by Easton, Don
“You’re president of the west-side chapter,” said Jack. “Think about it. If you don’t want to see me, don’t look in your rear-view mirror!”
Lance paused as he thought about what Jack said, then laughed. When he got out of the car he turned and automatically said, “See ya around.” He then took two steps and said, “What the fuck am I sayin’? I ain’t never seein’ ya again!”
Laura waited until Lance left the car before saying, “You’re cutting him loose at a time like this?”
Jack shrugged and replied, “I don’t really like it either, but fair is fair. I’ve put the guy through enough. Besides, right now I want Carlos and he can’t help me with him.”
“Your call,” replied Laura. “Right now I’m too sick thinking about what Rellik did. A bullet in the head is one thing, but this ... I feel nauseous.”
“I feel the same way,” replied Jack.
“And we’re supposed to meet Damien in less than half an hour! He’s as demented as Carlos is! ”
“It made Damien sick. Neither of us has thrown up.”
“Yet.”
Jack nodded. I won’t be sick ... but my nightmares are going to become wilder.
“Rellik ... sticking that up a person’s bum!” exclaimed Laura. “You heard our friend. He enjoyed what he did! What kind of person would do that?”
“A psychopath, just like Carlos.”
“And you think we should talk to Damien? Rellik wouldn’t have done it if Damien didn’t let him.”
“You can’t show weakness when you’re the lead wolf. Besides, we can use Damien to catch Carlos. That is who made this personal for us.”
“Yeah, he made it personal, and I would like to see someone put a bullet in his head. But he’s too protected. I think we should go with who we can catch. Concentrate on Rellik and Damien. Which is why I wish our friend — or ex-friend now — was still working for us.”
“I want Carlos!” said Jack, feeling agitated. “Who do you think is worse? Carlos, who is responsible for the murder of Holly’s husband, turning Charlie into a paraplegic, and trying to drown O’Reilly’s baby ... or Damien, for murdering the people who kidnapped and mutilated his wife and daughter?”
“I know what you’re saying, but...”
“But what?”
“After what we just heard? I won’t sleep as long as Rellik’s above ground! I can picture him grinning as he did it! His long stringy red hair, that thin face and chipped front tooth. I can feel myself vibrate with anger, just thinking about him.”
“You’ve been studying photographs.”
“He stands out. Now in more ways than one. I’d love to get the chance to double-tap two into his chest.” She then became silent, imagining the horror of what went on inside the car wash.
Jack drove out of the parkade toward their rendezvous with Damien and then said, “Maybe when it comes to protecting our families, certain actions are made without much rationalization.”
“You condoning what they did?”
“No. Definitely not. Damien’s a monster. No doubt. But he does have a human side to him. Can’t say the same from what I know about Carlos.”
“Carlos lives in another country protected by an army. He’s untouchable. Damien might not be. I think you’re making a mistake. Let’s nail Damien ... or at least Rellik. That’s who I really want. Ray is dead. We’re going to have to forget about Carlos.”
“Nobody is untouchable.”
Laura paused, then conceded, “You’re right, but neither are we.”
“Are you that upset that Leitch and Ray are dead?”
Laura sighed and then said, “Not that they’re dead. Upset with how they died. Wish he had just shot them instead. Treat them like you would a rabid dog. Don’t torture them. Just shoot them and be done with it.”
“Oh, I see. Your philosophy. Shoot, shovel, and shut up!”
Laura smiled and said, “Yeah, maybe that is becoming my philosophy. Right now I’m just glad it’s over.”
“Over? It’s not over!” The anger flashed across Jack’s face as he reached to the visor and threw Charlie’s picture down on her lap. “Look at that and tell me it’s over! Call Susan O’Reilly and tell me then that it’s over!”
Laura felt stunned, then said, “I meant over as far as who attacked Danny’s baby. That was Ray. He’s dead.”
“Ray was a pawn!” said Jack bitterly. “Carlos calls the shots. As long as he’s alive, there will be more victims. Think about the ones you and I know ... imagine how many others there are.”
Laura looked at Charlie’s picture.
“Carlos has the power to continue his terror,” continued Jack. “When he’s dead, then we can say it’s over,” he added quietly.
“Jack, you said it yourself. He lives in Colombia. Surrounded by his own army. DEA have tried unsuccessfully to extradite him for years. There’s no way.”
Jack gave Laura a hard look. “There’s always a way ... but I need a partner who thinks like I do.”
“And how do you think?”
“Not afraid to play dirty.”
“Like torture?”
“I agree with you on that philosophy, but I do consider Carlos to be a rabid dog.”
Laura looked at Jack for a moment, then asked, “You already have a plan, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Laura waited, but Jack didn’t elaborate. He’s not going to tell me unless I agree to help. Laura glanced at Charlie’s picture one more time. Oh man! She looked at Jack and asked, “Do I need to buy rubber boots and a shovel?”
“Maybe.”
“If it was for Rellik, I’d buy them right now, but Carlos? How can we?”
“My plan won’t work without you.”
Laura sighed and said, “I figured that. What’s your plan?”
“It’s really quite simple,” replied Jack.
Jack left Laura sitting in the car as he walked along the path meandering through New Brighton Park. Damien, freshly showered and clothed, was on time.
“How are Vicki and Katie?”
Damien took a deep breath and slowly let it out before saying, “They’re going to be okay. Thanks for asking.”
“They’re both traumatized,” said Jack. “They’re going to need special help.”
“I know. They’ll get it.”
Damien extended his hand and said, “I should have done this last night in the hospital. I want you to know I wasn’t ashamed to be seen shaking your hand ... I was just too upset to think about anything other than seeing them.”
Jack accepted the handshake and Damien said, “Thank you. I will never forget what you did. You saved my family twice.”
“Twice?”
“First time on Sunday when you found the money.”
Jack shrugged and said, “You helped me become a Mexican hero.”
“That was one favour. You saved two of my family. Then did it again yesterday. Figure I owe you three more favours.”
“Yesterday I wasn’t alone,” replied Jack. “My partner was actually the one who found out where they were being kept.”
Damien nodded.
“How are you going to explain Vicki’s injury?” asked Jack. “They’ll know it’s not fresh.”
“Accidentally chopped it off when she was backpacking in the wilderness. Was a two-day hike to get back out. Katie said she fell.”
“Their clothes aren’t what you would call hiking clothes.”
“The docs know it’s not true ... but they also know who we are. All they needed was an excuse to write down on some form. They’re too afraid to call the police.”
“Good thing you didn’t try and pull that stunt with Natasha.”
Damien grinned and said, “I know better. She’d probably slash my throat with a scalpel.”
“You find out the answers to my questions?” asked Jack, choosing to ignore the remark.
“Yeah, I did.”
Jack listened closely as Damien told him everythi
ng he had found out. He didn’t mention how Leitch and Ray died. He summed it up by saying, “There are some details that are best left unsaid. If I was psychic, I might make a prediction that Leitch and Ray are deep-sea diving. Bet they remembered their weights but forgot their tanks.”
Jack gave Damien a long, hard stare. He realized he was holding his breath and slowly exhaled. He then asked, “So now what? You know Carlos is going to come after you.”
“Yeah, I know. But what was I supposed to do? By the time I figured out who Ray was, it was too late for apologies. Besides, Carlos was going to kill me anyway. He wanted me to make the last payment myself in Colombia. Once I did that, he would have whacked me and my family.”
“So what will you do? Take your family and hide? Carlos is not going to let this drop. Especially when he finds out ... what you did.”
“He already knows. I let Ray talk to him just before ... a certain procedure.”
“His revenge could be swift,” noted Jack. “He’s already set up here laundering money through coffee companies. He’ll have guys looking for you or anyone else you know.”
“I know. I don’t know what to do. It’s not like I’d ever get a chance to nail him first. All I wanted to do was save my family.”
“You’re not the only one who wants Carlos. He made this personal for our side. I want him!”
Damien’s thoughts were still on his own family and he said, “I’ve got guys guarding my house. I thought of moving everyone to some other country, but with Carlos’s money and connections, it would probably be just a matter of time.”
“Witness protection program?”
“Fuck you. I’m not testifying on anything. I’d take my chances with Carlos first.”
“If I told you a way to get to Carlos, would you help?”
Damien eyed Jack suspiciously and then said, “Maybe. What are you thinking?”
“You would have to pretend to be my informant and —”
“Not a chance! I’m not being a rat to —”
“I said pretend! You won’t say anything we don’t already know or would find out.”
Damien looked at Jack curiously and then asked, “What’s your plan?”
“It’s really quite simple. There’s another cartel in Colombia that rivals Carlos’s. It’s called the Ramirez cartel. With your connections, I bet if we were in Colombia, you could connect with that cartel in less than a week.”
“Diego Ramirez. He lives in Cali.”
“You’ve heard of him then?”
“I’ve been to his villa for dinner.”
“Perfect.”
Damien grunted and said, “His prices were a little steep.” He then glanced around and added, “But I guess, ultimately, not as steep as Carlos’s.”
“Is Carlos based out of Cali too?”
Damien shook his head and said, “Nope. A small city called Buga. It’s less than an hour’s drive north of Cali.”
“Close enough,” said Jack thoughtfully.
“Close enough for what?”
Jack looked at Damien closely, then said, “Time for you to meet my partner, then we’ll discuss strategy.”
“Fine by me. I want to shake O’Reilly’s hand, too, for what you guys did last night.”
“O’Reilly’s busy looking after his own family. My new partner is Laura Secord.”
Damien’s face registered his surprise, then he said, “Jesus. A fucking broad?”
“A fucking broad? This is from someone who once told me that there could be a ‘certain degree of verisimilitude’ to what I say? The same guy who asked why cops tend to ‘lard on the tough talk’?”
Damien stared at Jack but didn’t respond.
“You sound like you think I’m one of the bozos who work for you!”
Damien frowned and said, “That’s upsetting. I think you might have a point. Sometimes it’s hard to think you’re not just some guy from another chapter.”
“That kind of scares me,” said Jack, wondering if Danny was right. How close am I to being one of the bad guys?
“You trust her? Your new partner?” asked Damien.
“She’s the one who found your family last night. She’s smart ... pragmatic. I trust her. Something I don’t feel about too many people.”
“If Carlos finds out I’m in Colombia, he’ll slowly skin me alive. I mean that literally.”
“Do you want Carlos or not?”
“It’s either him or me. Do I really have a choice?”
“Then let’s do it. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Laura. Your life will be in her hands. I suggest you don’t call her a ‘fucking broad’.”
Damien shook hands with Laura. The meeting was brief as Jack quickly reiterated what Damien had just told him. He then told them about his plan to trap Carlos.
When Damien left, Laura looked at Jack and said, “Find me a ladies’ room. I shook hands with him. I know it’s psychological, but I need to wash.”
“Likewise,” said Jack.
“Then your plan says we go to the office and lie to the people who are on our side?”
“Exactly,” said Jack.
“Oh, man...”
chapter thirty-four
Anti-Drug Profiteering investigators arriving at work were greeted by Jack and Laura, who had called a meeting. Randy Otto from I-HIT also attended. They listened attentively as Jack and Laura described the Carlos cartel and outlined the Colombians’ money-laundering activity orchestrated by Ray and Leitch through a chain of coffee shops.
Jack paused as different investigators hastily wrote notes, then he looked at Randy and said, “Yesterday, while I was being detained in the office, Laura did some checking and found several businesses and a warehouse that the Colombians have invested in.”
“I’ve made copies for all of you,” said Laura, sliding sheets of paper across the table.
“Laura and I met our informant early this morning,” said Jack. “Last night things went sideways. Leitch was skimming money that he shouldn’t have. Our informant says Leitch met with Ray last night and then disappeared.”
“The Colombians teaching Leitch a lesson?” asked Randy.
“Excellent guess,” replied Jack. “It shouldn’t take long to verify. Find Ray and you may find Leitch. If all this is true, and I believe our informant is reliable, evidence of the money laundering is likely in Leitch’s office or in a safety deposit box held by his secretary.”
“It won’t take long to find out if Leitch is missing,” said Randy, checking his watch. “He should be at work by now. Someone toss me a phone book and I’ll call his office.”
“I suggest everyone jump on this,” said Jack. “As soon as the Colombians know we’re on to them, they’ll head for the border.”
Randy quickly learned that Leitch had not shown up to work and had missed a scheduled meeting with a client that morning. His girlfriend reported that he hadn’t come back to his apartment last night.
Four hours later, Leitch’s secretary went to her bank and tearfully turned over records to ADP involving the laundering scheme. It didn’t take them long to search the warehouse and several businesses. It was apparent that the Colombians had already fled.
Bloody bolt cutters with traces of human tissue, along with blood on sacks of coffee beans, were located at the warehouse. The investigators submitted the evidence for DNA examination and believed that Leitch had paid the ultimate sacrifice for his crime. Later the DNA was found not to match, but that did little to undermine the Colombians’ violent reputation.
Elvis watched Laura as she quietly ate her dinner. Her eyes were distant and her face was without expression.
“Seems you did well today,” he said.
“Yeah, it tastes good,” she replied.
“I’m not talking about the chops I just cooked. I heard what you and Jack did at work today.”
The focus returned to her eyes. She leaned back in her chair and asked, “What do you mean? What did you hear?”
&nb
sp; “I was talking to someone in ADP. Heard they’ve frozen $2.4 million in Colombian drug money. Not bad for your ... second official day at work.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, it’s a good start.”
Elvis noticed that Laura’s eyes returned to some distant view. A view that he wanted to see.
“Menu?” asked Holly, while pouring Jack a cup of coffee.
“No, thanks. Just on my way home for supper. Natasha’s expecting me.”
“You just pop in to say hi?”
“Came to ask you a question.”
Holly took a seat in the booth across from him and said, “Go ahead.”
“Do you believe in capital punishment?”
It was a question Holly hadn’t expected, and the surprise registered on her face. “I never really thought about it before, but ... yes, I believe in it now. Why? It doesn’t really matter. Even if you catch the guys, it’s not done here.”
“People don’t always know what is done and what isn’t.” Jack reached in his pocket and took out a twenty-dollar bill and said, “Remember this?”
“That the same one?”
Jack nodded.
“I told you I wouldn’t accept it until you caught the guys.”
Jack nodded, stood up, tossed some coins on the table, and said, “This is for the coffee.” He then ripped the twenty-dollar bill in half and dropped one piece on the table. “I’m working on the second half. Appreciate it if you keep this between the two of us.”
Holly sat in a stunned silence as he walked away.
The following day, Isaac summoned both Jack and Laura into his office and gestured for them to take a seat.
Isaac smiled and said, “I’ve been apprised by ADP and I-HIT about the intelligence you two gathered this week. A lot of money and assets have already been frozen. It would appear that you’re responsible for destroying a major organized crime family before they could get too established. Well done!”
“Thank you, sir,” said Jack and Laura in unison.
“However,” said Isaac, “there are still a few loose ends. For one, that lawyer is still missing and presumed murdered. For another, when it comes to the Colombians, it is obvious that none of the main players have been apprehended.”
