There was a knock at the door of the Pan Pacific Hotel’s Bayview suite overlooking Vancouver Harbour. Jack answered it.
“Hello, I’m Derek Powers. Mr. Roberts, I presume?”
“You can call me Jack,” he replied, accepted a handshake. “Come on in.”
Derek entered and appeared to admire the room and the view. “Nice suite,” he said.
Jack shrugged. “It’ll do.” He gestured to one of two sofas, each facing a Ming-style Cho-leg coffee table. “Have a seat. Would you like anything to drink? I’m thinking of ordering a beer.”
“Uh, no, thanks. I’m fine,” Derek replied as he took a seat.
Jack glanced at his watch. “I forgot you’re an hour behind,” he said, then adjusted his watch. “I want to thank you for taking the time to come over here. I drove out from Calgary and my engine started acting up, so I dropped it off at the Lexus dealership for them to look at. They said they’d drive it back to the hotel for me, so I wanted to wait.”
“That’s no problem. My office is only a fifteen-minute walk away. Have they delivered it?”
“A few minutes ago.”
“A Lexus is a nice car. What model?”
“An RC. Turns out I got some bad gas. It’s running smoothly now.”
“So, what can I do for you, Jack? On the phone you said you wanted me to check someone out?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy. I’ve been doing business with him off and on for a couple of years, but lately he’s … I don’t know. He’s acting strange. I’d like you to take a look at him. Also find out who he meets after me.”
“What sort of business are you in?”
“Uh, I’m an entrepreneur. I invest in different things. Sort of a cash-based business. I purchase different types of merchandise or property that I can turn for profit.”
“I see.”
Yeah, I bet you do, asshole. “Speaking of which, I prefer to pay you in cash. Don’t know what you charge. One, two Gs a day?”
Derek’s face brightened. “We can discuss that later. It’ll depend upon what you want and how many of my people I’ll need to use.”
“Makes sense. Anyway, what I do isn’t important,” Jack said, giving a wave of his hand as if to brush the topic aside. “Mason, the guy I deal with, is one of these rich kids who has an overinflated sense of entitlement. About a month ago he told me his mom kicked him out of the house because she’d caught him coming out of the maid’s quarters one morning. He was all indignant and pissed off. I laughed at him. The guy’s gotta be thirty years old. What the hell is he doing living with his mommy, for fuck sakes?”
Derek shook his head as if in disgust.
“I think he may have a problem. Perhaps a little too much of this,” Jack said, touching his nostril with his index finger. “If not that, maybe something else.”
“Do you have his address?”
“I don’t even know his last name, let alone his address. The kind of business we’re in … well, no. I don’t want him knowing anything about me, either, including where I’m staying. Where he hangs his hat is one of the things I’d like you to find out. I don’t know where his mother lives, either, although I do have her number — Mason was switching phones one day and gave it to me. Mind you, it’s a cellphone, so that doesn’t really help. I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow night for a drink. I figured you could follow him after.”
“That might work. What else can you tell me about him?”
“He was driving a red Mercedes-Benz Cabriolet convertible, which pisses me off because all it does is attract attention, which is not something I like. Not sure if he still has it. He was bellyaching about having to sell it because he’s a little short on cash.”
“If he does still have it, it’ll be easy for me to spot,” Derek noted.
“What has me worried is that he’s offered me a really good deal on, uh, something. I think maybe it’s too good of a deal. I asked him about it and he said he’s got a new connection … I mean, business partners, who can pass on a better deal. It’d be good if you could find out who they are, too.”
“I’ll see what we can do. Is there anything else you know about him that might help?”
“Not much. Mason says he’s the black sheep of the family. He told me his dad had something to do with inventing computer software, but he died sometime back. I’d love it if you could find out where he lives and bug the place … or maybe his car.”
“Legally I can’t do that, but who knows … sometimes we overhear things.” Derek paused. “What does he look like?”
“The guy’s a pussy. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but he is. I bet he’s never been in a fight in his life. He’s about my height and build, but at least a dozen years younger. He has dark-brown hair that curls at his collar and wears a gold chain around his neck.”
“Should be easy to spot.”
Jack frowned, as if thinking of something.
“Is there something else?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, remembering what a pussy he is got me to thinking about these so-called new business partners. Is there any way you could tell if he was wearing a bug or something? You know, in case he’s trying to double-cross me with, uh, his business partners and get me to say something I might regret later.”
Derek appeared to stifle a grin. “I think I know exactly what you’re concerned about. Yes, I have the capabilities to find that out.”
“After tomorrow night I’m supposed to meet him again on Saturday for lunch. If you could check him out before I talk business with him, that’d be great. I’d also like you to watch and see if any of these business partners are around when I meet him.”
“Yes, that can be arranged. I’ll have my team ready for tomorrow night and all day Saturday.”
Jack didn’t have a hard time projecting relief and satisfaction. He felt both. “By the way, could you give me your cell number in case I need to reach you?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Gotcha hooked, you bastard.