by Don Easton
Laura was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her voice sounded grave. “How, exactly, do you plan to on doing that?”
“Don’t worry. I can’t step outside the law and make it personal. There’d be retaliation. That being said, we need to send a message. What I want to do is submit a plan to have Drug Section, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, Integrated Proceeds of Crime, and any other relevant section to focus their attention on Satans Wrath. Traffic Enforcement, as well. I don’t want these guys to be able to move without being hassled. Show the assholes what their new leader has brought down on them. Given what happened, I’m sure the brass will approve it.”
Laura looked at the pictures again.
“They weren’t emailed to anyone,” Jack noted. “Bet they used their own phones and sent copies to Pure E, though.”
Laura scowled. “We can’t let him get away with this.”
“I won’t.”
“We won’t,” Laura said forcefully. “I told you, I’m with you on this. Forget the three months. If it takes longer, so be it.”
Jack felt the lump in his throat. “We’ll see. If you change your mind and want to go, I’ll be okay. To be honest, I don’t know how you held on this long.”
Laura chuckled. “Maybe because I’m as pigheaded as you are.”
“I’ve no idea how long it’ll take.”
Laura cast him a sideways glance. “With the home visit you got yesterday, I don’t see you letting Pure E get away with it for long.”
As soon as Jack and Laura arrived at work, they met with Rose in her office and Jack told her about finding Damien’s cellphone in his mailbox.
Rose’s jaw slackened, then concern crossed her face.
She’s worried for my safety. “Don’t worry. As my ten-year-old-son figured out, Pure E was just trying to scare us.”
“Scare you!” Rose exclaimed. Her face hardened. “Pure E doesn’t know you, but I do. What are you intending to —”
Christ! She’s concerned for his safety! The rage Jack felt was instant. “What the hell?”
Rose stared at him.
“You’re worried about his safety?” he said.
“And —”
“My family is the victim here! Yes, I’m pissed off, but I don’t plan on running off half-cocked.”
“I am worried about you and your family. That worry includes how you’ll respond.”
Jack forced himself to calm down. “If anything,” he said, “my anger makes me more focused on the best way to handle it.”
“Which is?”
“We’re meeting Isaac and Mortimer this morning. I want your support, Rose, to submit an operational plan to make Satans Wrath a priority in this province. Drug Section, CFSEU, Integrated Proceeds of Crime … everyone needs to get involved. Right down to the members handing out traffic tickets. We have to send the bikers our own message.”
“Of course you’ll have my support for that,” Rose said. “There are what, about 115 Satans Wrath members in the province?”
Laura spoke up. “I think 127, if you include prospects.”
“Okay … and as a rule of thumb, for every member, there are about ten hard-core criminals affiliated with them,” Rose noted. “So altogether you’re talking about 1,270 professional criminals.”
“Yes. I realize we are badly outnumbered, but —”
“‘Outnumbered’ is an understatement,” Rose said. “Then there’s the puppet clubs who work for them, such as the Gypsy Devils. Also we’re only talking about the army they have in this province. These guys cross borders and intermingle on a daily basis.”
“I know, but we can’t give up. Something needs to be done.”
“I totally agree, but if extra manpower is allotted, they’ll be looking to you to provide them with specific targets. Have you given any thought to that?”
“Only briefly,” Jack admitted. “I’ve got one source who might come around.”
“Weenie Wagger.”
“Yes.”
“Who you told me is stressed out, drinking, and using drugs.”
“I’ve tried the drinking,” Laura said dryly. “Doesn’t work.” She must have seen the sour look on Jack’s face, because she elbowed him in the ribs. “Hey, only teasing. I’d never turn down one of your famous olive soups.”
Jack eyed Laura briefly. Her humour seemed forced. She’s trying to show me that she’s not stressed out and that it’s game on as usual. He gave her a smile, then turned back to Rose. “He’s more than paid his debt, but I might be able to turn him around.”
“Money?”
“No, I think he’ll be looking for a friend. Offering money would negate that. The problem is, even if he does co-operate, he’s only a peon. He’s not even allowed to speak to Pure E or chapter presidents unless they expressly okay it.”
“Are there any other avenues of investigation available?”
“Possibly. I’m expecting to receive some intel from down south that might help.”
“You’re talking about the connection Satans Wrath has with the West 12th Street Gang in Texas and the money-laundering scheme Damien had going in Mexico?”
“Yes.”
“I read a preliminary report that International Proceeds of Crime did from their raids last week. Except for Damien, none of the other bad guys in the files they seized were Canadian. I don’t think there’s anything there that could help us.”
“I-POC doesn’t know everything,” Jack replied quietly.
“Oh?” Rose raised an eyebrow. “You holding something back from me?”
Jack waited a beat. “I had the distinct impression when Mortimer spoke to us yesterday that protecting informants wasn’t his priority. He’d rather get his name in the newspaper.”
Rose frowned. “That’s Mortimer. You’re talking to me.”
“I know, but someone stuck their neck out to get some information for me. The info is in Spanish and needs to be translated. It might take a week or two. Once we get it, I’m optimistic it’ll give us the leverage we need to turn a high-valued source.”
“This person who stuck their neck out — how far out?”
“Far enough to be fired if found out.”
“I see. How much time do you need to get an operational plan together in the meantime to get the ball rolling in the event this new source doesn’t pan out?”
Thank you for not digging deeper. “Two or three weeks.”
“Two or three weeks?” Rose sounded dismayed.
“We definitely need to target the prospects and the three-three.”
“The three-three is obvious. I presume you said ‘the prospects’ because they’re responsible for taking most of the risks?”
“Yes. We’ll need to verify where everyone lives before submitting any operational plan. These guys move around a lot. Two or three weeks isn’t long to do all that.”
“It’s said that vengeance is a dish best served cold,” Laura added.
Rose peered at Laura over the top of her glasses. “Not you, too,” she muttered. She looked at Jack. “I was actually questioning if two or three weeks is long enough to put an op plan together. I don’t want you to rush into this. We need to be thorough.”
“We’ll have to work night and day, but it’ll be thorough,” Jack said adamantly. “After that, if we do get a new informant, we’ll have to adjust the op plan depending on what we learn. Money laundering, drug dealing, prostitution, credit card rip-offs … it’s all handled by different factions within the club.”
Rose nodded. “Even if you get this new source, it could still take a long time to nail Pure E.”
Jack glanced at Laura. “We know, but we’re optimistic. The potential source is a chapter president and is able to consult with Pure E directly.”
“Chapter president?” Rose pursed her
lips. “Sounds good.”
“That being said, we may not be able to act on a lot of things he’ll tell us for fear of putting him in jeopardy,” Jack cautioned.
Rose looked reflective, then said, “I came away from yesterday’s meeting with the same sense of foreboding over Mortimer’s lack of concern about informant safety. I understand your worry.”
“If we get this new source, and I think we will, protecting him will be my top priority.”
“I’m sure you’ll come up with some way to protect him,” Rose said.
Like pointing a finger at someone else? Another sacrificial lamb like Neal Barlow? That makes me sick.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean what you thought I meant,” Rose hastened to say, apparently reading Jack’s expression. “I’m sure you’ll think of other ways.”
Jack decided to change the subject. “So we’re set for the meeting? We have your backing?”
“Not quite. You never mentioned I-HIT in the equation,” Rose said.
“They’re already involved, what with the four murders yesterday.”
“I realize that … so I think they have enough work. Don’t you agree?”
“We’re dealing with Pure E. I’m sure more bodies will surface sooner or later.”
“Bodies attributed to Pure E aren’t what I meant,” she said, staring at Jack.
Chapter Nine
When Jack and Laura returned to their office, Jack took out a laptop to watch a video.
“What is it?” Laura asked, coming around to look over his shoulder.
“A copy of the video they took when they caught Weenie Wagger exposing himself that day in the parkade in Surrey.”
Laura spun on her heel and returned to her desk. “I know his face. I don’t need to see the rest of his anatomy.”
Jack stared silently at the video, then shut it off.
“Didn’t know some guy exposing himself would be your type of show,” she commented.
Jack grimaced. “Initially I got a copy of the video thinking I might need it to prod Weenie Wagger along. Considering everything he’s done for us, I think he’s repaid society for his crime.”
“You cutting him loose?”
“Yes, but I think there’s a good chance he’ll return. At the moment he may still think of Satans Wrath as family, but it’ll bother him that he informed.”
“So you’ll provide a sympathetic shoulder?”
“Maybe. He’s kind of pathetic, when you think about it. I’ll give him a call next week and cut him loose. That’ll give a few more days to see if he hears anything about the visit to my house.”
Laura nodded in agreement.
“Okay, let’s find out everything we can about the three-three first,” Jack said. “Where they live, where they eat … everything. They act on Pure E’s orders. It could be his Achilles heel.”
Laura glanced at her watch. “We meet the brass in half an hour.”
For the first time he noticed tiny worry lines on Laura’s face. Christ, I’m an asshole for what I’ve put her through.
“We’ve got a little time,” Laura said. “Shall we start pulling files and selecting targets?”
“Naw, plenty of time for that later. Let’s grab a coffee instead.”
Jack, Laura, and Rose arrived at the conference room and saw that I-HIT was represented by Inspector Dyck, Staff Sergeant Randy Hundt, and Corporal George Hobbs. Isaac and Mortimer weren’t there yet.
While waiting for them, Jack made eye contact with Randy, who was Connie Crane’s boss. “Where’s Connie?” he asked.
“She called me to request the day off,” Randy said. “She’s, uh, a little shaken from yesterday. I told her to book off sick.” He paused, then added, “I’ll check in with her on the weekend.”
Jack nodded. You take care of your people, something I should’ve been doing, too.
Upon Isaac and Mortimer’s arrival, Hobbs related how he’d traced Damien’s cellphone to the top of Sumas Mountain and once there, discovered it had been turned back on. “I obtained an address for its new location and called Corporal Taggart to see if he could associate the address with any Satans Wrath members.” Hobbs turned to Jack. “Maybe you should take it from here.”
“The address obtained was mine,” Jack said. “Someone dropped it in my mailbox. There were pictures on it of my children coming home from school, my wife doing yardwork, then both my wife and I when I arrived home.”
“You allowed yourself to be followed home?” Mortimer asked in apparent disbelief.
“My children arrived home from school an hour before I did. The bikers were already there, as is evident by the pictures that were taken. I spotted a van I didn’t recognize near my house when I came home and I think it was involved. These guys have sources. They don’t need to tail us to find out where we live.”
“And you didn’t think to phone the police about the van?” Mortimer asked.
The police? Here we go again. Jack felt Rose tap his leg with her shoe. Don’t worry, I won’t remind him who we are. He cleared his throat. “At the time I didn’t pay it much attention — not until I found the phone. By then, the van was gone.”
The concern was evident on Isaac’s face. “This is a threat against you and your family,” he stated. “What can I do to help?”
“Obviously it was only meant to scare me,” Jack said. “Pure E is holding me accountable for the boatload of cocaine seized in France. Perhaps he thinks intimidation will stop us from working on him. What I’d like is to target Satans Wrath in a joint operation with all the relevant units.”
“So that’s Drug Section, Integrated Proceeds of Crime, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit …” Isaac paused. “You also should have Special O to conduct surveillance.”
Special O was a unit that did surveillance to assist with high-profile cases and were experts in their field. Jack was more than pleased. “Yes, sir. They’d be a huge help.”
“You’re looking at tying up about thirty members,” Mortimer noted.
“If we’re going to catch Pure E, that would be the minimum it’d take to get things going,” Jack said.
“How long would this take?” Mortimer asked.
“I don’t know, sir,” Jack replied. “I’m thinking about a year, but with investigations like this, it’s hard to predict.”
“A year!” Mortimer exclaimed.
Jack sighed. “Perhaps we’ll get lucky. Maybe turn a high-level informant or something to speed things up. Even then, it will take time to get enough solid evidence to convict Pure E. He’s well-insulated.”
Isaac looked at Mortimer. “Satans Wrath and their cronies add up to well over a thousand criminals in this province alone. If we can cause them serious damage and bring their top man to justice with only thirty officers, I’d say it was a bargain.” He turned to Jack. “Purvis Evans — or Pure E, as I think I’ll refer to him — came into his position as a result of a national election by the club, did he not?”
“Yes, sir,” Jack replied.
“Then I think our response should be nationwide, as well. They threatened not only you and your family, but our whole justice system. Once your operational plan is submitted, I think Ottawa should be pressed to unite task forces across the country.”
Yes! Jack exchanged a broad smile with Laura. Peaks and valleys. We’re on the mountaintop.
Isaac continued emphatically, “With manpower redirected to terrorism and street gangs shooting each other up, entrenched organized crime families have been given free rein. It has to stop. We need to send a clear message to Satans Wrath that we will not tolerate acts of intimidation.”
“There isn’t the manpower,” Mortimer objected. “The news media has been focusing on the shootings from the street gangs. Obviously that’s who we need to go after.”
“You’re right, those invest
igations are important, but I don’t think we should take our cues from the news media,” Isaac said icily. “As far as a shortage of manpower goes, once we start submitting large claims for overtime, Ottawa will realize it’ll be more cost-effective to send us more people. If they don’t, we’ll pull in people from around the province to form a task force.”
Mortimer frowned. “I’ve a serious concern. There’s no real evidence that Damien Zabat is dead. His phone showing up in Corporal Taggart’s mailbox may simply be a ploy to have us believe that. This whole thing may not be intended to intimidate at all. It’s only conjecture.” He paused, then added, “We’d look pretty silly in the eyes of Ottawa submitting an operational plan based on a supposition that Satans Wrath murdered Damien. How’d we look if it turned out he was still alive?”
“To start with, the phone placed in the corporal’s mailbox last night is not conjecture,” Isaac stated. “It’s —”
Mortimer interrupted him. “I understand that Corporal Taggart and perhaps his family may feel uncomfortable about what happened, but there’s no proof that it was an act of intimidation.” Mortimer looked at Jack. “Taking pictures of your family may simply have been a joke, albeit not a good one.”
You asshole. Jack felt Rose’s tap on his shin again. It’s okay, Rose, I won’t take the bait. “That’s an interesting theory,” he responded. “I must admit, I hadn’t thought of it as a joke.”
“I don’t consider it a joke.” Isaac’s words were harsh and he glared at Mortimer. “I also don’t consider the triple murder in the farmhouse yesterday a joke. Or the message left on the wall there for Corporal Taggart.”
“Well, of course … that,” Mortimer conceded. “Yes, something should be done.”
“I’d suggest we get things going in this province first,” Isaac said, “but with the international aspects of this organization, I’m sure the investigation will spread quickly to other provinces and other countries.” He looked at Jack. “How long will it take you to prepare an operational plan to get things started?”
