by Easton, Don
Jack spoke with Natasha and quickly told her about a kidnapping. He said the husband did not want any official police involvement or any record of the incident. He then told her where they were.
“I’m coming in. I can be there in an hour,” she said.
“I don’t want you around until after I find the Brit,” said Jack. “It’s not safe.”
“I’m done living my life in fear out here.”
“Natasha! Listen to me! It’s obvious he’ll murder you the first chance he gets!”
“We’ll talk about it later. Stay there, I’m on my way.”
Jack put his phone away and said, “She’ll be here within the hour.”
Damien stared at Jack for a moment, then asked, “So what was that all about? Why do you want this Brit? You think he wants to murder your wife?”
Jack told Damien about the Brit but changed the story to say that a source of his identified the Brit in the park with The Toad and Leitch.
“And this guy tried to make your partner’s wife decide which one of her kids was going to die, just because she made you dinner?”
Jack nodded. “Who the hell would do that? You must know him.”
“I don’t! Maybe he was hired by someone I do know, but I can’t think of who that would be.”
“You doing anything with the Indos?”
“Not me. And he met with The Toad ... it doesn’t make sense. The Toad would never get involved in something like that! He was at the election last year when we were deciding whether or not to waste you. He voted against the idea. Same as everyone else.”
“Maybe The Toad doesn’t know about it. Could the Brit be someone Leitch is using to pass on messages to The Toad?”
“But if they were all in the park together, why didn’t Leitch just deal with The Toad personally?”
“Maybe The Toad wanted to keep his liaison with Leitch secret. Maybe he didn’t want to risk someone seeing them together.”
“Possible, I guess.”
Jack decided to change the subject and asked, “Why $7 million in Canadian and then $3 in American?”
Damien shrugged and said, “Doesn’t really matter. If we can’t find The Toad and get the money back by Monday, Vicki and Katie are...” He stopped, unable to say what he was thinking.
“You’re telling me that you have all that coke and can’t come up with $3.5?”
“In a week, easy. But not in two days. Maybe half, I don’t know. But look what Carlos has done. You really think he’ll accept half?”
Jack glanced down at the cooler. It made him feel ill. He said, “I’m not so sure it’s even about the money. He runs one of the biggest cartels in Colombia. This is chump change to him. What he’s doing ... he’s a psychopath. This is entertainment for him.”
“I figure the same. That’s why I want you to find The Toad for me. You said you have a source close to him. I don’t care who that is. I just want the money before Monday!”
“The Toad likes a little female companionship,” said Jack. “I know someone. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
Damien nodded and said, “Thanks, I appreciate it.” He then took the cooler and placed it between his feet. For a while, both men were silent, absorbed in their own thoughts. The cooler eventually became a magnet for their eyes.
“They’re in this because of me,” said Damien, fighting back tears. “I thought the club was everything. How could I have been so fucking stupid?”
Jack didn’t respond. His own emotions were boiling to the surface as he stared at the cooler.
“After all these years of being in charge of the club, this happens ... and who do I turn to for help? A fuckin’ cop.” Damien paused, trying to regain control of his emotions before saying, “How could this have happened to me?”
“It didn’t,” said Jack. “It happened to Vicki and Katie.”
Both men returned to their own thoughts. Jack thought about Damien. I always saw him as a monster. Now he looks like any worried dad or husband would. Scared because the people he loves are being violated. Angry at himself because it was his lifestyle that put them there.
Jack then thought about his own actions. Charlie paralyzed ... his dad murdered. A war vet murdered because I made the price of speed go up. The O’Reillys. Now this! Consequences of my actions. What have I done?
“What have I done?” said Damien.
Jack looked at Damien in shock. Was I thinking out loud? He saw the tears in Damien’s eyes as Damien leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees while covering his face with his hands. His body started to shake.
“I think they’ve raped Katie,” he said, choking out the words. “She’s only eight years old.”
Jack had forgotten about the panties. He picked up the cooler and examined them. “These have been sliced off,” he said.
“I know. Oh, God, please ... what have they done to her? I know I don’t deserve a break ... but if you really exist, why would you...”
“She may not have been raped,” said Jack. “They were probably cut off because her ankles were bound together. He sent them to terrorize you.”
Damien sat upright and looked at Jack. “You really think so?”
“Cop’s point of view.” Jack shrugged.
“You’ve dealt with this kind of thing before?” asked Damien.
“Not really. I’ve been thinking a lot about the psychopathic mind, though. Especially since my partner’s family was attacked. Picture a mother tied to a chair for half an hour staring at a swimming pool that her baby had been tossed in.”
“Christ,” came Damien’s mumbled reply.
“We’re dealing with” — Jack paused to look at Damien — “real monsters. You help me catch mine and I’ll help you with yours.”
Damien nodded and said, “If The Toad met this British or Indo, you can bet he was involved in ripping off the cash. I’m not sure where Leitch fits in. He once offered to ... help me with my finances. I don’t entirely trust him, so I said no. Maybe The Toad is using his services.”
“How long has The Toad been dealing with him?” asked Jack.
“That’s just it! I didn’t know the two even knew each other.”
“But you will find out who the Brit is? Maybe through Leitch?”
“I’ll deliver him to you like pâté on a plate!” Damien nodded toward the cooler and started to shake. “I just have to make sure they’re safe, first. That’s all that counts.”
Natasha hurried toward the park bench. She saw the tears in her husband’s eyes as he tried to console the large man sitting beside him. “Jack?” she asked hesitantly. Both men sat upright and then stood. Their faces became masks. Hiding any appearance of weakness. As a doctor, it was a sight that she had seen often, but it was not something she respected. Be who you are, not what you think others expect you to be.
“Natasha,” said Jack, “this is ... an associate of mine. He needs help. His wife and daughter have been kidnapped. They sent this back,” he added, gesturing toward the cooler.
“My name is Damien, Mrs. Taggart,” he said, handing her the cooler.
Natasha set the cooler on the park bench and looked inside. She examined the bag containing the finger quickly and then said, “Good, it’s not frozen. You did the right thing. Any amputated digit should be quickly cooled, but not frozen or placed directly in any solution. I’ll take it to my clinic. It should be wrapped in a saline-soaked swab, then sealed in a plastic bag and placed on ice.”
She glanced at Damien and saw the anguish on his face. “There have been recorded cases where digits have been successfully reattached up to twenty-four hours later if the amputated part was quickly cooled.”
Natasha knew by the looks on their faces that this did not appear likely. “Barring that, a prosthesis could be made from an impression cast of this finger, making an exact match...”
Damien stared down at his feet.
“I’ll get going now,” she said, then looked at Jack and asked, “See you
at home after? It’s almost four o’clock. I’ll make dinner.”
“Wish you would reconsider. The Brit is —”
“And if you never catch him, do we spend the rest of our lives hiding? As I said, I’ll see you back at our apartment.”
Jack argued with Natasha a little more, but it was to no avail. Neither paid attention to Damien, who opened the cooler one more time.
Jack knew he had lost the argument and handed the cooler to Natasha. Both men watched as she returned to her car.
“She’s pretty headstrong,” said Damien, watching as Natasha placed the cooler in her car.
“Yes.”
“Why not stash her at your sister’s place out on that farm? At least until we get this Brit. Believe me, I’ll find out who he is.”
“She was at the farm. Now she wants to get back to work.”
“How come you don’t have cops protecting her?”
“She’s a doctor. She sees walk-in patients alone. If she was protected, that couldn’t be done. With our people, it would have to be all or nothing. Plus everyone in our office has been threatened. There’s no way everyone could be protected. If I complain about it, they just transfer us up to Baffin Island or someplace. We’d rather take our chances here.”
Damien paused, then nodded his head and said, “Okay. I see the problem. You guys play by the rules too much. I’ll have a couple of the boys watch over her. Once word goes out that she’s protected by the patch, nobody will try anything.”
Jack couldn’t help but chuckle at the prospect. “Hell no! All I need is for the brass to hear...” His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted a familiar car pull out into the traffic behind Natasha. He looked at Damien and said, “We’ve got heat.”
Jack noted that Damien held the urge to look. He was a professional. “You sure?” he asked, looking directly at Jack.
“I’m sure. Anti-Corruption. Someone must have spotted us together and called them. With Bishop’s body being found and now me meeting with you ... this isn’t good.”
Damien swore under his breath, then said, “I wasn’t thinking too clearly today when I drove to meet you. Bet it’s my fault.”
“Too late to worry about that now.”
Damien stared at Jack for a moment and then said, “Anti-Corruption?”
“Think of it as the heavies in Internal Affairs.”
Damien raised his eyebrows and said, “Bishop ... can they connect you?”
“Natasha talked to a Mexican cop just two blocks from where Bishop lived. I didn’t know until later. Now being seen here with you ... I’m going to be taken down!”
chapter twenty-seven
For Hinds, the minutes ticked by while urgent calls were exchanged between Isaac and the bosses at I-HIT, Anti-Corruption, and CFSEU.
Isaac then made a decision and called Staff Sergeant Legg back.
“This may be a long weekend here, but it’s not in Mexico!” said Isaac. “I want a response from Mexico no later than Tuesday. Tell the LO to do it in person! A dinky little village like that, Mexican time or not, it shouldn’t take long to find out. Tell the LO if I don’t have his report on my desk Tuesday morning, he’ll be protecting our sovereignty in the Arctic!”
“And in the meantime?” asked Legg.
“Tell CFSEU or whoever is watching Taggart they can do a loose surveillance today but then back off. I don’t want Taggart heated up until we hear back,” replied Isaac.
Surveillance teams split up into three groups. One watched Natasha carry the cooler into her clinic and then depart a short time later with the cooler and return to her apartment.
Damien, followed by a second team, went straight home.
Hinds elected to follow Jack and noted that when he returned to his car, he immediately used his cellphone.
Jack called the home number of his colleague who worked with the DEA in San Diego.
“Hello?” said a feminine voice.
“Sally! It’s Jack Taggart calling from Canada. Is Jim-Bo around?”
“Sorry, Jack. You got another ship for him?”
“No. Something else.”
“He’s out of the country. I expect him home Tuesday or Wednesday. Can it wait?”
“I suppose. I was just looking for some background info on someone. Have him call me when he gets in. He’s got my cell.”
Jack casually glanced in his mirrors before pulling out into traffic. He did not see anyone. Ten minutes of driving passed before his rear-view mirror reflected a car that had passed him earlier. These guys are pretty good...
The surveillance team followed Jack to the downtown core of Vancouver.
They soon found themselves driving along East Hastings, where Jack entered a parkade. Moments later, he was spotted entering the Black Water Hotel.
“Inside coverage,” ordered Hinds. “Who’s available that our target doesn’t know?”
Hinds found a volunteer and soon he had a whispered report from inside the bar.
“Target sitting by himself. Ordered a beer.”
A half-hour ticked by before Hinds received an update. “He’s just been joined by a woman. Looks like a hooker. He’s buying her a drink.”
“Are you close enough to hear?” asked Hinds.
“Negative. I’m getting enough heat as it is. Whatever they’re talking about, they don’t look happy.”
A short while later the volunteer reported, “Target getting up. Think he’s leaving. He tried to give the hooker a twenty. She shook her head and gave it back. Personally I think twenty was too much. She’s ugly. Okay, Target is heading for the front exit. I’ve lost the eye. He’s yours.”
Hinds saw Jack come out of the bar and the surveillance team was soon mobile again.
Jack arrived home at suppertime. His BlackBerry buzzed as he walked into their apartment. It was a message from Lance: Damien’s wife and daughter kidnapped by the Colombians over the rip. SW having a sale to raise money! No time to meet. Tomorrow?
Jack was too tired to respond to the message now and closed the door behind him.
Natasha immediately met him at the entrance, picking up the cooler off the kitchen counter as she passed it.
“This Damien is the monster you’ve been after?” asked Natasha. “The guy who has sanctioned what? Forty, fifty, sixty or more murders? Anyone from young prostitutes to suspected informants!”
“Yes, that’s him,” admitted Jack.
“Now you’re consoling him and had tears in your eyes! What’s that all about?”
“He’s a monster, but ... I found out there are bigger monsters.”
“Take a look in the cooler!”
“I did. I thought you were leaving that at the clinic. Didn’t you take the finger and —”
“I did leave the finger at the clinic. By the way, it smelled of coffee.”
“Coffee?”
“That’s not what I’m showing you. Take a look in the cooler!”
Jack looked inside. He saw a 9mm.
“Guess Damien figures you should protect yourself. Good idea.”
“Like hell it is! What is going on?”
Jack sighed and said, “I’m going to pour a martini. Then we’ll talk.”
Moments later, Jack and Natasha were sitting on their sofa and sipping on martinis as Jack told her everything leading up to her arrival at the park.
“So you’re upset because you feel responsible for them being kidnapped.”
“I am responsible. I feel horrible! Him trying to protect you makes me feel worse.”
“I can’t work with security hanging around. It will freak the patients out.”
“I know. Wish you would give it one more week at the farm.”
“Not an option. Can’t Damien tell you today who the Brit is?”
“That’s another problem. When I gave him the story about a connection between The Toad, the Brit, and his lawyer, I didn’t know his wife and daughter had been kidnapped. He might do a lot more than talk with Leitch.”
“Didn’t you think that to start with?”
“I expected Leitch might get slapped around a bit. Not now. This is different.”
“These are consequences you’ll have to live with. Damien too.”
“You’re comparing me with him? He’s the devil! Tell me you don’t think that?”
“I wasn’t saying that. Sounds to me like you were thinking that on your own.”
“Oh,” was all Jack said.
“But if he is pure evil, why were you so upset in the park?”
“I feel bad about his wife and daughter.”
“You had your arm around his shoulder. You feel bad for him too.”
Jack was exasperated. “I’m just not thinking clear,” he snapped. “This is Saturday night. I haven’t been to bed since Thursday. I’m just —”
“You’re just ... compassionate. You care about people. Don’t blame that on being tired.”
Jack looked at her for a moment, then sighed and said, “There’s more. Anti-Corruption were at the park. The Homicide Team too. They followed you and me after.”
Natasha was shocked. “Mexico? They know?” she whispered.
Jack grimaced and said, “It doesn’t look good. Me meeting with Damien ... they may have figured it out.”
Natasha grabbed Jack’s arm and said, “I won’t let that happen to you. I’ll say I —”
“You won’t say anything! Trust me! Tomorrow I’m going to start fixing things. This time without being watched.”
Sunday morning was quiet. There was little traffic when Jack pulled out onto the street. It didn’t take long to establish that he was alone. His meeting with Lance was brief.
“The club can only raise $1.5 million at the most,” Lance said. “We’re still $2 million short. Damien is screaming at everyone. Shit has really hit the fan.”
“Any sign of The Toad?” Jack asked.
“No, but Damien thinks Leitch might know where he is. He called him on his cell to meet him. Leitch is away until Tuesday. On some houseboat up in the Shuswap.”