Jack Taggart Mysteries 7-Book Bundle

by Easton, Don

  After waiting several seconds, Sonny said something to the desk clerk who answered back.

  “He says sometimes it gets stuck,” said Sonny.

  Jack couldn’t tell if his tone was apologetic or that of exasperation. “That’s okay,” he said. “After the flight we’ve been on, I’d rather walk and get the circulation moving.”

  When they arrived on the third floor, Jack saw that the portion of the hotel which housed the rooms was built with the middle opened up. It made the place noisier, as did the tile floors, but it also looked picturesque. There was one elevator and one set of stairs on opposite sides of each floor, allowing access up and down to the different levels.

  “Laura, you will have this room,” said Sonny. “Jack, you will have the room next to her.”

  Laura put her luggage in her room and went to Jack’s room.

  “I’ll lend you this,” said Sonny, passing Jack a cellphone and business card. “If there is a problem with anything while you are here, please call me.”

  “Thanks. Much appreciated,” replied Jack.

  “Tomorrow night when the Russians arrive, they will be staying in the room directly above you,” said Sonny, looking at Jack. “I will stay in your room with you. I speak Russian.”

  “Their room will be bugged?” asked Jack.

  “If the equipment decides to work,” said Sonny. “I will also have men to follow them wherever they go.”

  “Great,” replied Jack. “I think our faces would stand out in this city.”

  Sonny smiled and said, “They would. You are both tall ....” he paused and looked at Laura and said, “You, of course, would never be good at following people.”

  “I’m sorry?” replied Laura, not sure that she heard him correctly.

  “You must know that you would not be good for such a duty. You are too beautiful. Men would remember seeing you.”

  Laura waited until Sonny left and turned to Jack and asked, “Did I just receive a compliment or an insult?”

  “I don’t know. I’m too tired to think. See you in the morning.”

  Six hours later, Jack awakened to the echo of people chatting and the noise of tiny rollers on suitcases being dragged across the tiled floors to the elevators. Moments later, he heard the sound of a shower in the room next to him and knew that Laura was up. He met her for breakfast and suggested a walk around the area before noon.

  “This is nerve-wracking,” muttered Laura, as they crossed various streets. “These scooters and cars are zooming past so close I can touch them.”

  “The trick is to keep walking at a steady pace,” said Jack. “Don’t make eye contact with the drivers. I just did and ended up doing a jig while we tried to second guess each ...”

  “Silk!” shouted Laura. “Tailor-made! Success!”

  Laura gestured to a mannequin in a store window wearing a woman’s traditional-style Vietnamese dress known as an áo-dài. The long gown was tailored to snugly fit the body and two long slits along the side allowed the gown to have free-floating panels in the front and the back. Silk slacks were worn underneath.

  Laura was pleased to find that the clerk spoke broken English.

  Laura turned to Jack and said, “Can you believe the price? Twenty-two bucks American. This would cost a fortune at home. I like the emerald green dress with white slacks. Do you think Elvis would like it?”

  “It’ll look great,” said Jack.

  “Two for twenty dollar each,” the clerk told them.

  After some discussion with the clerk, Jack ordered a similar outfit for Natasha. “Same figure, only shorter,” he said.

  Laura whispered in his ear and said, “Tell her to make yours a bit larger through the chest,” while indicating her breasts.

  “You can explain that to her.”

  Laura laughed and said, “Tell you what, buy me a conical hat and I will.”

  Just before noon, they returned to their hotel. As promised, Jack bought Laura a conical hat, along with an extra one for Natasha. The total price for the hats came to two American dollars. As a souvenir for himself, he bought a green pith helmet with a small badge on the front. The badge had a single gold star on a red background to closely match the Vietnamese flag. “How do you like it?” he asked Laura as he modelled the helmet. “Could I pass as a local?”

  “Too tall, round eyes, too tall,” she retorted.

  Sonny arrived at Jack’s room on schedule and Laura mentioned that they had been out shopping.

  “What do you think?” asked Jack, indicating the green helmet he still wore.

  Sonny grinned and said, “Many people use them as rice buckets here, but they are not that good.”

  “They cook rice in these?” asked Jack.

  Sonny chuckled and said, “No, that is what I call motorcycle helmets.”

  “I’ve noticed that some helmets have a similar badge on the front with the gold star over an upper background in red and the lower half in blue.”

  “That badge was special made for when the Communists won the war with the Americans. It was worn by the Northern soldiers when the last push was made to get the Americans out. It is a symbol of reunification between north and south Vietnam.”

  “Were you in the war?” asked Jack.

  Sonny nodded. “I was a teenager and fought for the North, but I also have family in the South. I had an uncle who fought for the South during the war. When the Americans pulled out, he was isolated deep in the Mekong Delta. Later he escaped to Cambodia and four years later made it to America.”

  “An American citizen now?” asked Jack.

  Sonny shook his head, replying, “The Americans told him he was too late. They would not accept him. My uncle went to Canada and became a Canadian citizen. He lives in Vancouver.”

  “That’s good,” said Jack.

  “The Americans treat you like a lemon,” said Sonny.

  “How is that?” asked Laura.

  “They squeeze you until there is no juice left and then throw you out,” he said, bitterly.

  “Tough times back then,” said Jack. “Tough decisions being made by bureaucrats who never saw either end of a rifle.”

  Sonny smiled. “You are right. Now I do not like to talk politics. It is best forgotten. Many American tourists come here now. They are most welcome.” He paused and added, “I have found them much friendlier now that I am not shooting at them.”

  All three laughed and left the hotel to go for lunch to a place that Sonny recommended. They walked through crowded streets and eventually came to a small restaurant where they seated themselves.

  Jack pointed to a line on the menu. Bún bì, thit n ong, cha giò. “Strips of grilled pork with noodles?” he asked.

  “Yes,” replied Sonny. “Your Vietnamese is very good. So is that selection.”

  “You understand that?” asked Laura in surprise.

  “I have a favourite restaurant I go to whenever I’m in Victoria,” said Jack. “It’s called the Saigon Night. That’s number eighteen on their menu. It is what almost everyone orders.”

  Laura ordered the same selection on Jack’s advice and discovered that the meal consisted of a combination of rice vermicelli with shredded strips of grilled pork topped with peanuts and spring rolls filled with shrimp and crab. She also asked for a knife and fork.

  “You don’t use chopsticks?” asked Jack.

  Laura shook her head and said, “I can never seem to master them. I’m afraid I’ll end up sticking one up my nose.”

  “I thought you worked a UC op’ in Bangkok?”

  “Actually, the Thai are one of the few Asian cultures that don’t use chopsticks. They use a fork and a tablespoon. They push the food onto the spoon with the fork and eat it that way. They also tend to order the food on platters for the centre of the table and everyone helps themselves. Very social. Kind of nice, really.”

  Jack also added several clumps of hot chili paste from a small dish he found amongst the condiments.

  “Watch it
, Jack,” Sonny warned. “Very hot.”

  Jack nodded and said, “I know. I love this stuff.”

  Laura found the food to be delicious without the chili paste.

  “You both like beer?” asked Sonny. He waited until he received affirmative nods and ordered three bottles of Huda.

  Jack picked up the bill when it arrived and discovered that the total was less than twelve American dollars.

  They spent the rest of the day sightseeing. Sonny took them to Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum and pointed out the Canadian embassy across the street as they approached the mausoleum.

  Jack and Laura were warned to look sombre at all times and lower their head to show respect as they entered the mausoleum. Guards with harsh, angry faces ensured that cameras were not taken inside and that people walked single file.

  The experience was a reminder to Jack that he was now in a communist country and understood the fear that people developed toward authority.

  Beside the mausoleum was a large park with many trees and ponds. Sonny led them down a path to show them where Uncle Ho lived during the war with the Americans.

  “I never see any birds,” noted Jack.

  “People eat them,” said Sonny.

  “Even the little ones?”

  “Yes.”

  They viewed the small bamboo structure and tiny room with a single bed that had been used by Uncle Ho.

  “Did Ho Chi Minh ever marry?”

  Sonny quickly glanced around to see who might have heard the question and said, “Keep your head down. That is not talked about.” He saw the bemused look on Jack’s face and added, “The official version is no, he never married.”

  “I guess he was gay,” Jack whispered to Laura.

  Later that day, Sonny also took them to what was formerly the Hoa Lo Prison. It had been built by the French in 1896 and was home to thousands of Vietnamese who were imprisoned, tortured, and lost their lives.

  In 1954 the communist party took over North Vietnam and the building became a state prison. From 1964 to 1973 it also became a prison for captured American pilots who nicknamed it the Hanoi Hilton.

  In 1993 most of the prison was demolished to make room for commercial property but a small portion of it was preserved for historic value, complete with dungeon-type cells with rows of shackles.

  It was depressing, but for Jack and Laura, it was even more so. The shackles were a graphic reminder of a more recent victim who had been chained ... and a reminder of the real reason they had come to Vietnam.

  On their way back to the Hotel Happy Holiday, Sonny pointed at a passing motor scooter being ridden by two men. On the back of the scooter was a small cage containing three dogs.

  “Look,” he said. “Those are dognappers.”

  “Dognappers?” asked Laura, watching the scooter quickly disappear amongst the traffic.

  “Dog meat is considered a delicacy to Koreans. Sometimes to tribes in northern Vietnam also. Men on scooters will drive by and steal dogs.”

  “In Canada, people on scooters steal women’s purses,” said Jack.

  “Was that really pork we had for lunch?” asked Laura.

  Sonny smiled and said, “Yes, you don’t have to worry. Dog meat is very expensive. Pork is much cheaper.”

  Back in Vancouver, Randy passed the taxi containing the two Russians as it entered the perimeter leading to the Vancouver International Airport. He parked his car at the International Departures level and was met inside the doors by Aaron, who was an RCMP officer attached to a special unit at the airport.

  At the airport Aaron routinely did surveillance on people as requested by various departments, such as Drug Section. On slower days, he would pick his own targets who looked suspicious, sometimes discovering drug mules or money launderers passing through from city to city or country to country.

  Aaron also had the right connections with airline services to obtain information to meet various investigative needs. Aaron didn’t look like a policeman and blended into the crowd like any other passenger ... except the attaché case he carried also took pictures.

  “Not busy today?” asked Randy. “I didn’t know whether to call you or not.”

  “Not a problem,” replied Aaron. “You want photos of these guys?”

  “May as well.”

  Moments later Randy saw the taxi arrive and Moustache Pete and Fat Man stepped out.

  “These your boys?” asked Aaron.

  “That’s them.”

  “You should check with Intelligence. They took close-up pictures of these two just a couple of weeks ago. Man, it really shook them.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s kind of funny, really. I was tailing this guy and didn’t know who he was. I didn’t find out until later when I scooped his licence plate and showed his picture around the office that he was one of our guys. Staff Sergeant Quaile from Intelligence. He was following these same two guys. Walked right up to them and said, Hello, comrades, or something to that effect and took their picture.”

  “Quaile did that?” said Randy, in disbelief.

  “Yeah. These two guys looked so rattled I thought they were going to run out of the airport. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but figure Quaile must have been trying to scare them from taking their flight or something.”

  “Did you talk to him about it?”

  “No, he was gone long before I found out who he was. It was none of my business.” Aaron gave a nod toward the two Russians and said, “Here they come. I take it you want to be discreet this time?”

  “Definitely,” said Randy, through clenched teeth. “And after, I want copies of every picture you took last time they were here.”

  chapter twenty-six

  “It was simply a momentary lack of judgement,” said Quaile.

  Isaac glowered back at him, pointed to the photos on his desk and yelled, “A momentary lack of judgement! Look at their faces! The only person more shocked is me!”

  “Sir, I was following them and was about to take a picture when they turned suddenly and saw me. I considered it a good response. They’d never suspect the police of doing something like that.”

  “Only if they presumed the police were competent,” said Isaac. “This is why the investigation fell flat in Costa Rica! A child was brutally tortured and murdered because of these two men. The same two men you had the gall to tell me weren’t worth working on!”

  “We didn’t know that, then, sir. How was I to know? I believe I made the right decision with the information I had available.”

  Isaac rested his elbows on his table, clasping his hands together near his chin as he weighed over the scenario that Quaile had just told him. “I’m going to give this some serious thought,” he said. “You’re dismissed ... for now.”

  Moustache Pete and Fat Man arrived in their room at the Hotel Happy Holiday as scheduled. Fifteen minutes after their arrival, Sonny took off a set of headphones and turned a dial on a receiver. Both Jack and Laura heard the sound of two men snoring.

  “Looks like we weren’t the only tired ones,” said Laura.

  A light knock on Jack’s door was answered by Sonny, who spoke quietly to one of his men. He closed the door and turned to Jack and Laura and said, “When they checked in, they asked to be awakened at nine o’clock tomorrow morning.”

  “It sounds like we can all get some sleep,” said Jack.

  Sonny dismissed his team after telling them to be back at the hotel by seven in the morning. Laura returned to her own room and Jack and Sonny went to bed while listening to the static noise over the monitor of two men snoring in the room above.

  The next day the Russians were awakened on schedule. They took a leisurely breakfast in the hotel while a surveillance team relayed their activities to Sonny, who stayed in the room with Jack and Laura. After eating, Sonny was informed that the Russians had decided to take a dip in the hotel pool.

  Jack saw Sonny’s face as he wrinkled his nose while talking in V
ietnamese over the phone. When he hung up, Jack said, “Let me guess, they both walked to the pool wearing Speedos, black socks, and sandals.”

  “You speak Vietnamese?” asked Sonny.

  Jack and Laura both laughed and Jack said, “No, only a few words ... but we have seen this unfortunate sight before.” It was not until mid-afternoon and after the Russians had downed several vodkas on ice while sitting in the hotel restaurant before Jack and Laura received some news of interest.

  “They’ve just met a Vietnamese man,” said Sonny. “He arrived in a taxi. They are ordering more drinks.”

  Minutes later, Sonny found out that the Vietnamese man had flagged the taxi down off the street. “Don’t worry,” said Sonny. We will find out who he is.”

  It was early evening when the Russians and their Vietnamese escort left the hotel and crossed a nearby plaza to a restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Sonny reported that the three men had gone to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre.

  Sonny explained that this theatre was world renowned. He said the puppeteers stood behind bamboo screens in a large pool of water and used bamboo poles to raise puppets out of the water to complete a performance.

  Interesting, thought Jack, but nothing to do with our investigation!

  Following the theatre, the two Russians caught a taxi back to the hotel while the Vietnamese man took a taxi elsewhere.

  It was ten o’clock at night when the two Russians arrived in the lobby and checked at the desk for messages. There weren’t any.

  Sonny put on the headphones as the Russians entered their room. “They are angry,” he said. “They expected to receive a message and didn’t. Now they are tired and are going to bed—wait they are phoning ... no, they have just asked to be awakened at nine o’clock again.”

  An hour later, Sonny took off the headphones and turned up the volume to the familiar sound of snoring.

  Sonny received a call on his own phone. When he hung up, he said, “Good news for you. The Vietnamese man went to an apartment. We think it is his place because he had a key to the door. His name is known to us. He is the captain of a boat and has been suspected of smuggling drugs in the past.”