Previously, Zack and Sydney evade the police and escape from Kenora, only to find themselves trapped in rural Ontario with only one option out.
“Garrett. Get up. We’re here,” Joey said, shaking Garrett’s shoulders. He watched as Garrett groaned and sat up, his hair flattened against his face.
The flight attendant’s voice came on over the speaker: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Kenora. Local time is eleven-oh-six a.m., and the temperature is seventeen degrees Celsius. Baggage claim will be at carousel two. Connecting flights will need to check in at the Air Canada counter.
Mesdames et Messieurs, bienvenue à Kenora. L’heure locale est onze heures six, et la température est de dix-sept degrés Celsius. Les bagages pourront être récupérés au carrousel numéro deux. Pour les vols de correspondance, veuillez vous présenter au comptoir d’Air Canada.
Joey unbuckled his seatbelt and stood to grab his carry-on from the overhead compartment. The airplane whined as the engines turned off, and Joey rushed off of the plane. He told Garrett to pick up the bags, and went to the Tim Hortons kiosk in the airport. He picked up the coffees and balanced them as he lugged his rolling carry-on behind him. Garrett was stuffing their luggage in their pre-booked rental car just outside the terminal.
The trunk slammed and Garrett gave an exaggerated slump when he saw Joey with the coffee. “Oh, thank God. Double-double?”
Joey nodded and held out the tray for him. Garrett carefully pulled the cup out. “You’re a lifesaver. Oh. Roll-up the Rim time already, eh? Too bad they got rid of the actual rolling of the rim. Ever since Timmies got bought out by the Americans, it’s all gone to shit.”
The coffee tasted rich and creamy, and Joey flung his luggage into the back seat and slid into the driver’s side.
“Let’s catch this guy,” Joey mumbled. He cranked the shifter into drive and they lurched away from the airport.
Rural Ontario was a gorgeous place to be. Joey found himself scanning the forests along the highway as he drove the short trip into town. He watched the sun reflect over the rippling surface of the water and it flickered in his eyes as it was interrupted by the trees. It was only a short drive, maybe six or seven minutes, and they had made it into the small town. Joey had the GPS on his phone giving him directions as he turned off the highway into the small downtown.
“—four hundred metres, turn right. Your destination is on the right.”
The main road was blockaded by three police cars and a larger SUV. There was a small group of people crowded in front of a building that had to be the TNCB branch. Yellow crime scene tape flapped in the wind. There was a CBC van parked out front with some big lights shining on a professionally dressed woman holding microphone.
“Oh, come on. Well. We made it. Look sharp, Garrett.”
Garrett groaned and sat up. “Had a few whiskies last night.”
“That was a great idea,” Joey answered as he pulled into a space a few buildings down from the bank. It was too crowded to get much closer, but nothing like the choking traffic of Toronto.
Joey slammed the car into park. “Okay. Follow my lead. We need the police to work with us, not against us.”
“Ughhhh. Why are we doing this again?”
Joey undid his seatbelt and sighed. “We need to squash this. This is obviously national news at this point, but they don’t know about the other possible banks this Ryan Clements has hit. If we don’t get this under control, I could lose my job.”
Garrett held a hand to his head and popped a couple of pills. “We? Sounds like more of a you problem. What did Jared say about it?”
Joey opened the door and stepped out. “Jared knows what he needs to know.”
Garrett scrambled to exit the car. “So he knows nothing? Shit-all? Really rolling the dice on that one eh, chief.”
Joey stopped in his tracks and glared at Garrett. Garrett coloured. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”
“It’s okay. Just….try and familiarize yourself with the Truth and Reconciliation. Come on.”
They stormed down the sidewalk until they came up to the yellow tape that separated the bank from the general public. Joey craned his neck, trying to catch the eye of a bank employee or an RCMP officer. The woman behind the microphone was practising takes of the news segment that was about to air.
“Three…two…one…Good morning. I am Sherryl Stevens, reporting live from downtown Kenora, Ontario, where two armed robbers were snuffed…snuffed? Rick, are we using snuffed?”
Armed robbers.
Joey caught the eye of an overweight OPP police officer and waved him over. He tromped over. His thinning brown hair and thick moustache, paired with reflective sunglasses were over the top.
“Hi,” Joey said, holding out a hand for the cop to shake. The cop slurped at a red to-go coffee cup and ignored Joey’s hand. “My name is Joseph Cousins, I am the Head of Auditing at TNCB at the corporate office in Toronto. Can I ask who is running the investigation?”
The officer took another drink of his coffee and hesitated.
Garrett tipped his coffee cup to him. “Nice choice. Are you a double-double man as well?”
The man pursed his lips. “Sure thing, bud.”
Garrett glanced at Joey. “Ahhh, look. We are just looking to find out what happened here. You know who is running this?”
The OPP officer took a deep breath. “Look. This here is a closed investigation.”
Joey gave him his best smile. “We are sorry to bother you. I know you’re busy, but if you could just point us in the right direction, that would be so appreciated.”
The cop nodded and moved away. Joey watched him walk into the bank, which featured a smashed front door. Glass was sprinkled all over the ground. What had happened here?
A tall woman with lengthy blonde hair strolled over. She emitted confidence and Joey could tell right away that she was in charge. She wore a long pea coat that was navy and paired it with blue jeans. She stopped right next to them and thrust out her hand. Joey shook it.
“Penny Lavalier, lead inspector for the RCMP. ‘Ow can I ‘elp you? My colleague tells me that you are auditors with TNCB?” She had the strong accent of a native Quebecois.
Joey introduced himself and Garrett. “Yes, I am the Head of Auditing. I’m hoping that you would be interested in working together to find the culprit.”
Penny tutted and looked around at the circus of people milling about. “I would say that we ‘ave all of the ‘elp that we need, no?”
Joey looked all around. Forensic specialists crouched over bits on the ground that Joey assumed would be evidence, Sherryl was live on air with CBC, and RCMP officers hurried all around the bank.
“I have insiders knowledge that could help, I could—”
“Inspector,” an RCMP officer interrupted. “We need your opinion over here.”
Penny shook their hands again. “Sorry, I am needed elsewhere.”
And then she was gone.
Joey gave Garrett an incredulous look and Garrett just sipped at his coffee, which had surely gone cold.
“Now what?” Garrett asked.
Joey tugged at the yellow tape that separated him from finding out who Ryan Clements was, and what he was doing at the branch in Kenora. If he had learned anything in his life, it was to never give up. Patience and persistence got him further than most anything else. He spied a woman wearing red heels sitting on a concrete parking barrier and having a cigarette.
“We try a different angle,” Joey answered, marching over to the woman.
“Hi, are you an employee here?” Joey asked. Garrett had walked over to them, grumbling about a headache.
“Yes. I am Breane Emery, the branch manager here.”
Joey’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “Branch manager? Oh, wow. Were you there when everything went down?”
She tapped her cigarette with her index finger and ash fell to the ground. “Yeah, I had to come back in today to answer some questions for the cops. I’m just waiting now for them to get their crap together.”
“Did you talk to Ryan Clements?” Joey asked. His eyes were laser focused on her now.
“Yeah. He was just a kid. Average looking, brown eyes, sandy hair. His sidekick came in hucking huge stones. Hit some of my security guards, or else we would have had him.”
Joey whistled. “Damn! Did he have insider knowledge?”
Breane puffed on her cigarette and shook her head. “No, he didn’t really get a chance to show any. Just said his name and my security guards did the rest.”
An RCMP officer walked up, a tall, well built man with charcoal hair. “These guys bothering you miss?”
“No, I was just having a smoke.”
The man held a hand up to them. “I’m sorry, but this is a closed investigation—”
The officer’s radio crackled—ten-twenty, dispatch. Located the suspect’s getaway vehicle down Branch Three road.—
“—have to move along now.”
Joey nodded and looked over at Garrett when they had both left. “You hear that?”
Garrett frowned. “You want to go on a wild goose chase now? Is that it?”
Joey was already walking away. “If we find out who these people are, we can get ahead of them. Let’s go.”
Garrett groaned and tossed his empty coffee cup into the trash bin.