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said, ‘Not a chance! Do you think I’m a lunatic!’”

      Jack looked at her for a moment, then said, “Oh.”

      Laura looked surprised and said, “Oh, man ... you really think I said that? Jack ... I was joking! I’m sorry. Are you okay? This has really gotten to you, hasn’t it?”

      Jack paused, then said, “Yes. It has.”

      “Guess I can understand that.”

      “So did you accept?”

      “I stalled them for an hour. I wanted to speak to you first. If I can help nail this crud, I’ll feel like my life as a cop is complete. I figure working with you is the best option.”

      “Working with me maybe isn’t ... look what happened to Danny. Are you —”

      “Hey! I’m hoping he will come after me. I’ll be bait if you want me to.” When Jack didn’t respond right away, she added, “Besides, you look like you could use a friend. Come on. I’ll make a good partner. Just tell me what you want.”

      “I don’t know what I want right now.”

      “Yeah? Well stand up, I know the first thing you need,” she said, while coming around from behind the desk.

      Jack slowly stood up and Laura said, “If there was anyone I’ve ever seen who needs a hug, it’s you.” She hugged Jack and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

      Jack closed his eyes for a moment. Her embrace felt good. It made him feel less alone.

      Laura stepped back and said, “Well? Do you want me as a partner or not?”

      “Yes, I do.”

      “I can start next Tuesday after the May long weekend. Gotta run. Have to let Elvis know I spoke with you and that you agreed ... after I performed a sexual favour.”

      Jack smiled, then replied, “I don’t need any heat from Elvis. I can get into trouble easy enough without that.”

      Laura was almost out the doorway when Jack said, “Laura!” He waited until she turned around and then said, “Thank you.”

      She smiled and replied, “We’ll get him, Jack.”

      Jack thought about her after she left. She offered to be a friend ... but would she ever be a good friend? Danny’s a good friend ... or was.

      Moments later, Louie hobbled in on his crutches and asked, “Wasn’t that Laura Secord who just left? What did she want?”

      “Staffing offered her Danny’s position. She asked what I thought.”

      “What did you say?”

      “I’m pleased. She starts six days from now.”

      Louie frowned and said, “How do you know she’s not the dirty narc?”

      “The day we took down those labs she was on a plane coming back from Bangkok. It’s not her.”

      “I see.” Louie paused for a moment and then said, “You know her hubby works for Internal.”

      “I know. Anti-Corruption.”

      “Doesn’t concern you?”

      “She’s okay.”

      “I retire in two months. You know that.”

      “I know, in July. Looking at those crutches, maybe you should retire now, but what’s that got to do with Laura?”

      “It means I won’t be around to cover your ass!”

      Jack smiled and said, “I appreciate that.”

      Louie gave him a hard look, then said, “Hope you’ve learned a few things over the last couple of years.”

      “Louie, you’ve been the best teacher I could have had. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m sorry to see you go.”

      “Don’t get fuckin’ mushy on me. Your assessment isn’t due until after I leave. Won’t do you any good to suck up to me. Just hope you know what you’re doing.”

      “I trust my instincts,” replied Jack. He thought about his comment as Louie left. Funny ... “I trust my instincts” ... that was what Spider said just before Laura slammed his face into a table and arrested him.

      chapter twenty

      It was five-fifteen in the morning when Jack heard his name whispered and saw Lance stand up from behind a tombstone.

      “What’s up?” asked Jack. “Any news on the Brit?”

      Lance shook his head. “The news about The Mole came up. Damien said there was heat on ’im. I asked about a leak. Damien said it was only Leitch, his secretary, Pussy Paul, Whiskey Jake, and me that knew. He said the leak probably came from The Mole when he was pissed. If Damien had someone else dealing with Leitch, he would have told me.”

      Jack hadn’t expected Damien to know, but felt disappointed just the same. “You’re sure everything was okay? Maybe Damien is just playing you.”

      “Don’t think so. I was given my assignment for the ship. It arrives tomorrow night. It’s a good time for us. Friday of a long weekend. Cops and port authorities won’t want to take time to nose around. If anyone suspected me of being a leak, I wouldn’t have been told.”

      “What is your job when it arrives?”

      “The Toad is gonna have me at the dock to oversee things there. Will happen in the early evening. The Toad will hand the money off at a motel called the Spotted Owl.”

      “Never heard of it.” “It’s by an industrial area out in Burnaby. Not far from the Labatt Brewery. Only The Toad and I know the location right now. Even Damien doesn’t know the name of the motel. The Toad is running things really tight. The strikers won’t even know until they’re with him and arrive at the motel.”

      Jack nodded.

      Lance stared at him briefly, then said, “So, like, you can’t do anything or I’ll get —”

      “Trust me. Where’s the money now?”

      “Don’t know. The Toad has it stashed with a couple of his guys. Around nine o’clock tomorrow night The Toad will BlackBerry the name of the motel to the Colombians. They will arrive and weigh the money to make sure it’s all there.”

      “Can’t these guys afford money counters?”

      “Too slow. Should be about thirty-five kilos worth of Canadian hundreds. A little more or less doesn’t really matter. Then the Colombians send a message to the ship and we unload.”

      “Canadian? What’s with that? Thought they would demand American?”

      “Yeah, The Toad said he was surprised when he found out too, but that’s what the Colombians wanted. It works out to about $3.5 million Canadian. It’s a hell of a lot easier for us. The Toad said they plan on buying some business up here to make things easier to connect with us. Probably have a mom and pop and couple of kids operation someplace.”

      “That’s a lot of money for a mom and pop operation.”

      Lance shrugged and said, “That’s just The Toad’s guess. Maybe it’ll be a few more than that. I don’t know.”

      “So the Colombians are coming off the ship and going to the motel?”

      “No. I guess some of them are already here. I don’t know how many for sure, but I think only a handful. Probably looking to scout out the business front. A couple will be at the dock and two are supposed to wait and go to the motel when The Toad calls ’em.”

      “You haven’t met any of them?”

      “Nope. From what The Toad says, they barely

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