Jack was pulling away from the I-HIT office when Rose called. “Had my meeting with Isaac,” she said, sounding matter-of-fact.
“And how did our dear assistant commissioner take it?”
“He isn’t happy with your method of handling a crime scene.”
“Is he is trying to put the kybosh on this?”
“No, but he’s perceptive enough to know that you delivered Dempsey to circumvent any negative response to your plan. He made it clear that what you did should have been his decision.”
“So he’s upset with me,” Jack said. No surprise.
“No, with me. I told him I authorized you to do it.”
“You didn’t need to stick your neck out for me.”
“What you do is ultimately my responsibility,” Rose said. “He made it clear that you better get results to compensate.”
“I just left I-HIT. Inspector Dyck is being supportive.”
“Good. I’m sure Isaac is on the phone to him. Are you on your way back to the acreage?”
“Yes. Do you have anything on Klaus or Bojan?”
“The French don’t know them, and as far as Anton goes, they knew he was Roche’s brother, but up until today they thought he was a cabinetmaker and not involved.”
“I would say he’s involved,” Jack replied. “He was the one who shot Dempsey. There’s furniture being built in a workshop at the place. Bet that’s how they planned to smuggle their goods. Anything else?”
“I don’t have anything on the jewellery yet, but I hit pay dirt on the painting. It was stolen during a home invasion in Burnaby less than a month ago.”
“How’d you find that out so fast?”
“By staying on top of things. Did you know we have a national art crime enforcement unit?”
“No.”
“It was formed by the Sureté du Québec, who work in collaboration with two of our members. I sent them the photo you took and they responded immediately. Providing it isn’t a copy of the one stolen, it was appraised recently by a professional art authentication agency in Vancouver. It was painted in the early seventeen hundreds by a famous artist and is considered priceless.”
“Perfect. Peaks and valleys. Looks like we hit a peak.”
“I haven’t spoken with the investigator out of Burnaby yet, but I’ll call her when I hang up. I was told the painting is basically an undiscovered piece of work, as far as the art world goes, but the clown in it is well-known and has been portrayed by several artists. It’ll have to be authenticated to confirm it’s the original.”
“Is it more valuable than thirty-two keys of coke and all the jewellery?”
“They told me that a recently discovered painting by the same artist sold for fifteen million Euros.”
Jack blew out a breath. “You’ve got to be kidding. That’s about twenty million in our money. Who’s the artist?”
“How much do you know about art?” Rose asked.
“Not much. When I was a kid, I used to eat my crayons, instead of drawing with them. My colourful creations were all flushed down the toilet.”
“Ever hear of Jean-Antoine Watteau?”
“No.”
“If you hadn’t eaten your crayons when you were a kid, you probably would’ve. The guy’s right up there with Rembrandt and Van Gogh.”
“Okay, I’ve heard of those guys and I get the picture, but I’m short on time. Give me the nutshell version. Maybe I can use it as part of my UC.”
“The painting you have is known as The Sad Clown. It depicts a clown called Pierrot, which was the stage name for a clown performing in a seventeenth-century Italian troupe of actors. In the play, Pierrot had his heart broken by a woman who left him for another.”
“Earlier you said the Ringmaster was behind the murder of an art collector in Paris and kept some of the paintings for his own gallery. How many people collect expensive paintings? There must be some way of coming up with a suspect or at least someone who bought some of the stolen paintings.”
“There are many unscrupulous art collectors whose fanatical desire to own a certain piece of art far outweighs any sense of morality. These people don’t advertise who they are.”
“I’d like to assemble an art piece myself,” Jack said, “by emulating Picasso and using the Ringmaster’s body parts.”
“Jack, I know how you feel, but —”
“Perhaps you can imagine it —” Jack’s tone was harsh “— but you don’t really know how I feel, so don’t say that. A husband and soon-to-be father died trying to save my life tonight. Unless you’ve had that experience, you don’t —”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”
Jack breathed deeply, until he felt calmer. “This painting may be my way to get in.”
“You can buy Pierrot prints online really cheap, but none like the one you have. I would still like to have it validated. Can you get it to me?”
“I’ll text Sammy Crofton and have him bring it to you within the hour.”
“You’ve got him involved?”
“Him and Benny Saunders, also from Drug Section. I needed someone I could trust until things were approved.”
“I take it I’m not in that category,” Rose sniffed.
“Actually, you are. I simply didn’t want you sticking your neck out.”
“Thanks, but that’s why I get paid the big bucks,” she said. “I’ll line up a member from Burnaby to take it from Sammy so that Sammy can hustle back to help you when Klaus arrives. Speaking of which, you can’t hold these guys forever.”
“I know. My next chat with Roche is crucial. He’s already curious about me, but I need to bait the hook to gain his trust — or at least ensure he maintains contact with me.”
“And how will you do that? Or dare I ask?”
“I’m still formulating a plan.”
“In other words, I should … hang on. I’m being told that Klaus is about to leave the hospital and was overheard telling Liam that he would drop him off at home.
“Good,” Jack said. “Tell Special ‘O’ to break off.”
“So they don’t follow him to where you are? I told you, Isaac has approved it.”
“No, because these guys may know enough to do proper heat checks. Special ‘O’ are good, but even they’ve been burnt on occasion. I found out that these guys hired a private investigation firm to check out some of the guys working for them.”
“Holy smoke.”
“Exactly. The firm is called Big Joe Investigations. I’d like you to make discreet inquiries to see what they’re about. In the mean time, if Klaus detects surveillance, my UC will be blown out of the water. I’ve strung them along by thinking I had Sammy and Benny dispose of Dempsey’s body, but coming up with a surveillance team this quickly on Klaus is pushing it too far. It could scare them away permanently.”
“If I pull ‘O’ off, we may not know where Liam lives. Are you sure?”
“Positive. Liam is bottom end and not worth worrying about. As far as Klaus goes, I’ll be there to welcome him home. He’ll be another poker chip to raise the ante.”
Rose was silent and Jack sensed she was troubled. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“I know you hate Klaus for what he did to your informant.”
“He’s a sadistic animal,” Jack said.
“Yes, but …”
“But what?” He knew he sounded sarcastic.
“From the medical attention Klaus needed at the hospital, which I’m told resulted in a plate screwed into his jaw over a fracture and will include implants, root canals, new crowns and —”
“So much for doctor-patient confidentiality,” Jack muttered. “Hope your inquiries don’t get back to Klaus.”
“A Special ‘O’ member’s wife is a nurse there. Don’t you, of all people, give me any crap about privacy concerns. I was also told that he needed stitches to his lip and will only be able to swallow puréed foods through a straw for the next while.”
“You know, now that you mention it, I thought he had bad teeth.” Jack was being deliberately obtuse. “I seem to recall telling him he should get them checked. I thought I’d mentioned that to you.”
Rose wasn’t amused. “You know what I’m saying,” she warned.
“Okay … I hear you. Don’t worry. My emotions are in check. I’ll point a shotgun at his face and scare him into submission.”
“Call me once you have him under control so I don’t need to worry.”
“Don’t worry. Besides Laura, I have two narcs helping me. Klaus shouldn’t be expecting anything.”
“It isn’t you I’m worried about, it’s Klaus.”
“I promise I’ll be gentle and tie him up alongside his buddies.”
“Good. Also, how long did you plan to detain these guys? If it ever comes out —”
“We’re allowed to arrest someone and detain them for twenty-four hours without charge.”
“Arrest?”
“Yeah, so I haven’t had time to inform them of their rights and bring them in yet.”
“Which you have no intention of doing,” Rose stated flatly.
“The situation may be rectified when Roche calls me back at one o’clock.”
“There can’t be any may about it. I want them freed by then. You don’t know where it’ll end up. Down the road some defence lawyer is liable to charge you with kidnapping and assault.”
“Okay, okay, damn it,” said Jack in frustration. “I’ll let them go as soon as I’m done talking to Roche. I need him to get to the Ringmaster. I’ll also text you permission to record my conversation, as well as the phone numbers for the remaining phones I found.”
“That’s nice to hear. How will you try to ingratiate yourself with them?”
“I think I’ve caught their attention with what has happened.”
“That is an understatement,” said Rose dryly. “You’ve caught everyone else’s attention, too.”
“I need to portray myself as having similar characteristics to the Ringmaster.”
“Tough to do when we don’t know anything about him.”
“I know he’s professional enough to hire a private investigator to check people out. I also know he collects art, may be retiring soon, travels extensively, and is not a drug dealer. Like I said before, I’ll have to wing it, but I have enough to point me in the right direction.”
“Good luck,” Rose said.
“Thanks.”
“There’s one more characteristic the Ringmaster has that you didn’t mention.” Rose paused. “He murders people.”
Jack snorted. “Yes … that, too.”