The biker listened to Cocktail’s plan and said, “Sounds good. Tell Sy to carry it out.”

Sy stood up when Cocktail and the biker returned.

“We know who it is,” said the biker. “It’s the bitch by the name of Flowers.”

“How do you know?” asked Sy.

“How we know is none of your business.”

“Should we do something?” asked Sy.

“Yes,” replied Cocktail. “Miss Flowers needs to be taught a lesson.”

Sy listened carefully to Cocktail’s plan and saw the biker give his nod of approval.

“I’ll arrange it for tomorrow night,” said Sy, getting up to leave. He glanced at Cocktail before heading toward the door as Cocktail’s plan rolled around in his brain.

Sy was no stranger to violence, nor did he shun it, but the evil grin on Cocktail’s face convinced him that this was one person he would never cross.

His plan, it’s gonna be bloody … bloody and fuckin’ cruel. Every time she looks in a mirror …

Chapter Seventeen

It was ten o’clock the following night when three youths crept across the lawn behind Amanda Flowers’s home. Being the third week of May, the sun had set an hour earlier and the yard was mostly in darkness. A few lights were on in the house. The back porch light was also on, but a large shrub blocked most of the light to the yard.

Two of the youths were fifteen years old and the third was sixteen. All of the boys had lengthy juvenile records for assault, drug trafficking, and auto theft.

The youths were both giddy and nervous about the instructions they had received from Sy. A brutal and multiple rape was to be followed by carving the word RAT on her forehead.

The youths ducked low in the yard when they heard the back door open. It was followed by a soft feminine voice that yelled, “Kitty, kitty, kitty! Come on, Whiskers! I’m leaving the door open. If you’re not in by the time I scrub my teeth, you can spend the night outside!”

The youths heard the footsteps fade back into the house and a moment later, an upstairs bathroom light came on.

“This is gonna be fuckin’ easy,” said the oldest, pulling a pistol from his belt. The pistol was only a pellet gun, but it looked real and he knew Flowers would be too scared to tell the difference.

He glanced at his two friends who nodded and smiled back as they each pulled out hunting knives.

The one youth brandished his knife in the air, simulating carving the letters R-A-T. “Easy and fun,” he said.

“Too bad Tommy couldn’t be here,” said the other.

“Sy is smart,” whispered the oldest. “He’ll make sure Tommy has a good alibi for tonight. Come on … time to put on our masks.”

The youths placed their weapons on the lawn in front of them, dug in their pockets, and each pulled out a ski mask.

Instantly, three powerful beams of blinding light illuminated the backyard. The mouths of all three boys simultaneously hung open.

“Police! Don’t move!” screamed a command as black-clad men appeared out of the darkness pointing Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns at them. The favoured automatic weapon of the Emergency Response Team.

The youths gasped simultaneously, their eyes wide with fright as the members of the ERT circled them. Seconds later, the boys were all handcuffed and laying face-down on the grass.

Jack and Laura heard the scenario play out from where they sat with an ERT commander in the back of an ERT van parked a block away.

At noon the day before, Amanda had called Jack to thank him for having Tommy arrested. Jack said that he knew nothing about it. After hanging up, he called Rodine and told him to have a beer with Sy and find out what he was thinking.

Later, Rodine had called Jack back and said, “Sy met with Cocktail and some biker. They figure a teacher by the name of Flowers has been ratting and got Tommy busted. I’m surprised Sy told me, but I think he was so freaked out by Cocktail’s plan that he had to tell someone.”

Jack winced when he heard the news, but wasn’t surprised. He found out so they could also figure it out. He asked Rodine what Cocktail’s plan was and listened as Rodine told him about the intended rape and mutilation with a knife.

At first Jack had felt nauseated because he knew that to identify Flowers as the intended victim would compromise Rodine. Then he came up with a plan to protect Flowers and Rodine.

Jack told his bosses that Tommy was an important figure in The Brotherhood because his brother was a leader. He said it was rumoured that The Brotherhood blamed a teacher for Tommy’s arrest, but that he did not know which teacher.

Jack suggested the possibility that a drive-by shooting of a teacher’s house could occur, or perhaps The Brotherhood would break into a teacher’s home and commit a violent assault. Jack added further fuel to the fire by telling Morris Bloomquist, who panicked and demanded protection for himself. He also provided a list of several other teachers’ names, including Amanda Flowers.

ERT was assigned to protect the teachers and Jack assured everyone that it would only be for a couple of days because if The Brotherhood did retaliate, they would do it when the anger was still high.

“These guys aren’t smart enough to wait and plan things out over time,” said Jack. “They’re comprised of impulsive hotheads. If the rumour is right, they won’t wait.”

Jack knew that the information he provided would be immediately given to defence lawyers upon arrests. The police, who were providing protection to several teachers and without having any knowledge of the intended rape and assault with the knife, would make the arrests appear innocuous enough to protect Rodine from discovery.

Now, Jack sat in the back of the van and closed his eyes while massaging his temples with his hand as he thought about the arrest.

“What is it?” asked Laura, sounding concerned.

“They screwed up,” replied Jack.

“You got that right,” replied Laura. “All of them busted.”

“Not the punks,” said Jack, looking up. “The arrest was screwed up.”

“What do you mean, we screwed up?” said the ERT commander.

“Damn it,” replied Jack. “The bust was premature. Defence will say the kids were there to slash her tires or something. I told you to wait until they were inside. You had what, one policewoman pretending to be Amanda and three other officers in there? You could easily have handled three punks.”

“That was before one of them pulled a gun out of his pants,” replied the commander. “I’m not going to risk the lives of my people over some assholes who, even if they had gone inside, would likely end up with, at best, a few months in Juvenile Detention.”

Jack reflected on the information he had received from Rodine. He knew the gun was only a pellet pistol, but it was a detail he could not share in advance with the other officers. He sighed and looked at the commander and said, “You’re right. I’m sorry. You made the right call.”

“Damn right I did.” The commander was silent for a moment before adding, “Guess you did, too. Your rumour was right.”

Forty-five minutes later, Jack received a call from Connie asking where he was.

“In Amanda Flowers’s house,” he replied. “Where are you?”

“I’m at the Surrey office. The three punks have already lawyered up. Basil Westmount is defending one and other lawyers from his firm are representing the other two. None of the little assholes said a word. Turns out the pistol was only a pellet gun.”

“Too bad,” replied Jack. “It is going to be tough for some prosecutor to try and prove they intended to harm her. They were busted in her backyard, not in her house.”

“Yeah, but they were in a teacher’s yard at night with weapons and ski masks,” said Connie. “That ought to count for something.”

“Yeah … a reasonable person would think that,” said Jack, sarcastically. “I have to go. Laura’s upstairs helping Amanda pack. I’ve convinced her to move to a new place.”