“So they don’t really suspect me?” asked Lee, his face brightening for the first time since meeting Jack.

“They suspect that Goldie may have laundered some drug money through your company, likely without your knowledge. They think that is how he met you and is taking advantage of an international financial corporation to throw the police off the trail. The police know it would take years to prove, by which time it would be too late or impossible to charge Goldie if it was then discovered that he was lying.”

“Which, of course, he is,” said Lee, smugly.

Jack smiled and said, “Given the circumstances and the fact that you do not know me, I would also respond in the same manner that you now are.”

Lee looked indignant and said, “I’m telling you —”

Jack put up his hand indicating for him to stop and said, “I could care less if it is true or not. Goldie also talked to the police about me. He told them I am interested in purchasing a ton of heroin as an initial investment. The police … small-minded as they are,” he muttered, “think that quantity is too large to be believable. As a result, they think Goldie is lying about me and that he came up with my name only as a result of some RCMP Intelligence officer having made inquiries about me a few weeks back.”

“I heard about that,” said Lee.

Jack chuckled and said, “I bet you did.”

“And the story about a homeless person being murdered in a park? What of that? Do the police think it is something Goldie may have picked up on the news?”

“No, Goldie would be smart enough not to make such a blunder. It would be too easy for the police to know certain details that had not been released to the media.”

“So the police know that Goldie is telling the truth about that?”

“That he may have been there, sure. It is also a reason why they think he is lying about you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do the police. It doesn’t make sense why anyone in your position would be involved in such a ridiculous situation. They think it involved Goldie and his bartender, Purvis.”

“His bartender? Why?”

“They speculate that Purvis made a heroin transaction with someone in an alley, perhaps behind Goldie Locks, and then realized that the homeless person saw them. They think it more likely that Purvis took the witness somewhere else to be killed so as not to bring any heat down on the club. Goldie may have gone with him.”

“I see,” said Lee. “Then I am sure that is what did happen. It certainly did not involve me. As you say, it would be ridiculous.”

Jack smiled knowingly, openly betraying his belief that Lee was lying.

“Excuse me a moment,” said Lee, while flipping open his laptop. “Your unscheduled meeting interrupted some important business. I have to take care of some loose ends.”

It was three-thirty when Laura answered her cellular. Nothing like waiting until the last minute …

“Hi, honey,” said Jack. “I’ll be a little late tonight. I’ll call you in an hour.”

A couple of minutes later, Laura saw Lee and Jack return to the underground parkade.

Laura breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in the seat and waited. Her relief lasted until four-thirty before she held her cellphone in her hand. Come on, Jack, call! Five minutes later she dialed Jack’s cellular. There was no answer.

She redialed. Damn it, Jack! Pick up!

Laura had no idea that Jack had left the parkade an hour earlier. He was driven out in the back of a cargo van, naked, and with a gun stuck in his ear.

27

Once they arrived back in the underground parkade and stepped out of the car, Lee raised his voice to speak to him over the top of the car and abruptly said, “Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you, Mister O’Donnell. Hope you have a pleasant day.”

Jack knew he was in trouble and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see four Asian hoodlums, two of whom were pointing pistols at him. The closest one held his index finger up to his lips, telling Jack not to say anything.

A cargo van immediately appeared as one of the men placed a band of duct tape across Jack’s mouth before securing his wrists behind his back with a plastic zip-tie. He caught a glimpse of Lee casually walking toward the elevator being held open for him by a fifth Chinese man. Seconds later, Jack was hustled into the back of the cargo van and made to sit on the floor.

The van radio was blasting out music that echoed inside the confines of the van, making any conversation difficult, but none of his captors spoke, regardless. Another band of duct tape was placed over Jack’s eyes before he was pushed onto his back.

He felt the muzzle of a pistol on his temple, while someone undid his belt and someone else pulled off his shoes. Seconds later, his pants were tugged off. He felt a thin cold flat piece of steel on his stomach and knew it was a knife. Is that it? Is my life over? Are they going to gut me right here? Someone yanked on the front of his golf shirt and he soon realized it was being cut off. His captors were not taking any chances by undoing his wrists. He was rolled onto his side and his underwear was pulled partially down and then back up.

He heard the rustling sound of a garbage bag as all his property, with the exception of his underwear and socks, were crammed inside. The sound of the garbage bag moved to the van door, which opened and closed quickly. Tires of another vehicle squealed slightly and Jack knew his clothes had been taken away. The radio in the van was turned off and he was driven out of the parkade. He was still blindfolded and tied up, but now someone was straddling his ribcage with the muzzle of a pistol inserted in his ear.

The van drove for an hour before Jack heard the difference in the sound of the tires when it left the highway and followed a road with an obviously slower speed limit. That, too, changed when he heard the sound of gravel beneath the tires.

Laura drove into the parkade. Many parking spots were opening up as most of the companies in the office tower ended their day between four and five o’clock. She parked in a spot close to Lee’s car and sat and waited. If he came out with someone other than Jack, she would follow him. If he comes out alone … Her eyes caught the reflection of her trunk in the rear-view mirror. “Oh, man,” she said aloud, before getting out and going to the trunk and getting a ski mask and shoving it inside her purse.

When she got back inside the car, she continued to dial Jack’s number every ten minutes, but there was no answer. By five-thirty, the only car besides hers on the reserved level belonged to Lee, and she knew her position stood out. What few cars did pass through were the occasional shoppers who had been parked in the public parking lot deeper within the complex.

Laura took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and started her engine. Seconds later, she was parked right beside Lee’s Mercedes-Benz.

It was six o’clock and suppertime, but being a farmer did not mean punching a time clock. George Appleton stooped to pick up a staple that had worked its way loose from the barbed-wire fence and fallen in the grass. It was a common problem and he routinely walked alongside his fenceline to ensure he found the staples before one of his Holsteins swallowed it with a mouthful of alfalfa and got it caught in its throat. He was about to hammer the staple back in when the sound of a gunshot came from a wooded area near an entrance lane to one of his fields.