by Don Easton
Jack and Laura listened silently as Mia talked about the security measures that Wong demanded for the meeting.
Laura raised one eyebrow at Jack when Mia said that Wong would not allow any weapons or electronic devices at the meeting.
Jack ignored Laura. “What impression did you get from Mr. Frank?” he asked. “Do you think he believes I’m a dirty cop?”
“I went by the scenario you requested,” replied Mia. “First I showed him the picture to scare him and then —”
“Showed him the picture?” asked Jack. “I didn’t give you a copy of the picture we have of him. You were only to say you saw it.”
“You’re right,” replied Mia. “Sorry, I feel a little flustered talking to you two. That was the picture I told him about. It was the picture you gave me of the man who killed my father that I actually showed him.”
“Why? Because he is Chinese and you were hoping he might recognize him?” asked Jack.
“Yes,” sighed Mia.
“That was a long time ago,” noted Laura. “His appearance will not only have changed, but he may not be living here or even be alive.”
Mia nodded silently and her eyes moistened.
“I’m sorry for your disappointment,” said Jack.
“Yeah, thanks,” sighed Mia. “For a moment I thought Mr. Frank did recognize him, but it turned out he was simply impressed with the quality of the photo enhancement.”
“So then what happened?” asked Jack.
“I gave him the line you told me,” replied Mia. “I said you told me you were looking for a part-time job to supplement your income and that you wondered if you could perhaps be of value to Wong in … some special way.”
“Did he question you further on that?” asked Jack. “Or comment on what he thought?”
Mia shrugged. “He seemed interested, but made it apparent that Wong would be the one to decide. As Wong has agreed to meet you, I presume everything is okay in that regard.”
“And how are you holding up?” asked Jack. “Are you nervous about your role in this?”
“Of course I am,” admitted Mia. “Who wouldn’t be? You told me that these guys are killers. All I want to do is get it over with and never have anything to do with them again.”
By the tone of her voice, Jack believed her. “Did you talk with your mom? How did it go?”
“I called her yesterday as soon as you dropped me off, but she’s in Calgary at the moment and won’t be back until midnight tonight. I gave her the story you told me, about having an accident and complaining to the police about my dad’s case as the reason I saw the file”
“What did she think?” asked Jack.
Mia frowned. “She’s pretty dubious. She thinks everything, including the photo, is probably fake. I told her I don’t believe it is, but after so many years of her thinking otherwise, it might be hard for her to accept.”
“And about your drug charge and assisting us?” asked Laura. “What did she say about that?”
“I didn’t talk about that,” replied Mia. “I’m meeting her tomorrow morning, but because this is happening tomorrow night, I think I’ll wait until it’s over. I don’t want her to worry.”
Mr. Frank arrived at his apartment building and sat in his car for a moment as he went over his plans for the following night, before reaching under his dash and removing a revolver.
Wong had provided him with the five-shot snub-nosed Smith & Wesson that morning and it caused him to smile. It is like a man providing the hangman with the rope to hang him with.
Chapter Forty-Three
At six o’clock in the evening, while Mia was still meeting with Jack and Laura, the owner of a florist shop in another part of Vancouver was closing for the day.
Lok Cheng shuffled over and locked the door to his shop. He appeared older than his sixty-six years of age. His bald head tended to make his ears look too large and his round face had taken on a more haggard appearance since his wife had died of cancer the year before. They had never been able to have children and the store had been her love. After her death, Lok found some comfort in maintaining its existence as a means to keep him busy and to fight the loneliness.
He went back behind the counter and picked up a small leather bag containing the cash deposits for the day. He was about to set the alarm and head out the back door to his car when a knock at the front door caused him to stop.
He peered at the face looking at him through the glass and beamed with delight when he recognized Jia-li. He put the bag down and seconds later, welcomed her inside and locked the door behind her, before giving her an affectionate hug.
“You caught me just as I was leaving,” he said. “It is so good to see you. I have been hoping that someday you would return to my shop. It’s been a year since I saw you.”
“I know,” replied Jia-li. “I came then to offer my condolences. You had been married … what? Forty years?”
“Forty-one,” replied Lok, sounding flippant as though it was nothing.
“That’s a long time,” noted Jia-li. “You must miss her?”
“Time passes.” Lok shrugged. “Can you join me for supper? We could take my car or walk. Whatever you would like. I do need to drop off my cash deposits at the bank first.”
“Either way is fine,” replied Jia-li.
“So how have you been?” asked Lok.
“I’m okay,” replied Jia-li, but her voice revealed her sadness.
“What’s wrong?” asked Lok. “I can see that something is troubling you.”
“I was thinking about how long you were married. I was wondering … your wife … do you think she ever knew about us?”
Lok frowned as he went behind the counter and picked up his leather bag, before turning to face her. “She may have suspected we were lovers, but she never said anything. That was so long ago. I thought my heart would never recover when you told me we could not be lovers anymore. I never stopped loving you.”
“Deep down I was embarrassed,” said Jia-li. “I knew you were married, but I was so lonely after my husband was killed … and you were there to comfort me. You are thirteen years older than me. At the time, you seemed so mature and I felt protected and safe with you, but eventually I came to realize that your promises to leave your wife were not genuine.”
“I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her,” admitted Lok. “But now she has left me. I am available,” he said, with a certain amount of optimism in his voice.
Jia-li nodded politely and continued, “Being your lover was not the biggest mistake I made.”
Lok misread Jia-li’s thoughts and smiled. “Yes, there are worse mistakes than what you and I did. It was fun, what we had together.”
“Fun?” said Jia-li, sharply.
“I’m sorry. That is not what I meant,” he hastened to say. “I meant it was good … you and I … the feelings we had for each other. It was not a bad thing. It just happened.”
“It … just … happened,” repeated Jia-li, sounding robotic.
“We are human,” Lok said, shrugging again. “My wife and I were not getting along … you needed comfort. We were there for each other.”
Jia-li eyed Lok for a moment. “You have no idea of the grief and anger I felt over my husband’s death. I devoted my life to raising my daughter to follow in my footsteps.”
“How is Mia?” asked Lok, feeling uncomfortable with Jia-li’s demeanour.
“I am as proud of her as I am ashamed of myself,” replied Jia-li.
“I don’t understand?” replied Lok.
“I received this picture from her,” said Jia-li, holding out her iPhone for Lok to see. “It was provided to her by the police yesterday. It is a picture of the man who killed my husband.”
Lok stared at the photograph and his hand subconsciously touched the three moles on his lower jaw as he gawked at Jia-li.
Lok’s attempt to scream only came out as a choking, wheezing sound as Jia-li thrust a steak knife into the base of his throat be
low his Adam’s apple, before sawing upwards. She released her grip as Lok stumbled back, gasping and clutching at the knife protruding from his throat. A gurgling cough sprayed blood onto Jia-li, but she stood, transfixed, with her eyes wide open in shock.
In her mind, Jia-li had envisioned Lok clutching his throat and falling to the floor. She thought she would stand above him and curse him for what he had done, perhaps as he looked up at her in fear as he died.
There was no fear in Lok’s eyes. It was rage she saw glaring back at her as he grabbed at the counter for support with one hand while the other bloody hand slid down the wall and hit the panic button on his alarm system.
Instantly, the deafening sound of a siren pierced the air.
Chapter Forty-Four
It was eight-thirty Thursday morning when Jack and Laura sat across from their boss’s desk while Jack gave an update on the investigation. Staff Sergeant Rose Wood listened carefully, then said, “Benny Wong didn’t get where he is without being cunning and suspicious. How do you intend to convince him that you’re dirty? You will have to give him something if he is ever going to open up to you.”
“I have some ideas,” replied Jack. “I know it will take time, perhaps even months, to gain his trust. Tonight I’ll lay the groundwork with a two-pronged attack to put him off balance psychologically. I already paved the way for the first step the night he caught us following him.”
“That being that you received information that someone tendered his name for assassination?” replied Rose.
“Exactly.” Jack handed Rose an envelope containing a picture. “My idea is to show him this picture and tell him it is the person who may be receiving the contract to kill him.”
“Whose picture is it?” asked Rose, abruptly, as she stared at the photo.
“Don’t worry,” replied Jack. “It’s a surveillance picture of an undercover Chinese member out of Toronto. I didn’t want to use anyone local. My idea is to say we have a source close to the killer, but that his assignment has been put on hold.”
“You hope to scare him so he will be relying on you to protect him,” noted Rose.
“Exactly. I’ll tell him that because of my position in Intelligence, it would not draw suspicion from my bosses to be in contact with him, as I would ostensibly be looking to find out who wants to kill him. The more chance I get to mingle with him, the more chance I have to gain his trust.”
“And your other prong of attack?” asked Rose.
“I’ll tell him that AOCTF discovered their member’s home computer was being hacked several months ago. I’ve spoken to Roger Morris about it and he has no problem with me telling him because he will soon figure it out anyway, if he hasn’t already.”
Rose studied Jack’s face and said, “So you won’t be putting in any more reports to AOCTF resulting in more bad guys being sent to Hong Kong?”
“Hey, we didn’t give that report to AOCTF,” replied Jack. “I-HIT did that blunder.”
“I agree that it was a blunder for I-HIT,” replied Rose, sourly, “but for you two, I think you both look at it as a triumph.”
“We did discover that the Chinese were behind it, which saved us a lot of time focusing on the Vietnamese, so I suppose some good came out of it,” said Jack, glancing at Laura.
“Some good,” Laura replied innocently.
Rose shook her head. “So for this first meeting with Wong, is that all you’re going to tell him?”
“No,” replied Jack. “The part about the hacked computer is incidental. I plan to tell him that a group in our office, of which I am not officially a part of, is helping AOCTF and that the investigation has acquired a high-level source who works for him. I’ll say this person is thinking of going into Witness Protection and giving evidence against him for murder.”
“That ought to get his attention,” noted Rose.
Jack nodded. “My idea is to follow that up by finding out who in his organization knows about different murders, ostensibly to help him pinpoint who it is. I’ll tell him I’ll gain access to AOCTF wiretap and perhaps some of the reports that were purposely never put on the corrupted computer. I’ll say that with his help, I’ll be able to figure out who their source is.”
“And what about Mia Parker or Mr. Frank?” asked Rose. “Where do you envision they fit into all this?”
Jack shrugged. “If Mia makes the introduction tonight like she says she will, she’ll be out of the picture as far as I’m concerned. As far as Mr. Frank goes, his role might only be Mia’s contact person and not worthy of attention, either. I’ve spoken to Connie and she agrees that Wong is our primary objective.”
Rose nervously drummed the fingers of both hands on her desk for a moment as she stared at Jack.
“I’ll be okay,” said Jack, hoping to reassure her.
“No guns, no phones, and no backup,” stated Rose. She stopped drumming her fingers and grimaced instead.
“I’m not worried about tonight,” said Jack, assuredly. “It will only be after Wong says something to incriminate himself that things could get dicey.”
“And tonight’s scenario?” asked Rose. “Any thoughts on where it will be?”
“I’m to meet Mia at UBC and go in her car. She said we will go and park in Chinatown near Main Street and East Hastings at eight o’clock. She will get a call or a text on her cell, directing us to go someplace on foot. We are to leave all phones or electronic devices in her car before we get out. Perhaps one of Wong’s bodyguards … maybe Zhang or Shen will be there to lead us, but I’m only guessing.”
“And you are to be unarmed,” noted Rose.
“I’ll leave my gun at the office before I go,” said Jack. “I don’t want to risk someone breaking into the car and stealing it. I’ll have my phone, but will also leave it under the seat of her car once we get the call.”
“You won’t have cover and you won’t be armed,” said Rose, sounding angry.
Jack shrugged. “What’s the worst that could happen?” He saw Rose about to state the obvious and hastened to add, “If they decide not to trust me, they simply won’t talk to me and tell me to get lost. If that happens, they’re going to figure that the police will know that I am meeting with them. It would be stupid for Wong to try and harm me, plus he would have no reason to do so. He knows he would be caught.”
“And if this works and he does start to confide in you, what then?” asked Rose. “Don’t you think he would try to kill you if he becomes suspicious for any reason?”
“Yes, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. There is no way I would question him about who he has murdered at the first meeting. It will take time to gain his trust.”
“And Mia Parker … do you trust her not to tip him off?”
“No,” replied Jack.
“No?” repeated Rose, looking startled.
“There is a possibility that she might have clued Wong in, but I trust my instincts enough that I think I would know. From a safety aspect, it wouldn’t change anything. Wong simply wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“We do think she is holding something back from us,” said Laura. “It might simply be we need more time to gain her trust.”
“Like knowing that Wong somehow got spyware on an AOTCF member’s computer?” noted Rose.
Jack nodded. “That and there is something else I can’t put my finger on at the moment. I get the feeling she has done more than she is letting on … or perhaps it involves some other crime she is connected to. I’m not sure, but if it doesn’t interfere with us catching Wong, then I’m happy enough to leave it alone. Let’s get through tonight first and see how that goes.”
Laura watched Rose nod in agreement and felt her stomach churn. No gun, no phone, no backup … and an informant you don’t trust … right, what’s the worst that could happen? Oh, man …
On Thursday morning, Connie entered her office as the phone rang. It was from Detective Wilson of the Vancouver City Police Homicide unit. After the initial pleasa
ntries were exchanged, Wilson said, “I have a memo that you wrote a couple of weeks ago asking to be notified of any homicides involving Asians. You still interested?”
“Definitely,” replied Connie. “I’m working on a case with our Intelligence Unit. A month ago I started off with one murder and the case has increased to four.”
“Let me guess. You working with Jack Taggart again?” chuckled Wilson.
“Yes … and it’s not funny! Why are you laughing?”
“I was involved in a case with him where two guys running a meth lab for the bikers were killed shortly after he started to investigate. Involved a guy by the name of Cocktail. You remember?”
“I remember.”
“It turned out good. Messy, but good.”
“By messy … you mean someone getting blasted with a shotgun?”
“Yeah, that’s the case.”
“A case typical of Taggart,” replied Connie.
“You sound like you blame him for it. As I recall, he wasn’t even in the city when that happened. Also, are you forgetting he solved that murder for us with the Mexicans? When they kidnapped that Canadian girl in El Paso?”
“Who could forget. So what?”
“We were stumped until he came along. Sure, he likely did some things that were unorthodox, but he sure as hell got results. I also heard what he went through down in Mexico. Don’t know why you’re bitching about him. I’d be honoured to buy him a beer sometime.”
“Yeah, well, you may call what he does unorthodox, but some people might call it something else. Something against the statutes in the Criminal Code.”
Wilson paused, then said, “Yeah, okay, maybe you have a point. I’ve heard a bit of scuttlebutt about other cases he was involved in. Rumours that … well, on one hand makes me want to shake his hand … and on the other hand, makes me think I want to cuff him. He is a bit of an enigma.”
“I know exactly what you mean. Anyway, please don’t tell me I have another body connected to my case?”