wondered if you did it to impress him.”
Laura shrugged and said, “Not really. I just thought I would try a new look.”
Jean-Louie would have accepted her explanation but saw her glance at Jack when she answered. She wants to know if Jack approved of her response. They are hiding something.
“There is one more thing,” said Jean-Louie. “You have your cell so I’ll give you a cool number in Canada that is on call-forward back to me. If there is a problem, pretend you are calling your colleague in Canada. Try and let me know what is going on, but be aware that they might have the equipment to monitor both ends of the conversation.”
“Understood,” said Jack. “If I want the cavalry to arrive, I’ll ask how Charlie is. Otherwise, just play it by ear.”
“Good enough. If I hear Charlie I’ll send the teams in with guns blazing, although I doubt they could get to you in time.”
As Jack wrote down the phone number, Laura said, “You know, Jack, I’ve had a migraine all morning. Would you mind if I skipped going with you to make the call? I need to lie down for a couple of hours.”
“Not a problem,” replied Jack. “It’s just a phone call. Besides, our friend wants to go into the store alone. He doesn’t want to include either of us until he gets permission from Ramirez to introduce us. You and I won’t do our thing before this afternoon.”
Jean-Louie watched as they left. Laura’s eyes look bright and alert. Her reputation says she’s dedicated. Too dedicated to be put off by a headache while in Colombia, of all places!
Jean-Louie returned to his own room and sat on the bed for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before reaching for the phone. He hoped his gut instincts were wrong. He hated dirty cops.
A team from the Anti-Corruption Unit were only minutes away. The call was brief. Jean-Louie would pair off the RCMP narcs with the Colombian team to cover Jack and Damien. ACU would monitor Laura. Room bugs had not picked up anything of value yet, although Damien was prone to talking in his sleep.
Laura waited until she knew that Jack, Damien, and the cover team had left the hotel before putting the “Do Not Disturb” sign on her door and heading to the lobby. Soon she found a taxi driver who spoke a leetle English to take her to the northwest part of the city. She wanted to find a motel on the outskirts, someplace isolated. The taxi driver smiled. For such a beautiful woman, he understood the need for discretion. He knew a few such places.
Eventually Laura settled for Maria’s Cabinas. The taxi driver waited patiently while Laura went inside the officina and rented three cabins grouped in a cluster. Only one unit would be used, but Laura didn’t want anyone else hit by a stray bullet when Carlos died.
On her way back to her hotel, she had the taxi stop at a pharmacia. In the event the team was back from covering Jack and spotted her entering the hotel lobby, the pills she carried to relieve her migraine would explain her absence.
She entered the hotel lobby and did not see anyone she recognized. Moments later, she got off the elevator and paused in the hall and knocked on Jack’s door. There was no answer so she entered her own room and closed the door behind her. She took a few steps and abruptly stopped. Her room had not remained empty in her absence. She was in trouble and she knew it. Before she could move, a sharp knock landed on her door.
chapter thirty-six
Jack parked the car a couple of blocks from the shoe store and lagged behind Damien as they walked. He used his cellphone to discreetly take a picture of Damien from behind, then another of his profile as he crossed the street. The third picture was of Damien passing a newsstand. Today’s headlines were taped to the wooden structure in the background.
When Damien entered the shoe store, Jack remained outside while he placed a call and sent the three pictures.
As discreet as Jack tried to be, his actions did not completely escape the sharp eyes of Jean-Louie. He was not sure that Jack had actually taken pictures, but there was no doubt that he had made a phone call. Jean-Louie’s thoughts were interrupted when he received a text message from the Anti-Corruption team who were detailed to follow Laura:
Information just received. Reference the four men associated to the Carlos cartel sought in the disappearance of a Vancouver lawyer. These men connected to a warehouse near Vancouver where spent bullets were recovered from a wooden beam used for target practice. Lab matched these bullets to the same gun used in the unsolved murder of a man in Surrey last April. The victim was named Jack Taggart. His one-year-old child, Charlie, was left a paraplegic as a result of the murder. Believe this murder was a botched assassination attempt on Cpl. Jack Taggart. If there is any indication that Cpl. Taggart is connecting with the Carlos cartel, have the Colombian police arrest him immediately and detain for interrogation.
Jean-Louie read the message carefully. The name Charlie did not escape his attention. In a way, Jean-Louie was pleased with the message. Jack and Laura are not dirty ... at least not in a moral sense. But if they think they can seek justice on Carlos, then they are fucking insane!
Carlos was inclined to dismiss the telephone call. It was not possible. But when he studied the three pictures he knew that he was wrong. Damien was here! He had the nerve to come to Colombia to hire an assassin to kill him!
Carlos had been busy plotting to send a team of professionals to Canada to seek revenge. Fantasizing about how he could inflict the most pain before killing Damien had become an obsession. Now Damien shows up in my own backyard!
“I understand that you would like to ... speak with this man,” said Jack.
“Very much,” replied Carlos. “Face to face!”
“I would expect a fee to arrange this. Say $1 million in American?”
“You show me where he is and I will agree to that.”
“I also want your assurance that you will never come after me or my family again.”
“For this, you are my amigo.”
“Good. I am told he will only be in Colombia tonight. I have someone close to him. He fears you. He said he would never be taken alive.”
“I want the last face he sees to be mine!”
“I will know later where he is staying. My friend may be in a position to assist. I am told he always likes to take a shower after having sex. Perhaps my friend will signal when he is in the shower. Do we have a deal?”
“Si, Señor Taggart. We have a deal! How may I contact you?”
“I will contact you. I suggest you have people standing by. Time is of the essence. It will have to be tonight or early tomorrow morning.”
Damien left the shoe store and met with Jack.
“Went great,” said Damien. “They tracked down Ramirez and I spoke with him on the phone. He invited all three of us to his villa for lunch. I declined. It’s noon now. We need more time to get organized, so I said we would be there at two.”
“Excellent. Good work.”
“Everything
