Jack Taggart Mysteries 7-Book Bundle

by Easton, Don

  As Jack lay there, he watched a couple with two small boys arrive at the pool. It made him think about Natasha, Mikey, and Stevey. He missed them and wished he was home to give them all a hug and tell them he loved them. Maybe I should write them a letter and give it to Randy to hold before going to Hat Yai …

  “Hey, Jack! How the hell you doing?”

  Jack looked up and saw John Barfoot smiling down at him.

  “John! What are you doing here?”

  “I said I would join the company if they hired you. Didn’t think I would let you down, did you?”

  Jack stood up and Barfoot gave him a warm embrace.

  “Where you staying?” asked Jack.

  “A little ways down the road at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club,” Barfoot said, gesturing with his thumb.

  Damn it, your timing couldn’t be worse.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Barfoot.

  “I’m just surprised,” said Jack, giving a smile. “A nice surprise, though.”

  “I told you I had a home in Malaysia. Hope you hadn’t planned on coming all this way without looking me up.”

  “Well, uh, I’ve been busy. I’m working on Oskar’s schedule, so —”

  Barfoot chuckled and said, “I’m teasing you. Where is he?”

  “In the restaurant. I’ll take you there.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll find him. I need to talk to him about a few details before signing on any dotted lines.”

  “So you’re not officially with the company yet?” asked Jack.

  “Not yet. He contacted me last night and sweetened the pot a little. Once a few details are worked out, I’ll be on board. Maybe I’ll tell him I’ll think about it for a couple of days. Make him sweat a bit,” added Barfoot with a grin.

  “A couple of days sounds great,” replied Jack.

  “I’m looking forward to working with you. Any good golf courses around or a place that makes burgers as good as the Country Rose?”

  Jack smiled and said, “I haven’t had time for golf, and after you’ve had the Rose burger, any other would be a disappointment.”

  Barfoot grinned and told Jack he would be back as soon as he talked with Oskar.

  As soon as Barfoot left, Jack caught Jim’s eye and met him in the poolside washroom and started to tell him what happened.

  “I heard,” said Jim, touching his earpiece. “People really are creatures of habit. Didn’t you notice the new night light in the flower bed?”

  “No,” replied Jack.

  “Good. You weren’t supposed to. If Oskar and Pike come out, make sure they sit there.”

  “I’ll always leave a towel or something there and try to reserve it for them,” replied Jack. “But now we have another problem.”

  “Yeah. Stew is leaving, so the bastard has another fish on the line,” growled Jim. “Randy won’t be happy with that. One more person to protect.”

  “Barfoot hasn’t signed any papers yet. Until that happens, I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

  “And if we see him signing any papers?”

  “Get Tina to walk by and spill a drink on them.”

  “Think that would work?”

  “Probably not,” admitted Jack. “We only have to stall one more day. Hopefully nothing else goes wrong.” He glanced at his watch. In Vancouver it was Sunday night and almost midnight. No call from Laura. Virgil must be behaving himself …

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  At ten o’clock at night, Virgil sat parked in the alley where he could see the rear of the blonde’s apartment. Somewhere in the distance he heard the sound of a couple of firecrackers as someone celebrated Canada Day.

  Her silhouette appeared behind the screen on her patio door as she looked out. It was evident that she had heard the firecrackers, as well. She then slid the patio door shut and fumbled with the lock before disappearing inside. Fifteen minutes later, the apartment lights went out.

  Virgil smiled as he stared at the kitchen window. A light breeze ruffled the curtains like a welcome sign. He waited another two hours before reaching under his seat for a paper bag. Out of it he took the noose, a steak knife, a penlight flashlight, latex gloves, and a pair of heavy wool socks.

  He took his shoes off and pulled on the socks, leaving the shoes in his car. Not only would he not leave any identifiable shoe prints to be traced, but the socks would also silence his footsteps.

  As Virgil slowly walked down the alley, he took in everything around him. The two hours he had waited had given him plenty of time to study the surroundings, but he was still cautious.

  Few apartment lights had been left on in the building. The night was warm and three floors above, the sound of a television could be heard through an open balcony door.

  The alley itself was deserted, but the sounds of passing cars and buses could be heard on the street facing the apartment. Enough noise, Virgil figured, to cover any sound he might make upon entering.

  The alley was also dark, giving him an escape route if something went wrong, as it did one time when he discovered a woman had a yappy little dog. At that time he was halfway through a window and had to turn and run when he heard the woman calling for the police.

  Virgil padded quietly across the patio and stood outside the kitchen window, before moving the curtains aside and peering in. His view looked over the kitchen sink, but he could see a dim glow of light emitting from a hallway.

  Is she still up? No sound of televison … maybe reading a book in bed?

  Virgil hesitated, then smiled when he realized it was a nightlight plugged into a hall outlet. He lifted the screen from the kitchen window, set it on the ground, and reached for his flashlight.

  A quick scan of the counter revealed a soap dispenser and an empty dish rack. He shut off his flashlight and reached in to move them to one side. After another glance over his shoulder to make sure it was safe, he climbed through the window and softly swung his feet down off the counter and onto the kitchen floor.

  A surge of adrenaline pumped through his body as he listened. Everything was quiet, but he stood for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the dim lighting, before slowly moving to the hallway.

  The nightlight was in a wall outside the first bedroom door. The door was closed and on it was a poster of Batman. At the end of the hall, another door was open, revealing the washroom. At right angles to the washroom, there was another room with an open door.

  Virgil moved silently toward the doorway and peeked in. There was enough light that he could make out the young woman’s face against the white pillowcase. Her breathing was heavy and one bare arm lay on top of the sheet.

  Ah, my lovely…

  Virgil stepped back from the doorway and undressed, taking everything off but his socks and latex gloves. When he was finished, he plucked the condom from its wrapper, then picked up the noose and his knife, before creeping into the bedroom. At the foot of her bed, he paused to stare at her.

  For a moment, he visualized his fantasies again. The blood filled his groin until it began to ache. His own breathing had become heavy and he knew it was time.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Late in the morning, Jack was invited to join Oskar, Pike, and Barfoot for lunch at the Seasonal Tastes restaurant inside the hotel. He readily accepted.

  The lunch itself was uneventful, although there was some talk from Oskar that if Stew didn’t change his mind, that he better not ever ask Oskar to be his reference.

  When they finished lunch, Barfoot said he was returning to his boat and invited everyone to join them.

  “Thanks, but no,” replied Oskar. “Ben and I are going up to the hospital to visit Stew.”

  “See if you can talk some sense into him?” asked Barfoot.

  “Exactly,” replied Oskar.

  “Yeah, that’s one guy whose priorities are completely fucked up,” said Pike.

  “He’s got a family and is worried about his wife,” noted Barfoot. “I would say he has his priorities in the right order.
Still, it does show a lack of obligation to what he was hired to do. Maybe he made his choice out of panic.”

  Oh, yeah. He was panicked all right, thought Jack.

  “Perhaps things have settled down,” continued Barfoot.

  “That’s what we’re hoping to find out,” replied Oskar.

  “And you Jack? Are you up to sun-tanning on the deck, drinking a little beer, and perhaps throwing a line in the water?”

  “I’d love to,” replied Jack, “providing my boss says it’s okay?” he added, looking at Oskar.

  “Why not?” Oskar shrugged. “Make sure you’re back by tomorrow morning for your trip to Hat Yai.”

  Jack was pleased to have been invited. Even though Barfoot hadn’t signed any documents yet, he still felt the need to be around him in the event something changed.

  Jack made an excuse to go to his room for a moment and quickly alerted Randy as to what was planned.

  “We hadn’t planned on you going on any boat ride,” said Randy. “Oskar and Pike won’t be at the hospital long. I’m not risking letting Stew say anything to them. What if Oskar changes his mind and decides to take Barfoot up on his offer? You could be out of range to wear a wire, not to mention we don’t have a boat.”

  “Forget the wire, I’m suppose to be sun-tanning. Don’t worry about it. Even if they do show up, Barfoot hasn’t joined the company yet and I don’t see them trying to murder me with him around.”

  “Barfoot might also offer to take you to Hat Yai tomorrow on his boat.”

  “That, we don’t want,” said Jack, quietly. “Especially if he becomes insured.”

  Minutes later, Jack met Barfoot in the lobby and they took a short taxi ride to the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

  As they walked along a pier at the marina, Jack could not help but feel stunned at some of the beautiful yachts. One in particular caught his eye. It was called the Malaysian Princess.

  “That’s mine,” said Barfoot, nonchalantly, as they approached.

  “The Malaysian Princess is yours?” exclaimed Jack.

  “Yup. Actually it was built in Italy. Ninety feet long, four cabins, and she can do up to twenty-six knots if need be.”

  “My God!” said Jack. “It’s huge! And beautiful! You handle it by yourself?”

  “She’s supposed to have a crew of three, but I consider myself part of the crew, so I’ve only got two Malaysian chaps on board to crew with me. Their names are Razak and Khalid. Expensive guys to have as sailors, but worth it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Both were commandos with a Malaysian counter-terrorism unit before I hired them. I’m telling you, they are two guys you would never want to mess with.”

  “Why the tough guys? I thought you might have a crew of beautiful women,” joked Jack.

  Barfoot’s face remained serious. “To the south of us is the Strait of Malacca. It is notorious for piracy. They put out weekly reports on it. Langkawi is part of an archipelago of over a hundred islands, of which only a handful are inhabited. It is very easy for the pirates to attack and disappear in a hurry.”

  “I had forgotten about modern-day piracy. You hear about it off the coast of Somalia, but it’s not something you would think of from where I come from.”

  “Piracy in these waters has been going on for centuries.” Barfoot caught the sombre look on Jack’s face and slapped him on the back and said, “Don’t worry, the good news is that most of the scows the pirates have would flip over in the wake that the Princess can leave behind.”

  “That’s reassuring,” said Jack.

  “You have to admit though, it is beautiful around here, but a guy has to keep his head about him, or he could lose it,” added Barfoot.

  Jack thought about the boat ride he was to take with Pike tomorrow over to Hat Yai. Would they stage a piracy attack? Leaving only me dead?

  “So, welcome aboard,” said Barfoot, when they reached the yacht.

  Jack paused for a moment, shaking his head as he looked at the yacht and said, “You told me when we met that you had a house and a boat in Malaysia, but, man … this is no boat. It is one fine-looking yacht.”

  “Yeah, bells and whistles are nice, but they still don’t beat having a family.” Barfoot eyed Jack curiously for a moment and said, “I don’t want to pry, but have there been any steps toward reconciliation for you to get back with your wife and children?”

  “Some,” replied Jack, feeling bad that he had to lie.

  “Glad to hear it. Watch your step.”

  Jack stepped onto the back of the yacht and bent over to take off his running shoes.

  “Don’t bother,” said Barfoot. “I leave mine on. I want you to feel comfortable.”

  “Thanks,” said Jack, giving a chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Telling me to be comfortable. I don’t know if I could ever get comfortable in surroundings like this.” He paused again to look around. “No matter how hard I worked, I don’t think I would ever end up owning one of these. Maybe the rubber boat hoistened to your stern would be more in line with my budget.”

  Barfoot smiled and said, “That’s called a tender. It’s your choice, though. If you want, I could take you out in it instead of the Princess. That tender can do around forty knots. It will give you quite a ride.”

  Jack grinned. “Thanks, but I think I’d like the Malaysian Princess better.”

  “Sort of what I thought,” replied Barfoot, smiling back.

  Two Malaysian men appeared from inside the boat and Barfoot introduced them to Jack as Razak and Khalid. Both men were clean-shaven and wore immaculately pressed white T-shirts over crisply ironed blue cotton pants.

  Razak and Khalid’s muscular biceps bulged out from their T-shirts and more muscles rippled across their stomachs. Despite having stylish haircuts that would suit a surfer-type image, their faces had the hardened look of soldiers who were seasoned fighters. Jack knew he didn’t have to worry about Barfoot’s safety today.

  Despite Razak and Khalid’s tough appearance, each smiled and flashed a row of white teeth as they nodded politely and shook hands with Jack.

  Barfoot glanced at Razak and said, “We’ll cast off in about twenty minutes. First, I want to show my guest around.”

  Razak and Khalid disappeared back inside as Barfoot reached for his pocket.

  “Hang on, got a call,” he said, taking out his phone. “Go ahead, take a look around. I shouldn’t be long.”

  Jack nodded and glanced at the yacht. It consisted of three decks. The lower deck, the main deck, and the fly bridge containing the wheelhouse was at the top. Jack climbed a steep stairwell to the main deck where a glance through a door revealed a large seating area and a huge flat-screen television.

  Across the back of the main deck was another steep stairwell leading up to the fly bridge. Jack climbed it and then entered the wheelhouse. The wheelhouse was finished in a rich teak and shiny brass fittings adorned the instruments on the control panel in front of a large wooden steering wheel. Sliding doors on either side of the wheelhouse led out onto the deck to the bow of the yacht.

  Jack went out to the bow and stood. For a moment he felt like a king, and it reminded him of a movie he had seen called Titanic. As he smelled the salt air, he tried to forget about what tomorrow would bring and enjoy the moment.

  After a few minutes Jack went back and saw that Barfoot was still on the phone, so he returned to the bow and sat with his feet dangling over the edge while grinning to himself. Yup, the life of an undercover cop. Can be pretty tough sometimes …

  Forty minutes passed before Barfoot appeared beside him.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “Business. The toys don’t come for free. Come on, I’ll give you a tour.”

  Jack followed Barfoot down to the lower deck, but as they reached the bottom, they heard someone yell out.

  Jack looked and saw Oskar and Pike approaching.

  Damn it! At least Oskar isn’t carrying a briefcase
with insurance papers ...

  “I think Stew may have taken a turn for the worse,” said Oskar, as he got on board. “I could hardly talk to him. They had two doctors hovering around him the whole time I was there.”

  Jack smiled to himself. He had a feeling that at least one of the doctors was one of Ahmad’s men.

  “He barely got to say there was no way he would stay, before drifting off,” said Pike. “They must have him on some sort of meds.”

  “Do you think he is going to be okay?” asked Barfoot.

  “I don’t know,” replied Oskar. “I’m beginning to think he might have something worse than food poisoning. I’ve got the number to the hospital. I’ll give them a call and check on him again later.”

  “Too bad,” replied Barfoot, “but at least he’s in the right place. And speaking of right places, how about we head out to sea, drink some beer, and forget about work?”

  “Hear, hear,” answered Pike.

  Jack glanced down the pier and saw Randy give him a helpless look as Khalid leaped from the yacht to untie the moorings.

  Jack felt confident that Oskar and Pike wouldn’t dare try anything with Razak and Khalid around. He wasn’t worried … until he felt his phone vibrate and saw that it was Laura calling.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Drop the knife! Now!”

  Virgil spun around at the command that had been screamed at him. He stood dumbfounded near the foot of the bed as the room was emblazoned with light.

  Two black-clad men had appeared in the doorway and were pointing Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns at him. He felt something brush his ankle and glanced back and saw that another member of the Emergency Response Team had rolled out from under the bed and was also pointing a submachine gun up at him.

  Virgil’s mouth gaped open as he looked at the woman in the bed. She was fully clothed and was pointing a pistol at him. Another ERT member had appeared on the far side of the bed.