by Don Easton
Wong was well aware that his life would end abruptly if anyone was told of the benefactor or was to identify Mr. Frank as anyone other than a trusted friend. A friend who was not to be spoken about.
Mr. Frank went over his decision to have the witness murdered. He had not believed that the police investigation would progress this far and rehashed the decision he had made.
Did I really have a choice? If Mia Parker was convicted, the benefactor would have discovered that it was over my stupidity … the spilled wine … the drugs … trying to seduce her.
He swallowed nervously as he considered the consequences. I would be terminated … perhaps executed. Yet if I had admitted my mistake in advance, the benefactor would not have given permission to kill the witness. The fear of a police investigation identifying the benefactor’s hand in such a matter would be catastrophic. The benefactor’s presence to the Canadian authorities would become a high priority and could jeopardize other interests. I had no choice … my whole career would be over. Years of faithful service …
He pondered what to do next. Wong hadn’t dared question his request to have the woman murdered. In fact it was his suggestion to use the Vietnamese to insulate any possible contamination of the benefactor. Wong said he would appease Tran by arranging for his people to receive a kilo of cocaine as payment. An amount which for Wong meant absolutely nothing. Mr. Frank agreed with the plan and Wong subsequently made the request to Tran. Wong would not know who Tran would have passed the orders on to.
Will Tran be angry with Wong for getting his people into trouble? It is not Wong’s fault the Vietnamese screwed up. On the contrary, passing on the contents of this report will make it clear that Wong’s source of information is accurate and help place him in the trusted confidence of Tran … something that could be valuable in the future.
Mr. Frank took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he thought of another consequence. The police know it was murder … will they connect it to Mia? He clenched his fists tightly, then slowly opened his hands as a means to ease the tension. Relax … she has been trained to handle interrogation. Not knowing anything about it makes it even easier for the interrogators to spot her innocence. Later, when she comes to me, I will simply deny any involvement …
Mr. Frank subconsciously nodded as he reached a decision. I need to bring the police investigation to a dead end. The benefactor will not care if the Vietnamese murder each other ... as long as I’m not implicated.
Mr. Frank knew he would have to meet with Benny Wong again.
Chapter Twelve
“You’re kidding,” said Jack, trying to sound disgusted as he spoke with Roger Morris over the phone, while at the same time giving Laura a thumbs-up sign. “Yes, I wrote it. Also had it signed by my boss. As far as I-HIT was concerned, it was for their eyes only. I was going to tell you about it, but didn’t want it to go through your whole office for obvious reasons.”
“I’m sorry, but I thought you should know.” Roger sighed. “You may want to put Boyle’s head on a chopping block.”
“Boyle can always bullshit and say he was leaving no stone unturned, but he still should have checked with me first,” said Jack, sounding angry,
“Let alone try to take credit for it,” noted Roger.
“I’ll take the matter up with Connie Crane. She’s his supervisor,” replied Jack.
“Your report is a real attention-getter. Very high-level stuff naming Dong Tran VC-1 as personally ordering a hit. We’ve never had grounds to get wire on Tom Nguyen VC-3 or Bien Duc VC-2, let alone Tran. I have to tell you, I have a real concern that it could be leaked.”
“If it happens, between you and me, don’t worry about it,” said Jack.
“Really?”
“Really. More people than my informant knew about this. Several bad guys were in on it. In the meantime, I’m hoping the report will give I-HIT the grounds they need to apply for a wiretap.”
“Doubt that will work with VC-1 and two.”
“I agree, but they might have better luck with VC-3 and the driver, Anh Dang.”
“I’m sure it will take them a couple of weeks to get the paperwork done for a wiretap, but keep me appraised, will ya?”
“Will do.” Jack hung up the phone and reflected on the situation. A lot can happen in a couple of weeks …
“Didn’t take Boyle long to pass it along,” noted Laura. “I thought he would do it this week.”
“Likewise,” said Jack. “He must have hustled over to AOCTF as soon as he got it.”
“That jerk. He is still hoping to arrest everyone and take credit for it all.”
Jack ignored the comment as his brain evaluated the situation. “We probably should have been watching Bien Duc VC-2 this weekend. We better get out there, but first I’ll call Connie and give her a bad time.”
“If your theory is right and someone decides to kill Duc, it didn’t occur to me that you would want to save him,” said Laura.
“I don’t plan to. Whoever is sent to do it will be following someone else’s orders. It would be nice to turn whoever that is so we can work our way up the ladder.”
“So we need to watch Bien Duc to find out who kills him,” sighed Laura. “Another grey area.”
“If anyone does try,” replied Jack. “This is only a theory. A long shot, really.”
Laura eyed Jack warily. Probably a long shot with a sniper rifle …
“Boyle … you overstuffed stupid asshole!” yelled Connie as she strode towards Boyle’s desk.
Silence descended over the office as numerous investigators stopped what they were doing.
“What?” asked Boyle, scowling as he looked up at Connie.
“We barely get Taggart’s report on Friday and you hustle it over to AOCTF! I explicitly told you it was on a need-to-know basis!”
“Well,” said Boyle, haughtily, “if we are to believe Taggart, we are investigating a murder committed by Vietnamese gangsters. All avenues need to be pursued. For your information, AOCTF investigates Vietnamese gangsters.”
“His report contains sensitive information. Didn’t it occur to you to check with him first before doing that?”
“Why? We’re all police officers. We should be able to trust each other.”
“Then you cut Jack’s name off the bottom and tried to take credit for the information!”
“I wasn’t trying to take credit. I did that to protect the informant so nobody would know who the informant worked for.”
“That’s ludicrous! Bad guys don’t care what cop an informant works for, they only want to know who the informant is.”
Boyle saw that all eyes in the office were upon him. “I thought I was doing the right thing,” he mumbled.
“I warned you not to fuck with them,” seethed Connie. “Then first chance you get you try to scoop the file out from under them,” she added contemptuously.
“I was not!” protested Boyle. “I was just doing my job!”
“Bullshit! You know it and I know it. So does Jack. I got off the phone with him and I can tell you he is some pissed off.”
“Yeah, well, so what if he’s pissed off? We’ve got the info now. We don’t need him anymore.”
“Great attitude. I’ll be sure to reflect your comment on your next assessment.”
“What? For doing my job and exploring all avenues in a murder investigation?”
“Let me give you a word of advice. You have no idea what the future will bring or who we will need to help us. All I can say is that your reputation has gone down the toilet.” She glanced around the office and added, “Nobody will ever want to work with you.”
Boyle avoided eye contact with his colleagues and stared at his desk as Connie walked away.
Over the next several days, Connie worked feverishly on her application to apply for a wiretap order. Unless Jack and Laura received further information from their informant regarding the case, which they said they didn’t expect to, Connie believed that for all intents an
d purposes, Jack and Laura were finished with the investigation.
At nine o’clock Thursday night, Jack and Laura were parked, watching Bien Duc VC-2’s house through binoculars, when they saw Roger Morris from AOCTF drive past the house. Jack radioed him and he pulled up alongside their car to speak.
“Glad I ran into you,” said Roger. “I was dialling your number when you radioed me.”
“What’s up?” asked Jack, then added with mock surprise, “I didn’t think sergeants ever worked past four o’clock … or is it three o’clock during golf season?”
“If I could trust everyone in my office, I wouldn’t be,” grumbled Roger. “I still can’t sleep at nights trying to figure out who the leak is. Tonight we’ve got something strange going on. Coupled with your report being tossed around our office all weekend I’m really worried.”
“What’s up?” asked Jack.
“We heard one of our shooters over the wire bragging about being able to eat good food at a restaurant while doing bodyguard work last night in a meeting between Benny Wong CC-1 and Dong Tran VC-1.”
“Do you know which restaurant?” asked Jack.
“The Phnom Penh in Chinatown. It serves Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Chinese food. It’s a good place and there’s nothing unusual about that because Wong and Tran usually meet once a month at different restaurants. The thing is, I know they met about two weeks ago, so last night’s meeting doesn’t fit their normal schedule.”
Laura exchanged a glance with Jack and she raised one eyebrow, but didn’t voice what she was thinking. Yup, there’s going to be consequences …
“I take it there is something else to bring you out?” asked Jack, turning back to Roger.
“Yeah. Three hours ago we heard there was a meeting tonight between Tran and his VC-2s. This is a little unusual. He often meets with them one on one, but not normally all together, other than for something like Tet.”
“Their new year’s celebration,” noted Jack. “Wrong time of year for that.”
Roger nodded. “Obviously something is up, so my team tried to follow Tran, but lost him when he got out on foot in Chinatown. They did see two other VC-2s walking past in the same area, so we know the meeting is on, but there was no way us round-eyes could follow them without being burned.”
“Thought you had some Asians on your team?” replied Jack.
“None that these bad guys don’t already know. Anyway, the guys called me at home to update me and I got to thinking about your report. I came to see if Bien Duc VC-2 was at the meeting. Looks like he is the only VC-2 still home. I have to tell ya, that makes me feel pretty uneasy, considering the report you did last week.”
“I told you not to worry about it,” said Jack.
“You seem so calm about it. Me, I’m worried.”
“I presume you have lots of Asian translators in your office to monitor the lines,” noted Laura. “Any of them come on board in the last six months since you think you’ve had a leak?”
“A couple, but personally I think they are all good people. Really dedicated. There is nobody I suspect.”
“As I said, I wouldn’t worry too much,” said Jack. “Especially about Bien Duc. There is a possibility that we heated him up on surveillance. Got a little close to him earlier, so maybe he thought it best to skip the meeting.”
“Hope so.” Roger paused a moment, then gestured with his thumb toward Duc’s house. “I’m not trying to be nosy, but I hope he isn’t your informant. If that report was leaked and he wasn’t invited to the meeting …” His words trailed off as he stared intently at Jack, waiting for a response.
“He’s not our informant,” said Jack, firmly.
Roger nodded thoughtfully, then gave Jack a sideways glance. “So if he’s not your informant, then I presume you’re out trying to identify more of his associates to help Connie get her wire?”
“Exactly. Watching him intermittently, along with VC-3 and the driver,” replied Jack, nonchalantly.
“Yeah … right,” replied Roger, not sounding sincere. He locked eyes with Jack and said, “You know I’ve been at this game a long time.”
“I realize that,” replied Jack, “and I respect your abilities.”
Roger nodded. “Guess it’s time I acted like a sergeant and went home. Happy hunting.”
As Roger drove away, Jack looked at Laura and said, “That is a guy you could trust to have your back.”
“I kind of got that feeling, too,” replied Laura. She then gestured to Duc’s house. “A high-level meeting without him being invited … sounds to me like your theory may become more than a theory.”
“Time will tell,” replied Jack.
After working long hours of surveillance over the weekend and on Monday without seeing anything of significance, Jack and Laura saw a taxi arrive at eleven-thirty Tuesday morning and watched Bien Duc come out of his house with a small suitcase. They followed him to the Vancouver International Airport and watched as he met up with Tom Nguyen VC-3.
At three o’clock that afternoon, Duc and Nguyen boarded a plane for a thirteen-hour flight to Hong Kong. With the time difference, it would be seven o’clock Wednesday night in Hong Kong when the flight arrived.
Jack was still at the airport when he received a call from their informant.
“I just found out from Anh Dang that Tom Nguyen and Bien Duc are going to Hong Kong for a couple of days,” said Ho, excitedly. “Supposed to be an important meeting. They’re leaving sometime today and coming back Friday morning.”
“What’s the meeting about?” asked Jack, not letting on that he already knew.
“They might be arranging to smuggle some women into Canada to work as whores. Tom is really excited. This is the first time he has been sent to look after something like this.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” replied Jack. “Do lots of your friends know about the meeting in Hong Kong?”
“I doubt it. Why?”
“Just curious. Any other meetings you know about?”
“No. It’s been a really quiet week.”
“If anything unusual happens, or if there are any other meetings taking place, let me know.”
After Jack hung up and told Laura, she said, “Doesn’t sound like Nguyen is getting whacked if they are sending him on an assignment like that.” She yawned and pushed back in her seat to stretch her legs and added, “Maybe our report wasn’t leaked after all.”
“Which puts us back on the Vietnamese again,” replied Jack. “We’re going to have to get a much higher-level informant than our current friend. I better call Connie and update her a little,” he added, reaching for his phone and dialling. “Hey, CC, how are you making out on the wire?” he asked as soon as Connie answered.
“Good. Been working sixteen hours a day since Friday, trying to put in all that crap why other means of investigation wouldn’t work before seeking permission to trample on their civil rights.”
“Which means describing all past investigations and summarizing reports.”
“Yeah, you got it, but at the rate I’m going, I hope to have it before a judge next Monday.”
“Who are you naming?”
“The ones you gave me. Dong Tran VC-1, Bien Duc VC-2, Tom Nguyen VC-3, and the driver, Anh Dang.”
“Got some news for you. A few minutes ago, Bien Duc and Tom Nguyen boarded a flight to Hong Kong.”
“Aw shit! Really?”
“The good news is they are scheduled to return Friday morning.”
“Do you know why they are going? Anything illegal that I could add to my affidavit?”
“Illegal, but I won’t disclose it to protect my source. Not enough people know about it.”
“Understood. I’ll want to confirm their return on Friday. I’ve only got sixty days on the order. I don’t want to start it if they’re delayed and not around.”
“No problem, go ahead. Laura and I watched them check in. Both had small suitcases. They don’t plan on being gone long.”
“I’ve got one idea. We’ve worked nonstop for the last eight days. Let’s take the next two days off. Give us a chance to rest and figure out a new strategy.”
“You’re the boss. You don’t have to convince me on that idea. Maybe after a real night’s sleep I can get my hubby to shave off his beard tomorrow.”
“He grew a beard?” asked Jack.
“Yes. I’ve been away so much that he said he would refuse to shave until we had time for sex. Must be down to his chest by now.”
Jack chuckled. “Okay, point taken. We have been working long hours.”
“Don’t mind if we get results,” sighed Laura.
“Peaks and valleys,” said Jack. “Guess we’re in a valley.”
Neither Jack nor Laura would be getting the next day off … and Laura’s husband would forgo shaving his beard.
Chapter Thirteen
It was eight o’clock Wednesday morning when Anh Dang arrived at the Hanoi House to start his shift. He was surprised to be met by Vien Ngo who was temporarily in charge while Tom Nguyen was in Hong Kong, but pleased to discover that he was immediately being sent on another mission.
Anh Dang knew his reputation was becoming known. It had been exactly two weeks since he had driven over the woman with the dog. He prided himself as he recalled how calm he remained while the woman screamed as she was dragged under the car down the sidewalk. His passenger, Paul Cong, whose only job was to drop the empty wine bottle, squealed in panic when the woman was stuck under the car.
