28

Da Khlot and Sayomi were summoned to meet The Shaman. They bowed at the entrance to his den before entering and standing silently as he gazed out his window at a clump of bamboo. Eventually he turned, waving an arm in the direction of his computer as if to explain it, and said, “We have to go back to Canada.” He pointed his finger at Sayomi and said, “Go alert the flight crew and tell them we will leave Sunday morning at nine.”

Da Khlot remained standing and watched as The Shaman’s eyes followed Sayomi’s figure as she left the room. Even a shaman cannot resist her beauty. But she is still a whore …

“There is a serious matter to attend to in Vancouver,” said The Shaman. “Mister Lee did not choose wisely for the candidate he named as his successor and enthusiastically supports a new candidate. I am concerned that Mister Lee may be blinded by his rush to correct his error or perhaps by his desire to return home. Either way, Mister Lee’s error in judgment and his rapid decision to correct the situation causes me considerable distress. Mister Lee will be provided with a test to give to the new candidate. Should the candidate fail, I believe it would be prudent to sever ties with everyone concerned. Therefore, your services may be required.”

“The special suit?” asked Da Khlot.

“No. This will require your personal touch in regard to the new candidate. What Mister Lee is unaware of, is that the results of the test will … gravely … affect him, as well. Understood?”

Da Khlot nodded. If the new candidate was not suitable, both Mister Lee and the candidate would fall within the familiar category. To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss.

On Monday morning, Rose was sitting at her desk when Jack called from home.

“Guess who bought Laura and me dinner Friday night,” he said.

“Goldie?”

“No. His boss. Kang Lee.”

“The Enabler?”

“The one and only. We dined at the Pan Pacific. Don’t worry about expenses because he picked up the tab.”

“That’s unbelievable! How? Fill me in.”

“I took a chance on bypassing Goldie and went straight to Lee. Met him Friday afternoon in his office. The meeting went well and he offered to buy us dinner, so we accepted.”

“Incredible! You must be a hell of a talker. This guy potentially could be one of the biggest organized crime figures in North America … and you just waltzed into his office? I never would have believed it. Did you talk business?”

“Very little. I think he was basically feeling us out. He said he would call me early this week to get together.”

“This is astounding. Was Goldie at dinner, too?”

“No, it was only the three of us. Actually my timing may have been lucky. By coincidence, it sounds like Lee and Goldie have had a falling out.”

The alarm bells sounded in Rose’s head as she recalled the assistant commissioner’s words in describing Jack. The Coincidental Corporal … “Oh, really? Tell me why you would think that?”

“A casual comment he made. Something about Goldie surrounding himself with an enemy common to us both.”

“I’m not an operator. Spell it out for me.”

“It means he believes Goldie could be an informant.”

“Damn it,” muttered Rose. “That’s all we need. If he was one of ours, we’d have been told. I’ll go through channels and check with VPD. See if it’s true. If it is, they may not like us sniffing around.”

“Relationships with local police forces are different than back east,” said Jack. “We don’t hesitate to work with each other. Unlike our brethren in Ontario and Quebec, out west most of us have gone through a stint in uniform.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Good education when it comes to dealing with people. We don’t show up in a province still wet behind the ears from the academy and strut around like plainclothes detectives on a Hollywood movie set. It’s bound to build animosity and distrust. The sooner the Force clues in about that, the better. Don’t worry about working with VPD. It won’t be a problem.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I’ve worked with them in the past. They’ve got some really good people. Besides, we’re a step up the ladder from Goldie. Now we need to find out who Lee works for.”

“Ah, yes. The mysterious Shaman. Any clues?”

“Not yet. One step at a time. Laura and I are going to take today off, unless Lee calls. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Terrific job, you two. It’s absolutely incredible. Can’t wait to tell Isaac. After his suspicions about you, it won’t hurt to rub his nose in it a little.”

“Uh … why don’t you hold off until the end of the week. If Lee doesn’t call, it could make us look rather bad.”

At two o’clock that afternoon, Rose answered another call that was less pleasant.

“Where is that son of-a bitch?”

“Who is this?” demanded Rose.

“Connie Crane. I warned you! Where the hell is Jack Taggart?”

“Taking the day off.”

“Yeah, I bet. More likely he’s out in the country droppin’ off a body!”

“Care to enlighten me?” asked Rose.

“I-HIT picked up another homicide Friday night out in Langley. Unidentified man, stripped of his clothes and shot in the head. Found by a farmer who thinks some Asians did it.”

“Perhaps you’re not aware,” said Rose, “that Jack is Scottish.”

“Let me finish. I didn’t get the case, but I saw a picture of the victim and identified him. It’s —”

“Arthur Goldie,” said Rose, feeling stunned.

“So you already knew? What? You in on this with him? What the hell is going on?”

“No, I didn’t know. Just a lucky guess.”

“Really?” said Connie sarcastically.

“Yes, really. But the grounds for your suspicions … I was told Drug Section were doing surveillance of him while they were preparing to get a wiretap. Did they see him and Jack together on Friday?”

“I haven’t called them yet, but I’m suspicious every time a body shows up with a connection to Jack. I’m calling the narcs and I want a meeting right now with all of us. Including Jack and Laura!”

“Anything you wish to tell me before we go in?” asked Rose as Jack and Laura arrived outside the boardroom. “Connie is already inside and I have to say, she’s steamed.”

“No,” replied Jack, politely smiling as Sammy and two other Drug Section members arrived. “I think it best that we hear from everyone.”

Once everyone was seated, Rose said, “Well, Connie, this is your show. You call it.”

“We can make it simple,” said Connie. “Jack, tell us what you did on Friday, or do you not wish to speak until you have contacted a lawyer?”

“Oh, CC. You are a character,” said Jack, shaking his head. “I’m surprised … concerned … but I must deny —”

Two of the Drug Section members laughed outright and one said, “Yup, act surprised, show concern, deny, deny, deny!”

“This is not a time for gaiety,” said Rose crossly, “or unsubstantiated accusations for that matter,” she added, glancing at Connie. “We have some serious matters to discuss. We will not turn this into a three-ring circus. Jack, out with it.”

Jack reiterated the sequence of events that he had told Rose, including that he left Laura in the car as potential backup if it was needed. He said he went to Lee’s office and spoke with him directly in the hope of being able to bypass Goldie. He said that Lee was obviously interested and upon leaving his office, took them both out for dinner.

“And you told me that during dinner he said something about Goldie being an informant,” said Rose.

“That’s right,” replied Jack. “He mentioned words to the effect that he didn’t trust Goldie, that he thought he may be surrounded by the enemy, which I understood him to mean the police,” said Jack.

After a momentary silence, Connie slapped her hand on the table and said, “Bullshit! First of all, you’re telling me that you walk in unannounced to a guy heading one of the biggest criminal organizations in the world with only Laura as backup?”

“Hey!” said Laura.

“No offence, Laura,” said Connie. “But this stinks. Shouldn’t you have had a complete surveillance team? What could you have done if something went wrong? I mean, really.”

“When it comes to my life, I trust Laura completely,” Jack replied tersely. “UC is filled with judgment calls. I admit sometimes we make mistakes, but more people means more chances of being spotted. It is not always better.”

“Yeah? Whatever … but I don’t believe in coincidences when it comes to murder. Not with you. I don’t know how, but …” Her eyes searched the room for support and settled on Rose. “Damn it, Rose, you know my feelings. I warned you before about him. Jack and Laura call off the narcs on Thursday night and entertain Goldie on a boat. The next day the guy is murdered. Don’t tell me that you think it’s all a —”

“It is our fault,” interjected Sammy. Silence descended upon the room as all eyes stared in his direction. “We got him killed,” he added, quietly.

“How? What?” blurted Connie.

“We had surveillance on him yesterday afternoon. At around four o’clock he took off and we followed. Everything was going fine for the first few minutes and then we realized other cars were following him, too. At first we thought our paths had crossed with the City. Then we saw the others were all Asian. About then Goldie drove into an underground parking lot. I called for the team to break off, but I think we had already been burned.”

“You’re telling me they killed him because you were following him?” said Connie. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” asked Rose. “Goldie told Jack last Monday that this organization is so paranoid they were going to put him on the lie detector. Connie, I sent you a copy of his report. Didn’t you read it?”

“Yeah, I read it.”

“Did you also happen to read the reports outlining how much our office has done to assist you in relation to the murder of the homeless person in the park?”

“His name is Melvin Montgomery,” said Jack, sounding irritated.

Rose looked sharply at Jack but continued, “How Jack and Laura traced the gun from the U.S. up to Canada. Right across the country to Goldie’s doorstep? Including solid evidence in his garage linking him to the murder? Have you bothered to read those reports? Now you have the audacity to point a finger at him because he’s involved in a case where a suspect is murdered? If you’re pointing fingers, what the hell were you doing on Friday?”

“Rose, please,” interjected Jack, calmly. “I’ve known CC a long time. I normally respect her judgment. There have been unusual circumstances in the past on unrelated matters. It’s her job to be suspicious. She’s a good cop.”

“Thanks, Jack,” replied Connie, automatically. What the fuck! I just thanked him! She glared at Jack and then looked at Rose and said, “You have to admit, to kill someone in your organization because he is being followed by the police doesn’t seem practical.”

“It could be that they will wipe out anyone who they think will lead the police to them,” continued Rose. “Or maybe they did put him on a polygraph and he failed. What do you think, Jack?”

“I think I’m glad that I didn’t have a cover team following us yesterday,” he replied, staring at Connie who purposely avoided looking back.

“Which is another thing,” said Rose. “Until this matter is finished, Jack and Laura will not be coming into the office. These people are too dangerous to mess around with. We’ll rent a hotel room to meet if necessary.”

“Appreciate that,” said Jack. “Coming here does put us at risk. I wouldn’t have come except for Connie’s insistence.”

Connie ignored the remark and turned to Sammy and asked, “And you didn’t have any wire on Goldie? Nothing to help us?”

“We were working on getting some, but it was still a week away. Sorry about yesterday. Sounds like we really screwed up. Just didn’t know how much until now.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Jack. “You can’t blame yourself for their paranoia.”

“Yeah, I guess,” replied Sammy.

“What about the Chinese restaurant and the dealers down there?” asked Connie. “You said the ones following Goldie were Asian. The farmer said he thought whoever shot Goldie was Asian, as well.”

“Our UC operators haven’t heard anything. As far as the wire goes, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Nobody making innuendos?” asked Connie. “Sounding angry? Scared? Anything?”

“Nope,” replied Sammy. “The closest thing we got to anger was some guy upset that his delivery order hadn’t arrived twenty minutes earlier.”

Laura felt a light kick under the table from Sammy as he spoke. He knows!

“And that was it?” persisted Connie. “No calls about people being followed or a team being put together to whack someone?”

“Nope. Also, for your info, all of us who were on the surveillance team yesterday looked at the mug shots that the Asian Based Organized Crime Unit has. There was nobody we recognized, but we might come up with something once we make arrests from our current UC.”

“I appreciate that, thanks,” said CC.

“They’re big into using laptops,” said Jack. “These guys are too professional to use telephones.”

“Can you show me the underground parkade where Goldie went?” asked Connie. “I’m betting his car is still there.”

“No problem,” replied Sammy.

Connie sighed and said, “Guess maybe I do owe you an apology, Jack. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he replied. “I feel like I’m made of Velcro as I go through life. Things seem to stick to me. I understand why you would be suspicious.”

“Velcro?” snorted Connie. “More like Teflon if you ask —”

“As I said, your apology is accepted,” interrupted Jack.

As the meeting broke up, Sammy whispered in Laura’s ear and said, “About that guy whose Chinese food was late. Must have been his wife in the background who said, ‘Don’t even think of it’ and ‘the clock starts now.’” Sammy grinned and continued, “Now to me, she must have been talking about the order. The strangest thing is, her voice sounded like yours.”

Surprise registered on Laura’s face.

“Yeah, I know,” said Sammy. “Now show concern and deny it. By the way, I drink Canadian Club.”

“Jack, Laura!” interjected Rose. “The two of you … my office.”

Rose didn’t mince words when the three of them were alone in her office. She pointed a finger at Jack and said, “This has become personal to you. Why?”

“Personal?” replied Jack.

“You weren’t content with letting me describe the investigation about the murder of a homeless person. You put a name to it — Melvin Montgomery. You have personalized the issue, I am simply wondering why? Something in your past?”

“Ah, perhaps the two of you should discuss this in private,” said Laura, rising from her chair.

“Sit down,” said Rose. “You two are obviously a team. Your decisions affect each other. Unlike our meeting a few minutes ago, this isn’t an inquisition. I simply want to understand why you take the risks you do and to ensure that your decisions are pragmatic in nature and not skewered by personal bias.”

“Everyone has personal bias,” replied Jack. “Whether you admit it or are even aware of it. We all come from a past where we have encountered different experiences.”

“Yes, and those experiences cause us to be biased in different directions,” said Rose. “So what are your personal experiences with someone, say, like Melvin?”

“I’m an operator,” said Jack. “I’ve seen and dealt with many Melvins and Ophelias. Up close and personal.”

“Ophelias?”

“Another friend of mine who died recently. A hooker and a junkie. Another nobody in the eyes of society.”

“And you met her working undercover,” concluded Rose.

“She tipped us off, for free, about a guy she knew who had robbed and murdered an old-age pensioner. She would have been killed if anyone knew she informed.”

“So you believe that this nobody in the eyes of society actually risked her life to help society?” replied Rose.

“Jack believes it because it’s true,” said Laura. “She put Mad Dog and his crew away, as well.”

“I see,” said Rose.

“Do you?” asked Jack. “It goes further than society not seeing these people. Most don’t even want to think they are people.”

“What are you getting at?”

“That someone like Goldie, faced with twelve upstanding citizens and a judge, would never have to worry. Not that he could be convicted because I committed a far worse crime by stealing his garbage bag. But even if I hadn’t, any sentence he might have received would have still left him laughing.”

“Sounds to me like you’re admitting to being biased in this matter,” said Rose.

“Biased or experienced?” asked Jack. “Knowing the probability of an outcome does not mean you are biased.”

“Perhaps, but when it comes to the law, you must be accountable. Bias is something twelve jurors might discuss and reach a balance. Not one or two people deciding the fate of others for themselves.”

“When it comes to the law, you are absolutely right,” said Jack.

“You agree?”

“Of course I do, but I wasn’t talking about the law. I was talking about justice. What are your views on that?”

Rose stared silently for a moment. Briefly, she looked sad. Jack had the feeling she was remembering something. Her eyes met Jack’s and she said, “I would compare your views on handling justice to those of someone skating on a river in early April. It is only a matter of time before you fall in and drown.” She glanced at Laura and added, “Sometimes drowning people take others with them.”

“I’m a good swimmer,” replied Laura.

“Interesting analogy,” said Jack. “Do you skate yourself?” he asked, watching her intently.

Rose spotted Jack’s gaze and her face hardened and she said, “I gave that up. I respect my own life and the people I love. Something you would be wise to consider.”

Jack turned to Laura and said, “Guess if we do any skating, we’re on our own.”

Rose sighed and said, “I’ll be back on shore. I may have a rope to toss you, but at the rate you’re going, I don’t think it will be long enough.”

Jack thought about Natasha … and a family he hoped to have. His BlackBerry received a text message from Lee requesting they meet. “We have to go,” he said.