Dead Ends (33 page)

Chapter Forty-Two

Police and fire department crews were on the scene soon after a neighbour reported hearing an explosion and seeing the fire. The fire department soon realized there was nothing they could do to save the barn or the storage hangar behind it. They did discover a burned and unconscious figure lying in the barnyard. Despite third degree burns to half his body, he was still alive and an ambulance rushed him away.

A police officer saw a pickup truck drive into the yard and a man ran over to speak to him.

“I live over there,” he yelled, pointing off to a neighbouring farm.

“You the fellow who reported this?”

“Nope. The sirens woke me up. Then someone stole my flatbed truck and took off in it. I got dressed and came over to tell you. Happened ten or fifteen minutes ago.”

“Did you call it in?”

“No, I could see your flashing lights so I thought maybe you caught the guy.”

“I didn't see it, but I'll radio it in.” The officer paused and asked, “Had you left the keys in the ignition?”

“No, of course not. I leave them in the ashtray.”

“Brilliant.”

* * *

Laura answered her BlackBerry on the first ring.

“Hi, Princess. Calling to let you know I'm still above ground.”

Laura burst out crying, but Jack continued, “Some bad shit came down tonight. Cocktail went in with Balvinder, Fateh, Rashard, and Quang and tried to set us up.”

“Where are you?” she asked, as the release of tension brought more tears.

“At a gas station on the Number One highway near Clearbrook. I borrowed someone's truck, but decided to ditch it. I need a ride. Sy, Mongo, and Munch are with me, but they are contacting their own people.”

After Jack gave Laura directions, he hung up and the four men walked a short distance from the gas station to a place they could stand in darkness and wait.

Jack saw the blood dripping from Mongo's hand and said, “Your arm is going to need medical attention.”

“Fuckin' tell me about it. That fuckin' Rashard must have hit an artery. There's a hospital in Abbotsford. I'll get my guys to take me there.”

“When the cops locate that flatbed and find your blood in it, they might check the local hospitals. Not to mention, they're liable to show up there with Quang. You should pick a hospital that's farther away.”

Mongo nodded his head in agreement and said, “Good thinkin'. Thanks.”

“Let me take a look at it,” said Jack. “I may need to rip your shirt and use it to stop the bleeding.”

Mongo agreed.

Jack tended to his arm and as he worked on it, he said, “It might be in everyone's best interests to find new places to sleep and lay low for awhile until we sort this out.”

“Lay low!” replied Mongo. “Fuck that! Somehow I'm gonna find Cocktail. He's the one who set us up. Then I'm gonna take Rashard and —”

“Who is Cocktail?” asked Jack. “What's his real name?”

Sy, Mongo and Munch each looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“Nobody knows who he really is,” said Sy. “He came to us through Satans Wrath.”

“Speaking of fucking Satans Wrath,” said Munch, looking at Sy and Mongo, “looks like we're at war with them, too. Better tell our people to start spraying the shit out of those guys.”

“Guess so,” replied Mongo.

Jack swallowed. He knew that as things stood, the risk to every man, woman and child living in the lower mainland would equate to living in a war zone.

He also knew Damien and thought about how tonight's ambush had been planned.
Damien is too professional to get into an all out war with these bunch of losers if he can avoid it. Will attract too much heat … which is why I didn't recognize the so-called prospects tonight. Damien made himself a buffer of deniability …

Jack thought over his next response.
As much as I'd like the bikers to take a few bullets, I can't risk the possibility of an innocent person getting hurt by mistake. No more thinking required …I have to do what is right …

“Did any of you guys recognize the bikers who searched us tonight when we met Cocktail?” asked Jack.

Sy, Mongo, and Munch shook their heads.

“Before you start shooting up the streets, it might be a good idea to find out if Satans Wrath knew about it,” suggested Jack. “Is it possible that Cocktail and these other guys set it up on their own, hoping to get a bigger slice of the action?”

“Possible,” conceded Munch.

“How the hell do we find out?” asked Sy.

“Simply wait,” replied Jack. “Satans Wrath will make their intentions known soon. They aren't the types who are known for doing drive-bys or spraying restaurants with bullets.”

“What do you mean?” asked Sy.

“For the next couple of days I suggest you hide,” replied Jack. “Satans Wrath won't let this sit. They'll do something soon. You've all got enough people working for you that if the bikers are at war with you, some of them will get whacked. If Cocktail did act on his own, Satans Wrath will deal with him.”

“You sound like you know these guys pretty good,” said Munch, suspiciously.

“Satans Wrath? Hell, yes. They're back east, as well. All over the globe. I know lots of gangs who have had encounters with them.”

“Maybe Jay is right,” said Sy. “Tonight is the first time that two bikers showed up where I didn't know either one of 'em.”

“I would like to find Cocktail,” said Jack. “After tonight, I owe him one.”

“We all fuckin' owe him one,” said Mongo.

“Something about Cocktail looked familiar,” said Jack. “I could have seen him at a party someplace or perhaps a restaraunt. I'm not sure, but maybe I could help find out who he is or where he lives.”

“That would be great,” said Sy. “We definitely gotta put that fuckin' devil in the hole!”

“I get first dibs,” said Mongo, pointing to his arm. “Gonna blow his balls off first and let him crawl around before I gut-shoot him. After that, I'll put one up his ass. Same for Rashard. You guys can do Balvinder and Fateh. Quang, too, if he ain't already gook food.”

“Whatever,” replied Jack. “But for now, find a safe place to hide out and we'll all text each other so the four of us are kept in the loop.”

* * *

The Major Crime Unit, housed in Surrey, was normally a thirty-minute drive from where Jack was calling from. Laura arrived in seventeen minutes and drove Jack to Connie's office so he could give a complete account of what had happened. On the way back, Laura asked Jack for the details. He told her to wait so he wouldn't have to repeat everything a few minutes later.

As soon as they arrived at the Major Crime Unit, Jack retrieved a couple of bandages from a first aid kit and went to the washroom to attend to the minor cuts on his fingers and wash the manure off his clothes and body. It was Laura's next clue that something was amiss.

The blood on Jack's fingers had already started to dry. She was surprised that he even thought of his fingers over the urgency of giving everyone the details of what had occurred.
He is taking time to decide what to tell us … and what not to tell us …

Jack had glimpsed the licence plate of the van that drove them to Quang's farm and Laura checked it while Jack was in the washroom. It turned out to be registered to Quang and she gave Jack the bad news when he returned.

Connie sat behind her desk while Jack, Laura, and Sammy pulled up chairs. Everyone listened quietly as Jack roughly outlined what had transpired. When he finished, he leaned forward and picked up a photo from Connie's file.

Laura saw that it was a photo of Amanda Flowers, taken in the hospital emergency room shortly after she had been attacked. Jack studied the photograph intently, before gazing off into space as if trying to figure something out …
or perhaps make a decision.

“Anything back on Quang's injuries?” asked Laura, hoping to give her partner more time.

“A member from MCU is at the hospital,” said Connie. “The doctors think Quang will live, although they are worried about infection setting in. It will take years of surgery for him to recover fully. It will be a long, painful process and he'll still end up with a face that looks like a can of smashed worms.”

“Too bad we couldn't slap him into a jail cell, too,” said Sammy.

“Or the rest of them for attempted murder,” added Connie. She looked at Jack and said, “Do you want to reconsider? If you could testify it —”

“No,” replied Jack, sharply. “We can't charge anyone without burning the informant.”

Connie nodded and said, “We still don't know who Cocktail is. Isn't there anything you heard or saw tonight to help?”

“I might have his prints,” said Jack, carefully taking the Rubik's cube from his pocket and placing it on Connie's desk. “Cocktail handled it tonight.”

“Good going,” replied Connie, reaching for her brief case to find a plastic exhibit bag, “but is there anything else? Even if we get prints, who is to say he has a criminal record?”

Jack stared at the picture of Amanda. Her bloodshot, glassy eyes stared back at him from under a mutilated forehead. His mind went back to when he had last seen her, shortly after being criticized in court for not telling a drug dealer that he was an undercover police officer.

She begged me to keep her out of court. I promised her that justice would be served … and that was before Ngoc Bích called to tell me the judge wouldn't accept her testimony because she had been a prostitute. Does being raped and enslaved in a brothel make you a prostitute? Personally, I would take the word of most prostitutes over the word of a judge …

“Jack? Did you hear me?” asked Connie. “Is there anything else that would help?”

“I can't think clearly,” said Jack. “I need time to clear my head. You may as well go home. It will take me another three or four hours to write my UC notes. When I'm finished that, I'd like to review your file again. Maybe something will trigger. If it does, I'll call you. Otherwise I'm going to go home and sleep.”

“I have notes I need to make, as well,” said Laura.

Connie sighed and pushed her chair back and stood up. She looked at Jack and said, “I want you to know something. You and I have had our differences, but you scared the crap out of me tonight. I was really worried about you. I'm glad you're okay.”

“Thanks.”

Connie gestured to her desk and said, “Be my guest. We can talk about it again tomorrow. Lock the door when you leave.”

“Sounds like you might have averted an all-out war in the streets,” said Sammy as he stood up to leave.

“Guess the next day or two will tell us that,” replied Jack. He looked at Connie and said, “I bet we find out who he is by Tuesday.”

Connie frowned and said, “That's only two days away. What makes you think that?”

“Because he screwed up with three major gangs tonight. Between Sy, Mongo, and Munch, surely someone will find him.”

“Make that four gangs,” said Sammy. “You forgot about us. We're the biggest gang.”

Connie nodded and said, “Cocktail better hope we find him first.”

“For sure,” replied Jack.

As soon as Connie was gone, Jack started flipping through the pages of her file.

“What are you looking for?” asked Laura.

“Clue to a murderer,” replied Jack.

“Think Cocktail's real name is in there?”

“I can find out who Cocktail is. That's not who I'm looking for.”

“You're not looking for Cocktail?” asked Laura in surprise.

“Not at the moment. When we were ambushed tonight, Cocktail made a comment about us not being on his honour roll.”

“He's a teacher!”

“With what happened to Amanda, I'm guessing he knows her. In the morning I'll go to the school when classes have started and look through their yearbooks. Bet I find his picture.”

“Why didn't you tell Connie? You've even got her looking for fingerprints. He likely won't have a record if he's a teacher.”

Jack looked toward the ceiling as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He turned to Laura and said, “I want to talk with Amanda Flowers first. She was adamant about not testifying again.”

“We are talking about nailing Cocktail for the murder. That part doesn't need to involve Amanda.”

“I don't think Cocktail is our murderer.”

“You what? Not the murderer! He tried to kill you tonight!”

“I mean as far as the priest goes. Tonight, when Mongo got stabbed with the pitchfork, blood sprayed out. A little got on Cocktail and he freaked out. Started cleaning himself immediately. Gave Rashard hell and was worried about getting AIDS.”