Jack Taggart Mysteries 7-Book Bundle. Don Easton
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Kate would all have graduated before you got out.”
Damien let out a grunt, then sneered and said, “Bullshit. I haven’t done anything to go to jail for.”
“I’m not bullshitting you, so please do me a favour and don’t bullshit me. I find it insulting.”
Damien paused and the sneer disappeared from his face. “Okay. What evidence do you think you have?”
Jack stared intently at Damien. He felt his body tense, ready to fight. “I have a lot of evidence,” he said tersely. “In fact, if I was to weigh it, I would say it was about two kilos short of a metric tonne!”
Damien stared back in disbelief. “It was you?” he uttered.
Jack nodded and pointed to his attaché case and said, “Go ahead, open it. You can watch it on video — including the murder of Silent Sam.”
“So this is how you pay back a favour?” said Damien, rising to his feet and shoving the attaché case off the table like it was poisonous. “You cost me my position in the club!” he roared.
Jack remained seated. Keeping his voice even he said, “I would have done the same thing if I hadn’t owed you a favour. The difference is that someday you won’t be looking at pictures of your grandchildren from a jail cell.”
Damien stared down at Jack. His breath came in pants and it took him a moment to regain his composure. He then bent down to pick up the case and Jack quickly stood and backed away.
“I’m not going to hit you with the fucking thing,” said Damien, sitting back down in the chair.
Damien was quiet for a moment and Jack readied himself for a fight. He discovered that Damien was more cerebral. A wry smile appeared on his face and he said, “You’ve got me. Checkmate. I concede your ... point.”
Jack slid his chair a little farther back and then sat down.
Damien stared at him and said, “I never thought it would end like this. A bullet in the back from an Indo maybe, but not from your side. I underestimated you. Wish I had Bishop’s murder on film.”
“I only have one copy of Silent Sam’s,” replied Jack, gesturing to the attaché case. “After we watch it, you can destroy it. Then we’re going for a ride where you can see that something else is destroyed.”
The drive to the farm was made in silence. Jack parked on an access road and used his flashlight to navigate through a short stretch of bush and into a field that was being cleared to make pasture.
Damien looked down into the pit, where 998 kilos of cocaine had already been slashed open and mixed into a pile of brush. The smell of gas permeated the air as the last of it glubbed out of a barrel that Jack rolled along the top of the pit.
The men watched in silence as the flames crackled and roared to a great height. Then Jack handed Damien a set of keys and said, “These belong to you. An Econoline van that I’ve got parked nearby in the driveway of an abandoned farmhouse. You can drive yourself back to the city.”
Damien accepted the keys and said, “I guess one good thing came out of all this.”
“What’s that?”
“Not being top dog. I’m no longer a target. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to take my wife to bed without wondering who is listening.”
“Unless, of course, you continue your criminal career.”
Damien let out a snort and said, “I’m talking about other people. People with ambition. You got lucky. It won’t happen again. You mean nothing to me.”
“So you agree that I no longer owe you a favour?”
Damien didn’t answer for a moment, and Jack caught the look in his eyes as the flames flickered, casting shadows of light and darkness across his face. He really does look like the devil.
Damien glared at him and said, “Yeah, but don’t ever ask me for another one. If you do, I’m liable to kill you myself.”
Cecil Hinds had his surveillance team hiding near Damien’s estate waiting to video Jack and Damien together when they returned. He sat in his car with his hands in his jacket pockets. The weather had turned unseasonably cold for May, forcing him to shut the car off. Any exhaust coming from a parked car would quickly gather attention from those who were wary.
There was one obvious conclusion that Hinds drew from the covert method the two men used to meet. Hinds was a good cop. Like all good cops, he hated criminals ... but like all good cops, he hated dirty cops more.
Hinds was slightly disappointed when Damien reappeared four hours later driving a rented Econoline van and alone. Interesting. Why the van, and what part did Taggart play?
It was nine o’clock the next morning when Hinds found out what the van had been used for. A striker for Satans Wrath had returned the van to the rental agency. Minutes later, Hinds field-tested the powdery residue found inside. Positive for cocaine!
The chief officer in charge of CFSEU met with Assistant Commissioner Isaac within the hour. Moments later, Legg was also summoned to the meeting. Taggart had just become the Anti-Corruption Unit’s top priority.
“Where are we with the pictures you sent to Mexico, Harry?”
Legg squirmed slightly in his chair and replied, “We passed them on to the LO in Mexico City a week ago Monday. We haven’t heard back yet.”
“Today is Friday. That makes it eleven days. Why the delay?”
“The liaison officer indicated that the Mexican authorities won’t be eager to admit if they made a mistake. If Bishop’s death was not accidental, it would cause them embarrassment. It’s a delicate matter. The LO is trying to be discreet and go through the back door on this.”
Isaac pointed his finger at Legg and said, “You tell the LO to forget about being delicate! I don’t care who is embarrassed! Tell him to send it through channels immediately. If there are any problems, I’ll be talking with the Mexican ambassador myself!”
Danny checked his watch as he walked with Jack through the cemetery. It was early afternoon but some people were getting a jump on the weekend. Rush hour had already started. “You figure we’ll be working late?” he asked.
Jack glanced at him and said, “Guess it depends on what our friend has to say. Hoping to make it home for dinner?”
Danny nodded. “I need a break. I’ve been on edge all week over ... the storage locker thing. I’m glad things worked out for you with Damien last night, though.”
“Me too. Now if we could just find out who sent Connie that note I’d be happy.”
“Wish she had a lead,” said Danny. “Everyone in the office is jittery. Hell, even the building, for that matter.”
“It’s starting to get on my nerves, too,” replied Jack. “Let’s make this quick with our friend, then pop back to the office and head home. Natasha should get home around five-thirty. I want to be waiting for her with a bottle of wine when she does.”
“Sounds good to me,” replied Danny, reaching for his cellphone to call Susan.
“Hey, babe!” said Danny when she answered. “I’ll be home for dinner. Jack and I are taking the weekend off. How about taking a couple of steaks out of the freezer and not eating until after we put Tiff and Jimmy to bed?”
Susan felt relief and joy flutter through her body. This was the Danny she had married. Not the bone-weary, stressed-out, and depressed man she had been putting up with for the last couple of weeks. “I’ll be glad to,” she replied, “except it’s cold and windy. You’ll freeze your butt off if you barbecue.”
“Do we have any wine in the house?”
“A bottle of Pinot Noir.”
“Perfect.