“Relatives?” asked Connie.

“No, her parents live in Victoria. I want her to quit and move away, but she is being stubborn.”

“Hope she finds a safe place. The Brotherhood may try again.”

“I know. I told her that these guys might not give up. It would make them look bad, like they were incapable of handling business.”

“I hope she isn’t planning on continuing teaching! Doesn’t she realize how dangerous these guys are?”

“I told her. I said with the items they were caught with … masks and knives … that in my opinion they were going to sexually assault her and cut her up.”

“Do you really think that or were you trying to scare her?”

“I really think that … and it did scare her. She agreed to take some time off. I’m hoping she will at least take the rest of the semester off and start next year in a different school.”

“Will she?”

“She’s too stressed at the moment to decide. She’s already worrying about how long court will take. She wants the whole matter over with so she can get back to teaching.”

“I’ll talk to the prosecutor. Maybe see if we can expedite matters.”

It was midnight when Jack and Laura arrived with Amanda and introduced her to Gabriel Parsons, who took them around to the back of the house and into the basement suite. The bed had already been made up for her and there were towels and linens available.

“You’ve got your own kitchen,” said Gabriel, “but I know you haven’t had time to shop. In the morning come and knock on my door. I’ll make you breakfast.”

“That’s not necessary, but thank you,” replied Amanda.

“I don’t mind. You would be doing me a favour. I could use the company. I also put a quart of milk and some almond-chocolate-chip cookies in the fridge for you. I baked them this afternoon so they’re fresh.”

Amanda smiled in spite of how she felt.

When Gabriel left, Amanda turned and said, “What a sweet lady. Thank you so much for helping me.”

“Gabriel has been through a lot,” said Jack.

“So you told me on the way over.”

“I appreciate that it hasn’t been easy for you, either. I’m hoping you will be good for each other.”

“I hope her daughter is going to be okay,” said Amanda. “The stress must be terrible.”

“Maybe you could help out by tutoring Noah. Gabriel said he was still suffering the loss of his father when Father Brown was murdered. He was a father figure to Noah. Gabriel said Noah has been fighting at school and that his grades have dropped.”

“I’d be glad to help tutor him. What grade is he in?”

“Grade eight. He attends Cedar Woods Secondary. He’s never been to QE, but to be on the safe side, I want you to use your mother’s maiden name while you are here.”

“If you think it’s necessary.”

“I do,” replied Jack. “I can’t reiterate strongly enough. Don’t tell anyone where you are staying. Give us a month or so to see what is happening. The punks who planned to attack you tonight are with The Brotherhood.

“I know about The Brotherhood,” replied Amanda. “I’ve had to deal with their BS on a daily basis.”

“Then you know they are dangerous.”

“Anyone listening to the news about all the shootings knows that.”

“They’re not all kids. Adults are in charge. Dangerous adults. I really wish you would move farther away.”

“Your parents live in Victoria,” added Laura. “That’s a beautiful city.”

“At twenty-five I don’t want to be moving back in with my parents,” replied Amanda. “Let’s see what happens in court.”

Chapter Eighteen

Over the next couple of days, Jack and Laura spent their time in the back of a surveillance van identifying people coming and going from Sy’s apartment building. Most were teenagers and most had criminal records. Of interest, one of the teenagers was identified as Lorraine Calder, the same person who had been with Julie Goodwin the day before the girl committed suicide.

Rodine told Jack that Lorraine was a girlfriend of one of Sy’s top lieutenants. A man who went by “Brewski” and who lived in the apartment next to Sy. Jack was able to identify Brewski’s real name as David Brewster. A twenty-nine year-old man who had a long criminal record for violent assaults and drug trafficking.

Three days before Jack and Laura were to move into Sy’s apartment building, Jack received a phone call from Connie. He spoke quietly on the phone in case someone should happen to walk past the van and hear his voice.

“You like your bad news straight up?” asked Connie glumly.

“What have you got?” whispered Jack.

“Crown and defence made a deal for the three punks we caught going after Amanda Flowers. Half an hour ago they all pled guilty to criminal harassment by engaging in threatening conduct.”

“That’s better than I thought,” replied Jack. “I figured it would be along the line of vandalism.”

“That might have been better. At least there would have been an admission that they intended to damage something.”

“Maybe defence thought the masks and weapons wouldn’t make the pretext of vandalism quite as plausible. I hope those details were mentioned.”

“They were. The prosecutor told the judge how they crept into her yard with masks, knives, and a pellet pistol. Westmount spoke for the defence. He told the judge that the young boys had an ill-conceived idea to put the masks on and yell at the teacher from the backyard. Their plan was that when the teacher looked out her window, the boys would hold the knives and pellet pistol up in the air to scare her and then run away. He said it was a schoolboy prank which was obviously wrong. He said all three young boys feel very foolish, ashamed, and extremely sorry for what they have done. He said letters of apology have been written to the teacher, but the police have stopped them from giving her the letters.”

“What did these young boys get?” asked Jack.

“All three received two years’ probation. They were already on probation for other crimes and this probation is to be served concurrently with the other.”

“So they received nothing?”

“You got it.”

“Is the Crown going to appeal the sentence?”

“No,” replied Connie. “With the evidence at hand the prosecutor says we’re lucky as it is. Who knows, maybe that was all the punks really intended to do.”

“Oh, Connie,” said Jack, sadly, “you’re sounding naive enough to be a judge. That is not what they intended to do.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Seeing as you’re not going to court, I’ll fill you in.”

“Fill me in on what?” asked Connie suspiciously.

“I am trusting you to keep this to yourself. Someone’s life depends upon it.”

“I understand.”

Jack told her about Sy meeting with Cocktail and the real plan which had been foiled.

“That evil prick! We gotta get this guy!”

“Trust me, we will.”

“Wait a minute. Did you bullshit us when we had ERT sitting on all —”

“Just found out from our friend a few minutes ago,” lied Jack.

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Does Amanda know what happened in court?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Not yet. I can tell her if you like, but I thought you and Laura had a better rapport with her, so –”

“We’ll tell her,” sighed Jack.

Jack and Laura met with Amanda. She invited them in for tea, but Jack did not want to wait to tell her the news. He watched as her face went blank, repeating his words over again as she tried to make sense of what happened.

“They’re still out there,” cautioned Jack. “You should move out of the lower mainland.”