Dead Ends (16 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Over the next couple of days, Jack and Laura spent their time in the back of a surveillance van identifying people coming and going from Sy's apartment building. Most were teenagers and most had criminal records. Of interest, one of the teenagers was identified as Lorraine Calder, the same person who had been with Julie Goodwin the day before the girl committed suicide.

Rodine told Jack that Lorraine was a girlfriend of one of Sy's top lieutenants. A man who went by “Brewski” and who lived in the apartment next to Sy. Jack was able to identify Brewski's real name as David Brewster. A twenty-nine year-old man who had a long criminal record for violent assaults and drug trafficking.

* * *

Three days before Jack and Laura were to move into Sy's apartment building, Jack received a phone call from Connie. He spoke quietly on the phone in case someone should happen to walk past the van and hear his voice.

“You like your bad news straight up?” asked Connie glumly.

“What have you got?” whispered Jack.

“Crown and defence made a deal for the three punks we caught going after Amanda Flowers. Half an hour ago they all pled guilty to criminal harassment by engaging in threatening conduct.”

“That's better than I thought,” replied Jack. “I figured it would be along the line of vandalism.”

“That might have been better. At least there would have been an admission that they intended to damage something.”

“Maybe defence thought the masks and weapons wouldn't make the pretext of vandalism quite as plausible. I hope those details were mentioned.”

“They were. The prosecutor told the judge how they crept into her yard with masks, knives, and a pellet pistol. Westmount spoke for the defence. He told the judge that the young boys had an ill-conceived idea to put the masks on and yell at the teacher from the backyard. Their plan was that when the teacher looked out her window, the boys would hold the knives and pellet pistol up in the air to scare her and then run away. He said it was a schoolboy prank which was obviously wrong. He said all three young boys feel very foolish, ashamed, and extremely sorry for what they have done. He said letters of apology have been written to the teacher, but the police have stopped them from giving her the letters.”

“What did these
young boys
get?” asked Jack.

“All three received two years' probation. They were already on probation for other crimes and this probation is to be served concurrently with the other.”

“So they received nothing?”

“You got it.”

“Is the Crown going to appeal the sentence?”

“No,” replied Connie. “With the evidence at hand the prosecutor says we're lucky as it is. Who knows, maybe that was all the punks really intended to do.”

“Oh, Connie,” said Jack, sadly, “you're sounding naive enough to be a judge. That is not what they intended to do.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Seeing as you're not going to court, I'll fill you in.”

“Fill me in on what?” asked Connie suspiciously.

“I am trusting you to keep this to yourself. Someone's life depends upon it.”

“I understand.”

Jack told her about Sy meeting with Cocktail and the real plan which had been foiled.

“That evil prick! We gotta get this guy!”

“Trust me, we will.”

“Wait a minute. Did you bullshit us when we had ERT sitting on all —”

“Just found out from our friend a few minutes ago,” lied Jack.

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Does Amanda know what happened in court?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Not yet. I can tell her if you like, but I thought you and Laura had a better rapport with her, so –”

“We'll tell her,” sighed Jack.

* * *

Jack and Laura met with Amanda. She invited them in for tea, but Jack did not want to wait to tell her the news. He watched as her face went blank, repeating his words over again as she tried to make sense of what happened.

“They're still out there,” cautioned Jack. “You should move out of the lower mainland.”

“Why?” yelled Amanda. “It's not like they should be angry!”

“Several of them have been arrested over the last year,” said Jack. “They might try again to send a message.”

“What message?” she demanded.

“Intimidation,” said Laura. “To scare anyone else from talking to the police.”

“This is bullshit!” Amanda looked at Jack and said, “Even with masks, they would never have gotten away with it. I know their voices. Two of them are not even in any of my classes, but I know them to hear them.” She looked intently at Jack and said, “Tell me, their apology letters … do you think they were genuine?”

“No. It is a common ploy by defence to impress the judge. Believe me, these guys are not repentant, which is why I would like to see you move somewhere else.”

“This really sucks.” Amanda brooded for a moment and said, “I want to be alone. Goodbye.”

“Amanda, I know you're angry,” said Jack. “So am I, but —”

“Don't worry. I'll take the rest of the year off and try to find a different school to work at next year. Please, just go.”

* * *

As Jack and Natasha were making dinner, Natasha asked, “Bad day?”

“Why do you say that?”

“You're slamming the cupboard doors. You always do when you're subconsciously trying to take control of a situation.”

Jack smiled to himself, once again realizing how easily Natasha could read him. “It wasn't that bad of a day,” he replied. “Things turned out as I expected, just not as I would have liked.”

Over dinner, Jack told Natasha about the three punks receiving probation and how much it had affected Amanda's life. He realized that Natasha was unusually silent over dinner and when they finished eating he asked, “Something on your mind?”

Natasha sighed and said, “You've had a bad day …”

“Doesn't matter. What is it?”

“There is something I want to tell you. Let's go sit on the sofa.”

Jack nodded and Natasha held his hand and led him to the living room. As they sat down, Jack's BlackBerry vibrated. He glanced at the call display. It was Gabriel Parson.

“I better answer,” he said.

Natasha forced a small smile and nodded.

Gabriel was in hysterics. It took Jack several seconds to calm her down before she spoke coherently.

“Noah and I were at BCCH visiting Faith,” she sobbed. “When we returned home … Noah saw a bloody footprint on our sidewalk coming from Amanda's.”

“Did you go in?”

“No! Not after —”

“Did you call 911?”

“Yes. The ambulance is taking her away. That's their siren in the background … or maybe the police. I heard the paramedics talking. She was gagged and tied to her bed. Naked … her face … blood everywhere.”

“Is she alive?”

“Yes, yes, she's alive. I heard her voice.”

Jack heard Gabriel's voice turn from the phone and she said, “Yes, Noah,” before speaking to Jack again and saying, “The police are here. I need to go.”

Jack called the Major Crimes Unit, while quickly explaining to Natasha what had taken place. MCU had already been called and Connie Crane who was on her way to the hospital.

Jack didn't know if he wanted to cry or to vomit as he placed his next call to Laura.

“Laura, something —”

“Jack, it's Friday night and Elvis and I are out having a romantic dinner. The waiter is setting our meal down right now. Can whatever —”

“No it can't wait!” Jack yelled harshly, before pausing to apologize and blurting out the details.

“We'll head home immediately,” said Laura. She was still in shock over the news. Her mind was still reeling, trying to grasp the reality of it all. She felt like she was listening to someone else's voice telling Jack where she was, robotically repeating some of the details, hoping somehow that she was still sounding professional.

“Wait at the restaurant,” she heard Jack say. “It's closer for me to pick you up there than go to your house. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'll also call our friend and tell him to get over to Sy's and see what he can find out.”

Jack's call to Rodine went unanswered and he cursed out loud. He was heading out the door when he glanced at Natasha and said, “What was it that you were going to tell me?”

“With what you've got going on … be careful. I want you to stay focused.”

“I always am. What was it you were going to tell me?”

Natasha briefly reflected on her thoughts and said, “About how much I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Jack quickly kissed Natasha and hurried to his car. He tried to call Rodine several more times as he drove to the restaurant.

Laura was with Elvis in the restaurant foyer when they heard the squeal of tires approaching. Laura stuck the tissue back in her purse that she had been using to dab the smeared mascara off her face. Without thinking, she automatically used her hands to brush a wrinkle out of the front of her skirt before giving Elvis a quick kiss on the cheek. He watched as she ran in her high heels out to the car to join Jack, leaving Elvis thinking that under any other circumstances, it might have appeared funny.

“Where we going?” Laura asked, as soon as she closed the door.

“Over to Sy's and see who he's with. Tell him we want to see him about the apartment or something. Our friend isn't answering. I left him a message to —” Jack stopped to answer his BlackBerry.

“Sorry, I couldn't pick up,” said Rodine. “I was with Sy. You gotta get over to that teacher's place. She's been attacked and is tied to her bed. Probably less than an hour ago. I just found out.”

“We know. She's at the hospital. Who did it and where are they?”

“Three kids. Juvies. I'll be burned if you bust them.”

“I won't burn you. Are they the same three as were in court today?”

“No, those guys are apparently at some Pizza Hut so they have an alibi. The three that did it just left here.”

“They were already there! Who are they?”

“I don't know who two of them are, but the oldest one, Ray, lives in the apartment on the floor below Sy. He's only seventeen, but looks older than the other two.”

“I've seen Ray coming and going from the apartment building,” said Jack. “What about the other two. Did you see them?”

“Yeah, I saw them, but they're not from around here. They look to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. One has a purple Mohawk hairdo and the other has long black hair parted in the middle. Ray called Sy to meet him out front of the apartment. That's when Sy told me what they did, so I walked out with him. Ray and the two others were waiting in Ray's red Camaro. Sy gave them a case of beer and they drove off.”

“Son of a bitch,” muttered Jack through his rage. “Any idea where they might have gone?”

“Not really. Sy asked Ray what they did with the masks and knife. Ray said they put it all in a plastic bag and tossed it into the bushes when they drove past some park. Sy was pissed. He told them to go back and bury it so it would never be found.”

“What park? Do you know the name of it?” asked Jack, his mind pleading for the right answer.”

“I don't know. They didn't say. They left a couple of minutes ago.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” yelled Jack.

“They did say it was about a ten-minute drive from the teacher's house, if that helps.”

Jack felt relief. “That helps a lot. Coming from Sy's they'll be using Highway 99, which means they're coming in our direction. We'll be waiting when they get to Richmond.”

“Man! You do that and I'm dead! You promised —”

“I know what I promised. Don't worry, I keep my promises.”

Chapter Nineteen

Jack told Laura what he had been told while driving to intercept Ray.

“We can't let them get away with this,” cried Laura. “Informant or no informant. We can't sit by.”

“Do you really think I will sit by?” answered Jack tersely. “You know me better than that. We will protect our friend though. We gave him our word.”

“Then what can we do? Any arrest and they'll know who told. Especially if we wait until they pick up the bag of evidence.”

“I've got an idea,” said Jack, coldly, “and it doesn't involve arresting them.”

“Jack … no, we can't. I know how you feel. I'd like to kill them, too. But we can't. They're still just kids.”

“Kids committing adult crimes,” replied Jack. “You know how things went in court today … and that was with the masks and a pellet pistol. What do you think will happen in court if they're arrested without the hard evidence of the masks and knife?” Jack paused and when Laura didn't respond, he said, “I can hear it now. If we get DNA to prove they were there, lawyers will get the kids to say they were enticed to Miss Flowers's home on the pretext of tutoring them. She used her position to seduce and introduce them to the world of bondage. The kids went along with her, but one kid threatened to tell his buddies about it. They'll say Miss Flowers threatened to charge them all with rape if that happened. The kid panicked and things got out of hand. They'll cap it off by saying the kids were actually the victims of an adult. A teacher yet … a person in authority who used her power over them.”

“That's far-fetched. A jury might not believe that.”

“Yeah,
might
being the key word. Especially without the masks and the weapons.”

Laura sighed and said, “Okay, okay. Even if you're right … I don't even want to think about it. But what do we do? Killing them isn't an option. Anything else I would go along with.”

The rage Jack felt caused the tendons to go taut in his neck and his eyebrows furrowed, darkening his face. “I'll tell you what the option is —” He stopped talking and Laura wondered if he was too angry to speak. “Hang on, incoming call,” he snapped, answering his cellphone.

“Jack, it's Connie. The office said you called. You know what happened?”

“I know,” replied Jack tersely.

“You told me you were moving her to a safe place. How did you let this happen?”

“I don't know,” replied Jack. His mind continued to cycle every detail in a futile attempt to figure out how he screwed up.

“You better find out, because so far, we got nothing.”

Jack realized he was clenching his jaw and that his fist was gripping his phone like a vice. He relaxed his muscles, but the vengeance he felt was as powerful as ever. “Believe me, we'll find out,” he replied. “I've picked up Laura. How's Amanda?”

“Her injuries aren't life-threatening, thank Christ. I only spoke to her briefly. She said she was tied to her bed, repeatedly raped by three guys, and then they slashed her forehead multiple times with a knife. She'll be badly scarred.”

“Where is she now?”

“She's laying on a gurney in the holding area. A doctor is working on her face. After that, they'll get her a private room where, hopefully, if she's not too sedated, I'll be able to talk to her in detail.”

“Not life-threatening if the nightmares don't drive her to suicide,” said Jack, bitterly. “Do you really think she will be up to talking to you?”

“She's traumatized, but not hysterical. She did say she is good with voices and is positive none of the three were the same guys as before.”

“Good with voices, is she?”

“Yeah, but she didn't recognize any of them. Maybe they were adults or kids from some other school.”

“Cocktail used juveniles last time to alleviate any jail time if they were caught.”

“Do you have any leads for us?”

“No, we don't have any leads at all.”

“Oh, man …” murmured Laura in the background.

“Then what are you doing?” asked Connie

“Talking it over with Laura. Trying to figure out who is responsible.”

“Responsible! You know it's Cocktail! Probably went through Sy again. What's wrong with you? Have you called your informant?”

“It's kind of touchy talking to the informant right now,” replied Jack.

“Kind of touchy? I can't believe this! Don't you realize what happened?”

“I'm fully aware of what happened,” replied Jack. “We'll do some digging and get back to you.”

“Yeah, well —”

Jack hung up his phone mid-sentence.

“Do some digging?” asked Laura. “Oh, man,” she muttered again.

“Not the type of digging you're thinking of,” replied Jack, “but a skirt and high heels isn't exactly the right thing to be wearing for what I have in mind. You wearing nylons?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Hang on, I'm going to phone Natasha.”

Jack rapidly punched the buttons on his BlackBerry. Laura listened as he asked Natasha if she could convince the hospital to delay moving Amanda to a private room.

“There's no time to explain,” he said. After a pause, added, “Convince someone that you're a doctor from another hospital. Say there's been a multi-vehicle accident and it may be necessary to transfer some patients. Ask them to hold any rooms they can for an hour to give you time to assess the new arrivals.”

Laura saw Ray drive past in his red Camaro, as did Jack.

“Gotta go,” said Jack. “Use a payphone. Hopefully in an hour I'll get you to call again and say the transfer isn't necessary.”

“Take 'em off!” he yelled to Laura as he sped through traffic to catch up to the Camaro.

“Take what off?” asked Laura.

“Your nylons. Now!”