LITMIR.BIZ

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burn you.”

      “So what are ya gonna’ do? Nothin’?”

      Jack looked at Lance and said, “I’ll play it by ear.” He thought to himself, I’m going to squash a toad!

      On Monday morning, Jack was a little curious when his boss was twenty minutes late for work. Louie was usually half an hour early.

      Jack’s curiosity was answered when Louie showed up on a pair of crutches with a cast on one leg. Before Jack could ask, Louie gruffly said, “Saturday. Ladder slipped cleaning my gutters. Broke in three places. Enough said. What’s new with you?”

      “Not much since I called you Friday night.”

      “Molen getting another report?”

      “Yes. I-HIT is helping with surveillance too, but we’re not optimistic.”

      “Your friend doesn’t know who the Brit is?”

      Jack shook his head. “Met him last night. He does-n’t know.” Jack waited until Louie nodded in response, then asked, “Have you heard from Danny? How are they doing?”

      “We talked briefly. He’s taking stress leave. I think they’re planning on going someplace for a while. He’s talking about quitting. I suggested he take time off and think about it. No need to rush into a decision right away.”

      “Where are they staying?”

      “He had the option of staying at a motel but elected to return home. He’s adamant about not returning to work. As he said, he’s complying with the note so he doesn’t think he’s a target now.”

      “What about Jimmy?”

      “Apparently seems okay. Lucky little bugger. What do you think about Danny quitting?”

      Jack sighed and said, “Can’t say I blame him. I was wrong to be around him after CC got that note. I should have stayed away from everyone.”

      “The note targeted everyone in the office. We have no choice but to continue working. Danny’s pretty upset. Not thinking too clear. Who would? He mumbled something about your cowboy hat turning black. What was that all about?”

      Jack tipped his head back, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. “Guess he has me pegged as one of the bad guys.”

      Louie studied him closely for a few seconds and then said, “Like I said. He’s upset. I’m going to talk with Isaac. Hate to lose a good man. Maybe I can arrange to get him transferred into some admin position for a while.”

      It was after lunch when Isaac reviewed the report submitted by the Anti-Corruption Unit noting that Jack had lied about not having met Damien since last year. Not a big issue in itself, but... The name of the ACU investigator caught his eye and he summoned Staff Sergeant Legg.

      “This report you submitted this morning,” said Isaac, gesturing to the paper on his desk.

      “Yes, sir. Just a short memo. Perhaps nothing, but after the report from CFSEU about Taggart and then him telling Elvis that he hadn’t met with Damien since last year ... I just thought I should keep you informed. It will be more ammunition to use after we hear back from the LO in Mexico.”

      Isaac nodded and said, “It was Elvis he said this to?”

      “Yes, sir. Connie Crane from I-HIT was present as well.”

      “Isn’t Elvis married to Laura Secord from Drug Section?”

      “Yes, sir.”

      “She was the female operator who worked with Taggart on that homicide involving the war veteran.”

      Legg shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I don’t know.”

      “Well I do know.” Isaac leaned forward, clasping his hands on his desk. He then said, “For your information, O’Reilly is being transferred forthwith to an administrative position. It would not be ... unusual ... for him to be replaced. Intelligence is extremely busy right now. Under the circumstances, I would endorse an immediate transfer. It would appear that Taggart has a good working relationship with Laura Secord, don’t you agree?”

      Elvis was not pleased with Molen’s response, or actually his lack of response, to the new report. He didn’t make any calls and didn’t leave during the lunch break. Surveillance teams monitoring Leitch and his secretary had nothing to report. It was almost four o’clock when Elvis was summoned into his boss’s office.

      “Did you happen to mention to your wife that Taggart could be dirty?” asked Legg.

      “No,” replied Elvis. “We try not to discuss work at home. I did ask her if she suspected any of the narcs of being dirty and she said no. Why do you ask?”

      “O’Reilly is being transferred immediately to an administrative position. I heard through the grapevine that Laura may replace him.”

      Elvis sat quietly.

      “How do you feel about that, should it happen? What with Taggart being under investigation by our office?”

      Elvis shrugged.

      “Do you feel apprehensive about the prospect?”

      “That would indicate that I doubt Laura’s integrity, which I don’t. So, no. I’m not apprehensive.”

      “Would Laura confide in you if she discovered something that wasn’t kosher?”

      “You mean if Jack is dirty, would she burn him?”

      Legg nodded.

      “Without a doubt ... but I’m sure she won’t take the job if you’re asking her to spy.”

      Legg smiled, shaking his head. “For goodness’ sake, I’m not suggesting that! I just want to make sure that this doesn’t cause any undue stress on your marriage. Also to ensure that if Laura did discover something she would confide in you so as to alleviate any accusations of her covering something up down the road.”

      “If it was anything serious that our section should know about, she would most certainly talk to me about it. She’s my wife. I would do the same if the situation were reversed.”

      “Exactly. At which time you would follow through with your responsibilities and discuss it with me. Then we could ensure that she would be protected against any undesirable accusations concerning her own conduct.”

      “That goes without saying. I know Laura. If Jack is dirty, she will be the first to nail him to the wall.”

      “Good. That is all I expect. We have no proof that he is dirty. This Mexican thing could be a coincidence.”

      “It’s been two weeks since we sent the photos,” noted Elvis. “We should know soon enough.”

      Legg nodded, then said, “At this point, I would suggest you don’t say anything to Laura. Taggart is clearly astute when it comes to reading people. Obviously, he has to be; I’m sure his very survival has depended upon it. With that in mind, we couldn’t expect Laura to successfully hide that knowledge. Some inadvertent sideways glance or perhaps a hesitation in her voice might be all it would take to tip Taggart off.”

      “I understand,” replied Elvis. “Not to mention, we don’t know if Taggart is dirty. False allegations and rumours harm innocent people.”

      “Exactly. This conversation is just between the two of us. I’m telling you this as a friend, which is why you need to ensure that you discreetly report anything of consequence to me. It is imperative that Laura doesn’t become implicated in anything untoward. She has an excellent reputation for being professional. I’m certain, once this is over, she would understand completely should you decide to tell her then. That would be your decision, of course.”

      “Of course.”

      Legg waited until Elvis left his office before calling Isaac.

      “Everything

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