After lunch, Jack and Laura returned to their office and Jack checked his desk phone and discovered he had a message to call Detective Wilson at VPD Homicide. He was in the process of dialling when Rose and Connie walked in and stood staring at him.
Jack eyed the large manila envelope that Connie was carrying and could tell by the way she scowled that something was wrong. Rose also looked concerned. He hung up the phone before Wilson answered. “What’s up?” he asked.
“What’s up?” repeated Connie, as she reached inside the envelope. “I’ll tell you what’s up!” she seethed, before tossing two photos onto Jack’s desk. “What do you have to say about these?”
Jack gazed at a picture of an older Chinese man with the handle of a steak knife protruding from his throat. He glanced at Laura who was looking over his shoulder and they both shrugged at each other.
“Take a look at the second picture,” snarled Connie.
Jack looked at the second picture. It was a profile of the victim’s head. He stared briefly at the knife handle and the blood that had run down the side of the victim’s neck, before his eyes focused on three moles along the victim’s lower jaw. Guess I know what Wilson was calling about …
Seconds later, Laura muttered, “Oh, man …”
“Yeah! ‘Oh, man’ is right,” stated Connie. Her eyes burned into Jack’s. “Well?”
“I’m not a homicide investigator,” said Jack, “so I’m not sure, but is there any possibility this guy suffers from muscle spasms and accidentally knifed himself while having a steak?”
Laura’s snicker was cut short by Rose. “This is no joking matter, you two. Your intended undercover operation has been blown out of the water.”
“I’m meeting with Wilson from VPD Homicide in an hour,” said Connie. “We’re bringing Mia Parker in for questioning.”
“What makes you think it was her?” asked Jack.
“Get off it,” said Connie. “He’s the same guy who drove over her father twenty-five years ago. Two days ago you gave her a copy of his picture and now he’s dead.”
“You agreed with my interview and went along with me giving her the picture,” said Jack, defensively.
“Yeah, I did, but I sure as hell didn’t know she was going to go out and knife him! I didn’t think she knew the guy!”
“I don’t think she did,” replied Jack. “Before you rush off, why not pull up a chair and fill me in on the details?”
“I don’t need to sit for that,” replied Connie. “The details are pretty simple and brief.”
Jack listened as Connie told him everything she had been told about the murder. When she finished, Jack said, “The murder happened at six-o-seven. I can tell you that it wasn’t Mia Parker who did it. She has an excellent alibi for that time.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
“She was with us,” said Laura, retrieving her notebook and showing it to Connie. “We were at UBC meeting her in our car. That’s when she told us Wong had agreed to meet her and Jack tonight.”
“Oh, Christ,” said Connie. She looked at Rose and shook her head, then added, “Well something stinks.”
“You’re right, it does,” agreed Jack. “Sit down and let’s talk about it.”
Once Connie and Rose sat down, Rose turned to Jack. “You said it yourself, Mia Parker had an excellent alibi at the time. Was that a … coincidence?” she added, with a look that Jack knew referred to past cases where he had used the word himself to hide his actions.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Connie. “Did she get someone from Wong’s organization to knock Cheng off and used you two as patsies for an alibi?”
“She told us she had shown Cheng’s photo to Mr. Frank,” noted Laura. “If we are right in our assumption that she didn’t know they were going to kill Betty Donahue, maybe they didn’t tell her they were going to kill Cheng as well.”
“But what would be the point of killing Cheng if it wasn’t a favour for her?” asked Connie.
“Until two days ago, we didn’t know Mr. Frank was connected to Wong,” said Jack. “Maybe Cheng was, too. They may have murdered him to hide some other crime or the possibility we would connect something with their organization. I didn’t get the feeling from Mia last night that she knew who had driven over her father.”
“I agree with Jack on that,” said Laura. “In fact, she thought Mr. Frank did recognize him, but when she asked, he said he was simply impressed with the quality of the photo enhancement.”
“There is another thing to consider,” said Jack. “If Mia is behind Cheng’s murder, she would have tipped Wong off about me. Why would Wong jeopardize everything by killing Cheng? Why wouldn’t they wait until later when presumably we would let Mia off the hook?”
“What about Mia’s mother?” asked Connie. “Could she be a suspect?”
“Her mother was in Calgary,” noted Laura. “Not due back until late last night. Mia wasn’t even going to meet her until this morning.”
“You would also have to wonder how Jia-li would have known Cheng,” added Jack, “let alone to track him down so fast, even if she did return earlier in the day.”
Connie rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, then sighed and let her arms drop to her lap, while staring at Jack.
“What are you thinking?” asked Jack.
Connie grimaced. “That I better call Wilson and clue him in that Mia Parker has an alibi. I think your undercover scenario is the only chance we have to get Wong.”
“Good,” replied Jack. He glanced at Rose and asked, “So everything is okay with you? We’re back on track then?”
“For now,” replied Rose, “but we’ll take it one day at a time and re-evaluate after every step. As far as tonight goes, Laura and I will park someplace in Chinatown and wait, so call us as soon as you’re done.” She glanced at Connie and added, “And if you have any more problems or concerns, I want you to call me direct immediately.”
Connie nodded submissively.
“Chinatown is a busy area,” said Jack. “If I need help, I suspect it will be a 911 call to VPD.”
“Except your phone will be back in Mia’s car,” grumbled Laura.
Jack grinned. “If it comes to that, I’ll make sure it’s a bad guy calling for help and not me.”
The attempt at humour did not go over well with Rose. “Are you going to question Mia tonight about Cheng’s murder?” she asked, bluntly.
“I don’t think that would be wise,” replied Jack. “If she had nothing to do with it, all it would do is cause her to lose focus when she takes me to meet Wong. If she did have something to do with it, I don’t think it would be prudent for me to stick my nose into a case that belongs to VPD unless they want me to.”
“I agree with you on that issue,” said Connie. “I’ll talk to Wilson, but I’m sure he will want to hold off until we see how far you get with Wong.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, but Jack saw that Connie was frowning.
“So why the long face, Connie?” asked Jack. “If you’re still thinking about Cheng, in reality, he isn’t even your case.”
“Yeah, but I feel that his murder is the result of my case,” retorted Connie. She scowled at Jack and muttered, “Two minutes ago I was really pissed off at you. Now I have to suck up to you and ask you to continue with the undercover operation.”
“Sucking up to me isn’t necessary,” replied Jack. “You already did a number on me the day you had me deliver Nancy Brighton her mail. She’s a spunky lady and deserves justice for what happened to her sister. I’m more than glad to be assisting.”
Connie nodded politely to hide what she was thinking. The thing is, Jack, I know all too well what you consider justice to be …