"Why an attempt on Chiun?" Smith asked.
"I've been thinking about that," Remo said. "I'm pretty sure it was meant to be an attempt on me. They were just unlucky enough to find Chiun instead."
"Any problem with the local police?"
"No. We seem to have stumbled into a fairly good working relationship with the detective who arrested the Martin kid."
"What kind of relationship?" Smith asked suspiciously.
"Umm…" Remo knew how Smith felt about outsiders knowing anything at all about CURE. "He thinks we're mediums," he said.
"The Detroit police use mediums to solve their cases?"
"Why not?" Remo said lightly. "Anyway, what did you get for me?"
"Some enlightening information. For one thing, Lorenzo Moorcock is the man's real name."
"You're kidding."
"I don't kid, Remo."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot for a second. Continue, please."
"He's a failed politician."
"Well, he's got good training for what he's doing now, that's for sure."
"He ran for city commissioner in Detroit a few years ago and lost, but the interesting part is where he got large transfusions of money for his campaign."
"All right, Smitty, I'll bite. Where?"
"He received large donations from Iranian groups, both legal and illegal."
"That explains why he was singing the praises of the Ayatollah in his sermon. What other kinds of friends does he have?"
"Well, since then he's started this modern-beliefs religion, and he's made close friends with some Mexican officials who visit Detroit regularly as some sort of Mexican trade delegation to observe how cars are built here. Apparently, they visit his church for services while they are here. The Mexicans come fairly frequently— several times a year."
"Iranians and Mexicans, that's an odd pair."
"Very odd. What do you plan to do now?"
"I'm not sure. I guess I'll have to keep a close eye on Moorcock for a while and also talk to the other man I asked you to check up on for me. What did you get on him?"
"Louis Sterling. He's been working at National Motors as long as Allan Martin had been. His son is fifteen. His name is Walter."
"I'll want to talk to him again too. He was involved in what looked like a drug sale the other night, so he looks like my best bet to get some information on this drug ring."
"Do you know where to find him?"
"I'm hoping that he went back home last night, but if he saw me at Moorcock's church, he might be hiding out. If that's the case, I'll just have to hunt him up."
"Well, do what you have to do, and keep me informed."
"Always, Smitty," Remo said. He was about to hang up when something occurred to him. "Smitty, when is the next Mexican trade delegation due?"
"Wait, I'll check with the computer." A few moments went by, and then Smith said, "Just by coincidence, they're due in town tomorrow."
"Bingo. Thanks, Smitty. I'll keep in touch."
When he hung up, Chiun looked at him expectantly, and he went over the conversation with Smith.
"This minister has some very strange friends," Chiun remarked.
"One of us ought to keep an eye on him," Remo said, "while the other one looks for Walter Sterling."
"I will watch the minister," Chiun said. "He interests me."
"Then I'll get out there and try to find the Sterling kid. He's the only lead we have on this drug ring, and maybe he can lead us to whoever's in charge."
"And that will be the person responsible for the killing of the children."
Remo closed his eyes and said, "Yes, Chiun."
As they got ready to leave, Remo said, "No matter what happens, we'll meet back here this evening. If I can't find the Sterling kid, I want to follow the good minister tomorrow when he meets his friends from the Mexican trade commission."
"If you find the boy—" Chiun began.
"I know," Remo said, "I'll be nice to him. I'll buy him a lollipop and ask him real nice to tell me who his source is."
Remo decided against saddling himself with another rental car and took a cab to the Sterling house. He didn't bother wondering how Chiun was going to get around, or how the Oriental would follow the minister without being spotted. He knew that if Chiun didn't want to be seen, he could be damned near invisible.
When he reached the Sterling house, there was no car in front or in the driveway, but then he hadn't expected Louis Sterling to be home. It was Walter he was after.
He rang the bell, hoping against hope that the kid himself would answer. When there was no immediate reply, he rang again, deciding he'd settle for the kid's mother. When no one answered the second ring, he put his hand on the doorknob, exerted just the right amount of pressure, and popped it open.
It only took a few moments for him to ascertain that the house was empty, and then he started his search. He was looking for a large stash of money or anything else that might help him. When he found what was obviously the kid's bedroom, he spent more time there than anywhere else and was rewarded. In the closet he found some loose floorboards and, prying them up, discovered what he was looking for. Not only did he find the cash, but there were some drugs hidden away as well. Still, there was nothing to tell where either had come from, so he left them there and replaced the floorboards.
He left the house and decided that he might as well go to the plant and talk to Louis Sterling, who might be able to tell him where his son was.
When he got to the plant, he received a pass from the same receptionist he had seen on his first visit and went looking for Sterling on the assembly line. When he didn't see him, he asked the foreman, Boffa, if he knew where he was.
"Did you check the lounge?"
"Yeah, he's not there."
"What about the locker room?"
"I don't know where it is."
Checking his watch, the foreman frowned and then said, "All right, come on, I'll show you."
Remo followed Boffa to the locker room, where they found Louis Sterling crouched down in front of his open locker.
"Lou—" Boffa began, but he stopped when he noticed something funny. Remo noticed also that Sterling wasn't crouched. He was slumped against the locker.
And dead.
"What the hell…" the foreman said.
Remo touched the man on the shoulder and leaned over him. In the middle of Sterling's chest was a gaping knife wound.
Remo left the plant in a hurry, not even stopping to drop off his badge. With Louis Sterling dead, Walter Sterling couldn't be that far behind. Obviously, Remo had gotten too close when he latched on to the Sterlings, and the intention now was to remove them before he could get anything out of them.
"Call the police and ask for Detective Palmer," Remo said, giving Boffa quick instructions. "Tell him I was here— that's Randisi— but 1 had to leave."
"Shouldn't you wait?"
"Louis Sterling is dead, and I think his son Walter is next on the list. Tell Palmer I'll get in touch with him when I can."
After that, he left the plant and hailed a cab. He wanted to go to the Church of Modern-day Beliefs and check in with Chiun. Maybe the Sterling kid was inside the church with Moorcock.
Remo was sure that no one had been able to spot Chiun for the simple reason that it had taken him fifteen minutes to spot him himself. The wily Oriental had simply taken up position in the shadows between the slats of the fence behind the alley where Remo had watched the drug deal go down.
"It took me awhile to see you," Remo said, joining Chiun behind the fence.
"I know," Chiun said. "I allotted you fifteen minutes to find me, and then showed myself."
"Right," Remo said. Chiun would never admit that Remo had spotted him on his own.
"Why are you here so soon?" Chiun asked.
"Things are starting to happen." He told Chiun what he had found in the Sterling house, and then what he found when he went to the plant. "The kid has to be next," he summed up.