by Don Easton
“Yeah, right,” said Jack, sarcastically. “He’ll say he was seeking information to see what they knew about the people I named. I never did tell him that Roger suspects a leak over there because we don’t want whoever is leaking stuff to know the heat is on.”
“Damn it … maybe there isn’t much hope of a transfer, but I guarantee I won’t be letting this slip under the rug,” said Connie, tearfully. “It will be well documented on his file.”
“I don’t want you to say anything to him yet,” said Jack.
“Why not?”
Jack paused. He knew Connie felt terrible and was feeling remorse for deceiving her. Maybe I overdid it.… He sighed audibly and said, “I’m angry, but I’m not blaming you for what Boyle did. I should have figured out what he was all about before I sent you the report.”
“You had no reason to know he was that much of an asshole.”
“No, I guess not, but maybe I should have worded it differently or something.”
“I appreciate what you’re saying,” sighed Connie, “but ultimately he works for me. I’m responsible for his actions.”
Jack lowered his voice for effect. “What I am about to tell you is for your ears only and because I trust you.”
“I’m listening,” replied Connie in a hushed voice.
“My informant is still alive, but I’ll want everyone else to think he is dead. Keep a lid on it until Friday. When Duc and Nguyen don’t return from Hong Kong, tell everyone you suspect they are dead. I’ll also let it slip that one of them was our informant. It will add further credence that they were murdered and give the real informant more protection.”
Connie glanced in Boyle’s direction. He was talking to a uniformed member in the alley. “It’ll be hard not saying anything.”
“I told you I trust you. Don’t take that away.”
“I won’t.”
“Come Friday morning when they don’t return, let’s have a meeting in the afternoon and include Roger Morris. Maybe we can come up with a new game plan.”
“I hope so,” replied Connie. “’Cause I’m all out of ideas. Come to think of it, that’s why I called you into this mess in the first place. Then to have my office screw things up … I’m really sorry.”
After hanging up, Connie walked over to join Boyle. I’ll have to literally bite my tongue not to say anything.… One thing is for certain, come Friday, I’ll be all over him like a hungry weasel on a chicken.
Chapter Sixteen
Natasha looked at Jack when he hung up from speaking with Connie. “Is everything okay?”
Jack smiled. “Everything is fine. Bad guys killing bad guys, but you know how Connie feels about that.”
“I see. A good offence is a good defence.”
“Bad guys killing each other is one thing, but do you know what the best thing is?”
Natasha shook her head.
“Our romantic dinner is back on. I don’t have to go to work.”
“You sure?” questioned Natasha.
“Well, as sure as I can ever be. I need to call Laura back and let her know. Why don’t you go shave your legs while I do.” He grinned.
Jack’s call to Laura was brief.
“Looks like Boyle won the most valuable player award,” replied Laura.
“Yeah, he scored a hat trick.”
“With an assist from you,” added Laura.
“Me?” replied Jack, with mock surprise.
“Yeah, act surprised, show concern, deny, deny, deny. Do you think Connie will ever figure it out?”
“She has her suspicions,” admitted Jack.
“She’ll be ticked off if she ever finds out,” said Laura.
“At least we know we need to concentrate on Benny Wong CC-1. Boyle saved us a lot of time. We could have spent months working the Vietnamese without ever learning that Wong was somehow connected.”
“You don’t think Wong was simply doing the Vietnamese a favour? Maybe letting them know the heat was on?”
“According to Roger Morris, any leak in the past was in favour of the Chinese. I don’t think Wong would risk burning his source at AOCTF by helping out the Vietnamese if it didn’t affect him. I’m sure it was for his own benefit.”
“Makes sense. Too bad we didn’t see who whacked Anh.”
“That would have been nice.”
“Also, makes me wonder why they wasted airfare on Duc and Nguyen. Why not shoot them like they did Anh?”
“I think it was because Duc and Nguyen had more prominent roles in society and they figured it would attract unwanted police attention locally. How much attention would two guys disappearing in Hong Kong bring?”
“Good point.”
“As far as Anh goes, he was a low-level hood. His murder was set up to make it look like another gang hit. Something the police would be expected to believe.”
“So where to from here?”
“Let’s take the rest of the day and tomorrow off. Come Friday afternoon, we’ll sit down with Connie and Roger and go over a few things.”
“Like whether or not we should be charged with conspiracy to murder?”
“It wasn’t us who passed the report on to AOCTF. I explicitly told Connie that it was to be treated on a need-to-know basis. How were we to know that Boyle would try to back-stab us and use the report to try and figure out who our informant was?”
“Other than we knew he called Forensics to see if they had fingerprinted anything for us and that he is stupid and egotistical … gee … how could we have known he would do that,” said Laura, sarcastically.
“Exactly. To give Connie credit, she wants to transfer him, but isn’t sure if she will be able to do it.”
“Too bad.”
“No worries. Come Friday I’ll have a private conversation with him. I have a feeling he will be asking for an immediate transfer.”
You play with the bull you get the horns, thought Laura.
Later, back at her office, Connie sat at her desk and glowered through her open door at Boyle who was out in the main office. Jack read that asshole right the first time he met him. I’m surprised he let him get a copy of his report … especially when he was concerned about a leak in AOCTF.
Connie re-read Jack’s report again. One phrase caught her eye: “Bien Duc VC-2 had to pass the order on to Tom Nguyen VC-3 …” Had to pass the order on? Goddamn him … did he word it that way on purpose?
Connie took the offensive immediately when Jack answered his phone. “Okay, Jack, what the hell were you doing when you put in your report that Bien Duc VC-2 had to pass the order on?”
“I meant it in the context of a paramilitary structure, where subordinates have to follow the orders given by their superiors.”
“Oh,” replied Connie.
“What the heck do you think it meant?”
“Uh …”
“Wait a minute Connie! What are you implying?” yelled Jack.
“Nothing! Uh, sorry. Just … you know, trying to foresee any questions the prosecutor might have. I needed to clarify that nobody had a gun to his head or anything. Gotta go.”
After hanging up, Connie reflected on Jack’s response and how upset he sounded. Was it all an act? Everything with that guy is smoke and mirrors …
She felt a twinge of nervousness. If he did plan this … what the hell does he have planned next?
Her next task was to send a memo to all mainland law-enforcement agencies requesting that for the next six months, she be notified of any homicides involving Asians. She proofread her memo, then added a request to notify her of deaths that appeared to be accidental as well.
Okay, Jack, I’ll be watching …
Chapter Seventeen
Shortly before three o’clock on Friday afternoon, Jack and Laura arrived at the I-HIT office. As they walked past Boyle’s desk toward Connie’s office, they caught the scowl on his face as he glared at them.
“Looks like Connie had a chat with him already,” whispered Laura when they
were out of earshot. “You would think he would be embarrassed at what he did and be apologizing.”
“He’s too egotistical to admit to himself that he made a mistake,” replied Jack. “Let’s talk with Connie and then I’ll have a chat with him.”
“By chat, do you mean toss him headfirst out a window?” asked Laura.
“Too many witnesses to make it look like a suicide,” said Jack, sounding serious. He saw a look of concern cross Laura’s face and gave a lopsided grin.
She realized he was joking and gave him a jab in the ribs with her elbow. “No, really,” she said. “How are you going to handle him without him clueing in that we broke into the van to get an informant? If you mention you know he called Forensics, he’ll figure it out.”
“By the look he gave us, I don’t think being confrontational will work. Connie has already taken that route. I’ll come across as more sympathetic.”
“That’ll be a doozy to pull off,” said Laura. “Can I listen?”
“Sure, providing you keep a straight face,” said Jack, as they walked into Connie’s office.
“What do you mean, keep a straight face,” frowned Connie as she stared up at them from her desk. “What are you two up to?”
“Plotting to convince Boyle to ask for a transfer,” replied Jack.
Connie rolled her eyes. “Good luck. I called him in and reamed him out an hour ago. I told him that neither Duc nor Nguyen returned from Hong Kong this morning. I also checked and found their tickets weren’t refundable. With Anh Dang being murdered, I told Boyle that I believed Duc and Nguyen had likely been murdered as well. All as a result of him leaking your report.”
“How did he take it?” asked Laura.
“Like a dork. Said he was being diligent by going to AOCTF. When I said he should have checked with you guys first, he said he doesn’t seek approval from outside units to tell him how to run a homicide investigation.”
“Think you can get him transferred?” asked Jack.
Connie lowered her voice and said, “For this one-time incident, I doubt it. I’ll be putting in a shitty assessment on him, but he is pretty proud that he is a homicide investigator. I don’t see him leaving without a fight.”
“We’ll go have a chat with him,” said Jack. “Clear the air before the meeting.”
Connie shook her head. “I went up one side of him and down the other. He only became more defensive and cocky. Give him shit if you want, but with him it’s like water off a duck’s back. I told him that I would leave it up to you if he should be excluded from our meeting.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” replied Jack.
“Hey! You guys starting the meeting without me?” asked Roger Morris with a smile as he entered Connie’s office.
“Not yet,” replied Jack. “Laura and I are going to have a word with Boyle. We’ll start the meeting right after.”
“Yeah, come on, Roger,” said Connie. “Drop your briefcase on my desk and we’ll go grab a coffee and bring it back.” She glanced at Jack and Laura and said, “Good luck. I mean it.”
When Jack left Connie’s office, he gave Boyle a sympathetic smile as he and Laura walked over to talk to him.
“Meeting starting?” asked Boyle, sliding his chair back.
“Not yet,” replied Jack. “Connie and Roger are grabbing a coffee, but stay seated, there’s something we need to talk to you about in private.”
“Yeah, I know you’re pissed at me,” said Boyle defensively, crossing his arms across his chest as Jack and Laura slid two more chairs up next him.
“Pissed? I’m not pissed,” said Jack. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. I feel awful for getting you into trouble.”
“You do?” asked Boyle, subconsciously becoming a mouth breather as he tried to understand what Jack meant.
“How were you to know AOCTF and the Anti-Corruption Unit were investigating a leak over there?” explained Jack.
“I didn’t know any of that,” replied Boyle, gesturing with his hands as a show of innocence.
“Exactly,” said Jack, nodding. “And as far as not contacting me first to get permission, well, we all make mistakes. What with everything you have to do and the importance of the time factor on investigating a homicide when it is fresh ... I fully understand.”
“Am I glad to hear you say that,” replied Boyle with a sigh of relief. “Have you told Connie that? She was all over me an hour ago. She was so upset her face was purple. I thought she was gonna have a heart attack.”
“I’ll talk to Connie,” said Jack, “but it’s the Anti-Corruption Unit that I’m worried about. I don’t know what I should say to them.”
“They’re involved?” asked Boyle.
Jack lowered his voice. “Yup. Over trying to identify the leak. What you did placed you in their sights.”
“I’m sure as hell not the leak,” said Boyle, his voice tinged with anger at the suggestion.
“I don’t think you are either,” replied Jack, patting him on the shoulder, “which is why I’m not sure what to do. I know the stigma over false allegations can have a devastating effect on your career.”
“What do you mean, you’re not sure what to do?” asked Boyle. “Other than it was your report … which by now, I’m sure everyone knows about, what is there to do?”
“It’s this other thing,” said Jack, shaking his head.
“Other thing?” asked Boyle.
“I’m confused about it,” said Jack. “On Wednesday, when I heard that Anh was murdered, I wondered if someone had been staking out his house like they did with the woman in the hit and run … then followed him to the strip mall and killed him. I checked around the neighbourhood where he lived and found a candy wrapper out on the street near his house. I brought it into Forensics to check for prints. Do you know what I found out?”
“Prints belonging to a criminal?” asked Boyle. “They do live in a slummy neighbourhood. It might be coincidental if —”
“No, they didn’t find any prints,” said Jack. “But they mentioned you had called their office a couple of days after that woman had been run over, asking if I had brought something in to be fingerprinted.”
The tips of Boyle’s ears turned crimson and his mouth hung open. “Uh, uh,” he uttered.
“Naturally I was surprised,” said Jack. “I was thinking you were trying to speculate on how we obtained our informant. A curiosity type of thing.”
“I, uh, no, I was —”
“That’s okay,” said Jack, not wanting to give Boyle the opportunity to lie to him. “Good cops are naturally nosy. It’s how we find out things and learn. I don’t care about that, but I think there is something you need to know.” Jack glanced at Laura and said, “Too late to protect our guy, we may as well tell him.”
“Tell me what?” asked Boyle, his voice barely a whisper.
“Our informant was one of the guys who disappeared in Hong Kong. He was always really good about calling us. I’m certain he’s dead … which means Anti-Corruption … well, you must know what they’re like.”
“Actually, I’ve never had anything to do with them,” replied Boyle, nervously.
“You’re lucky,” replied Jack. “Let me tell you, they’ll be looking to put somebody’s head on a stake.”
Boyle momentarily closed his eyes in a subconscious desire to block out what he heard. “Oh, Jesus, I’m sorry.”
“The thing is, I know I’ll be really grilled by Anti-Corruption. If I tell them you were trying to find out who our informant was one week, then the next week you hand our report to AOCTF … well, you know how that looks.”
“What do you mean? Obvious AOCTF does have a leak.”
Jack shook his head. “AOCTF doesn’t think so anymore. They figure they’ve been looking at the wrong people. I’m already hearing rumours that you sent the report over to AOCTF to cover your tracks and send them on a wild goose chase.”
“It wasn’t me,” spluttered Boyle. “I had no idea your inf
ormant would get killed.”
“That’s my dilemma,” said Jack. “I don’t feel that you’re a bad guy, but simply a bit naive. I would feel bad if you ended up getting charged criminally.”
“Oh my God! You think that could happen? They couldn’t do that! What —”
“The news media would have a field day with it,” noted Jack. “Of course, it would only be circumstantial evidence, but Anti-Corruption would consider it a feather in their cap. Needless to say, your career would be toast regardless of conviction.”
“But I’m innocent,” pleaded Boyle.
“Of course you would say that,” replied Jack. “But I have to think, you were spying on me with Forensics … well, the thing is, what if I’m wrong about you? If you are dirty and I don’t say anything and you are left in I-HIT, it could be like putting the rat in charge of the cheese factory. You could conceivably be investigating murders that you are responsible for.” Jack shook his head sympathetically. “I hope you understand, but I don’t know how I could sleep at night if I didn’t tell Anti-Corruption what I know.”
“What, what if I asked for a transfer?” asked Boyle. “Would you still feel that you had to tell Anti-Corruption?”
Jack took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he sat silently for a moment, pretending to consider it. “I guess not, providing you didn’t end up on any section that dealt with sensitive issues.” He glanced at Laura and said, “What do you think? You have to be on board with this too. You know what Anti-Corruption is like. We’d have to keep this secret until the day we die, or else they’re liable to turn around and charge us with aiding and abetting.”
Laura stared at Boyle. “Can I trust you to keep your mouth shut?”
“Christ, yes,” replied Boyle. “It would be my ass. I’ll tell Staffing I would like a transfer.”
“Think you should do more than ask them,” said Jack. “People are always whining to them. I don’t have much time before I’ll be called in. Say something to make it a priority. Tell them you can’t handle the stress and are about to flip out and eat your gun.”
“That will work,” nodded Laura.
