“It’s time,” replied Laura, glancing up at Bernie. “I’ll wait here. Go do it. Your eighth step.”

“What are you guys? Jehovah Witnesses? I’m not interested!” said Bernie through a half-opened door.

“Bernie, no, wait!” said Jack.

“You know my name? Who are you?” asked Bernie, limping out onto his porch. “What do you want?”

“I came to make amends,” said Jack, walking up the stairs to meet Bernie. “It is an important step in the program.”

“Amends for what?” asked Bernie. “What program?”

“My name is Jack,” said Jack, offering his hand.

“I said what do you want?” asked Bernie, ignoring the intended handshake.

Jack sighed and looked to Laura as if for support. She nodded encouragingly, and he turned to Bernie, and said, “I’m an alcoholic. I’m in recovery.”

“What the hell does that have to do with me? Did my wife put you up to this?” he asked, glaring back into the house.

“No. This isn’t about you. It’s about me. I came to apologize.”

“For what?”

“It was my idea to have you kneecapped four years ago.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” roared Bernie.

“Please, let me explain,” pleaded Jack, after giving Bernie a few seconds to recover. “I used to drink a lot back then.”

“Maybe you drank too much … because I don’t ever remember seeing you before,” said Bernie suspiciously. “And who’s she?” he asked, with a nod toward Laura.

“She’s my sponsor.”

“Yeah? For her, I’d join AA myself.” Bernie then glared at Jack and said, “I’d definitely remember her … and I ain’t never seen you before, either.”

“You probably haven’t. I scored some weed once from a guy who made me wait in the car while he came to see you. Later, I got to thinkin’ that you must have a lot of money.”

“So you put Angelo and Dominic up to it?”

“I was so drunk back in those days, I hardly remember much.” Jack looked around at the yard and said, “I wasn’t even sure if it was the right place. Somehow I thought it looked different. I don’t remember the fence.”

“How did you know them?”

“Know who?”

“The brothers. Angelo and Dominic. How did you know them?”

“Is that their names? I don’t even remember. I met them in a bar and one thing led to another. As I recall, I thought they may have already known you.”

“Yeah, they did. But … you’re telling me that it was your idea to rob me?”

“Sorry about that,” said Jack, hanging his head in shame. “I didn’t think anyone would get hurt. I stood six and was supposed to beep the horn if the cops were coming. It seemed like a good idea when we were drinking.”

“Jesus Christ,” sputtered Bernie. “Do you know I’m forever gimped now?”

“I didn’t know, man. I’m really sorry. Guess I should find Angelo and Dominic and apologize to them, too. I remember stealing their car radio a few days later.”

“You what? Jesus, you’re lucky they didn’t kill you.” Bernie paused and muttered, “Fuck, I should never have told you their names.” He cast a worried look at Jack and said, “Forget about them if you want to stay alive.”

“Stay alive? Why? Are they dangerous?”

“Dangerous! What the fuck do you think? Look at my leg!”

“Oh … yeah.”

“Not only that, the cops were around a couple of years ago, asking questions. The same gun was used to shoot somebody in Vancouver. More than that, two years ago Angelo and Dominic killed some guy in Vancouver.”

“With the same gun?” asked Jack.

“Nope. Sliced him up instead. I don’t think the cops ever did connect them with the gun.”

“Who did they kill two years ago? What guy?”

“Don’t know, but the cops have been looking for them for that. Let’s just say that Angelo and Dominic aren’t the forgiving type and wouldn’t appreciate being found. My advice is to keep your yap shut and get the fuck off my porch.”

“So, you forgive me?” asked Jack, giving himself a self-satisfied smile.

Bernie’s face turned red and he said, “Do I look like I fuckin’ forgive ya?”

“Oh … guess not. Sorry, I thought you did because you warned me about Angelo and Dominic.”

“I don’t give a fuck about you! I just don’t want you to do something that might bring Angelo and Dominic back to see me.”

Jack hung his head and turned and walked back down the steps while Bernie glared at him from the porch. Laura placed her arm around Jack’s shoulder to console him as they walked back to their car. In reality, she hoped that the shaking of their shoulders from snickering would be mistaken for grief.

“Hope ya end up back on the bottle!” yelled Bernie, as they drove away.

Twenty minutes later, Jack and Laura met with Constable Sarah Hundt in the Trail RCMP office. Sarah knew immediately who the brothers were. “There are Canada-wide warrants on them for murder,” she said. “Going back two years. Their mom still lives in Trail. We’ve still got their photos up on the bulletin board. Hang on and I’ll get them and pull the files.”

Like both their parents, Angelo and Dominic had lengthy criminal records with numerous offences for violence, robbery, and possession of stolen property. A Vancouver RCMP Drug Section informant had linked them to the torture and murder of a high-level heroin dealer in Vancouver two years prior. The heroin dealer bled to death from multiple slash marks made by a knife while he was tied to a chair. A search was made for the brothers, but they had vanished and the informant was unable to obtain any further information.

“Two years ago was about the same time that gun was used to rob an antique store,” commented Jack, while reaching for his own file to cross-reference when the antique store was robbed. He felt a rush of excitement as he compared the details. “The heroin dealer was killed on the same day and only a couple of hours before the robbery of the antique store!”

“That’s no coincidence,” said Laura.

“You’ve got that right,” replied Jack. “I’m betting the torture of the dealer was to get info on something. Either money or dope. The owner of that antique store was not an innocent victim. They wouldn’t have had to torture someone for that. Angelo and Dominic were after him for a lot more than the day’s income from the store.”

“We need to find Angelo and Dominic,” said Laura, turning to Sarah. “Where does their father live?”

“He died six years ago, drunk behind the wheel,” replied Sarah. “They didn’t have any other kids except Angelo and Dominic. The mom still lives in town.”

“So Dad died and the kids got the gun to carry on the family business,” said Jack.

Laura nodded in agreement.

Jack pointed to a file in front of him and said, “The mother, Giorgetta, her record includes convictions for prostitution in Hamilton, Ontario.”

“Hamilton … practically next door to Niagara Falls,” replied Laura.

“Angelo and Dominic’s criminal history is all in B.C., but the parents’ criminal history is largely out of southern Ontario,” noted Jack.

“When did the family move to Trail?” asked Laura.

“Our first record was a noise complaint ten years ago,” replied Sarah.

“Do you still have a picture of the father?” asked Jack.

Sarah nodded, then dug through a file and handed Jack a picture. Jack smiled and handed it to Laura. A mole was clearly visible under the father’s left eye. “We’ve solved who robbed the coffee shop in Regina,” he said.

“So that was when the family was moving west and picking up money for their travelling expenses,” replied Laura. “So, where to now?”

“Took us all day to get here and tomorrow will be wasted getting home. Let’s make it two for one and knock on another door. With Giorgetta’s background and desire to protect her sons, she’ll be paranoid, but we have nothing to lose.”