They looked at each other. Alex said nothing; there was nothing to say. He reached for the laptop beside him and set it up.
“I’ll be recording our conversation.”
Robbie nodded.
“Once we start, I need you to answer, for the recording. After we’re done the interview, I’m going to ask you to do a written statement, of everything you can remember about the events of today.”
“Okay.”
Alex stated the date, time and place and identified himself and Robbie Starr as present. Robbie began by recounting how he and his brother, Levon came to Prince Rupert and dropping their elder friend at a reserve. He detailed the events at the Skeena plant as he and Alex had agreed to at the hospital. He finished with the two thugs finding him and his brother, being brought to Cartwright’s cabin and how the two of them were tied up in the back room.
“Now, if you could tell me about the events leading up to Corporal Hunt shooting your brother.”
Robbie’s face went white.
“I know how difficult this must be for you. Take you time,” said Alex.
He was silent for a full minute, eyes closed tight. Finally, he gave his head a shake and started to talk. “Like I said before, the guys that abducted us tied us up before they left. I got Levon’s hands free, then he untied mine. Then we untied our feet. That happened just before you and the other cop got there. The crazy man, the blonde guy—”
“His name’s Kirigin.”
“He was yelling at everyone, even his partner. Just ranting and raving. I was scared. I thought for sure he was gonna kill us. But Levon was petrified! You’ve gotta understand, he’s a very gentle person, and he doesn’t get out much. He’s a loner, always has been. Anyway, there was no window in the back room where they tied us up. Once we got free, we were gonna try and sneak out the back door, but I thought the men could see it from the front of the cabin.” Robbie fell silent, then his hands started to shake uncontrollably. He clamped them between his legs.
“It’s okay, Robbie. Take your time.”
“Thing is, we thought they were leaving, and we were getting ready to leave. I guess I was hoping that they’d just forget about us. I zippered my jacket up and put on my gloves. I didn’t have a hat to put on. Levon was wearing his hat; our grandma made it for him; he never takes it off. He really loves that hat. I whispered to him to put on his gloves because it was cold outside. He pulled them out of his pockets. Black wool gloves. He got the left one on and was about to put on the right one when the back door burst open and the cop was standing there.”
“How close was the back door to where you were standing?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I could see that the cop’s hat and coat were dripping wet. And he has a scar on his cheek, a small white scar, here…” He gestured with one hand toward his own jawline on the left side.
Alex thought about the scar on Hunt’s jawline. “I take it you were pretty close to Corporal Hunt.”
“Yeah. The back door of the cabin was close to where we were hiding.”
“You’re doing great, Robbie. What else can you remember?”
Robbie stared past Alex and said nothing.
“Do you remember what happened next?”
Robbie looked at Alex and his eyes filled with tears. “He yelled at Levon to drop his gun. But he didn’t have a gun! And his yelling scared Levon. First, I was watching the cop because he had a gun and he was pointing it at us. I had a two by four in my hand and at first, I thought he was yelling at me, so I put it on the floor. Then I realized he was yelling at Levon, but he was frozen in fear and holding his black glove in his right hand. Just holding it. That’s when the cop shot him. I knelt beside him. I thought he was dead, and I remember I was yelling at the cop that he killed him. Killed my brother. Then I realized that the cop was pointing his gun at me and I thought he was going to shoot me too. And then I saw you and you were yelling at him to put his gun away. That we were unarmed. But it was like he couldn’t hear you and he kept pointing his gun at me. Then you yelled again and that time he turned to you and it seemed like he finally heard you. He holstered his gun and went to where you were. I couldn’t see him after that. Then you came over to us and helped Levon. Then you put the two men in custody into the van, then we got Levon ready and put him in the van and we went to the hospital.”
“You did great, Robbie,” said Alex, ending the session for the benefit of the tape recording.
“Will the cop be charged with trying to kill Levon?”
“I’m sorry,” said Alex. I can’t answer that for you. When an officer shoots a civilian, the case goes before a civilian review panel. The panel makes the decision if the officer will be charged or not.”
Robbie nodded, tipped back his coffee, and drank deep. He put the mug down, then rubbed his face with both hands.
“Are you up to doing a written statement now?”
“I’d like to get it over with.”
“Detail is always better close to the event.” Alex handed him a witness form and a pen.
“You said the women are safe.”
“They’re being rescued and taken to safety as we speak.”
“What about the Golden Harvest?”
“Nothing yet. We think we know where they’re waiting out the storm.”
“I’ll write this report, then I’m going back to the hospital. I want to be there when Levon wakes up.” Robbie didn’t tell Alex that he’d be letting AERIE know the women had been rescued. He’d already posted an update on Levon’s condition and a picture of his sleeping brother.
“When you’re done with your statement, you can drop it off to me in the office out front.”
Robbie Starr came through the glass doors of the bull pen a while later. Alex stood up and he handed him his statement.
“Let me arrange for someone to drive you back to the hospital.”
“I prefer to walk.” He turned and left without another word.
Alex watched him leave the building and the despair he’d been fighting off for days washed over him. This time he couldn’t push it away. The pain in his chest was sudden and sharp and caught him off guard. He sat down quickly, closed his eyes, and concentrated on his breathing. His father’s voice was suddenly in his head—a conversation last summer:
Your mother and I admire the work you do. We admire your commitment. But we are concerned for you. Your work has risks.
You know I always follow protocol, to minimize risk.
We know that. It’s not the physical risk so much that concerns us.
After a few minutes, the pain eased off and Alex opened his eyes. He was surprised to find Stuart beside him.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“I’m fine,” lied Alex.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Nothing. Thanks.”
Chapter 31
Alex was looking through the little information they had on Palindrome and Summit when Kirigin’s SAT phone flashed on the desk beside him. He put on gloves, fished it out of the baggie and checked the new message. It was from the captain of the Harvest.
Why aren’t you answering the short wave? Are you still there?
My crewmen aren’t back with the lifeboats?
Where’s my bonus.
What about my AIS?
He scrolled back through the messages between Kirigin and the captain, got a feel for the tone of their correspondence and replied.
Cartwright said they’re not finished. Your men are needed there.
I fucking told you already. When the bitches are loaded you’ll get your money and your fucking AIS
Where the hell are you?
A few minutes later, Captain Donaldson replied with his position. As they suspected he might, he’d moored in one of the bays on the south shore of Smith Island.
Once the women were safely off the lifeboats and on their way to town, Sergeant Kwan and his men returned to the Tanu.
He led the operation to impound Harvest and arrest the crew. It was helpful that he had its exact location.
It was close to midnight before Captain Meighan brought the Tanu within hailing distance of the bridge of the Harvest. Kwan radioed her captain, and the moment he picked up, Meighan gave the signal. Every high-beam search light on the Tanu flashed on.
“This is Captain Donaldson, Golden Harvest.”
“I’m Sergeant Kwan of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I’m placing you and your crew under arrest for human trafficking. Your ship is impounded.”
“That’s absurd! I demand an explanation!”
“We just rescued seventy-three women from two of your lifeboats.”
Kwan’s words were met with silence.
“Captain?”
Still no answer. Kwan waited a beat.
“I uh…”
“How many men are aboard?”
“Fourteen.”
“Counting the two that were crewing the lifeboats.”
“No.”
“So fifteen, counting you?”
“Yes.”
“I have four snipers posted. The two machine guns you see are manned. If anyone resists, we’ll shoot to kill. Do you understand?”
“Understood.”
“Is your mess hall big enough for everyone?”
“Yes.”
“Advise me when your crewmen are assembled there. Then we’ll come aboard.”
“What about my ship?”
“Harvest is no longer your concern.”
Chapter 32
After a welcome chat with Gwen early Sunday morning, Alex had finally fallen asleep. He woke up to his alarm a few hours later, had a quick shower to clear his head, then headed to the detachment office with Kumari and Stuart. They arrived just after Brandeis. The internet was up. Stuart and Kumari—liaising with staff at Ottawa headquarters who were three hours ahead of them—got busy.
Half a dozen Prince Rupert staff were in today. James and Alex found a vacant desk along one wall. “Severall’s lawyer won’t get here till this evening,” said Brandeis. “The decision has been made to give him a deal in exchange for the bigger picture.” Late Saturday evening, Severall signalled he was willing to talk, but not without his lawyer present. His office was in the UK.
“I suspect it’s a very big picture,” said Alex.
Staff Sergeant Billings was running point on everything related to the rescued women. As he discovered, there were a lot of details to take care of when you’re tasked with feeding, clothing, and sheltering seventy-three women from three countries. But Billings knew his town and he knew who to lean on for help. They’d found shelter for the women in a community centre and two church basements. A call went out for cots, sleeping bags, bedding and clothes and donations had already started to pour in. Only the community centre had kitchen facilities, so it was McDonald’s for everyone the first night. Brandeis suggested Billings contract a few restaurants in town to feed everyone: task one with breakfast and one with dinner and another with soup and sandwiches for lunch and have them all deliver and that’s what they did. While he was at it, Billings also arranged for Sunday breakfast and extra coffee urns to be delivered to the detachment for Brandeis’ team.
A suit arrived shortly after, accompanied by the officer who brought him in.
“Who’s the lawyer for?” said Alex, reaching for a breakfast sandwich.
“Captain Donaldson,” said Brandeis. “He wants to talk, too. I had the ERT bring him here; he’s in the interview room. His crew is in custody aboard the vessel.”
“Where’s the ship?”
“They moved it to the Rupert port early this morning.”
They watched as the officer disappeared with the lawyer in the direction of the interview room. Alex finished off his sandwich.
“Levon Starr made it through the night,” offered Brandeis. “He’s still in critical condition.”
Alex nodded but said nothing. The words critical condition sat tight on his chest. “What do we have from Kwan?”
“The outfit’s interests extend well beyond human trafficking. They’ve started examining the containers and, not surprising, there’s lots of merchandise that doesn’t show up on the manifest: computers, firearms, ammo, pharmaceuticals. Kwan sent me some photos a few minutes ago. They just opened several containers of mechanical and electrical parts that are not readily identifiable. I’ll send them to you now.” He pulled out his phone.”
“Any word back on the other ships?”
“Ottawa is working with the US, who have indicated that they will detain and search the two ships in their waters once they reach port. Ottawa is contacting the countries the other ships are headed to. It’s gonna be quite a while before we have the whole picture.”
“Kumari and Stuart want to have a go at the hidden volume on Kirigin’s laptop.”
“Hopefully, they’ll have something for us later today.”
“What do you wanna bet that Palindrome and Summit aren’t the only firms they’ve created that do business with State governments.” Alex was thinking about the message from wikem about Severall being one of the signing partners for Palindrome, something he knew well before the police did. Robbie Starr’s words echoed: Our work with you is done. We don’t usually work with police. “I’d like to know a lot more about the other Palindrome start up signatories.”
“I like to know how Kirigin got use of the low earth orbit satellite system.”
“Maybe he’s a beta tester,” Alex suggested. “His credentials were stellar, until just recently.”
“Or he might have hacked his way in.” Brandeis rubbed his eyes. “I still can’t believe the bastard was running one of his operations on our system.”
“As our guest,” Alex pointed out. “Who knows, maybe more than one operation.”
“Don’t remind me.” Brandeis switched gears. “I was hoping that the heart patient in Vancouver would make it.”
Alex sighed. “It was a long shot at best. Are the rest of them going to be okay?”
“They are. The five women destined for organ removal in Ontario will fare much better; when their driver arrives at the clinic in Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police are waiting for them.
Alex smiled. His phone had buzzed a moment before, and he pulled up James’ message: photos taken of the contents of two containers. There was something vaguely familiar about the equipment. Alex zoomed in and carefully moved the image around, stopping at a identification plate on one piece; Russian lettering.
“Something to do with satellites?”
“Satellites,” said Brandeis, leaning in. “I wonder where this equipment was headed.”
A uniform entered the bullpen and approached Brandeis. “Donaldson and his lawyer are ready for you, sir.”
Chapter 33
Captain Donaldson, his lawyer, the local duty counsel, Brandeis and Alex were in the interview room. Donaldson was eager to cut a deal. Brandeis pointed out that Severall was also more than ready to talk and any deal would depend on the kind of information Donaldson gave them. The captain was genuinely surprised by that and somewhat deflated. His lawyer shrugged her shoulders and settled in.
Donaldson had been working for Severall for three years and most of the time, took his orders directly from him. He didn’t become aware of Kirigin as a player until two years ago.
“Was he not involved until then?” Brandeis asked.
“He may have been. I only started to deal with him directly when we started carrying people.”
“By carrying people, you are referring to trafficking human beings, or smuggling them, or both?”
“Yes to both.”
“Have you ever been a party to smuggling children?
“No. Men and women only.”
“It was two years ago that you became aware of Kirigin as a player.”
“That’s correct. After he became involved, well, first
thing that happened, my ship got a new Automatic Identification System. It was a while before I knew what the new system was really about.”
“How so?”
“Kirigin developed software that controlled the AIS of all of the ships; all seven of them.”
“Seven ships.”
“Yes. Seven.”
“And Kirigin developed the software?”
“According to Severall, Kirigin could spoof the location of any of their ships, whenever he needed to. Or wanted to.”
“We lost Harvest’s location when you first entered the waters up here.”
“You were tracking Harvest,” said Donaldson, nodding to himself than the room. It was a statement, not a question.
“Where were you headed before the storm started to move in?”
“I had a drop scheduled, but the ship I was supposed to meet up with called it off, because of the weather.” James and Alex shared a glance. James pulled out his phone and found the container picture Kwan had sent him earlier. He showed it to Donaldson. His lawyer leaned over and looked at the photo; she knit her brow, quizzically.
“Is this what you were supposed to unload?”
Donaldson nodded.
“If you would answer yes or no, for the interview tape.”
“Yes.”
“Identify this equipment for me.”
“All I know is that it has something to do with satellites. It was for an installation, somewhere in the Yukon.”
“Where exactly?”
“I don’t know exactly. A boat always comes out to take delivery.”
“And the name of the boat?”
“This time, Sisyphus.”
“This time. Captain, how often do you make deliveries destined for the installation in Alaska?”
“I’ve made three here, in the past year. None here before that.”
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