LITMIR.BIZ

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replied.

      Laura didn’t speak for almost a minute.

      Jack didn’t interrupt her thoughts. What he was asking her was to risk everything she had.

      Finally she spoke. Her words were a whisper. “If this is about the guy who attacked the O’Reilly family, then I could be a good friend.”

      “Are you sure?” Jack asked. “I know you. I remember when I worked an operation with you in Alberta. You made me stop the car to rescue a gopher that was snagged on something.”

      “That’s cuz gophers don’t kill babies.”

      Jack nodded, then said, “Okay. We don’t have much time.”

      “Who, when, and where?”

      “Right now ... and he’s in the trunk.”

      “You’re not serious!”

      Jack quietly handed her the keys and sat in the car while she went to look. She saw the man’s body wrapped in a yellow plastic police emergency blanket. A shovel was also in the trunk.

      “Oh, man,” she mumbled, then got back in the car. “You killed the guy?” she asked.

      Jack shook his head, then replied, “No. He was already dead when I found him.”

      “And he’s the piece of shit who likes to kill babies?”

      “No, but he is a piece of shit. He’s a — he was — a member of Satans Wrath. If he disappears, I expect we’ll find out real fast who tried to drown Jimmy and murdered the guy who had my name.”

      “What is going on?” asked Laura. Her voice sounded quiet but firm.

      Jack quickly explained what had happened, along with his plan. Laura glanced into the back seat at the two sports bags, then reached over and unzipped one of them. She dug her hand briefly through a few of the layers of bundles of money before zipping the bag closed.

      “If The Toad and the money are missing,” continued Jack, “it will look like The Toad ripped everyone off. I’ve already found a fresh grave. We’ll just make it two for the price of one. It won’t take long, but I need you to distract the security guard when he comes by.”

      “Are you on medication?” asked Laura, sounding serious.

      Jack shook his head and said, “I’m not crazy. This will work. Once I spread the rumour that The Toad was working with the Brit, it won’t take Damien long to find out. When he does, my friend will also know. My friend thinks Leitch launders money so it would fit that he could be involved in the rip along with The Toad.”

      “Have you tried following Leitch?”

      “Ask Elvis about that. They did, along with I-HIT. They got burned. Leitch would have warned the Brit. Whoever this guy is, he has to have a lot of clout to get Leitch to show him secret police reports before the bikers even see them. You can bet he’ll be extremely cautious. I doubt that any future surveillance on Leitch would be successful.”

      “But your friend could find out through Damien?”

      “If Damien knows, then my friend will know. I want to put all the heat on The Toad and spread the rumour that The Toad, Leitch, and the Brit are in cahoots. With The Toad gone, Damien should step back into power. In the unlikely event my source isn’t made privy to the Brit’s identity, Damien might be willing to help me. He’ll think it’s in our common interests. He’ll want the money and revenge, and we want the Brit.”

      “Really?” said Laura. “Damien might help you?” Jack caught her suspicious look and said, “He’s helped me before.”

      “Sounds interesting.”

      “Don’t even go there.”

      Laura studied Jack’s face for a moment, then said, “So how do you get Damien to think the heat was on The Toad? He’s not stupid.”

      “I’ll put word out that we were working on The Toad when he led us to the Brit and Leitch. One of our narcs is supplying info to Satans Wrath.”

      “I know. Elvis told me.”

      “If the info comes to Damien through the dirty narc, he’ll be inclined to believe it’s true. Especially with The Toad and the money disappearing. To protect my friend, I’ll indicate my informant is a hooker who was servicing The Toad. I’ll say she saw The Toad meet with the Brit who then met with Leitch that day in the park. Damien won’t know what to think.”

      “What about the Colombians?”

      “They barely speak English. Everyone will be confused. It doesn’t really matter. What counts is that Damien will grab Leitch and find out who the Brit is. I know this isn’t exactly by the book, but...”

      “By the book? Oh, man! It is in the book. The Criminal Code of Canada! We’ll both end up in the crow-bar hotel.”

      “Not if we’re careful. But I understand. If you want to back out, go ahead. This is the only plan I could come up with to protect my source and find out who the Brit is.”

      “So you plan to lie to everyone about this hooker and the park thing?”

      “Satans Wrath have too many of their own sources and are always developing new ones. I don’t believe in telling our people anything that isn’t necessary for them to know.”

      “Did it ever occur to you that you might have a trust issue?”

      “I always have a trust issue.”

      “Glad you recognize it. Maybe there’s a twelve-step program you could take.”

      “There is. I can walk past a dozen tombstones of people who died because someone trusted the wrong person.”

      Laura decided to ignore the remark and said, “So when you do find out who the Brit is ... what then? Turn him over to I-HIT?”

      “Something like that.”

      “What do you mean, ‘something like that’?”

      “Put yourself in Susan’s position. Imagine being tied to a chair while you watch your baby being tossed in a swimming pool ... then being left there to watch for the next half-hour.”

      “I’ve thought about that,” said Laura quietly. “Often.”

      “If that doesn’t get you, then think about Holly’s dead husband and a toddler by the name of Charlie spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair.”

      “So what are you getting at?”

      “We have no solid evidence on the Brit to link him to anything. Just a picture of a guy in a van looking out while I’m getting a call on my cellphone. Even if he was convicted, do you really think that ten or fifteen years in jail is enough for what he did?”

      “So what are you saying? That we should just shoot him?”

      “Personally I think that is letting him off too easy.” Jack thought briefly about two other murders. His niece and nephew. They were killed by bikers, but someone else — Bishop — gave the orders. He looked at Laura and added, “We don’t even know if the Brit is responsible. He could be working for someone else.”

      Laura stared back at him without speaking.

      Jack waited for a moment, then said, “All I’m saying is we can cross that bridge together when we come to it. Who knows what opportunities will arise along the way.”

      “Opportunities? Like what?”

      “Take tonight. I didn’t expect to get this lucky, with the bad guys killing each other and me ending up with $3.5 million. Believe me, I understand your concern.”

      “This wasn’t luck. You orchestrated what took place tonight.”

      “I didn’t know for sure the bikers would get

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