Jack.
“You really don’t think he knows the difference between a bug and a radio circuit board?”
Jack half-smiled. “I doubt it.”
“If this goes sideways, at least we can’t be charged with an illegal wiretap,” noted Laura, optimistically.
“You worry too much about the grey areas.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been getting them in my hair from working with you.”
Jack eyed Ho in the van and whispered, “Let’s do it. I also don’t want to tip him off that they got the wrong person … if in fact they did.”
Ho stared nervously as Jack and Laura climbed back into the van and closed the door behind them.
“It’s time to let you in on something,” said Jack, glaring at Ho. “We’ve got you for murder.”
“Murder?” Ho did his best to look surprised. “You’ve got to be kidding? You’re joking … right?”
“It’s no joke to drive over and kill a woman out walking her dog,” snarled Jack.
“I never did that!” replied Ho, looking shocked. He quickly regained his composure and added, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Your part was to sit in this van and watch when she left her house, then call to have her run over,” said Jack.
“I said I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Ho, defiantly. “I want my lawyer right now!”
Jack shrugged. “No problem, but you may want to know what we have on you, so you can tell him. Are you interested to hear what that is?”
“Go ahead. Tell me what you think you have, but I’m not answering any questions,” replied Ho.
“It wouldn’t matter if you did,” said Jack. “We haven’t read you your rights yet, so anything you do say to us would be inadmissible.” He glanced at Laura and said, “Go ahead.”
Laura thumbed through her notebook and said, “Here it is … Wednesday … two days ago, we have photos of you in this van arriving to watch her house at seven-forty-five that morning. You saw her come out of her house at twelve-forty-two and notified your buddies.” Laura looked up at Ho, smiled and waved his cellphone in her hand before continuing. “You stayed on the line for six minutes until they drove over her and left.”
“That don’t mean squat,” replied Ho. “So I made a call. You trying to say my phone was bugged?” he laughed. “Go ahead and bullshit, but I bought that phone this week. I know it’s still cool.”
“Oh, we’re not talking about having your phone bugged,” said Jack. “You see, we were working on you for drug trafficking out of the van. Imagine our surprise when our monitors got around to reading what you had to say.”
“What … what are you talking about?” asked Ho.
“Guess the investigation is over,” said Jack, looking at Laura. “I may as well take the transmitter out.”
Ho watched intently as Jack reached up and pulled off the plastic cap over the interior light in the back of the van to expose a small slit in the roof lining. He then reached in with his fingertips and pulled out an electrical wire connected to a small circuit board and put the item in his pocket.
Ho’s face went white. “You had the van bugged,” he gasped.
“You really picked the wrong van to watch her house,” noted Laura.
“Thought you were a dope dealer,” said Jack. “Didn’t know you were a murderer too.”
Ho started to hyperventilate, then squeezed his eyes shut to try and calm himself while shaking his head in sorrow for being caught.
“Maybe we have some good news for you,” said Jack. “As an alternative to spending the next twenty-five years in jail as somebody’s bitch, you could work for us and not be charged.”
Ho glowered at Jack and said, “You mean to rat. I ain’t nobody’s rat!”
“You’re only twenty-three years old,” said Laura. “Think how old you would be when you got out.”
“We would never burn you,” said Jack. “Although we can’t guarantee you immunity from any other officers, anything you tell us will be kept confidential and not used against you. We are after who orchestrated the murder. We know you were just a flunky.”
“I’d rather go to jail than be murdered for being a rat,” replied Ho, stubbornly.
“No arrests would ever be made if it would mean having you identified,” said Jack. “With your help, we would figure out a way to do it so you were safe.”
“Forget it!” Ho sneered at Laura. “You’re right. I am only twenty-three,” he said smugly. “Basically an innocent kid. If I ever was convicted of doing what you said I did, I would be out in about seven years at the most.”
“There is one more thing,” added Jack. “Have you thought about what will happen to your grandmother and your sister while you’re in the joint?”
“They’ll manage,” replied Ho.
“You should know that we will be seizing your grandmother’s house,” said Jack.
“You can’t do that! My grandma’s got nothing to do with it!”
“We have you for dealing dope,” said Jack, sounding matter-of-fact. “You have been helping pay the mortgage. The house is therefore considered the proceeds of crime and I will see that it is seized … unless you co-operate!”
Ho looked wild-eyed back and forth at Jack and Laura’s stony faces. Soon tears welled up and he whimpered, “Are you sure nobody will find out?”
Chapter Ten
After thirty minutes of intense questioning, Jack and Laura let Ho return to the Hanoi House so he wouldn’t be missed. They then returned to their office and Jack listened to a phone message from Connie Crane.
Connie said that discreet inquiries on Mia Parker did not reveal any criminal connections. Mia had graduated top in her class when she obtained her master’s in psychology and was currently taking political science. She was single and living in a basement suite a short distance from the University of British Columbia. The owners of the house, Maxwell and Julia Rolstad, were also checked and had no record of any criminal involvement.
Connie noted that Parker’s mother, Jia-li Parker, was a Chinese Canadian and a freelance journalist without any known criminal ties. The only record on file for Jia-li was due to her husband being killed in a hit-and-run accident twenty-five years ago. It happened when he was in a crosswalk at dusk on a rainy day. Although the hit and run was unsolved, Jia-li was definitely ruled out as having any complicity in the crime and Mia was only three years old at the time. Inclement weather and speed were listed as the likely cause.
Jack passed the
