Читать книгу Subverting Justice - Don Easton - Страница 13

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 investigations 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?”

“Two to three weeks,” Jack replied. “Specific targets will need to be identified and located.”

“Two to three weeks,” Isaac repeated. “I’ll be retired by then.” He cast a wary glance at Mortimer.

Mortimer hesitated, then nodded. “I agree they need to be looked at. Once I receive the plan, I’ll give it the urgency it deserves.”

“Okay, then,” Isaac said, refocusing on Jack. “How concerned are you? I see no problem with the force paying for you to have a home security system installed.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” Mortimer interjected. “I’d hate to set a precedent that every time a member feels uncomfortable he receives a free alarm system.”

“I already have an alarm system,” Jack said, looking at Isaac, “but thank you for the thought.”

Isaac stared quietly at Mortimer for a moment, then looked at Inspector Dyck. “Let’s discuss Damien Zabat’s disappearance and Corporal Taggart’s … qualified opinion that he’s been murdered.”

“Unless proven otherwise,” Dyck responded, “our office is treating it as a homicide investigation.”

“Good,” Isaac replied. “For a variety of reasons, including that Corporal Taggart’s informant was present during the murder of Neal, Robert, and Roxanne Barlow, he should not be directly involved in the investigation. That being said, I see no reason why Corporal Taggart couldn’t assist you with your investigation into Damien Zabat.”

“I agree,” Dyck replied. “As it would appear that Vicki Zabat is the one who set her husband up, I’m considering asking Corporal Taggart and Constable Secord to talk to her and see if they can get her to make an admission. Something we can get on wire.”

Isaac looked at Jack and Laura. “You know her. What do you think?”

“We can try,” Jack said, “but I’m not optimistic. She’s been around a long time and knows the game.”

“Give it your best shot.” Isaac glanced at Dyck. “I think we can adjourn this meeting as far as Assistant Commissioner Mortimer and I are concerned, but feel free to use this room to discuss strategy with everyone else in regards to how or when Vicki Zabat should be approached.”

“Yes, sir,” Dyck replied.

Isaac and Mortimer got up to leave the room, but at the doorway, Isaac looked back. “Corporal Taggart, please step out for a moment. I’d like to have a word with you concerning your attitude at yesterday’s meeting.”

Shit. I was hoping he’d forget about that. I already apologized.

When Jack met Isaac and Mortimer in the hallway, Isaac looked at Jack and said, “Your outburst yesterday was uncharacteristic. I appreciate that you were under extreme stress and had gone days with little sleep.”

“Sir, I’m still embarrassed by my conduct yesterday.”

“Today you appear to be completely in control of your emotions. Considering the threat made on you and your family last night, I’m sure that’s not easy.”

Crap, hope you’re not thinking of hiding me out among a herd of reindeer. “I believe it was simply an ill-conceived attempt at intimidation,” Jack replied. He glanced at Mortimer who looked at him stone-faced. “At this time I see no reason for any extreme measures to be taken.”

“Extreme measures?” Isaac gave Jack a hard look.

“Such as a transfer. I believe the best response is to go after the club from all angles.”

“I see. Good … I agree.” Isaac paused. “You’ve had a remarkable career so far and have overcome much adversity. I want you to know that you’ve earned my respect over the years.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I leave feeling confident that you’re completely capable of handling any obstacles or problems you will no doubt encounter in the future.”

Jack saw Isaac’s glance flick toward Mortimer as he spoke. Did you give me permission to “handle” this asshole, or are you warning me to be careful?

Isaac extended his hand and Jack shook it. Looking into Isaac’s eyes, Jack thought he discovered the answer. Both.