Читать книгу The Benefactor - Don Easton - Страница 12

It was eleven-thirty on Friday morning, when Harry Ho pushed a shopping cart across the parking lot of a bulk grocery store. He loaded the order of chicken and pork for the restaurant into the back of the van and was about to close the rear door when he heard a woman’s voice behind him.

“Excuse me, are you done with the cart?” she asked.

Ho turned around and saw a man and a woman. Before he could reply, the man grabbed him by the throat with one hand and shoved him backward onto the van floor. Ho opened his mouth and gasped in fear. Fear that gave rise to absolute terror when the man stuck the business end of a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol into his mouth.

“You’re under arrest,” growled Jack, noting the relief flash across Ho’s face when he realized he wasn’t about to be murdered.

Ho remained silent as Jack searched him. The only item found of significance was his cellphone, which Jack handed to Laura.

Seconds later, Harry Ho was sitting with his hands handcuffed behind his back and propped up against the inside wall of the van. Jack parted the curtains leading to the front to allow light in as Laura left, closing the rear door behind her.

Jack then sat, resting his back against the van wall while staring quietly at Ho who was across from him.

“What’s this all about?” sneered Ho, putting on a false bravado. “You got nothing on me. What am I being charged with? Dope?”

“Dope? Why would you jump to that conclusion?” asked Jack.

Ho stared sullenly at Jack, then blurted, “Give me my phone back. I want to call my lawyer.”

“You may be interested in what we have on you,” replied Jack, “and the consequences of your actions.”

“What consequences?” snickered Ho.

“That will be for you to decide. I’ll explain all about it when my partner returns. In the meantime, relax.” Jack smiled. “Tell me, how is your grandmother doing?”

Ho frowned. “She’s fine. Why? What does this have to do with her?”

“And your little sister?”

“She’s fine too. Why are you asking? They don’t have anything to do with anything.”

“You’re not entirely a bad guy,” said Jack. “Helping out with the mortgage. Making sure your little sister goes to school. Although, someday, I suppose you think the house will be yours.”

“That is not why I am doing it,” said Ho, defensively. “My grandmother raised us since we were little. She will live a long time yet. I’ll have my own house by the time she dies.”

“Really?” Jack smiled as though he were hiding something.

Ho scowled at Jack and said, “I’m not talking to you anymore until I speak with my lawyer.”

Jack nodded. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind if you were quiet. I’ve become quite sick of listening to your voice this past while.”

Ho looked startled. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

Eventually Laura returned and opened the rear door and motioned for Jack to step out so she could talk to him in private.

Jack eased himself out of the van, but left the door open to keep an eye on Ho as he and Laura stepped back out of earshot.

“He made a call to another cellphone,” whispered Laura, “starting six minutes before Betty Donahue was run over and ending about the time of her death.”

“Do we know who owns the other cellphone?” asked Jack.

“Nope. Likely disposable. This idiot should have disposed of his.”

“Wouldn’t make much difference if he had, as long as this works,” replied Jack.

“You really don’t think he knows the difference between a bug and a radio circuit board?”

Jack half-smiled. “I doubt it.”

“If this goes sideways, at least we can’t be charged with an illegal wiretap,” noted Laura, optimistically.

“You worry too much about the grey areas.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been getting them in my hair from working with you.”

Jack eyed Ho in the van and whispered, “Let’s do it. I also don’t want to tip him off that they got the wrong person … if in fact they did.”

Ho stared nervously as Jack and Laura climbed back into the van and closed the door behind them.

“It’s time to let you in on something,” said Jack, glaring at Ho. “We’ve got you for murder.”

“Murder?” Ho did his best to look surprised. “You’ve got to be kidding? You’re joking … right?”

“It’s no joke to drive over and kill a woman out walking her dog,” snarled Jack.

“I never did that!” replied Ho, looking shocked. He quickly regained his composure and added, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Your part was to sit in this van and watch when she left her house, then call to have her run over,” said Jack.

“I said I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Ho, defiantly. “I want my lawyer right now!”

Jack shrugged. “No problem, but you may want to know what we have on you, so you can tell him. Are you interested to hear what that is?”

“Go ahead. Tell me what you think you have, but I’m not answering any questions,” replied Ho.

“It wouldn’t matter if you did,” said Jack. “We haven’t read you your rights yet, so anything you do say to us would be inadmissible.” He glanced at Laura and said, “Go ahead.”

Laura thumbed through her notebook and said, “Here it is … Wednesday … two days ago, we have photos of you in this van arriving to watch her house at seven-forty-five that morning. You saw her come out of her house at twelve-forty-two and notified your buddies.” Laura looked up at Ho, smiled and waved his cellphone in her hand before continuing. “You stayed on the line for six minutes until they drove over her and left.”

“That don’t mean squat,” replied Ho. “So I made a call. You trying to say my phone was bugged?” he laughed. “Go ahead and bullshit, but I bought that phone this week. I know it’s still cool.”

“Oh, we’re not talking about having your phone bugged,” said Jack. “You see, we were working on you for drug trafficking out of the van. Imagine our surprise when our monitors got around to reading what you had to say.”

“What … what are you talking about?” asked Ho.

“Guess the investigation is over,” said Jack, looking at Laura. “I may as well take the transmitter out.”

Ho watched intently as Jack reached up and pulled off the plastic cap over the interior light in the back of the van to expose a small slit in the roof lining. He then reached in with his fingertips and pulled out an electrical wire connected to a small circuit board and put the item in his pocket.

Ho’s face went white. “You had the van bugged,” he gasped.

“You really picked the wrong van to watch her house,” noted Laura.

“Thought you were a dope dealer,” said Jack. “Didn’t know you were a murderer too.”

Ho started to hyperventilate, then squeezed his eyes shut to try and calm himself while shaking his head in sorrow for being caught.

“Maybe we have some good news for you,” said Jack. “As an alternative to spending the next twenty-five years in jail as somebody’s bitch, you could work for us and not be charged.”

Ho glowered at Jack and said, “You mean to rat. I ain’t nobody’s rat!”

“You’re only twenty-three years old,” said Laura. “Think how old you would be when you got out.”

“We would never burn you,” said Jack. “Although we can’t guarantee you immunity from any other officers, anything you tell us will be kept confidential and not used against you. We are after who orchestrated the murder. We know you were just a flunky.”

“I’d rather go to jail than be murdered for being a rat,” replied Ho, stubbornly.

“No arrests would ever be made if it would mean having you identified,” said Jack. “With your help, we would figure out a way to do it so you were safe.”

“Forget it!” Ho sneered at Laura. “You’re right. I am only twenty-three,” he said smugly. “Basically an innocent kid. If I ever was convicted of doing what you said I did, I would be out in about seven years at the most.”

“There is one more thing,” added Jack. “Have you thought about what will happen to your grandmother and your sister while you’re in the joint?”

“They’ll manage,” replied Ho.

“You should know that we will be seizing your grandmother’s house,” said Jack.

“You can’t do that! My grandma’s got nothing to do with it!”

“We have you for dealing dope,” said Jack, sounding matter-of-fact. “You have been helping pay the mortgage. The house is therefore considered the proceeds of crime and I will see that it is seized … unless you co-operate!”

Ho looked wild-eyed back and forth at Jack and Laura’s stony faces. Soon tears welled up and he whimpered, “Are you sure nobody will find out?”