No problem."
"Then turn off the tape recorder and stop taking notes."
"Amy, I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your position." To reassure her source, she turned off her tape recorder and put her pen down.
"Okay. There were some complaints that the rezoning process was moving faster than it should have. So, I was brought into find out why. It looks like there was a great deal of cash moving between Turner and someone in the rezoning office. What I’m trying to find out is how much money and who it ‘s going to."
"Why would someone want the zoning changed so much that they would resort to bribery?"
"Good question."
"What kinds of changes do they want made?"
"Recently, there’ve been requests for changes from residential zoning to commercial. In the past two years, four areas have been rezoned for those big box plazas."
"Like where Costmarts go up?"
"Bang on, Lois. In each area that Turner has lobbied for a zoning change, a new Costmart has gone up."
"So you think that Costmart is behind the bribes?" She took a sip of her coffee. "Why would a large company like Costmart need to bribe the city? It doesn’t make sense."
"That’s why this last part of our talk has been off the record, Lois. I’m still trying to find out and I don’t want to jump the gun. There has been a lot of community opposition to box stores like Costmart which destroys all kinds of small, independent businesses, creates large parking and traffic issues among other problems."
"So who were they bribing?"
"That’s what I’d like to know. But if you wanted me to guess, I’d say some councillors so that the rezoning vote would pass or someone in the planning department so that they would only present data that supported the rezoning."
When the bill came, Lois picked up the tab muttering about her expense account. But before she left she asked Amy one more question. "Was the new CTD development up in LeVine represented by Turner?"
"Yes."
"What about 2047 Bayside Avenue?"
"That too. What’s the connection, Lois?"
"I’m not sure, but I’m definitely going to find out." They got up from the table ready to go. "By the way, how far back are you looking?"
"Turner got involved in this rezoning about five years ago."
"Does Turner represent Costmart?"
"From what I’ve seen, Costmart uses either in-house attorneys or J.A. Macdonald and Associates.
***********************
Both Lois and Clark were unable to pursue their investigations of the Bayside Fire and the Drake Murders because they were pulled into Johnny Corbin’s story. When Lois finally got back to her desk, it didn’t take her long to put an article together that described the events that culminated in Clark being kidnapped and Superman stopping Johnny Corbin.
She had tried to keep her distance from Superman, and that lasted for quite a few weeks, but when she saw him pummelled by Johnny, saw him confused because Johnny could down him so easily, she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to help. She had gone towards him, offering her support, but he refused, taking off into the sky. His standard way of avoiding situations, she realized. And she was right, of course. When she spoke to Clark the next day, he sheepishly stated that Superman was embarrassed by what had happened.
But that was ridiculous. Why should Superman be embarrassed because some cyborg could throw him off balance and knock him out? That had happened before in the boxing ring when he was fighting Tommy Garrett, but Superman was able to come back and put Garrett in his place with a flick of a finger. So why did Superman fly away from Johnny? Was he humiliated because she was watching? But the next day, she had seen Rollie Vale remove a piece of kryptonite from Johnny’s metallic chest. That explained Superman’s reaction to Johnny. He shouldn’t have been embarrassed in front her or anyone else.
Why should Superman be ashamed because she had seen her so-called hero at a physically weak moment? Didn’t he realize that he wasn’t all about the physical strength?
Perhaps, he did realize that, but Superman placed himself on a pedestal beyond human frailty. When Superman had been blinded by Dr. Light, he had told her that if he had to be blind then he would be the best blind person that he could be. Didn’t he see that he could show weakness and embarrassment and still be Superman? Didn’t he realize that he could show human weakness?
And yet, she, herself, had tried her best to keep him so righteously above them. She had once told Clark that it was the idea of Superman that was important. If she looked carefully at the articles she had written over the time that Superman had been in Metropolis, she kept reminding the readers of his integrity and strong sense of morality, of his high standards. She wanted, perhaps needed, Superman to be better than his physical abilities and better than an ordinary guy. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t respect him when he showed human weakness.
Look at Clark. He was intelligent, caring, had an innate sense of goodness. He was like Superman in that way, having strong moral values and ideals that he worked hard to live up to, but he stumbled once in a while. She winced when she thought about Clark resorting to some underhanded spying when he was on the trail of an important story. Nonetheless, she respected him for his weaknesses as well as his strengths.
How would she have felt if Clark had known about Lex’s perfidy and hadn’t warn her against him? Could she have forgiven Clark, her best friend, from keeping her in the dark? Yes. She might have been angry, but she would have eventually forgiven him for an error in judgement.
"Lois, that article, I needed it five minutes ago," Perry bellowed across the newsroom.
"Sending it right now, Chief," Lois said, snapping out of her thoughts. As she pressed the send key on her computer, she knew that she had come to some important understanding about Superman. Maybe he had trouble standing on the pedestal where Lois had placed him. He made mistakes, just like other people. He readily accepted that he was the cause of the heat wave and was ready to leave Metropolis without giving her a chance to find the truth.
When, by his actions, he floated a little closer to Earth, he looked at the world in a more human way. Maybe that was why when she asked him if there was any future for them, he was resentful, hurt. Both very human emotions. But, if that was the case, why hadn’t he told her his suspicions about Lex Luthor?
And if she was to be honest with herself, she had to wonder if it was time for her to allow Superman to step down from the pedestal.
*************
Clark sauntered into the lunch room where he poured himself a cup of coffee. He was pleased that he was early enough for the daily story meeting to enjoy a cup of coffee with Lois.
"You’re here early this morning," Lois stated when Clark sat down beside her.
"Here’s your bear claw." She pushed the large sweet bun over to her partner.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it when you save them for me."
"No problem," said Lois as she pushed a napkin full of raisins she had pulled out of her cinnamon bun to Clark.
"I found out some more about our Bayside Fire story." Clark said as he nibbled on the raisins. "Do you know who spends a lot of time working out of a trailer at the construction site?"
"I’m sure you’re dying to tell me, so go ahead."
"Bill Church, Jr." Clark watched Lois’s eyes go wide.
"But our search of the company didn’t come up with his name in the list of owners."
"No, it didn’t, but what I saw told me that he was very much in charge."
"So CTD is a shell company?"
"Or the list of owners is phony."
"Wow! Bill Church, Jr. It can’t get much better than this." She leaned closer to Clark. "How did you find out?"
"Do you remember Charlie King?" he asked.
Lois’s gaze went blank for a moment. Clark could see when she finally made the connection.
"That sailor who managed to get a job as a bartender at the Metro Club because he came on to the boss?"
"He did not come on to her."
"Do you always talk about yourself in the third person?" she asked surprised by the confused look on Clark’s face. When he didn’t answer her, she continued. "Yeah, I remember Charlie. So, what about him?"
"He’s out of a job again so he went over to the construction site yesterday and asked for some work. They let him fill in an application form, but told him that he had to wait until the boss showed up. So, I asked him who the boss was, and he said, ‘Bill Church, Jr.’"
"Oh, Clark, that’s our link to Intergang. Charlie didn’t happen to find out if Bill owns a trenchcoat with missing buttons."
"No. He doesn’t, but you’d also never guess who does own a trenchcoat that was hanging in the trailer."
"Bill Church, Sr.?"
"Good guess, but no. Try Baby Rage."
"Uncle Mike’s arsonist? Oh Clark, this is getting better and better. How did you find that out?"
"Charlie kinda begged for a day job," he said, grinning. "He’s pretty down and out at the moment. As he worked hauling loads of bricks to various sites, he kept an eye on the trailer. At one point during the day, Baby Rage, wearing the trenchcoat, came to talk to Church."
"That was considerate of him."
"And here, Lois..." he added, ignoring her comment. He handed her a piece of paper with a sketch on it. "...is the other man who left the trailer wearing a short black leather jacket."
"Who is he?"
"Well, Charlie did some eavesdropping." He winked at her. "Apparently, Charlie has a partner who’s taught him some underhanded tricks."
"Glad to see that Charlie has good sense." Lois patted Clark’s hand and then let hers linger on his.
"Anyway, I found out that the man’s name is Darryl Simkins. He’s worked as muscle before on a free-lance basis, has a rap sheet that dates back to the 1960s. He was released from prison five years ago and then there’s been nothing."
"So, he’s been working for Church all this time?" Lois moved to the counter where she poured Clark a mug of coffee, adding cream and two packages of sugar. She then put non-fat milk and sweetener in her own coffee. While bringing both mugs to the table she asked, "Did you check the payroll?"
"As a matter of fact, I did check with a friend at the IRS and surprisingly he files his tax returns religiously every year." Clark took a sip of coffee and muttered, "Mmm, perfect, thanks."
"That surprises me."
"That the coffee is perfect?"
"No, that Simkins files a tax return."
"I didn’t expect it either, but when I thought about it, it made sense. He works for Campbell-Thompson which is a legitimate construction company. By filing tax returns, he stays out of trouble with his parole officer and the government. That doesn’t have to mean that the work he does is legal."
"Clark, this is great."
"I’m going over to the construction site to put in a few hours of work."
"Good idea." Lois carried her mug over to the sink. As she surveyed the newsroom, she saw Mayson come out of the elevator. "Listen, why don’t we put together everything we’ve got and work on this over a pizza at my place tonight?"
"I just hope I have some useful information by then."
"Hi, Clark," Mayson said as she entered the lunch room. "Lois." She added with a nod.
"Hi, Mayson," Clark said, a friendly smile on his face.
Lois watched the interaction carefully. Clark had told her that Mayson had been upset when she left him at lunch a few days earlier, but now she was clinging to him, wrapping her arm around his while leading him away from the lunchroom. Lois followed on their heels.
"I came to apologize," she said, leaning into Clark. "At lunch, the other day, I got angry. It wasn’t very rational of me. I’m sorry."
"Don’t be sorry, Mayson."
"I was hoping that I could make it up to you with a homemade dinner, tonight."
Lois held her breath.
"Sorry, Mayson, but I have plans tonight." Clark smiled at Lois. "With Lois. We’ve got to work on the Bayside Fire story."
"Yes, we’ve got a lot of work to do." Lois chimed in, but she wondered why she felt disappointed that Clark made it sound like work rather than something more social. Nonetheless, she was pleased that Mayson was let down.
"But you’ve got to eat, Clark. Maybe afterwards?" Mayson said.
Clark looked at Lois again, then at Mayson.
"We’re having dinner as well," said Lois very badly wanting to grab onto Clark’s arm and pull him away from the clingy blonde. "By the way, Mayson, we’ve been throwing some ideas around and we were wondering, what your brother did for a living?"
Mayson stared wide-eyed at Lois. "Tom was a sociology professor at Met U. Why?"
Clark led Mayson over to his desk where he pulled his chair out for her, then dragged Lois’s over for her. He leaned against his desk.
"What about Janice?" Clark asked.
"She managed a children’s clothing store. What’s this game of twenty questions all about?" She turned and faced Clark, her lips stretching tighter across her teeth.
"Maybe I made a mistake about your father and Lex Luthor...fixating on Luthor and not seeing the full picture because of my personal prejudices," Clark explained.
Mayson sat taller in her chair. "But you’re still trying to make some nefarious connection between someone in my family and Luthor."
"No. It’s not like that. Mayson," he said, putting his hand on her arm. "I just can’t believe that your family’s deaths were an accident. And now that we’re looking at these Bayside Fires and we see two men killed and their bodies left in a burning building, I wonder if there’s some kind of connection."
Mayson shrugged Clark’s hand off her arm, stood up and faced Clark. "Just for the record, my mother worked for J.A. Macdonald’s, a very reputable law firm, I might add. So there’s the story. Now drop it, Clark."
Lois watched Mayson stalk out of the newsroom. She was surprised when Clark didn’t rush after her. Instead, she heard Clark sigh, and then open his e-mail and perused his messages.
***************
Charlie King returned to the CTD construction site prepared to do whatever menial jobs were available. Pleased with his work the previous day, the site foreman gladly handed over some of the heavier and dirtier work to Charlie. The man was strong and didn’t complain.
Charlie worked quickly and quietly, keeping his hearing trained on the activities around the office trailers.
Charlie’s efforts were rewarded toward the end of the day when he saw Baby Rage, dressed in a tan trenchcoat, swagger up to the trailer where Bill Church Jr had arrived several hours earlier. Church had been in the trailer most of the day on the phone ordering equipment or giving the foremen orders. Clark was impressed that Church had such a good handle on the construction business and seemed to have the ability to succeed in legitimate enterprises.
"Yo, Mr. C. I heard ya wanted to see me," Baby Rage said after he closed the door to the trailer.
Charlie stood up straighter, wiped his brow, took a swig out of his water bottle and lowered his glasses.
"Yeah. I have another assignment for you, but this time I need you to be more discreet."
"Hey, boss, discreet is my middle name."
"Right." Church took his cigar out of the ashtray, knocked off the ashes at its end and took a deep puff. "There are two reporters who have been snooping around. I need you to do your stuff on them."
"Who are they?"
"Lois Lane and Clark Kent."
"With pleasure. That Kent guy will have me serving time if he isn’t wiped out as a witness."
"When is the trial set for?"
"Couple of months."
"Just don’t do it the usual way. I need you to make it look like a real accident so that nothing can be tied to us. For some reason they’re prying, which means that they know something. I want them out of the picture."
"I know exactly what I’ll do with Lane; Kent will just have to wait a while. I owe him big."
Pushing his glasses in place, Charlie stooped down to pick up a small block of concrete and move it to the dumpster. Impatiently, he waited for the work day to end so that he could get to Lois and warn her.
But he knew that warning her was one thing, and getting her to comply was another.
tbc...
