waiting at the office before the narcs got back with the prisoners.”
“Wasn’t that the same lawyer who later disappeared?” asked Connie, looking at Jack with suspicion. “Rumoured to have been murdered by a Colombian drug cartel?”
“That’s the one,” replied Jack. “Having to obtain a new lawyer is a standard excuse the bad guys use to drag out their court cases.” He stared momentarily at Connie and added, “And for your information, the lawyer was murdered —”
Connie’s eyebrows furrowed.
“— by bad guys,” continued Jack. “At least, according to a reliable informant we used to have.”
Connie felt a little relieved. Not that he wasn’t involved somehow …
“Enough chit-chat,” said Jack. “I’m taking Gabriel and her kids to the Children’s Hospital. She’s in no shape to drive. I’ve spoken with Natasha. Everyone who has spent time in the house needs to be checked, as well.”
“We have priorities,” said Connie. “We need to find these guys. I’ll get uniform to take her. I want you to —”
“No, I’m taking her,” replied Jack firmly. “For the next hour, Faith is my priority. I’ve got Natasha pulling some strings for us. It’s better if I do it. In the meantime, Laura can go back to the office and start digging.”
Giving in was not one of Connie’s traits, but she had dealt with Jack before. Giving in was not one of his traits, either. She decided not to waste time arguing. Besides, with Jack, I’ll lose, anyway. “Okay,” she replied. “I’ll save the statement taking for some other time.”
Jack looked at Laura and added, “Grab a ride back to the office with uniform.”
Laura nodded and said, “I’ll talk to the narcs and see if we can come up with an address for Varrick. Also go through our intel and see who he was with when he was arrested last time.”
“Careful about who you talk to in Drug Section,” cautioned Jack.
“I know. I’ll use Sammy’s team and tell them to be discreet.”
“You, uh, mind filling me in on that?” asked Connie.
“This stays between us,” answered Jack. “A year and a half ago when we raided the labs, someone in Drug Section tipped off the bad guys and two of the labs had been cleaned out.”
“Bastard,” replied Connie. “Who did it?”
“Never identified as far as I know,” replied Jack, looking at Laura for confirmation.
“That true, Laura?” asked Connie who knew that Laura’s husband, Elvis, worked for the Anti-Corruption Unit, which handled the heavier cases coming out of Internal Affairs.
“Not yet,” replied Laura. “I spoke to Elvis about it. He says they’re narrowing it down. The office is broken into teams who work on different projects. By moving members around to different teams it basically becomes a process of elimination to figure out what is being leaked and who knew about it.”
“The old shell game,” commented Jack.
“So far they still don’t know,” added Laura. “Elvis does assure me that Sammy’s team is clean. In fact, Sammy has been helping disseminate bogus info for Elvis on occasion.”
“So we have a dirty narc to hinder us. Isn’t that lovely,” said Connie sarcastically.
“Do you want Varrick arrested if I locate him?” asked Laura.
“We need to identify his two playmates,” replied Connie. “If you find him, do surveillance and see who he hangs with. I’d like to give Forensics a chance to see if they come up with something. The more nails we have to put in their coffins the better.”
Jack sat with Gabriel at her kitchen table while Noah and Faith were in the living room. “The men in your basement were running a clandestine lab,” said Jack.
“You found an illegal drug lab in my basement!” said Gabriel in astonishment.
“All their equipment and chemicals are gone, but they were definitely running a lab.”
“No, you don’t understand,” said Gabriel. “I told you before. They were running a janitorial supply service. What you smell is —”
“No,” replied Jack firmly. “I know the man that Noah identified. He is a criminal. I’m sorry, but I am positive they were not operating a janitorial service.”
“Oh, dear,” said Gabriel. She glanced toward the living room and said, “I really am dense.”
“These guys are good at deceiving people,” said Jack. “They easily manipulate judges and juries. It’s their profession. We have found lots of labs operating right under people’s noses.”
Gabriel looked at Jack and muttered, “I really am stupid.”
“No, you simply aren’t familiar with how criminals operate. Hind sight is 20/20.”
“They seemed so nice …” Gabriel sighed and added, “My sister often commented that I was a little too naive.”
“Our concern is that these labs can be very carcinogenic,” said Jack. “My wife feels it would be a good idea for everyone to be checked out as a precaution. I would like to drive you and your children to B.C. Children’s Hospital.”
“You want to drive us to the hospital now?” asked Gabriel, glancing nervously at Faith who was back lying on the sofa. She paused and stared at Jack briefly. “What is it?” she demanded. “What haven’t you told me? You looked in her room, under her bed … what … what is it? Tell me!”
Jack took a deep breath and said, “There is a cold air return under her bed that leads directly to a room in the basement that the men used for their lab.”
“But you said everything has been cleaned out,” replied Gabriel as her brain went into denial. “You can’t be sure. You said the man used to be a criminal. It doesn’t mean he still is.”
Jack shook his head to show she was wrong.
“Father Brown said that there is not enough forgiveness in society,” said Gabriel accusingly. “That we often expect the worst of people, making it difficult for those who have truly repented to be welcomed back into society.”
“The person Noah identified is someone I arrested for running a meth lab a year and a half ago. It appears he moved to your house after he was arrested. I checked downstairs. There are still signs of what they were doing. I’m experienced in these matters. I have no doubt.”
Gabriel looked at Jack as the realization sunk in. “You mean you knew about him a year and a half ago and let him go?” she said harshly. “Why didn’t you keep him in jail? You’re telling me that you allowed him to come here and murder Father Brown. Maybe hurt my family! How could you do that? What kind of person are you to —”
“Mom! What’s wrong?” interjected Noah as he bounded
