Bien looked at Jack and said, “If that is true, she did not do it for herself. It would be for Linh. She loved her very much. She promised me that she would do whatever was necessary for her sister. If she died, it was to save Linh.”

Silence descended on the room for a minute as everyone became lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Jack placed his hand on Bien’s shoulder. “We will find her,” he said, forcefully. “We will also find out who did this to Hang.”

Bien nodded silently.

“I must call the Vietnamese police now,” said Jack. “There is a man I have been working with. He will want to speak to you.”

“Yes,” said Bien. “I will wait.”

Jack called Sonny and explained the situation. He handed the phone to Tarah to give directions, while watching as Bien walked over and opened the door and stepped outside.

Is he going to take off? Jack glanced at Laura who had also noticed and they quickly followed.

Bien stood on the doorstep. For the second time that night the clouds parted, giving his face an eerie complexion as he looked up at the moon. He dropped to his knees and started crying, while speaking Vietnamese and looking up to the sky.

Jack felt Tarah’s hand touch his arm and he turned and whispered, “We didn’t say anything to him. He just came out here. Maybe he needs time to be alone.”

Tarah shook her head and said, “The translation for Hang is Angel in the Full Moon. Look up. He’s not alone.”

chapter thirty

It was six o’clock in the morning when Sonny dropped Jack and Laura off at their hotel with a promise to call them in a couple of hours after he spoke with his superiors.

As soon as they were alone, Laura said, “Jack ... we had her. She was in the trunk ... we just let her go.”

“I know.”

“I feel like crying. I’m so angry and frustrated,” said Laura, her eyes brimming with tears.

“It was me who let her go. It was my call.”

“I’d like to chain Dúc to a wall. He’d talk.”

“As nice as it is to fantasize, we don’t have the time. We’ve got to do something, fast.”

“What do you think of this Mister Pops? Likely not his real name.”

“My guess is it falls in the realm of the nickname for Dad. I’m going to call CC.”

Jack called Connie Crane to tell her what they had learned.

“How the hell did she end up back in a Dumpster in Canada?” asked Connie. “And now her sister is with the guy, too? Jesus fucking Christ!”

“Dúc is the key,” said Jack.

“Yeah, like he’s going to talk,” said Connie sarcastically. “I’m not even sure if we have grounds for a warrant. Even if we did, if we search and don’t find her, she’ll be killed once they realize we’re on to them.”

“Check the border crossings,” said Jack. “See if Dúc has been across. If Hang did die across the line, why bring her back? I think this happened on our turf. Probably in the Surrey area. That’s where she was found.”

“Dúc is running hookers—maybe he’s got a special place built just for the perverts.”

“A possibility. Actually, it’s a sickening possibility—the Orient Pleasure is in Surrey. Get on it. You’ve got to get into his places for a look.”

“What about your informant? Don’t you have someone connected to that place?”

Jack sighed. “Not anymore. Besides, if that friend had known about it, I would have been told. You’ve got to get a warrant and search everywhere.”

“How, without tipping our hand?”

“Call Rocco Pasquali with the City Anti-Gang Unit. Get him to help. If VPD takes out the warrants under a prostitution investigation, the bad guys may not clue in as to what we are really after. Make it look like the RCMP is just assisting them with the places outside of Vancouver.”

“That might work.”

“You’ve got to do this without mentioning my informant in the warrants, or anything to do with Hang and Linh. Also, don’t mention anything about how the girls arrive at the parlours. Keep the warrants as simple as you can. Do both massage parlours as well as their homes and any other building they own. Search everywhere. Attics, basements, out-buildings, hidden dungeons under garage floors ... look at everything.”

“Dungeons under garage floors?”

“I’ve seen it done for grow-ops. Hidden trap doors under workbenches. Search everywhere. Look for hollow panels. Use the narcs to help. They’re good at it.”

“What if we don’t find her? We could still be signing her death warrant if they get scared.”

“And if you don’t search and she is there, she may die anyway. It’s a chance I think we have to take.”

“Damn risky chance for Linh.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Connie was silent for a moment and replied, “No.”

“They take credit cards at the massage parlours. Maybe you can match some names to your pervert list.”

“I’ll do that. Especially perverts who live in nice homes.”

“Both Hang and Linh told Bien they were in a very wealthy home, but the standards here are different. Any home with more than a couple of rooms or two toilets is considered wealthy by Vietnamese standards.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“If you identify any perverts, take a look and see if they used the credit cards to purchase construction materials leading up to last January.”

“Will do.”

“Laura and I will catch the next flight back. We’re bringing Bien back with us.”

“Why?”

“Because he couldn’t afford the ticket himself. I’ve already spoken to our Vietnamese contact. He says it won’t be a problem, if we pay for it.”

“No, I mean why ...”

“Damn it, Connie, think about it! If your kid was over here, would you be sitting on your fat ass over there! We owe it to him! One of his kids is murdered and the other one missing!”

The silence that followed reminded Jack how tired and exasperated he was ... Now I can add rude and thoughtless to the list.

Jack sighed and said, “I’m sorry, CC. I haven’t slept all night. You haven’t met the father. I just did. I feel for the guy. He fits the grandfather image more than a dad. Don’t take it literally about the fat ass comment. It’s just an expression.”

Jack paused, but Connie didn’t reply.

“I mean, you’re in good shape. Buns of steel ...”

Connie laughed out loud and said, “I was just yanking your chain. I know what my ass looks like. I was just wondering if you had ever noticed. I’ll talk to Randy. We’ll think of a suitable reason for you to bring Bien.”

“Appreciate that. Maybe say you want to drive him up and down the kiddie stroll in Vancouver and see if Linh is one of the kids turning tricks for the perverts there.”

“That’ll work. What about the Russians? What are the Vietnamese police going to do?”

“They’re being really cooperative. They appreciate our concern with Linh. They’ll keep gathering evidence, but won’t touch them until we ask. If you get the warrants and find Linh, they’ll grab the Russians over here. Neither of them would ever see the light of day.”

“Better than the twelve or eighteen months they might get here.”

“Right now, I don’t care. Just find Linh.”

“To get the warrants under the guise of prostitution and coordinate with City, it will probably take a day.”

“If you get them signed before Laura and I get back, don’t wait for us.”

“Believe me, we won’t. Talk to ya later.”

When Jack hung up the phone Laura looked at him and said, “That was a good idea you had about matching perverts to construction materials.”

Jack shrugged and said, “Except the list of known pedophiles on the lower mainland, not to mention licence plate data included from those who pick up children on the kiddie stroll, is what, over a thousand? Linh doesn’t have that much time.”

“It’s still a good idea. You really would be good on Homicide.”