by Don Easton
As soon as they were alone, Laura said, “Jack ... we had her. She was in the trunk ... we just let her go.”
“I know.”
“I feel like crying. I’m so angry and frustrated,” said Laura, her eyes brimming with tears.
“It was me who let her go. It was my call.”
“I’d like to chain Dúc to a wall. He’d talk.”
“As nice as it is to fantasize, we don’t have the time. We’ve got to do something, fast.”
“What do you think of this Mister Pops? Likely not his real name.”
“My guess is it falls in the realm of the nickname for Dad. I’m going to call CC.”
Jack called Connie Crane to tell her what they had learned.
“How the hell did she end up back in a Dumpster in Canada?” asked Connie. “And now her sister is with the guy, too? Jesus fucking Christ!”
“Dúc is the key,” said Jack.
“Yeah, like he’s going to talk,” said Connie sarcastically. “I’m not even sure if we have grounds for a warrant. Even if we did, if we search and don’t find her, she’ll be killed once they realize we’re on to them.”
“Check the border crossings,” said Jack. “See if Dúc has been across. If Hang did die across the line, why bring her back? I think this happened on our turf. Probably in the Surrey area. That’s where she was found.”
“Dúc is running hookers—maybe he’s got a special place built just for the perverts.”
“A possibility. Actually, it’s a sickening possibility—the Orient Pleasure is in Surrey. Get on it. You’ve got to get into his places for a look.”
“What about your informant? Don’t you have someone connected to that place?”
Jack sighed. “Not anymore. Besides, if that friend had known about it, I would have been told. You’ve got to get a warrant and search everywhere.”
“How, without tipping our hand?”
“Call Rocco Pasquali with the City Anti-Gang Unit. Get him to help. If VPD takes out the warrants under a prostitution investigation, the bad guys may not clue in as to what we are really after. Make it look like the RCMP is just assisting them with the places outside of Vancouver.”
“That might work.”
“You’ve got to do this without mentioning my informant in the warrants, or anything to do with Hang and Linh. Also, don’t mention anything about how the girls arrive at the parlours. Keep the warrants as simple as you can. Do both massage parlours as well as their homes and any other building they own. Search everywhere. Attics, basements, out-buildings, hidden dungeons under garage floors ... look at everything.”
“Dungeons under garage floors?”
“I’ve seen it done for grow-ops. Hidden trap doors under workbenches. Search everywhere. Look for hollow panels. Use the narcs to help. They’re good at it.”
“What if we don’t find her? We could still be signing her death warrant if they get scared.”
“And if you don’t search and she is there, she may die anyway. It’s a chance I think we have to take.”
“Damn risky chance for Linh.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Connie was silent for a moment and replied, “No.”
“They take credit cards at the massage parlours. Maybe you can match some names to your pervert list.”
“I’ll do that. Especially perverts who live in nice homes.”
“Both Hang and Linh told Bien they were in a very wealthy home, but the standards here are different. Any home with more than a couple of rooms or two toilets is considered wealthy by Vietnamese standards.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“If you identify any perverts, take a look and see if they used the credit cards to purchase construction materials leading up to last January.”
“Will do.”
“Laura and I will catch the next flight back. We’re bringing Bien back with us.”
“Why?”
“Because he couldn’t afford the ticket himself. I’ve already spoken to our Vietnamese contact. He says it won’t be a problem, if we pay for it.”
“No, I mean why ...”
“Damn it, Connie, think about it! If your kid was over here, would you be sitting on your fat ass over there! We owe it to him! One of his kids is murdered and the other one missing!”
The silence that followed reminded Jack how tired and exasperated he was ... Now I can add rude and thoughtless to the list.
Jack sighed and said, “I’m sorry, CC. I haven’t slept all night. You haven’t met the father. I just did. I feel for the guy. He fits the grandfather image more than a dad. Don’t take it literally about the fat ass comment. It’s just an expression.”
Jack paused, but Connie didn’t reply.
“I mean, you’re in good shape. Buns of steel ...”
Connie laughed out loud and said, “I was just yanking your chain. I know what my ass looks like. I was just wondering if you had ever noticed. I’ll talk to Randy. We’ll think of a suitable reason for you to bring Bien.”
“Appreciate that. Maybe say you want to drive him up and down the kiddie stroll in Vancouver and see if Linh is one of the kids turning tricks for the perverts there.”
“That’ll work. What about the Russians? What are the Vietnamese police going to do?”
“They’re being really cooperative. They appreciate our concern with Linh. They’ll keep gathering evidence, but won’t touch them until we ask. If you get the warrants and find Linh, they’ll grab the Russians over here. Neither of them would ever see the light of day.”
“Better than the twelve or eighteen months they might get here.”
“Right now, I don’t care. Just find Linh.”
“To get the warrants under the guise of prostitution and coordinate with City, it will probably take a day.”
“If you get them signed before Laura and I get back, don’t wait for us.”
“Believe me, we won’t. Talk to ya later.”
When Jack hung up the phone Laura looked at him and said, “That was a good idea you had about matching perverts to construction materials.”
Jack shrugged and said, “Except the list of known pedophiles on the lower mainland, not to mention licence plate data included from those who pick up children on the kiddie stroll, is what, over a thousand? Linh doesn’t have that much time.”
“It’s still a good idea. You really would be good on Homicide.”
“I’m not suited for it. I hate pedophiles and bullies who abuse children. Makes me think of my own father too much. Put me in that section and the murder rate would go up, not down.”
Jack, Laura, and Bien boarded a flight leaving Hanoi at 11:05 that same morning. With the time difference, they were scheduled to arrive in Vancouver forty-five minutes later on the same date. In fact, it was almost twenty-five hours later.
It did not help Jack’s peace of mind when he discovered that Moustache Pete and the Fat Man were on the same flight and flying first class.
So much for Sonny gathering more evidence on them ...
Jack and Laura were still three hours out of Vancouver over the Pacific Ocean when Connie received confirmation that the Vancouver City Police had obtained the search warrants.
She met with teams of police officers who were a combination of both Vancouver City Police and RCMP. The briefing was thorough and everyone assigned knew their duties.
Two VPD plainclothes officers, posing as customers, would be sent inside The Asian Touch massage parlour in Vancouver. Two RCMP officers, also posing as customers, would enter the Orient Pleasure massage parlour in Surrey at the same time.
The job of the insiders was to stop anyone who tried to burn or flush evidence when the raid commenced. They would be given exactly two minutes. Hopefully long enough to gather evidence of prostitution, but a short enough time to hide the fact that they were not going to be customers and that they were carrying weapons and wearing Kevlar vests under their shirts.
Thre
e hours after the search warrants were signed, multiple teams of officers in Vancouver and Surrey waited at their assigned locations at the ready.
Connie gripped the police radio in one hand and watched the seconds tick by on her watch as she sat parked with her partner near Dúc’s house. Eight other officers assigned to her team were parked close by.
“Now! Now!” echoed across police radios and Connie leapt from the car and ran to the front door of Dúc’s house. The sound of splintering wood from the rear told her that other officers had just gained entry ahead of her.
Elsewhere, squads of officers were entering the massage parlours and smashing their way into the homes of the other Tran brothers, as well as two apartments belonging to employees who worked at the parlours.
Hopefully the sounds of splintering wood, breaking glass, and yelling would momentarily shock and paralyze anyone to delay them from grabbing a weapon.
Hopefully, Connie realized. But not always ...
Within a few seconds, all the places being searched were secured and all those found inside had been handcuffed. Connie breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody hurt ...
The initial search being conducted by Connie’s team yielded nothing. Now a more careful search was being conducted. Every room, ceiling panel ... anything new that had been built ... rugs to be looked under for trap doors.
Connie answered her cellphone and discovered it was Jack.
“Just landed and cleared Customs,” he said. “Anything?”
“We’re doing the searches now. Started about fifteen minutes ago. Doesn’t look good. I’m at Dúc’s house. He’s got an attached garage. I’m going to look at it again.”
“Could you use a hand?”
“Got lots of help. No use burdening you.”
“What about the other places?”
“So far they’ve got a bunch of credit card receipts. Also a lot of red-faced guys lying around handcuffed wishing they were wearing pants ... but nothing of real interest.”
Jack sighed and said, “Call me if ... you know. I’m going to the office and then will find a hotel room for Bien.”
“Talk to ya later.”
“There’s one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The Russians came back on the plane with us.”
“Shit!”
Connie entered Dúc’s garage. It had a cement floor but she noticed some partial sheets of plywood lying on the floor under a work bench. She got down on her hands and knees to take a closer look. The sound of running footsteps approached her from behind.
“Connie!” came the excited voice of a young officer from her team. “Something you should see in the basement!”
“What?” she replied, trying to maintain a professional calm while her pulse quickened.
“A wall with wooden panelling. I knocked on it. Sounds hollow in one place!”
chapter thirty-one
Jack arrived at his office and plunked himself down behind his desk as Laura went to find an extra chair for Bien.
Jack called Natasha at work to let her know he was back. Not home. Just back. He then listened to the messages left on his office phone.
He hung up just as Laura wheeled a chair across the office floor for Bien to sit on. “I took this from Staff Pendejo’s office,” she said. “He’s not around. Probably not back from lunch.” Laura glanced at Jack and raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s with you?”
“Isaac wants to see me immediately upon our return,” replied Jack.
“What about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should have Natasha call and ask. She’s on a first-name basis with him.”
Jack met with Isaac and was asked to give a quick debriefing on what had transpired in Vietnam.
After Jack told him, Isaac nodded and said, “Staff Otto had basically filled me in on the details. How is the father holding up? Does he speak English?”
“Yes, sir. His English is excellent. As far as holding up goes ... he is doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances.”
“I would like to meet with him shortly and assure him personally that we will do everything possible to find Linh and apprehend whoever is responsible,” said Isaac. “Now, however, there is another matter I wish to speak to you about.”
Jack listened as Isaac told him about Quaile’s lack of good judgement in regard to taking a picture of the Russians as they boarded the flight to Costa Rica.
“Lack of good judgement, sir?” seethed Jack. “I would call it obstruction of justice.”
“I can see on the surface how you might feel that way. However, I spoke with him and he explained that they caught him off guard and he reacted in a manner that he hoped they would think a policeman would not do. He was so upset by being seen by them that he was too embarrassed to come forward and admit it earlier. I’m sure he would never make the same mistake again. However, it is also obvious that his judgement in his assessment of you may have been flawed.”
“Flawed, sir?” said Jack sarcastically.
“We all make mistakes, Corporal,” said Isaac flatly. “Perhaps I am making one now, by cancelling your transfer to Traffic Services.”
“You are letting me remain here on Intelligence, sir?”
Isaac nodded and said, “You were correct in your judgement to work on the Russians.”
“I believe that Staff Quaile disagreed strongly with that point of view on my last assessment,” said Jack.
“I appreciate that your last performance rating was less than satisfactory. Far below what you have normally achieved. Staff Quaile and you obviously had a personality conflict. With that in mind ... and considering all the circumstances, I will see to it that a new performance rating is completed by whoever is selected to replace Staff Quaile.”
“To replace Staff Quaile? I appreciate that, sir!”
Isaac frowned and said, “We all have different abilities in different areas. I can see that, perhaps because of your background and experience, you have a more analytical mind when it comes to how organized crime functions. I’m sure that Staff Sergeant Quaile will be well-suited for the administrative position that he is now being transferred to.”
“When is that effective, sir?”
“At the end of the month.”
Jack tried hard to look solemn.
“In the meantime, I would strongly advise you to put your differences behind you. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. The administrative position that he will soon be responsible for is an important one ... that I suspect you would not perform well in.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep my interaction with him professional at all times. In fact, to show there are no hard feelings, I have a box I can lend him to pack up his personal belongings.”
Isaac locked eyes with Jack for several seconds before adding, “I will be watching you closely. You step out of line and I will come down on you hard. Understood?”
“I would expect nothing less.”
Jack arrived back at his desk and Laura looked at him and said, “So?”
“In a nutshell, my transfer to Highway Patrol is cancelled. I’m staying on Intelligence. Quaile is being transferred at the end of the month.”
“Are you serious?
“Very.”
“That’s unbelievable,” said Laura, getting to her feet and gripping each of Jack’s hands. “I feel like we’ve just won the lottery. What happened?”
Jack glanced at Bien and replied, “Quaile burned the Russians at the airport before they flew out to Costa Rica. That’s why they were so jumpy.”
“Intentionally?”
“No doubt in my mind.”
“That jerk!” Laura glanced at Bien and said, “I’m sorry.”
Bien didn’t respond and it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere.
“Anything more from CC?” asked Jack.
Laura shook her head.
“I’m going to call her. Isaac wants to meet Bien right away. “Why don’t you
take him in and introduce him?”
Connie used her flashlight to knock on the wood panelling. There was no doubt that approximately one metre of the wall sounded hollow along a portion of the wall that one would have expected to be up against the cement walls of the basement.
“Shall I kick it in?” asked the young officer. “There doesn’t appear to be any handle or anything to pull it open.”
“Did you try pushing on it?” asked Connie.
“Pushing? We want to open it, not close it.”
Connie used her hand to push on various locations. She was rewarded by the sound of a metallic click and a portion of the wall opened outwards a crack.
“Magnetic push latch,” said Connie excitedly. “Got the same thing at home on a cabinet,” she added, putting her fingers in the crack and pulling outwards.
The section of the wall opened and Connie unconsciously held her breath.
The area she looked into was a large notch in the cement foundation that was meant to be a roughed-in fireplace. All it contained was a dresser and she swallowed as she tried to hide her disappointment.
The young officer pulled a drawer open. It was packed with money.
Two hours later, Jack, Laura, and Bien met Connie at the I-HIT office. After introductions were made, Randy took Bien into his office to explain some of the steps that had been taken in the investigation. He also had Bien look at mug shots of members of various Asian gangs on the lower mainland.
Randy didn’t expect it would yield anything, but he knew it made Bien feel better to think he was helping.
“Everyone demanded lawyers immediately,” said Connie. “Dúc and Cuóng are in Surrey cells right now. They’re going to be transferred to City lockup within the hour to face a joint indictment of keeping a common bawdy-house. Maximum sentence is two years. I expect everyone will be charged and released tomorrow morning on a promise to appear. Most of the women will be held for now and likely deported.”
“If we can’t keep these guys in jail, at least we can piss them off,” said Jack.
“That’s not all,” said Connie. “Dúc will really be pissed. We found where he keeps his money. It was hidden in his basement. Over a half-million in cash ... and get this. It also included the money you used to buy that kilo off of Giang. Might help if we could ever pin Giang’s murder on him.”
