by Don Easton
Isaac silenced Rose with a wave of his hand and focused on Jack. “Your outburst gives me cause to wonder if you’re suffering from post-traumatic stress. If that’s the case, you should be removed from active duty and put on stress leave. If that’s not the case, then your behaviour to Assistant Commissioner Mortimer is nothing short of insubordination.”
Son-of-a-bitch. Apologize or else…. Jack swallowed, then looked at Mortimer. “Sir, I’m sorry. The events this morning were disturbing, but that’s no excuse for me to be discourteous and unprofessional. Please accept my apology.”
Mortimer stared long enough for everyone to feel uncomfortable. “I accept your apology … this once.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“We’re done for now,” Isaac said. “I’ll contact I-HIT and we’ll adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to decide what action to take.” He looked at Jack. “I suggest you get some sleep.”
I feel like I’ve let you down…. “Sir, I’m extremely embarrassed,” Jack replied sincerely. He then gave a conciliatory nod to Mortimer. As far as you go, Humpty Dumpty, I’m in the mood for an omelette.
Chapter Five
Rose scowled at Jack as they walked back to their offices. “I can’t believe you spoke to Mortimer that way!”
“The man’s an idiot! You heard what he said. If someone has a gun, I should turn the investigation over to the police. What the hell’s he thinking?”
“He’s about to be our new boss. Didn’t it occur to you that he could seriously hinder your chances to go after Satans Wrath? Maybe even have you transferred?”
Jack took a couple of steps, then admitted, “Yes … I screwed up.”
“Isaac may have saved your bacon by getting you to apologize.”
“I don’t know if Mortimer’s that dumb.”
“You don’t think he bought it? At least you sounded sincere.”
“Even if he accepted my apology, he’s so incompetent it’ll be a nightmare trying to get things approved.”
“He’ll be the top dog. Not much we can do about it.”
“Damien was top dog, too.”
“What’re you saying?”
“Damien’s dead,” Jack said coldly, “and he was twice as intelligent as Mortimer.”
“Meaning? What are you planning?” Rose asked sharply.
“The man is such a buffoon I don’t think he’ll be able to handle the job. Either the stress will get to him or Ottawa will clue into the fact he’s not the right person for the job.”
“Oh … I see,” Rose murmured.
Then again, a little nudge to knock Humpty off the wall wouldn’t hurt. His thought was interrupted when he saw Laura at her desk. She glanced at him, then looked away.
Don’t be embarrassed. Who wouldn’t be stressed?
“What’re you doing here?” Rose demanded of Laura. “I told you to go home.”
“I’m okay, I just —”
“You’re not okay,” Rose said firmly. “Neither of you are. Both of you go home.”
“I won’t be able to rest,” Laura said, then focused on Jack. “Not until I find out what you intend to do about Pure E.”
What I intend to do?
Rose waited a beat, then gave in. “Okay, we’ll talk about that, but then you’re both going home.”
“How did it go with Isaac?” Laura asked as Rose wheeled a chair over.
“Isaac and Mortimer, as it turned out,” Jack said. He waited until he sat down, then continued, “Not well. Mortimer thinks Damien isn’t dead and that we’ve been tricked.”
“Tricked after we seized a boatload of coke?” Laura exclaimed. “He obviously doesn’t know anything about bikers. Did you enlighten him?”
“Oh, Jack enlightened him,” Rose interjected. “So much so that Isaac made him apologize.”
“Oh, Jack.” Laura looked askance. “What did you say?”
Jack shook his head in amazement. “Mortimer’s so far removed from police work that he doesn’t consider us to be police officers. He reprimanded me for investigating people who carry guns. He said those types of cases should be turned over to the police.”
“No, really … tell me what happened,” Laura said.
“I’m not making it up,” Jack replied. “Ask Rose.”
The staff sergeant nodded. “He’s telling you the truth.”
Astonishment registered on Laura’s face. “That’s absurd!”
“I’m still in shock,” Jack said. “I think Isaac was, too.”
“But you had to apologize?” Laura asked. “I bet you gave him that tone you use when you’re being sarcastic.”
“I was sarcastic,” Jack replied. “I suspect Isaac had me apologize to save my career.” I’ll deal with the idiot somehow. He saw Laura staring at him and knew she was reading his thoughts. She’s under enough stress. She doesn’t need this. “Guys like Mortimer won’t be around long,” he offered. “I bet he does a stint here for a couple of years on the pretence of gaining experience, then scurries back to Ottawa where his credentials justify another promotion.”
“So you’re saying you’ll simply bide your time for a couple of years until he leaves.” Laura’s tone was dry. Before Jack could respond, she said, “I’m sorry. That was a dumb thing to say.”
You’ll simply bide your time. She didn’t say we’ll bide our time. Crap! She’s thinking of leaving — and why shouldn’t she? What sane person would put up with this bullshit?
“We’re meeting Isaac again tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.,” Rose noted. “I-HIT will be there, as well, and we’ll formulate a plan.” She stared at Jack. “That being said, do you have some suggestions? I don’t want you spouting off tomorrow about how you’d like to … I don’t know, steal a snowplow and take out a bunch of Satans Wraths next time they’re on a ride.”
“Actually I wondered if on some rainy night a phony detour could send them over a cliff.” At Rose’s horrified look, Jack said, “Relax. I’m only joking.” Sort of.
Rose’s only response was a glare.
“There’ll always be groups like Satans Wrath around no matter what we do,” Jack said. “Even if they all died, someone else would take their spot. The real menace is the guy in charge. We’ve never had to deal with the likes of Pure E before. He sent us a message and we need to send one back. He needs to be stopped.”
“Yes, but how?” Rose asked. “After seeing his message, I’m sure you’d like to put a bullet in his brain.”
“I wouldn’t want to even if it was justified,” Jack replied. “He has the backing of the club. If he pulled a gun on me some night and I killed him, the club would accuse me of murder. There’d be repercussions. I’m not going to jeopardize my family by knocking off some criminal who’d only be replaced.” His bitterness was almost palpable. “I never thought I’d say this, but I wish Damien was still in power.”
“So how will you handle it?” Rose asked.
“Legally and professionally … but perhaps not ethically. If we’re to catch Pure E we may need to sit back and watch a few murders take place first.”
“Murders?” Rose frowned.
“Satans Wrath use their three-three team for hits. We need to concentrate on them. In the past the national president wouldn’t be involved if the three-three was simply knocking off local dealers. Club presidents could okay that. The national president would only be involved if the club was making an incursion into the territory of someone who had the clout to go to war with them. Either that, or someone connected with law enforcement or the judiciary.”
“So you’re thinking we target the three-three and hope to catch Pure E giving them their orders,” Rose continued.
“Exactly. Wiretap … informants … surveillance. All of that. The odds are we’ll end up watching a few local dealers get murdered before something happens to involve Pure E, but if w
e made any busts on the small fry, it would tip our hand.”
“It’s been years since anyone has gone to war with Satans Wrath in this part of the world,” Rose stated. “What you’re suggesting might never take place.”
“I disagree. Pure E is far more ambitious and prone to violence than Damien was. I think he thrives on it. My guess is we won’t have to wait long. He’s trying to make a name for himself. Using violence, torture, and intimidation is how he plans on doing it. We need to catch him on wire ordering the hits.”
Rose pursed her lips. “Okay, you’ve convinced me and I’ll push for that tomorrow morning. Now I want the both of you to go home.”
Laura glanced at Jack. “Mind giving me a ride home?”
Jack nodded. Here it comes….
Neither Jack nor Laura spoke until they got in the car, then Jack turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said softly. I don’t blame you in the least.”
Laura pulled back. “Blame me for what?”
“For wanting a transfer.”
Laura’s eyes welled with tears. “Is that what Rose told you? She’s mistaken. I was upset — but I never said that.”
“She didn’t tell me — you did.”
Laura took a couple of deep breaths, and then it came out. “Oh, God … you know me so well.” She wiped away a tear. “I really don’t know if I can handle it any longer. I’m so bloody tired and upset I can’t think straight.”
Jack slid over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay to go,” he whispered. “We’ve been through more crap over the years than I care to think about. The enemies we’ve made, the things we’ve seen …”
“That’s just it!” Laura cried. “I never get a break. I can’t stop thinking about it. At night, if a car slows down driving past our house I wake up. I’d feel safer sleeping under the bed and probably would if I wasn’t married. Instead, I sleep with my gun on the bedside table.”
“I understand exactly,” Jack said. “If Natasha wasn’t beside me, I’d put the pillows under my sheets and sleep in my closet with my gun in my lap.”
“Because your mattress wouldn’t stop the bullets. Yes, I’ve thought of that, too.”
“I wake up with nightmares or fighting in my sleep four or five times a week.”
“Likewise,” Laura admitted.
“Once I kicked so hard that I knocked Natasha out of bed. Another time I delivered a punch that just missed her face. I wake up immediately, but that’s no way to live.”
Laura pulled away to look at Jack. “It’s not only the fear of someone trying to kill me. It’s things you and I’ve done in the past I worry about.”
Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“You know what I mean.” She stared at him a moment, then added, “I won’t even speak about it for fear the car is bugged. Now with Pure E doing what he did, I’m afraid. Afraid for you … and for what you might do.”
“Weren’t you listening to what I said to Rose a moment ago?”
Laura’s face darkened. “Hey — I’m not Rose. Maybe I don’t read you as well as you read me, but I’m not stupid. I know you pretty well.”
Jack swallowed. Time to change tack. “The point is, I’m not blaming you for wanting out. I was thinking the same thing myself until Pure E left that message on the wall. He threw down the gauntlet for me. I can’t back down … but you can.”
“How can I run out on you at a time like this? I … I’d feel so guilty.” She looked dismayed. “I need time to think it over. Maybe a good night’s sleep will —”
“When have we worked together that there wasn’t a time like this? The jails are releasing them faster than we can catch them. We’ll never see the end.”
Laura looked sad, then reached for her seat belt. Neither spoke for the next half-hour as Jack drove. When he pulled up to her house she turned to him. “Promise me you’re going straight home.”
“What else would I do?”
She made a face.
Jack frowned. “What I told Rose about not jeopardizing my family is true. I won’t do anything stupid. As for going home, I’m exhausted … so yes, that’s where I’m going. I’ll make a couple of phone calls on the way, but that’s all.”
“A couple of calls?”
“One to John Adams.”
“Your special agent friend with U.S. Customs in El Paso,” she noted. “What do you want him to do?”
“It’s what he’s already done,” Jack replied. “He’s getting his wife to transcribe the files on Damien he obtained from the Mexican lawyer.”
“Obtained?” Laura scoffed.
It’s better than saying Adams stole them from where they were hidden after the lawyer was tipped off that a search warrant for his office was being obtained. “The lawyer would’ve been warned if another warrant was issued,” Jack replied.
“You’ll never be able to use the files in court.”
“Not in Canada, but the U.S. is a different story. There are two boxes of files. John’s wife is Spanish, but that’s still a lot of translation. There’s no hurry on Damien, but maybe other names will pop up.”
“And your other call?”
“I want to know if I-HIT had any luck determining where Damien’s phone was when Pure E answered. I think Damien was there. Pure E’s the type who’d want to see the look on Damien’s face when I called.”
“It’s not your fault you called. I would’ve done the same thing.”
Stress and exhaustion caused Jack’s voice to sound monotone. “Tomorrow’s Friday. As soon as the morning meeting’s over, I think we should go home and take the rest of the weekend off.”
“No argument there.”
“I’ll pick you up on the way in. Right now all I want to do is get home, shower, hug my family, and go straight to bed.”
Chapter Six
As Jack drove home he called John Adams. After exchanging niceties, Adams said, “Yolanda is about halfway through the first box of records. So far they pertain to Damien Zabat’s money-laundering scheme through the phony real-estate sales.”
“Well … there’s no rush on Damien,” Jack said blandly. He then told Adams that Damien must have been murdered and that Pure E had answered Damien’s phone when Jack called to warn him.
“Those whoremongers!” Adams said.
“There’s more. I laid heat on a biker to protect an informant. It worked, but the bastards made him watch as they burned his brother and wife to death before gutting him. Then they dipped a broom in his blood and left a message on the wall for me.”
“For you? Jesus fuck!”
“So Pure E’s become my number-one target.”
“I don’t believe it,” Adams said.
Jack was confused. “What I told you is true.”
“No, not that part. I don’t believe Pure E is still alive.”
“I’m trying to do things by the book. If he dies and the club suspects I played a role in it, they’re liable to come after my family.”
After a few moments of silence Adams said, “Yeah, I hear ya.”
“So, back to the files. Did Yolanda look in the other box? I’m hoping Damien isn’t the only Canadian mentioned.”
“You’re in luck there. There are two other Canucks.”
Bingo.
“The lawyer dealing with Damien was Francesco Lopez. Yolanda skimmed through the file folders in the second box. They actually belong to another lawyer by the name of Miguel Herrero. His office is in the same building as Lopez.”
Oh, please, let it be, let it be….
“She hasn’t had time to read those files yet,” Adams continued. “I told her that Damien was the priority. She said, though, from what she did see, the second box pertained to a Lance Morgan —”
Yes!
“— an
d a Jake Yadamenko, or some name like that. I’m just going by memory, but it —”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
“You havin’ an orgasm, Jack?”
“Lance Morgan is president of the Westside chapter of Satans Wrath in Vancouver.” Jack couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “Jake Yevdokymenko is pres-ident of the Eastside chapter and goes by the nickname of Whiskey Jake. Getting something on either of those two would be fantastic.”
“Whiskey Jake,” Adams repeated. “Good. Helluva lot easier to remember.”
“He’s left-handed, so occasionally they call him Lefty or South Paw, but Whiskey Jake is his most common moniker. John, you did great! Past informant info said that Lopez had introduced them to another lawyer, but we didn’t know who.”
“Guess Lopez thought he was being extra cautious by hiding those files, as well.”
“Peaks and valleys. Today we hit a peak. Please ask Yolanda to concentrate on Morgan and Yevdokymenko.”
“You got it. Might be a week or so. I’ll let you know.”
Jack glanced at the white van with Abe’s Furnace Repair on the door as he slowed to turn into his driveway. He was too tired to pay it much thought. As he jabbed the automatic garage-door opener, Natasha appeared from around the side of the house carrying a bucket of weeds and plant clippings. He parked and then walked out through the open garage door to give her a hug and a kiss.
Natasha stepped back. “You look and smell awful. Want to talk about it?”
“I hardly know where to begin. This morning I went to a triple homicide. It was gruesome. I think I should spare you the details.”
“I’m a doctor. I’ve seen gruesome. If something is affecting you, I want you to talk to me about it.”
Jack took a breath and slowly exhaled. “A man and wife were tied to chairs in their kitchen. The husband was made to watch as his wife was burned to death, then it was his turn. The third victim was the man’s brother. After being made to watch the other two, he was disembowelled.”
