by Don Easton
“So you want to grab him?” asked Jack. “If he doesn’t roll, it could still heat up my source and we wouldn’t be any further ahead.”
“That’s why I’m talking to you. I won’t do it without your okay.”
“You said he has a problem with the booze?”
Elvis nodded and said, “Sat by himself last night and drank most of a bottle of whiskey. I’d say he was an alcoholic. Divorced years ago and his boss said he doesn’t appear to have any friends.”
“How nervous do you think he is?”
“Very. I don’t think he could handle the pressure of an interrogation. We’ve already got him dead to rights on the first delivery.”
“Then do it. It’s worth the risk if by some chance he knows something about the Brit.”
“Your person can take the heat?”
“With the way Molen is, Satans Wrath wouldn’t expect him to last long. They may think he was drunk and blabbed something.”
“Good enough,” replied Elvis. “I’ll grab him as soon as he comes in.”
Elvis was just walking away when Jack said, “Elvis, if he resists, put one through his skull for me!”
Elvis thought about Jack’s comment as he waited in his office for word of Molen’s arrival. Jack’s response was like most cops’ when it came to one of their own being dirty. He seems genuine, but then again, he is an operator...
Two hours later, Elvis found out why Dick Molen had not arrived at work. A postal worker had become suspicious at the sound of a car running inside a garage with the door closed.
Jack went down to the cafeteria to have a morning coffee and sat with a few acquaintances who had been in the lineup ahead of him. A few glanced around nervously. Soon they all made feeble excuses and departed, leaving Jack sitting alone.
Gee, guys. My wife is out of town. How about inviting me home for Yorkshire pudding? Jack left his coffee unfinished. Can I blame them? The Brit is laughing at all of us.
Jack returned to his desk just as Elvis arrived.
Elvis told him about Molen and then commented, “Carbon monoxide. I’m surprised he didn’t eat his gun.”
“Maybe was too hungover and afraid the noise would kill him,” replied Jack. “Did he leave a note?”
Elvis shook his head.
“You sure it was suicide?”
“Doors were all locked from the inside. No sign of forced entry anywhere. His right hand has bloodied knuckles and splinters of glass. It matches a smashed picture on his wall.”
“Picture of what?”
“Himself. When he graduated from Regina.”
Jack thought for a moment, then said, “Other than saying he hated himself, it would have been nice if he told us what he had passed on.”
“You’ll have to presume it was everything he ever knew,” said Elvis.
“I wonder if Satans Wrath will show up at his funeral to pay their respects.”
Elvis rolled his eyes in response and then said, “It’s too bad, though. Waste of a —”
“Yes!” interrupted Jack. “Too bad we don’t know who the Brit is ... and too bad the dirty narc wasn’t sitting beside Molen.”
Jack met with Lance and told him about the self-destruction of The Mole.
“Thanks for the heads up,” said Lance. “Normally I would be a little concerned, but right now, with Damien getting the boot, I think it will hardly be noticed. Especially with the action that The Toad has on the go.”
“I need to find out who the Brit is,” said Jack. “When Damien finds out that The Mole is dead, ask him if there could be a leak.”
“Me ask him if there is a leak?”
“Question him about who else has contact with Leitch. Ask him if he ever used a go-between.”
“Fuck! I am the leak! I don’t want him to even start thinking about that.”
“Do it. If he’s going to suspect anything, he will regardless of what you say. It’s better if you’re on the inside pointing a finger rather than being quiet and being pointed at.”
Lance took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then said, “Okay. I’m meeting him tomorrow night, along with The Toad. I think I’ll be told exactly when the ship arrives. If Damien knows about The Mole by then, I’ll do it.”
“Good. I’ll see if I can get it in the news. Meet me here at five-thirty Thursday morning to let me know what is happening.”
“How about four-thirty? If the ship is arriving in the next couple of days I’m liable to be busy.”
“Make it five. The cemetery has a security guard check it three times a night. He does his last drive-through around four-thirty.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen him. Know his schedule pretty well.”
Lance studied Jack’s face for a moment, then asked, “Is this where your niece and nephew are buried? You come out here at night?”
Jack hesitated and glanced at another part of the cemetery, then replied, “My work is often nocturnal. Other nights I just have trouble sleeping.”
Jack returned to his office. One didn’t have to be overly observant to notice that various colleagues avoided eye contact with him as he made his way to his desk. A couple of standard greetings that Jack gave were answered either with a grunt or a turn of the head and pretense of a cough. It’s like I’m walking around with a chicken under each arm and a sign that says I’ve got the avian flu...
That night Jack called Natasha from his apartment. He was tired and intended to speak for only a few minutes, but it was over an hour before he hung up. He realized how much he missed her. His bed seemed very empty that night.
The following day was no different at his office, except this time he packed a sandwich and ate lunch at his desk. It was better than sitting alone in the cafeteria.
He was more than a little surprised to see Laura enter the room with a smug look on her face and sit in Danny’s chair.
“What gives?” Jack asked. He then said, “You might want to close the door. Being seen with me isn’t too popular these days.”
Laura glanced at the open door and her smile vanished. “Elvis told me. I know about Danny. I want to get whoever is responsible.”
“Me too. Real bad.”
“How could someone do that to a baby?” she said, her voice wavering.
Jack saw some tears well up in her eyes, but then she regained her composure and said, “Staffing called me in this morning. Said they were looking for someone to replace Danny and asked if I was interested.”
Jack waited, but when Laura didn’t continue, he asked, “What did you tell them?”
“I said, ‘Not a chance! Do you think I’m a lunatic!’”
Jack looked at her for a moment, then said, “Oh.”
Laura looked surprised and said, “Oh, man ... you really think I said that? Jack ... I was joking! I’m sorry. Are you okay? This has really gotten to you, hasn’t it?”
Jack paused, then said, “Yes. It has.”
“Guess I can understand that.”
“So did you accept?”
“I stalled them for an hour. I wanted to speak to you first. If I can help nail this crud, I’ll feel like my life as a cop is complete. I figure working with you is the best option.”
“Working with me maybe isn’t ... look what happened to Danny. Are you —”
“Hey! I’m hoping he will come after me. I’ll be bait if you want me to.” When Jack didn’t respond right away, she added, “Besides, you look like you could use a friend. Come on. I’ll make a good partner. Just tell me what you want.”
“I don’t know what I want right now.”
“Yeah? Well stand up, I know the first thing you need,” she said, while coming around from behind the desk.
Jack slowly stood up and Laura said, “If there was anyone I’ve ever seen who needs a hug, it’s you.” She hugged Jack and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Jack closed his eyes for a moment. Her embrace felt good. It made him feel less alone.
&n
bsp; Laura stepped back and said, “Well? Do you want me as a partner or not?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I can start next Tuesday after the May long weekend. Gotta run. Have to let Elvis know I spoke with you and that you agreed ... after I performed a sexual favour.”
Jack smiled, then replied, “I don’t need any heat from Elvis. I can get into trouble easy enough without that.”
Laura was almost out the doorway when Jack said, “Laura!” He waited until she turned around and then said, “Thank you.”
She smiled and replied, “We’ll get him, Jack.”
Jack thought about her after she left. She offered to be a friend ... but would she ever be a good friend? Danny’s a good friend ... or was.
Moments later, Louie hobbled in on his crutches and asked, “Wasn’t that Laura Secord who just left? What did she want?”
“Staffing offered her Danny’s position. She asked what I thought.”
“What did you say?”
“I’m pleased. She starts six days from now.”
Louie frowned and said, “How do you know she’s not the dirty narc?”
“The day we took down those labs she was on a plane coming back from Bangkok. It’s not her.”
“I see.” Louie paused for a moment and then said, “You know her hubby works for Internal.”
“I know. Anti-Corruption.”
“Doesn’t concern you?”
“She’s okay.”
“I retire in two months. You know that.”
“I know, in July. Looking at those crutches, maybe you should retire now, but what’s that got to do with Laura?”
“It means I won’t be around to cover your ass!”
Jack smiled and said, “I appreciate that.”
Louie gave him a hard look, then said, “Hope you’ve learned a few things over the last couple of years.”
“Louie, you’ve been the best teacher I could have had. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m sorry to see you go.”
“Don’t get fuckin’ mushy on me. Your assessment isn’t due until after I leave. Won’t do you any good to suck up to me. Just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I trust my instincts,” replied Jack. He thought about his comment as Louie left. Funny ... “I trust my instincts” ... that was what Spider said just before Laura slammed his face into a table and arrested him.
chapter twenty
It was five-fifteen in the morning when Jack heard his name whispered and saw Lance stand up from behind a tombstone.
“What’s up?” asked Jack. “Any news on the Brit?”
Lance shook his head. “The news about The Mole came up. Damien said there was heat on ’im. I asked about a leak. Damien said it was only Leitch, his secretary, Pussy Paul, Whiskey Jake, and me that knew. He said the leak probably came from The Mole when he was pissed. If Damien had someone else dealing with Leitch, he would have told me.”
Jack hadn’t expected Damien to know, but felt disappointed just the same. “You’re sure everything was okay? Maybe Damien is just playing you.”
“Don’t think so. I was given my assignment for the ship. It arrives tomorrow night. It’s a good time for us. Friday of a long weekend. Cops and port authorities won’t want to take time to nose around. If anyone suspected me of being a leak, I wouldn’t have been told.”
“What is your job when it arrives?”
“The Toad is gonna have me at the dock to oversee things there. Will happen in the early evening. The Toad will hand the money off at a motel called the Spotted Owl.”
“Never heard of it.” “It’s by an industrial area out in Burnaby. Not far from the Labatt Brewery. Only The Toad and I know the location right now. Even Damien doesn’t know the name of the motel. The Toad is running things really tight. The strikers won’t even know until they’re with him and arrive at the motel.”
Jack nodded.
Lance stared at him briefly, then said, “So, like, you can’t do anything or I’ll get —”
“Trust me. Where’s the money now?”
“Don’t know. The Toad has it stashed with a couple of his guys. Around nine o’clock tomorrow night The Toad will BlackBerry the name of the motel to the Colombians. They will arrive and weigh the money to make sure it’s all there.”
“Can’t these guys afford money counters?”
“Too slow. Should be about thirty-five kilos worth of Canadian hundreds. A little more or less doesn’t really matter. Then the Colombians send a message to the ship and we unload.”
“Canadian? What’s with that? Thought they would demand American?”
“Yeah, The Toad said he was surprised when he found out too, but that’s what the Colombians wanted. It works out to about $3.5 million Canadian. It’s a hell of a lot easier for us. The Toad said they plan on buying some business up here to make things easier to connect with us. Probably have a mom and pop and couple of kids operation someplace.”
“That’s a lot of money for a mom and pop operation.”
Lance shrugged and said, “That’s just The Toad’s guess. Maybe it’ll be a few more than that. I don’t know.”
“So the Colombians are coming off the ship and going to the motel?”
“No. I guess some of them are already here. I don’t know how many for sure, but I think only a handful. Probably looking to scout out the business front. A couple will be at the dock and two are supposed to wait and go to the motel when The Toad calls ’em.”
“You haven’t met any of them?”
“Nope. From what The Toad says, they barely speak English. All this was arranged by The Toad previously so we don’t expect any problems.”
“Just two Colombians for all that money?”
Lance chuckled and said, “That’s what I asked. The Toad said that these Colombians treat that like you and I would a hundred bucks. We’re paranoid as shit about it and they just laugh. I think the fucking cartel deals in truckloads of cash. This is just peanuts to them.”
“A lot of peanuts.”
“No shit. But I guess if you try an’ rip ’em for fifty bucks they’ll slash your throat.”
“A matter of honour.”
“Yeah, I guess. I can only wonder at how much their organization is rolling in.”
“How many of your guys will be protecting the money?”
“The Colombians agreed that they won’t be packin’ when they come to the room.”
“You can bet they’ll have weapons close by.”
“Yeah, for sure. But not with them. They go to the room and consent to a search. Then The Toad makes a call and the money is brought in. We’re not worried about a rip. It went smooth with them last time.” Lance paused, then added, “Not counting what happened at the storage locker after.”
“Right,” replied Jack. “We won’t count that. How far away do you think the money will be?”
“Last time we brought it in a van. This time we rented adjoining rooms. Once the Colombians are frisked, The Toad will just rap on the door. Things should go smooth. We’ve already established a trust with each other. Unless, of course, you do something...”
Jack arrived back at his office. Louie arrived for work an hour later and motioned for him to come in.
“Anything going on?” asked Louie.
“No,” said Jack. “I just talked with my friend but he doesn’t know who the Brit is. Doesn’t think Damien knows either.”
Louie nodded and said, “Too bad. Nothing else happening?”
“No. That was it.”
Louie looked at Jack closely, then said, “Maybe just as well. You need a rest. I want you to take some time off. We’ll find out who the Brit is sooner or later.”
“I’d rather it be sooner.”
“All of us would. The thing is, he obviously knows what you look like. It would be better for everyone concerned right now if you weren’t around. Maybe take a week or two off. You should be with Natasha.”
“I’m okay ... and the
re’s no way this guy is going to start dictating who works in this office and who doesn’t.”
“Have you thought about Natasha? Cooped up at the farm? She must be worried sick about you. I’m not telling you to run away and hide. Just take a holiday. Maybe I-HIT will nail him in the meantime.”
Jack sighed and said, “I’ll think about it over the weekend. Monday is a holiday so I should be rested by then.”
“Why not take tomorrow off too? In fact, you should take off now.”
“It’s only eight-thirty in the morning.”
“Yeah, and you’ve already put in ... what? Four hours? How many more hours in the last couple of weeks? You’re a newlywed for God’s sake. Start acting like one and go see your bride.”
Jack thought for a moment, then said, “Thanks, Louie. I appreciate what you’re saying. I’ve got some paper work to do. I’ll leave at noon.”
“Good.”
“Anything further from Danny?”
Louie frowned and said, “I spoke with him briefly, tried to be supportive. Don’t think he wants to talk to any of us right now. They’re all getting counselling. I think we should just butt out for now.”
Jack called Natasha and told her that he would be out to the farm shortly after lunch. She said she was pleased, but he heard the irritation in her voice. He knew he couldn’t hold her off much longer from getting back to the clinic.
At noon, Jack stopped at a café for lunch before driving out to the farm. The café did have one thing going for it, thought Jack, as he dabbed a greasy french fry into some ketchup. It was clean and the service was friendly. Unfortunately, it was just a little too busy for Holly to be able to take the time to visit with him.
He watched as she greeted the customers and gave them all big smiles. Sometimes her lips trembled slightly, revealing her real thoughts. It had been less than a month since her husband had been gunned down. Pretending to be happy ... trying to get that extra quarter or loonie for a tip. Welcome to hell.
Jack left a twenty on the table and nodded politely to Holly as he left. He was barely out the door when she came running after him.