the Gillnetter Pub on the Mary Hill Bypass?”
“Good spot. One hour?”
Jack brought Laura up to date on the kidnapping and told her how he had returned all but $1 million to Damien.
“That’s awful.” She thought for a moment and then added, “You must feel awful.”
“I do.”
“Have you notified I-HIT yet?”
“Can’t. Damien would never cooperate. All he wants is to get his family back. No cops involved.”
“You trust him to tell you who the Brit is when he finds out?”
“He’ll tell me. It won’t be long. He’s already paid the first instalment on the ransom. Second instalment will be made on Wednesday.”
“Will he be short of cash then too?”
“No. The coke is practically being given away to raise the money in time.”
Laura nodded.
“You on board with this? With what I just did?”
Laura nodded.
“Good. I appreciate your view. Thanks.”
“After the other night, this seems like small potatoes. I was afraid you were going to tell me to buy rubber boots and a pickaxe.”
“At the moment I agree with Damien. What’s important now is to get his family back. I think we can help. I have a theory.”
“To find them ... if they’re still alive?”
Jack grimaced and then nodded.
“If they’re dead, it would explain why Carlos won’t let Damien talk,” said Laura. “So he can’t verify if they’re still alive.”
“I considered that, but I think they’re alive. He’ll want Vicki and Katie alive so he can use them to make Damien come crawling to him — literally.”
“For a guy like that, I would be willing to do the digging. What’s your theory?”
“The Colombians wanted the money in Canadian funds. I think they’re already established here. Likely in the coffee industry.”
Laura reflected on it briefly and then said, “Would look legit. Good for laundering. Who is going to count cups of coffee, let alone figure out how many sacks of coffee are sold versus the money collected. Even sending the money back to Colombia would look legit!”
“Natasha said Vicki’s finger smelled of coffee. I’m thinking she could be stashed in a warehouse where the coffee is stored.”
“We should check Customs and see who is picking up the shipments.”
“Exactly. I also want you to check out a company registered to the plate I scooped off the van at the motel. It smelled of coffee too. We might get lucky and find a match.”
“Today is a holiday so...”
“I know. I don’t think you’ll find much out before tomorrow, but get on it as soon as you can.”
Laura took a sip of Rickard’s Red and then a bite of calamari. “I bet you’re right about the coffee connection. It all ties in. Find the warehouse and we find his wife and daughter.”
Jack nodded.
“But then what? We can’t raid the place ourselves. We’ll need to call out the troops.”
“I know. We’ll do it anonymously. It might even be in VPD’s jurisdiction. I’ll talk to Damien about it then. All he wants is his family back. Our Emergency Response Teams are better trained than anyone he has.” Jack took a bite of a chicken wing and then added, “They haven’t killed as many, but they’re better trained.”
“Then we’re set.”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Laura put her fork down. “What else? You’re holding something back!”
Jack looked at her and said, “I know I’ve dumped a lot of crap on you in a hurry.”
“No kidding! Officially I don’t even start until tomorrow.”
“And I want to thank you for being the person you are. There are only a few people I trust in this world. I trust you.”
Laura nodded and said, “Thanks. Now quit avoiding the subject. What else should I know?”
Jack sighed and said, “Tomorrow things could go bad for me. Something unrelated to this.”
“Bad? In what way?”
“I’m under investigation. On Saturday, when I met Damien in the park and Natasha showed up ... I spotted ACU following Natasha when she left with the cooler.”
“They’re working on you?”
“I recognized the car ... didn’t see who was driving. When I left, others followed me. I’m sure I-HIT is involved as well.”
Laura became silent as she thought about her marriage.
“I don’t want you to panic,” said Jack. “Don’t worry about the shoot, shovel, and shut up incident. If worse comes to worse, I will always deny you were with me. If I get grabbed, I want to make sure that you follow through on this stuff. Do what you can to save Damien’s family.”
“Why, Jack? Why would they be working on you?” Jack returned her stare for a moment, then said, “They think I had something to do with Bishop’s death. The day I was told about it, someone followed me out to my sister’s place to see if I would tell her.”
“Wondering if she already knew?”
“Exactly.”
Laura looked at Jack but didn’t speak. She didn’t want to make him lie to her, or worse yet, hear something that she could be asked to divulge.
“Once Damien’s family is safe, I know he’ll identify the Brit,” said Jack.
“Sounds to me,” said Laura quietly, “that you have bigger problems to worry about than the Brit.”
“Other people have problems too. Charlie’s going through life in a wheelchair because his dad and I had the same name.”
“Not your fault.”
“Perhaps. Then there’s Danny and Susan. They’re so traumatized I don’t think they’ll ever get over it. I don’t blame them that they hate my guts.”
“They need time.”
“Something I may not have. This thing with Vicki and Katie ... I don’t have a bigger problem than them. Someone has to
