A Delicate Matter Read online

  “Explain how it works.”

  “Well, to start with, we took two-and-a-half mil that we supposedly made in the ATM business and bought some development properties in Mexico through Lopez. In actuality, the land is worthless chunks of desert, but the pretext is that they’ll be developed into large condo complexes with golf courses. Lopez has several real estate people from different firms who are in on it. Supposedly investors buy small lots back from us and we make an enormous profit. On paper it looks like we’ve been reinvesting and buying more development properties for condos, resorts, or whatever.”

  “And do these investors actually exist?” Laura inserted.

  “I don’t know if they all do. I think most are major dope dealers — kingpins, so to speak. They pay Satans Wrath for the weed by handing the money over to various real estate firms who deal with different Mexican lawyers. Lopez is the guy who looks after Damien’s end.”

  “Can you remember the names of the real estate firms?” Jack asked.

  “No, but there are several. Pretty easy to buy off a real estate agent down there. I don’t know if the companies themselves are dirty, or just certain people in the companies.”

  Jack mulled the information over. “So nobody from the club has to handle the money personally during the actual drug transactions.” No wonder why we haven’t been able to trace it.

  “No, I guess they don’t.” Vicki paused. “I suspect that some of the weed is exchanged for coke, but Damien told me that mainly they just deal in weed.”

  He lied to make you feel better. They’re into every type of drug there is, not to mention prostitution and any other crime that preys on the vulnerable or the weak.

  “At least with weed, it’s not like it’s really hurting anyone,” Vicki said.

  Weed isn’t hurting anyone? Wish you could’ve heard Dwayne’s last phone call … although considering your total lack of remorse for what happened to King, would you even give a damn?

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Vicki asked. “Don’t you believe what I’m telling you? It’s all true.”

  Jack pushed Dwayne from his thoughts. “What you’re saying makes sense. It’d also be easy to smuggle drug money from the States into Mexico. That way there wouldn’t be any currency-transaction reports, which are required for amounts over ten grand.”

  “I guess. That part of the business isn’t something I know much about. On this end we receive and send money through Cummings. It’s either disguised as profits from land sales in Mexico or sent on the pretext of buying more land. Either that or to pay for construction materials, but so far, all that’s ever amounted to were a couple of foundations being laid.”

  “How does Charles Bentley fit in?” Jack asked.

  “He simply looks after the money that we send to him, either through Cummings or Lopez.”

  “He must know it’s dirty,” Laura said.

  “Yeah, well, I guess he’s what you’d call wilfully blind,” Vicki replied, giving Jack a perky smile.

  Jack didn’t return the smile. “To confirm that I’m clear on things, neither Lance nor Whiskey Jake knows about Bentley or Cummings?”

  “Definitely not. Damien didn’t want to take any chances of anyone knowing where his money ended up.”

  Jack caught the concern on Laura’s face and knew what she was thinking. If nobody else knows about Cummings and Bentley, how do we bust Damien without him knowing it was Vicki who tipped us off?

  “I know you’ll want proof,” Vicki continued. “Damien doesn’t keep any records of it in our house. He had me store some files, including a backup computer flash stick, in a safe we keep at my sister’s. The flash stick has all the info, including telephone numbers for the lawyers and account details.”

  “You should’ve brought it with you,” Jack said.

  “I made a copy. It’s in my car.”

  “In your car?”

  Vicki bit her lip. “I didn’t bring it because I was afraid you’d find it when you searched me. I was hoping you would’ve been satisfied with taking the one point two mil I told you about.”

  “We’ll get the flash stick later,” Jack replied. “We’re not done yet.”

  Vicki nodded. “Damien won’t be happy with you taking the one point two, but the BVI is where you’ll really hurt him.”

  “That was going to be my next question,” Jack said. “How bad can we hurt him?”

  “I’d say you could hurt him to the tune of eighteen point four million.”

  Holy shit!

  Laura gawked at Vicki for a moment, then looked at Jack. “That sounds like a lot of hurting.”

  Jack’s mind reeled with what he’d been told. How do I seize all that money, not charge Buck, and make Damien think Vicki wasn’t involved? He saw Laura glance at Vicki, then turn toward him and shake her head. He knew what she was thinking. If we seize the money, Damien will kill her. He ignored her and faced Vicki.

  “So what do you say now?” the woman asked. “Is Buck in the clear?”

  Jack heard Laura clear her throat to catch his attention. He continued to ignore her. There’s no way I’m allowing Damien to slip away.

  Laura cleared her throat again. Louder.

  Jack smiled grimly as a plan formed in his mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  It was noon when Jack and Laura retrieved the computer flash stick from Vicki and returned to their SUV. Once in the passenger seat, Laura swivelled to look at Jack. He knows how I feel. He’s been avoiding eye contact with me ever since he told Vicki that ridiculous plan to protect her from Damien finding out she talked.

  Jack turned to face her. He smiled and raised his hand to give her a high-five.

  “Are you totally nuts?” she said angrily.

  He lowered his hand. “What’re you talking about? We’ve got him! After all these years, we’ve —”

  “We don’t have him!” she cried. “You’re so bloody blinded by the notion of taking him down that you’re not thinking straight! I’m sure as hell not taking part in that ludicrous plan you ran past her!”

  “Oh, we’ve got him,” he said determinedly. “Make no mistake about that. As far as my plan with Vicki goes, I know you’re not happy about it, so let’s talk. What don’t you like?”

  “Don’t like?” You jerk! “The woman’s a loose cannon! Her emotions are all over the place. You could end up dead.”

  “I’m not letting Damien get away,” he replied vehemently. “My plan will protect her and us.”

  “Us?”

  “It’ll give Damien something more to think about than coming after us. Buck was one thing. This is far more serious.”

  “How is getting yourself killed protecting anyone?”

  Jack dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. “I won’t get killed. If it works, Damien will thank us.”

  “What you should’ve said is you won’t get killed if it works.”

  He gazed at her coldly. “If you have a better idea for how to seize Damien’s money, his home, all his belongings, and avoid the charges on Buck without him thinking Vicki was involved, I’m all ears.”

  “Their home? Jack! What are you …? God, you never mentioned that to her! That makes it far worse. She’s only thinking about the bank accounts and has her father’s money as backup. You don’t know how she’ll respond to losing her home.”

  “If she’s genuinely angry it’ll be all the better. Damien won’t think she had anything to do with it — which is another reason not to let her know until we do it.”

  “She’ll flip out!”

  “Good. It’s not like she could say or do anything about it. Besides, she should pay for living like a princess all these years off blood money.”

  Take a deep breath. Try to reason with him.

  Jack started the engine but didn’t put the SUV
in gear, opting instead to take out his phone. “I know you’re perturbed,” he said calmly.

  Perturbed? Is that what you’re calling it? Perturbed that I might have to drop by your house and tell Natasha and your kids that you were killed? You’ve no idea how —

  “I admit I’ve got reservations about it, too,” Jack said, “but like I said before, do you have a better idea?”

  Laura felt her frustration grow. “No, but what you told her might not work, either.”

  “I only told her part of the plan. Damien’s no fool. With him we’ll really have to muddy the water.”

  “What’s the rest of the plan?” she asked in a tone meant to show her displeasure.

  “When we raid his home and lawyer’s offices, he’s going to suspect Vicki immediately. We’re going to have to deflect the heat instantly. We need extra insurance to protect Vicki down the road.”

  Extra insurance? More like life insurance for Natasha to collect!

  “Trust me, it’ll all turn out,” Jack said calmly, “but we need to mess with Damien’s head.”

  “His head isn’t the only one you’re messing with. I’m not prone to headaches but I’ve got a doozy of one now.”

  “You’re tired. Once you get some rest you’ll see that I’m right.”

  “But the risk you’ll be putting yourself in is too —”

  Jack’s voice was harsh. “Doing a number on Damien is worth the risk.”

  Laura saw the look in his eyes, defying her to say otherwise. She knew she couldn’t change his mind unless she had a better idea. Better idea? Man, I don’t have any ideas. She sighed. “You told me there was more to your plan. What’s the rest?”

  “I’ll tell you in a minute, but first I need to call Sammy.” He stabbed at the numbers with his finger. “I want to see if Bob and Roxie have delivered the weed yet.”

  Laura listened as Jack spoke with Sammy. It seemed the semi was still in Dallas, Bob and Roxie had not unloaded yet, and they were currently parked in an industrial area.

  “Good,” Jack said to Sammy. “Sounds like someone from the West 12th Street gang should be there soon. There’s a change of plans. Tell the DEA to seize all the dope as soon as the semi is clear.” Jack listened, then smiled. “No, the money trail is no longer a problem. Tell them to seize the dope … I’m sure, yes. It has to do with an informant. They can apply to have Bob and Roxie extradited back to the States later, but let the semi go. We can seize it later, as well.” He paused to listen. “Yes, I know it’ll make the case stronger if they can seize all the dope. I’ll outline everything in a report. Let me know how it goes.” With that he hung up.

  “You’re seizing the dope and letting the semi go?” Laura said. “In other words, setting Bob and Roxie up to look like informants?”

  “Not them,” Jack replied. “Let me take you through it step by step.” He pulled away from the curb. “Vicki said Damien is blaming the Gypsy Devils for our being there and making a video of Buck. Having the DEA bust the West 12th Street gang in Dallas will add credence to his belief and help protect Weenie Wagger.”

  “It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s Vicki — and you for your cockamamie plan.”

  “Step by step,” Jack said, gesturing with his hand for her to be patient. “Think about Weenie Wagger. We don’t know what the future will bring. He’s a full-patch member. I’ve checked his history. He ran away from home when he was sixteen. The only family he knows now are Satans Wrath. Turning on the club will eat away at him — but with luck and proper coaching, we may be able to swing him our way. Maybe someday he’ll be willing to wear a wire and testify. If Damien, or I should say his replacement, clues in that the leak is in their club, our guy could be in jeopardy.”

  “The replacement — Purvis Evans,” Laura said. “Alias Pure E, alias Pure Evil.”

  “They’re all evil as far as I’m concerned. But back to Weenie Wagger — only two guys from Satans Wrath knew where Larry and Dwayne’s grow-op was.”

  “Weenie Wagger and Buck,” Laura supplied. “But if Buck isn’t charged with murdering King, wouldn’t they suspect him, instead of our parkade rat?”

  “If Buck was our informant they’d know we wouldn’t have shown the video to Damien. Not to mention, they’ll realize we received information from someone prior to witnessing Buck.”

  I should’ve thought of that. I am so tired.

  “Once we take down Damien and the lawyers, it’ll end up in a conspiracy trial. We won’t have to name Vicki, Weenie Wagger, and Larry, but it’ll come out that we had three informants. I’m going to deflect heat onto one of the Gypsy Devils now. When it comes to court, Satans Wrath will think they’ve already dealt with the problem.”

  “Dealt with the problem? You mean killed the problem.”

  Jack grinned. “Glad your sense of humour has come back.”

  I wasn’t trying to be funny.

  Jack read her expression. “Okay, it hasn’t come back.” He ignored her glare and continued, “By having the dope seized in Dallas, I’ll be putting the heat on the Gypsy Devils, and Neal in particular.”

  “But by letting Bob and Roxie go, wouldn’t it be obvious that they were to blame?”

  “Obvious is right. Too obvious. Damien knows I protect my sources. If they were really my informants I’d never let it happen like that, let alone allow them to drive back to Vancouver where they’d be killed. To add to that, Bob and Roxie were on the road to Dallas when King was killed. The break-in at the marina to get King’s address happened later. It couldn’t have been them who squealed.”

  Laura nodded. “So with the ultimatum that Damien gave, the Gypsy Devils will really be giving each other the hairy eyeball.”

  “Yes — and a likely suspect would be Neal. He lost a shipment of weed prior to us videoing Buck. His buddies will think we busted him with the seventy-five keys and that he rolled over — perhaps to protect his brother. By not arresting Bob and Roxie in Dallas, the bikers might think that we let them go as part of the deal.”

  “Meaning Neal will probably be killed soon.”

  “Thinking optimistically perhaps — but yes.”

  Yes, it’s always nice to be optimistic about having people murdered. The worst part is I’m inclined to like the idea. God, what’s happened to me?

  “There’s another reason to set up Neal,” Jack said. “If the GDs don’t believe that it was one of them who squealed, they could end up in a war with Satans Wrath. Some innocent person — or kid — could be killed in the crossfire. It’s not something I want to risk.”

  “It’d be a short war if the GDs took on Satans Wrath.”

  “Short, but the GDs are amateurs. I doubt they’d care about the loss of innocent life. I think seizing the weed and letting Bob and Roxie go is the right thing to do.” He looked at her. “Don’t you?”

  I suppose it is.

  “Glad you agree,” Jack said, again reading her expression. “You just needed to see the big picture. When you think about it, having the GDs kill one of their own is great,” he added enthusiastically.

  “Damien is giving them two weeks to do it themselves.”

  “Yes, and from a psychological aspect, having to murder one of their own will hurt morale.”

  “Perhaps making some of them question the whole idea of belonging to the club,” Laura reasoned.

  Jack gave a satisfied smile. “They’re not all that big of a club. It could be a catalyst for them to implode.”

  “Goodbye Gypsy Devils,” she said sardonically.

  “Now … back to my plan with Damien. There’s more to it than I told Vicki.”

  Great. Let’s hear it.

  “I’m going to throw a little heat on one of the lawyers.”

  “A little heat on a lawyer?” Laura gasped. “If Damien loses every dollar he made, do you really think that any heat
will be little?”

  “Probably not,” Jack admitted.

  Probably dead, thought Laura. Oh, man.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Having Neal killed is one thing — but a lawyer?”

  Jack gave a lopsided smile. “Sounds to me like you’re disparaging Neal.” His tone became serious. “These lawyers are worse than Neal. At least they have the brains to make an honest living. Neal, I’m not so sure.”

  Laura exhaled. “Which lawyer? Lopez, Bentley, or Cummings?”

  “With the corruption in Mexico, I doubt Lopez would ever go to jail. That’d make him a good suspect, except Damien will know we’re behind it all. It’d be better to pick someone we could’ve conceivably dealt with. Shop local as they say.”

  “Meaning Cummings.”

  Jack nodded. “That’s my thought. Besides, I’d prefer we get rid of the scum here. Let Mexico and BVI deal with their own scum.”

  “How? He’ll have to be charged with money laundering. We won’t have any say in that. How could you make him look like an informant once that happens?”

  “I’ll think of something,” Jack replied.

  That’s what I’m afraid of.

  “I know the brass will be taking a keen interest,” Jack continued. “Informant safety will be an issue. I’ll have to word things carefully when it comes to the, uh, finer details of how to protect them.”

  Yes … the finer details. That ought to go over well with the brass if they hear about those.

  Jack stifled a yawn. “I’ll go in and talk to Rose tomorrow. I won’t need you for that, so stay home and take the day off. I think you need it.”

  You think I’ll say something to Rose, or that she’ll see I’m hiding something.

  “I’m not afraid you’ll screw this up with Rose,” Jack said.

  Laura frowned. Can’t I have a personal thought without him knowing what it is?

  “Sorry,” Jack said. “I’m tired and am trying to be expedient.”

  Damn you. She looked out the window so that he couldn’t guess what she was thinking.