“And Integrated Proceeds of Crime?” asked Rose.

“I-POC came on board yesterday to follow the money trail. At the moment, they have only done a cursory examination. As they said, for them to track everyone that Lee’s company is connected with will be a nightmare. They obtained last month’s phone tolls and said there were thousands of calls worldwide.”

“And that doesn’t include Internet,” added Laura.

“What reputation does the company have?” asked Rose.

“So far, they look legitimate,” said Laura. “I-POC has made some discreet inquiries. The company has invested wisely into a lot of reputable companies, often at the opportune time. They have made a lot of shareholders wealthy.”

“Are poppies listed as one of their commodities they promote for investment?” asked Rose facetiously.

“Nothing that obvious, I’m afraid,” replied Jack, “but I am sure we’ll find out they are tied in with shipping, air, train, and who knows what else. It is still too soon to tell. It will take months, or more likely years, for I-POC to get a basic knowledge of who’s who and who’s connected to whom.”

“Perfect company to launder money and have the connections to ship anything they want worldwide,” said Laura.

“If Lee is the president of a company like Intrinsic Global,” said Rose, “then who is his boss? The one he calls The Shaman? Logic would dictate that it would have to be someone who is either a silent partner, or —”

“Or, as big as Intrinsic Global is,” said Jack, “it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps one company of many controlled by The Shaman.”

“Jesus,” muttered Rose, as she realized the potential scope of the empire.

“Scary to think about,” said Laura.

“So buying a ton of heroin from these guys is definitely a possibility,” said Rose.

“I figured it would be once Goldie started telling me that they controlled the Asian market,” said Jack. “I thought I better sound big if I was to get an introduction up the ladder. Guess it wasn’t big enough.”

“What you said is too big already,” replied Rose. “There’s no way the Force could even come up with a flash roll that big, or if they could, they would never risk losing it. How the hell will you work your way around that without proving you have the cash?”

“I’m going to demand that I see a lot of their operation before spending. Starting from the ground up and taking it as far as I can.”

“Sort of like checking out a company before buying into it,” said Laura.

“Doesn’t sound like they’ll ever let you see the corporate boardroom, though,” said Rose.

“Not yet,” replied Jack, “but once we get the ball rolling, and with what we already know about Lee and his company, maybe we’ll figure it out without personal introductions.”

“But so far, all this is simply speculation,” said Rose. “From what you say, everything we know about Intrinsic Global is legitimate. You’re basing all this on one meeting between Lee and Goldie.”

“And the size of Lee’s feet,” said Laura.

“Goldie loves his car almost as much as he loves himself,” said Jack. “It doesn’t make sense that he would borrow a car, which incidentally belongs to his bartender, to go and meet someone like Lee. It was planned. They wanted to know what my response would be to joining the company. Goldie was being a good little messenger boy by running back and telling him my answer.”

“Okay,” said Rose, “let’s say you’re right. I know your instincts for what you do are finely tuned. But it begs the question, if you are right, then what was someone of Lee’s stature doing in a park at night with Goldie and some other guy while one of them is taking potshots at a homeless person?”

“I don’t know,” replied Jack. “Goldie is being promoted to the Enabler position. Maybe they were impressing upon him that they aren’t afraid to murder someone.”

“The ‘you better stay in line or look what will happen’ approach?” said Rose.

“Something like that. Goldie told me they are going to make him take a polygraph as part of his promotion. These guys are professional.”

“And what if they decide to put you on the polygraph?” asked Rose. “Think you can lie your way out of that? You may be top-notch at lying to criminals, but it’s a different story once you are tied to a bullshit detector with a professional interrogator scrutinizing your every verbal and physical response. Responses you can’t control. Forget trying to drug yourself or doing self-hypnosis. These guys know their stuff.”

“I know,” replied Jack. “When Goldie told me that was what they were going to do to him, my insides cringed thinking about it. The thing is, Goldie has been protected in his heroin importation by these people for years. It is only with him about to learn who is really in charge that he is facing this test. With all the resources we have going for us, I would hope we can discover who The Shaman is long before they decide to slap me on the machine.”

“So you and Laura will continue to play things along as you have and see what happens?”

“Exactly. Once we get a wire on Goldie, things may open up a little more. Maybe catch him talking to Lee.”

“You might get lucky with a wire but I would be surprised. I think catching Lee will be a huge problem,” said Rose. “Your boss, for all intents and purposes, will be Goldie. They’re not going to let you climb the corporate ladder any farther than you already have.”

“Then we have to get rid of Goldie,” said Jack. “Convince the company to have me replace him.”

“How? If you arrest him on a drug beef, then you’re burned and I bet that Lee, as paranoid as this organization is, will drop him like a hot potato. With the millions that are involved, there is no way that Goldie is going to roll on anyone for the sake of spending a few months in jail.”

“I know,” replied Jack.

“And if you try and charge him with murder … well, you heard what will happen because you took the garbage bag, let alone trying to convince anyone of a motive. Even at best, he only drove the victim there after telling his guys it was a prank.”

“Goldie is the one who had him kidnapped,” said Jack, tersely. “He is as much to blame as whoever pulled the trigger. And as far as it being a prank goes, that’s a crock!”

“Of course it’s a crock, but you and I have been around the block a few times. Defence don’t usually pick jurors they think are worldly. A lot of judges are also pretty naive.”

“So he walks away from a murder rap because I stole a goddamned garbage bag!” said Jack, bitterly.

“That’s justice,” said Rose.

“Is it?” asked Jack.

Rose gave a weak smile and shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, I don’t think that is justice, either,” said Jack.

Laura reflected upon Jack’s comment. “That” is justice? Oh, man, he’s got something else in mind …

She was right.

24

Later that evening, Jack and Laura returned the wave from Purvis, who was standing behind the bar as they took a seat in a booth. A new waitress served them, and a few minutes later, Goldie joined their table.

“We’ve only dropped in to ask you something,” said Jack.

“Tomorrow is your real birthday,” said Laura. “How would you like to come out with us on our boat, the Blue Gator, and have dinner while the crew tours us around Vancouver Harbour?”

“That would be absolutely fab!” replied Goldie.

“Perhaps come over to our apartment for a drink first,” said Jack, “then you could follow us to the marina.”

“Bring a date, if you like,” said Laura.

“This is really something. I’m absolutely thrilled,” Goldie said, beaming with delight. “I’ll bring Candy. She was at my party last Saturday. Perhaps you met her?”

“I did,” replied Laura. “Very pretty girl.”

“One rule I must insist upon,” said Jack. “No drugs onboard the Blue Gator. We travel into the U.S. too often to risk some customs dog finding a trace of anything and having my boat seized. Understood?”