“You’re right. There could have been more. And that means someone removed them.”
“So, leaving this one was a mistake.”
“Or maybe someone interrupted them. They probably came back sometime after the gala to take them, after VPD had given the room the all clear.”
“They could have removed the canisters any time in the last forty-eight hours.”
“Well, at least we’ve determined the delivery system. Now, we just need to figure out who did it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some prints on the canister.” Diana looked at it again. “Look at this,” she said pointing to something.
Peter took a closer look and his eyes widened. “That’s a receiver,” he said. “They’re activating these things by remote.” He had seen enough remote-activated explosive devices to know what he was looking at.
“That’s smart. They don’t leave anything to chance, do they? They probably waited to make sure everything was in full swing and then set them off.”
“These guys are shrewd,” Peter hesitated for a moment. “Look, why don’t you go home?” he said. “There’s nothing left to do here. I’ll get the canister to Tina in the morning. And I’ll return the plans to Drummond,” he continued with a grimace.
Diana smiled. “Don’t like him much, do you?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“He was alright,” she said. “In fact, I thought he was rather sweet.”
“Sweet?” Peter cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe to you.”
She snorted. “And you couldn’t possibly believe that it was a reaction to you behaving like an ass, could you?”
“I was not an ass. I just got straight to the point.”
“Peter, you practically snarled at the man until he ran out of here with his tail between his legs. People tend not to take kindly to that sort of treatment.”
“Look who’s talking—the queen of politeness.”
“Compared to you, I’m a social butterfly,” Diana muttered. It was true that she had no patience for fools and small talk was definitely not her strong suit, but she was also smart enough to know when being polite and kind would get her more of what she wanted or needed. “Guess you’ve never heard of catching more flies with honey than vinegar.”
“Why would I want to catch flies? I’d rather swat them.”
Diana groaned. “You can be so irritating, sometimes.”
“Only sometimes?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
“You have your moments,” she replied, “though they are very few and very far between.”
“Aren’t you funny? You know what? Why don’t you talk to Drummond if you like him so much?”
“Uhm, no thanks. I’ve got a dog to get home to. I’m sure you can deal with this all by your little lonesome.”
“Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, ma’am,” Peter said with a half-smile.
“My pleasure. Any time.”
Diana chuckled. “Call me tomorrow when you have news, and I’ll come in.”
“Sure thing. And thanks for getting your hands dirty—literally.”
Diana smiled. It must have been painful for him to get those words out, especially after the scene he had made that afternoon. “No problem.”
She picked up her bag and walked toward the door. She paused for a moment, her hand on the door knob.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She turned to him. “You know, I’d ask Drummond if they’ve had any maintenance done recently on the air vents in this room.”
“You think they came in as a maintenance crew?”
“It would be the easiest way. It wouldn’t be hard to gain access.”
“Okay, good thinking. I’ll check with Drummond.”
“Great. Speak tomorrow.”
“Bye, Diana. Have a good night. What’s left of it,” he said.
“Thanks. You too.”
Diana walked out, closing the door quietly behind her. She took a deep breath and then realized she had made a mistake. Her car was still at VPD. She turned to go back in and ask Peter for a ride but changed her mind. After the rollercoaster events of the day, she didn’t want to risk the fragile calm on which it had ended. She would grab a cab.
After Diana left, Peter found himself staring dumbly at the door. However much he hated to admit it, Diana was good. She was a valuable asset. She had come up with more in a few hours than VPD had in a few weeks, ever since the first robbery.
He still wasn’t sure that having her on board was the best idea, but he reminded himself that the super was convinced she could look after herself. And maybe she could. Maybe she had been more than just an analyst at CSIS. But one thing was certain: if she got in trouble this time, he would make sure she never left VPD HQ again. She would be consulting from the safety of a desk in the bullpen. He would make sure of it.
He brought himself back to the present. It was late, and he still had to talk to Drummond. He picked up the blueprints and the canister, checked to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind, and left the room.
Ms. Diana Hunter had done enough for one night.
It only took Diana half an hour to get home. It was after eleven o’clock, and traffic had been relatively light. She let herself into her apartment and was greeted by a very excited Max, who was barking and yipping and bouncing. She put her bag down on the side table in the hall and got down on her knees.
“Hey baby,” she purred to Max who promptly threw himself at her. She caught him and gave him a well-deserved hug. “You’re such a good boy.”
He began to struggle. She let go of him, and he went around her. He stopped in front of the door and looked at her expectantly.
Diana grinned. “Yes, it’s time for a walk. Give me five minutes to change.” She swore Max nodded at her. He was a very smart dog. Too smart sometimes. She got to her feet and made her way into her bedroom.
She quickly changed out of her suit and into a pair of jeans and a light sweater. She slipped on her sneakers and walked back out. Max was still in front of the door, waiting as patiently as he could. He began wagging his tail as soon as he saw her, and when she approached the hall to grab her jacket, he got to his feet. When she picked up his leash, he started to jump excitedly.
Diana chuckled. “So, you want to go walkies, do you?” she asked. Max yipped even more excitedly.
She hooked on his leash and opened the door. He shot out as if to make sure she wouldn’t change her mind. She followed him and locked the door behind her.
Diana really enjoyed walking Max. It was their time. And it was relaxing, especially considering how hectic her life was becoming.
“Ready?” Max wagged his tail even harder, if that were possible. She took the elevator down to the lobby and then walked out into the night air. It was the end of November, and the air was crisp.
She took a deep breath, enjoying the sensation of the cold air working its way through her lungs. It was invigorating, especially after all the dust of earlier. She took the usual route that she and Max followed, and for half an hour, Max got the exercise he needed while she went over all the details of the case in her head.
She knew Peter was hoping they would find a fingerprint or other evidence on the canister, but she really doubted it. This crew had proven themselves to not only be professional, but also creative.
“I wonder,” she murmured. She pulled out her phone and typed a quick text to Peter.
We should get someone to check the air vents at the other venues. Maybe we’ll find more evidence.
She pressed “Send” and put her phone away. She immediately shook her head. Her first instinct had been to text him. Peter. She hadn’t even considered contacting the guys from the Robbery unit.
“Forget it,” she murmured to herself. She had other issues to deal with. She would think about this attachment she seemed to be forming to Detective Peter Hopkinson some other time. Like when they didn’t have a really serious case and a tight deadline in which to solve it.<
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“Come on, Max,” she said. He had obviously found something extremely interesting in a bush because he had been in there for the past three minutes. “What is with you and bushes?” Diana grumbled. She gave a short tug on the leash. Sure enough, he started backing out of the bush.
Diana giggled. She must have looked just like Max when she had been backing out of that air vent. The only difference was that she had been wearing pants. Oh, and she hadn’t been sniffing anything. She had also had a strong pair of arms to fall back into.
Her phone vibrated. She took it out and saw that she had a message from Peter.
Will send someone out first thing in the morning.
Diana nodded in satisfaction.
Thanks. Have a good night.
You too.
She put her phone away and began the trek homeward. Ten minutes later she was in her apartment. She quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and her favorite T-shirt. She went into the kitchen and eyed the fridge. She didn’t feel up to cooking anything, but she had to eat. And though she had her favorite ice cream in the freezer—mint chocolate chip—she couldn’t live off ice cream, however much she would like to. She sighed and opened the fridge.
“Okay, something simple and quick.” She pulled out everything she needed for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Her phone vibrated again.
Forgot to tell you that you were right. Drummond confirmed they had a maintenance crew come in just before the party. He also said one of them came back on Monday, claiming he’d forgotten some tool.
It felt so good to be right. Again.
So, now we know how they got the canisters in.
Yup. We might be lucky. Drummond gave me security footage. I’ll check it in the morning.
Great. Hopefully, we’ll get a glimpse of our crew.
Hopefully. These guys are pros. I’m sure they managed to avoid the cameras. But we’ll see. Anyway, have a good night.
Diana grinned to herself. Even if they didn’t have footage of the men, they still had a starting point. Now, she needed to find out where someone could get their hands on so much scopolamine. And she knew just the person to ask.
She took her sandwich out from under the grill and poured a glass of red wine. She would call Donnie after she finished eating. It was late, but she wasn’t worried about disturbing him. Donnie’s day was just getting started.
Donnie Cavanagh had been a good source for her on multiple stories. He was part of a local Irish gang that was involved in a long laundry list of illegal activities. Except for drug trafficking. The gang was adamantly against drugs and their turf was a no-sell zone. If anyone dared sell them in the 4LC area, retaliation would be swift. And permanent.
It was an interesting dichotomy. The gang was made up of professional thugs, yet the family that ran the gang absolutely refused to get involved in drugs. It was surprising and probably cost them a lot of money, but even so, with the Irish, it wasn’t perceived as a sign of weakness. Most of the other gangs steered clear of them because they were so ruthless. At the same time, 4LC looked after their community and they didn’t demand protection money as so many of the other gangs did. Ruthless, but with a heart, if you could believe it. That was 4LC.
Donnie was a senior member of the family. In fact, he was the middle son of Finn Cavanagh, the patriarch and head of the gang. The elder Cavanagh almost had a fit when Donnie first introduced Diana. He thought she was a cop looking to take them down. But eventually, she won his trust, and he had warmed to her, particularly after she helped them with a small problem Finn’s daughter had had at a prominent nightclub in town. After that, Cavanagh had become more than happy to have Donnie give Diana as much information as she wanted on rival gangs who dealt in the drug trade. Their intel had been invaluable.
She wasn’t sure why Finn Cavanagh was so against drugs, but there were rumors that his sister had died of an overdose. The two siblings had been close. So, when Finn took over the reins of the family business, he abandoned drug dealing and made it clear that no one else was to even think of selling drugs in his area. Now that Diana was looking for a very dangerous drug, she was sure Donnie and his dad would be happy to help.
She put her now-empty plate on the table and picked up her phone. She scrolled through her contact list and dialed Donnie’s number.
He answered immediately. “Diana, chica! Where you been?”
Diana rolled her eyes. Donnie went through phases. Apparently, he was in a Latin American one right now.
“Donnie, how many times have I told you that your Irish accent is hot? Why do you keep insisting on trying to be something you’re not?”
“Aw, come on, chica, don’t be mean. I fit in better when I talk like this.”
Diana didn’t have the heart to tell him he was butchering the accent to the point that it was painful.
“I need your help,” she said.
Donnie became serious. “What do you need?”
“First, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m working with the cops.”
“What?” Donnie practically screeched.
“Relax, Donnie. This has nothing to do with you, unless your dad’s changed gears and has gone into the drug trade.”
“Never!” she heard another voice shout. She was on speakerphone. Brilliant! Another elementary mistake, Diana. You need to raise your game, girl.
“Hi, Finn.”
“Hello, Diana. It’s good to hear your voice. So, what’s this about you working with the cops and drugs?”
“There have been some robberies in town, Finn, large ones, and I think someone is using scopolamine to pull them off.”
“Devil’s Breath? That’s some dangerous stuff. Wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole,” Cavanagh grumbled.
“The problem is that someone’s managed to turn it into a gas. And they would have needed a large quantity to pull off jobs of this size. Have you heard anything?”
“No, can’t say that I have. But I don’t like people using that stuff in my city. Shall I put some feelers out and give you a call?”
“Thanks, Finn. I’d really appreciate it.”
“No worries, Diana. I’ll do it. You should come in for a drink. We haven’t seen you in a long time. We’ve redecorated the bar,” Cavanagh said.
“I will. As soon as I wrap up this case, I promise I’ll come in.”
“Good. Look forward to seeing you. I’ll have Donnie call you as soon as we have something.”
“Thanks, Finn.”
“No problem. Bye, Diana.” The line went dead.
Diana sat in the dark fervently hoping that Finn could come up with some information for her. While the robberies needed to be stopped, what everyone was not saying yet was that finding the source of the scopolamine was even more critical. The last thing they needed was Vancouver turning into Bogota.
CHAPTER 5
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Diana’s alarm went off. With a groan, she reached out, searching for her phone blindly. Why in the world had she ever chosen such a shrill alarm? Eventually, she found it. She opened one eye and glanced at the time on the screen. Seven AM. She switched the alarm off and turned over. Just another five minutes, she promised herself as she snuggled under the covers.
What felt like moments later, she opened her eyes and stretched. She felt much better. She picked up her phone and glanced at the time. Her good mood evaporated. The five minutes she had promised herself had turned into two hours!
She jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She had promised to go into the office today for a few hours and then get herself down to VPD. And there was Cavanagh to follow up with, too. Great! Obviously, there was no time for her usual run, but she still had to walk Max.
She rushed out of the bathroom and threw on a pair of white-washed jeans, a black shirt, and a blazer. She put on her boots and whistled for Max. He was still asleep. The late night must have gotten to him as well.
She went into the kitchen, made some coffee, and poured it into
a travel mug. She measured out Max’s food and put down some fresh water for him. With her coffee and Max’s leash in hand, she picked up her keys. Sure enough, when he heard them jangle, Max came running out at breakneck speed.
“Good boy,” she murmured. “You’ll have to be quick today because Mommy was really, really late getting up.” She snapped on his leash and took him outside.
For once, Max’s schedule coincided with hers. He took care of business quickly and was quite desperate to get back home. He, too, seemed half asleep.
Half an hour later, Diana walked into the HQ of the magazine she worked for, Crime & Punishment. Someone had thought that would make a cool title. It wouldn’t have been her first pick.
“Morning, Ana,” she greeted the woman who manned the reception desk but who also took the role of office manager. It was a relatively small magazine with only fifteen permanent staff, many of whom worked from home. The office itself was small and quiet. Just how she liked it.
“Morning, Diana.” Ana had already jumped out of her seat and was tailing her boss. That could mean only one thing.
“I’m guessing I have a lot to deal with today, right, Ana?”
“Yes, you do.” Ana started to rattle off Diana’s list of to-dos for the day. She had four hours, max. She would never be able to get through everything in that timeframe.
“Can anything be postponed until tomorrow?” she asked. “I don’t have time to get all that done.”
Ana looked down at her tablet thoughtfully. “Well, I can’t exactly postpone anything, but I can make sure your meetings are short and to the point.”
Diana nodded gratefully. “That would be wonderful, thanks.”
Diana walked into her personal office and set down her coffee on the desk. She pulled out her laptop. After connecting it to the docking station, she switched it on. Time to deal with the queue of people and requests waiting for her. “Okay, let’s get started,” she said to Ana who was hovering at her door.
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