Samurai Code (12 page)

Natasha felt Jack’s warm embrace again as they lay with their legs entwined upon the blanket. “You plan on seducing me now?” she asked, feeling his kiss and warm breath upon the nape of her neck.

“The thought crossed my mind, unless you want to see if we can get the bridge rocking.”

“Exhibitionism isn’t really my style. No, I think this —”

Jack groaned and picked up his cellphone to look at the number of who was calling. “I’m not available,” he muttered and let the call go to voice mail. “Now, you were saying?” asked Jack with a smile, pulling Natasha closer.

“I was suggesting we may have enough privacy —”

Jack swore softly and glanced at his phone again. This time a text message said URGENT!

“Sorry, hon, I better take this.” Jack sighed.

His call to Sammy was short. Sammy concluded the conversation by saying, “Sorry for the delay. The monitors didn’t get around to listening to it until now. CC is on her way in, too.”

Jack hung up and turned to Natasha and stared a moment without speaking. He could see the tears form in her eyes.

“You promised,” she said quietly. “You said it was going to be our day.”

“It’s about Melvin,” replied Jack. “We’ve got a lead.”

Natasha’s open mouth showed her surprise. Her sorrow gave way to anger. “Go get ’em,” she said angrily.

15

Jack, Laura, and CC crowded around Sammy as he replayed a second conversation held in Wang’s car between Wang and Goldie.

“So what do you think of the meeting tonight?” asked Wang.

“It went about how I expected,” replied Goldie.

“How you expected?” replied Wang, his voice sounding angry. “Wish you would have told me that up front. I thought you caved in too easy. You sure as hell didn’t try to back me up!”

“Trouble in paradise,” said Jack.
Divide and conquer …

Laura caught his grim smile.
Oh, man … that means trouble …

“He raised some good points,” continued Goldie. “I agreed with him. Nothing wrong with admitting when you’re wrong.”

“Were we wrong? Or are you sucking up to him because he plans to promote you into his position? You want to become the new Enabler.”

“Fuck you,” replied Goldie. “I’m not sucking up to anybody. The Enabler was right about what he said. Why rock the boat? We’ve got a good thing going. Maximum gain with minimum risk. As he said, if you don’t like what you have, then branch out on your own. Just be prepared to accept that you’ll be operating in a theatre without protection.”

“Who the hell is this Enabler guy?” whispered CC.

“Don’t know,” replied Sammy.

“I still think The Enabler is looking after his own interests, as well,” grumbled Wang.

“Oh, definitely. I totally agree. But in reality, his interests become our interests.”

“Yours, maybe, once you’re in his position. You’ll be making the commission that he is getting now.”

“True, but you’ll still be making a good cut on your end. Besides, if your man Woo ever gets his ass moved to Montreal and can find someone to move product there, then I’ll make sure you get a percentage of everything distributed on that end. That’s if you could ever convince him to deal with us round-eyes.”

“I don’t know about that, but if he does, then you better be dividing the noodles my way.” The sound from inside the car was partially obliterated by the sound of squealing brakes. “Hey! You fucking moron! Signal next time!”

“You know I will,” continued Goldie. “That is what The Enabler would expect. He isn’t the sort of guy I would want to piss off. Him or his boss.”

“He calls him The Shaman,” replied Wang. “Did you know that most Shamans are actually women?”

“He referred to The Shaman as a he. Either way, in my book, I don’t want to ever put myself in a position to find out about their early retirement plan.”

“Here it comes,” whispered Sammy.

“Think you’d end up like that wino in the park?” asked Wang.

“Maybe.” There were several seconds of silence before Goldie continued again. “Why they did it or had me deliver him way out there still puzzles me. My own guys, who I used to pick him up, are still looking at me like I’m squirrelly. I said it was a prank to drop off a wino in someone’s yard. It all seemed like a big risk for nothing.”

“You never asked?”

“Was told it was a need-to-know basis. The whole thing wasn’t professional in my books. Totally out of character to the point that it was comical. The fuckin’ wino almost … well, I shouldn’t talk about that. Anyway, it gave us both a good laugh after.”

“Both? Thought you said there were three of you?”

“The third guy I told you about before. The one wearing a suit. He doesn’t laugh at anything. I’ve never met anyone so cold in my life.”

“Like that woman’s boyfriend who was going to cut the guy’s nuts off tonight?”

“Man, that was nothing compared to the guy wearing the suit. You could see it in his eyes. Black, cold … like they were dead. Let’s change the subject. It gives me the creeps thinking about him. We shouldn’t be talking about it, anyway. Especially in a car. How about turning on some tunes?”

“That’s it,” said Sammy, turning off the recorder and looking at CC. “What do you think? Time for you to string some wire naming Goldie?”

“That’s it?” said CC. “There’s nothing to say this is even my case. The victim’s tox’ came back negative for alcohol or illicit substances. He’s certainly no wino.”

Jack didn’t want to say what he thought.
The Shaman? The Enabler? Guys above Goldie. Then some guy in a suit with dead eyes? The wino in the park has got to be Melvin. But why would they kill Melvin? Goldie has proven himself to be a smart businessman … and these others are above him? Nothing makes sense.

“Maybe it is a coincidence,” said Sammy. “Might not be related to your thing.”

Jack’s mind was still replaying what he heard.
They thought it was comical? Something to laugh about? They’d probably really find it funny if they saw me shooting Winston in the alley.
He realized his fist was clenched and took a deep breath to relax his body. He knew it was one conversation he would not tell Natasha about. She was in enough pain already. He glanced at CC and said, “Melvin looked like a wino. If you didn’t take the time to know him, you would think that.”

“Goldie’s big,” said CC. “What? Maybe a size ten to twelve shoe? Sammy might have a point. It could be a coincidence.”

“Come on, CC,” said Laura. “We traced the gun to Goldie’s doorstep, it was used to murder Melvin, and now Goldie talks about a wino in a park who almost escapes? It fits.”

CC sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. Don’t get me wrong. I think we might possibly be on to something. But what
I think
doesn’t matter. It’s what evidence we have, both supportive and contradictory, that counts. I’m speaking about how the Crown or a judge would view it. I sincerely doubt we could get a wiretap on Goldie based on what we have so far. Not to mention, you heard these guys — they use code names. Also words like product. Even Goldie said they shouldn’t be talking about it in a car.”

“To be this close to nailing him for murder,” said Laura. “It’s driving me nuts.”

“Close to nailing him for murder!” exclaimed CC. “That’s a laugh. Girl, we’re a long way from that. Even if we could prove it was Melvin he’s talking about, what have we got? It sounds to me like Goldie was only the delivery boy. If the evidence was going against him, all he would have to say is he thought it was all some sort of prank. He even told his guys it was. You know what the judges are like. He doesn’t have any convictions. Upstanding businessman. He’d probably end up with probation or at best, a few months served before being released. Hell, if we did catch him, I’d cut a deal with him in a second and let him walk if he’d give us whoever did do it. Even then, without a motive, it would be damned hard and likely impossible to get a conviction. Sorry to break your bubble, Laura, but in my books, we’re not close at all.”

“A wire on Goldie might give you whoever did it,” said Sammy. “Maybe identify The Shaman and The Enabler, or even the guy in the suit with dead eyes.”

“Even if we did get a wire on Goldie, do you really think he would ever talk about it and go over the details again with whoever did it? At least in a place where we could hear? I bet this is as close as you would ever get … and it isn’t nearly enough. It would be nice to know who the guy with dead eyes is, though.”

“And The Enabler,” said Jack.

“You don’t know if he was the one laughing in the park with Goldie,” said CC. “His name wasn’t used to clarify if he was the third guy.”

“Goldie thought the idea wasn’t professional,” said Jack. “He asked and was told it was on a need-to-know basis. It had to be his boss, which is the one they call The Enabler.”

CC shrugged and said, “Logical, provided we’re even talking about the same incident.”

Her choice of words irritated Jack.
Incident?
He knew that was how it would be referred to in a courtroom.
Grabbing an innocent man … sticking a plastic bag on his head and chasing him through the woods to murder him would be simply stated as an “incident.”

“What about a search warrant?” suggested Laura. “Maybe we could find a dirty shoe or boot in Goldie’s house that the lab could match with the dirt in the park where Melvin was killed?”

CC frowned and said, “Sorry, I doubt we have grounds for a search warrant, either. And as far as lab evidence, it sounds like you’ve been watching too much
CSI
on television. Things tend to work a little differently in the real world.”

“I know, but occasionally we get lucky with the lab,” countered Laura.

“‘Occasionally’ being the operative word,” said CC. “Another issue with courts would be potential motive. Why would someone like Goldie, if he did do it, deliver some wino —” She paused, catching a dark look from Jack before correcting herself and saying, “Okay, homeless person, to a park for a couple of other guys to shoot him? Tell me how you would answer that question to a judge?”

Jack thought about it. He knew CC was right.
Her reasoning was sound. Why would anyone do it? Goldie is wealthy. Whoever he works for must be more so. Is there some past connection to Melvin’s life that nobody knows about?
His own choice of words caused him to reflect and think deeper.
Nobody knows about? … Nobody … like Ophelia said, “People who got it don’t give a shit about people who don’t. We’re nobodies.” Goldie said they were laughing. They wouldn’t be if there was a specific reason to murder Melvin. It would have been strictly business. Whatever their reason, Melvin was a random pick. The motive for the crime was the murder itself. The victim could be a nobody. But why would any presumably sane person want to murder an innocent person for no reason? Or is the person behind this whole situation even sane?

“Well, sorry if I brought you in on your day off for no reason,” said Sammy. “It seemed important to me.”

“It is important,” said Jack. “I need time to go over it in my head. But I’m positive we’re on the right track. We’ve got to identify these three guys. The Shaman, The Enabler, and Dead Eyes.”

“And I’m not saying it isn’t important,” said CC, defensively. “All I’m saying is that so far, don’t expect much judicial backing.”

“I never expect that,” said Jack evenly.

CC gave a sharp glance at Jack. “Don’t even think about it!” she said tersely.

“About what?” asked Jack, his voice sounding both innocent and surprised.

“Don’t give me that shit! About whatever it is you’re thinking.”

Jack slowly shook his head and said, “I’m thinking we need to come up with a plan. Something to gather more evidence to support the judicial criteria you need to make a case.”

“Are you ridiculing me?” asked CC, her voice tinged with anger.

“No,” replied Jack. “I wish I was, but I respect your abilities and your opinion. If you say we don’t have enough, then we don’t have enough.”

By his sincerity and the sadness in his voice, everyone knew that Jack meant what he said.

“We need to keep digging,” continued Jack. “And we definitely need to find out who these other guys are. We’ll get more evidence … somehow.”

It was the
somehow
that bothered CC.
Which is why I told him not to do whatever he was thinking in the first place! God, here we go. Full circle.

“Any plan come to mind?” asked Sammy. “Not that it is any of our business. We’re concentrating on drugs, but if there is something we can do to help, let us know.”

“I appreciate that, Sammy,” replied Jack. “If we come up with something, I’ll be sure to contact you.”

CC looked at Jack.
If we come up with something? Give me a break. You already have.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Time to have a private chat with Staff Sergeant Rosemary Wood. I wonder if she knows what Jack Taggart is really all about? Hell, I don’t even know what he is all about. Everything with him is smoke and mirrors. Lies and deception …

***

It was late Monday morning and Rose glanced at Jack and Laura as they sat across from her desk while Jack brought her up to date on the investigation. The private meeting she’d had earlier at Starbucks with Connie Crane still weighed heavily on her mind.

“So, from our perspective,” said Rose, sounding businesslike, “this investigation, which started out under the auspices of gun smuggling, has changed to ecstasy, meth, and heroin? Knowing of course, that the murder in the park is under I-HIT’s mandate.”

“The drug investigation is legitimate,” replied Jack.
Why is Rose sounding so officious? Not friendly like before …
“I feel that it is significant enough to fall within our job description.”

“I agree,” replied Rose. “But I was also at that meeting with Drug Section two weeks ago when they said their budget did not allow them to purchase large enough quantities of heroin to allow them to work their way up to the kingpins. Even if we combined our total budgets between our two sections, the penalty someone might receive for drug trafficking would not be worth the cost.”

“I’m well aware of the budget restrictions,” replied Jack. “That’s nothing new.”

“So, with that in mind, are you proposing we enter into a long-term investigation … likely taking several years, in the hope of nailing some of the kingpins through some type of conspiracy charge? I’m not against that, although again, the cost would be prohibitive for what we would achieve in the way of doing any significant damage as far as organized crime goes.”