“A casual comment he made. Something about Goldie surrounding himself with an enemy common to us both.”

“I’m not an operator. Spell it out for me.”

“It means he believes Goldie could be an informant.”

“Damn it,” muttered Rose. “That’s all we need. If he was one of ours, we’d have been told. I’ll go through channels and check with VPD. See if it’s true. If it is, they may not like us sniffing around.”

“Relationships with local police forces are different than back east,” said Jack. “We don’t hesitate to work with each other. Unlike our brethren in Ontario and Quebec, out west most of us have gone through a stint in uniform.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Good education when it comes to dealing with people. We don’t show up in a province still wet behind the ears from the academy and strut around like plainclothes detectives on a Hollywood movie set. It’s bound to build animosity and distrust. The sooner the Force clues in about that, the better. Don’t worry about working with VPD. It won’t be a problem.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I’ve worked with them in the past. They’ve got some really good people. Besides, we’re a step up the ladder from Goldie. Now we need to find out who Lee works for.”

“Ah, yes. The mysterious Shaman. Any clues?”

“Not yet. One step at a time. Laura and I are going to take today off, unless Lee calls. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Terrific job, you two. It’s absolutely incredible. Can’t wait to tell Isaac. After his suspicions about you, it won’t hurt to rub his nose in it a little.”

“Uh … why don’t you hold off until the end of the week. If Lee doesn’t call, it could make us look rather bad.”

At two o’clock that afternoon, Rose answered another call that was less pleasant.

“Where is that son of-a bitch?”

“Who is this?” demanded Rose.

“Connie Crane. I warned you! Where the hell is Jack Taggart?”

“Taking the day off.”

“Yeah, I bet. More likely he’s out in the country droppin’ off a body!”

“Care to enlighten me?” asked Rose.

“I-HIT picked up another homicide Friday night out in Langley. Unidentified man, stripped of his clothes and shot in the head. Found by a farmer who thinks some Asians did it.”

“Perhaps you’re not aware,” said Rose, “that Jack is Scottish.”

“Let me finish. I didn’t get the case, but I saw a picture of the victim and identified him. It’s —”

“Arthur Goldie,” said Rose, feeling stunned.

“So you already knew? What? You in on this with him? What the hell is going on?”

“No, I didn’t know. Just a lucky guess.”

“Really?” said Connie sarcastically.

“Yes, really. But the grounds for your suspicions … I was told Drug Section were doing surveillance of him while they were preparing to get a wiretap. Did they see him and Jack together on Friday?”

“I haven’t called them yet, but I’m suspicious every time a body shows up with a connection to Jack. I’m calling the narcs and I want a meeting right now with all of us. Including Jack and Laura!”

“Anything you wish to tell me before we go in?” asked Rose as Jack and Laura arrived outside the boardroom. “Connie is already inside and I have to say, she’s steamed.”

“No,” replied Jack, politely smiling as Sammy and two other Drug Section members arrived. “I think it best that we hear from everyone.”

Once everyone was seated, Rose said, “Well, Connie, this is your show. You call it.”

“We can make it simple,” said Connie. “Jack, tell us what you did on Friday, or do you not wish to speak until you have contacted a lawyer?”

“Oh, CC. You are a character,” said Jack, shaking his head. “I’m surprised … concerned … but I must deny —”

Two of the Drug Section members laughed outright and one said, “Yup, act surprised, show concern, deny, deny, deny!”

“This is not a time for gaiety,” said Rose crossly, “or unsubstantiated accusations for that matter,” she added, glancing at Connie. “We have some serious matters to discuss. We will not turn this into a three-ring circus. Jack, out with it.”

Jack reiterated the sequence of events that he had told Rose, including that he left Laura in the car as potential backup if it was needed. He said he went to Lee’s office and spoke with him directly in the hope of being able to bypass Goldie. He said that Lee was obviously interested and upon leaving his office, took them both out for dinner.

“And you told me that during dinner he said something about Goldie being an informant,” said Rose.

“That’s right,” replied Jack. “He mentioned words to the effect that he didn’t trust Goldie, that he thought he may be surrounded by the enemy, which I understood him to mean the police,” said Jack.

After a momentary silence, Connie slapped her hand on the table and said, “Bullshit! First of all, you’re telling me that you walk in unannounced to a guy heading one of the biggest criminal organizations in the world with only Laura as backup?”

“Hey!” said Laura.

“No offence, Laura,” said Connie. “But this stinks. Shouldn’t you have had a complete surveillance team? What could you have done if something went wrong? I mean, really.”

“When it comes to my life, I trust Laura completely,” Jack replied tersely. “UC is filled with judgment calls. I admit sometimes we make mistakes, but more people means more chances of being spotted. It is not always better.”

“Yeah? Whatever … but I don’t believe in coincidences when it comes to murder. Not with you. I don’t know how, but …” Her eyes searched the room for support and settled on Rose. “Damn it, Rose, you know my feelings. I warned you before about him. Jack and Laura call off the narcs on Thursday night and entertain Goldie on a boat. The next day the guy is murdered. Don’t tell me that you think it’s all a —”

“It is our fault,” interjected Sammy. Silence descended upon the room as all eyes stared in his direction. “We got him killed,” he added, quietly.

“How? What?” blurted Connie.

“We had surveillance on him yesterday afternoon. At around four o’clock he took off and we followed. Everything was going fine for the first few minutes and then we realized other cars were following him, too. At first we thought our paths had crossed with the City. Then we saw the others were all Asian. About then Goldie drove into an underground parking lot. I called for the team to break off, but I think we had already been burned.”

“You’re telling me they killed him because you were following him?” said Connie. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” asked Rose. “Goldie told Jack last Monday that this organization is so paranoid they were going to put him on the lie detector. Connie, I sent you a copy of his report. Didn’t you read it?”

“Yeah, I read it.”

“Did you also happen to read the reports outlining how much our office has done to assist you in relation to the murder of the homeless person in the park?”

“His name is Melvin Montgomery,” said Jack, sounding irritated.

Rose looked sharply at Jack but continued, “How Jack and Laura traced the gun from the U.S. up to Canada. Right across the country to Goldie’s doorstep? Including solid evidence in his garage linking him to the murder? Have you bothered to read those reports? Now you have the audacity to point a finger at him because he’s involved in a case where a suspect is murdered? If you’re pointing fingers, what the hell were you doing on Friday?”

“Rose, please,” interjected Jack, calmly. “I’ve known CC a long time. I normally respect her judgment. There have been unusual circumstances in the past on unrelated matters. It’s her job to be suspicious. She’s a good cop.”

“Thanks, Jack,” replied Connie, automatically. What the fuck! I just thanked him! She glared at Jack and then looked at Rose and said, “You have to admit, to kill someone in your organization because he is being followed by the police doesn’t seem practical.”