“Told you everything would check out,” said Virgil, smugly.

“Shut up,” said Jack. “No, not you Rose.”

“Heard from the narcs that it went well last night,” said Rose. “The Americans took down the courier and a fellow picking him up. They got twenty-eight kilos of meth.”

“I know,” replied Jack.

“Are you on your way to the office? I knew you would be sleeping and didn’t want to bother you, but I’d like a report on it before the day is over. The brass are pleased, but with the Americans involved, they’ll want all the details pronto.”

“Laura and I haven’t been to bed yet. We’re still working.”

“I thought it was all wrapped up hours ago?”

“What you’re talking about is. We’ve been working on something different.”

“Important enough to keep you both working for what … the last twenty-something hours straight?”

“It might involve some murders, with more murders to follow.”

“It does,” said Virgil from the back seat. “What I told you is —”

Jack put his finger to his lips telling Virgil to be quiet.

“Sounds to me like more than the two guys in the U.S. were caught,” said Rose.

“You’re right about that,” said Jack. “Laura and I are still debriefing the person as we speak. We will come to the office as soon as we’re done.”

“Sounds interesting. See you when you get here.”

“There’s more. I take it you haven’t received a call from the big dick yet?”

“Who?”

“Inspector Dyck.”

“Who’s he?”

“He recently transferred in to Major Crimes in Surrey. Came from Ottawa. I have a feeling that he might be a little upset with me.”

“Pray tell,” replied Rose, skeptically. “What happened that would give you that idea?”

“I could tell by his demeanour. I told him that I would be looking into some possible murders —”

“They’re not possible! They’re real!” yelled Virgil from the back seat.

“And that upset him?” asked Rose.

“Well, there is a bit more to it than that. There was a matter of credibility, but the source alleviated some of it,” said Jack, turning in his seat to glare at Virgil, “by admitting to a recent crime. Dyck wanted to know the informant’s name and I refused.”

“What kind of crime?” asked Rose. “Are we talking murder, rape, bank robbery, what?”

“Your second guess.”

“Rape?”

“Yes. Repeatedly.”

“Oh, God,” moaned Rose.

“Yeah,” replied Jack. “Exactly.”

“You better hope he’s not lying to you about the murders.”

“If he is lying to me about anything, I’ll feed him to the wolves,” said Jack, staring intently at Virgil who decided to gaze at the floor mat.

“And the big dick wouldn’t … I mean Inspector Dyck, you said by his demeanour that —”

“I meant that the more I refused to tell him … da’ meaner he got.”

“That isn’t all that funny, Jack.”

“Try staying up for twenty-seven hours straight. Then it will seem funnier.”

“Hang on, I got passed a note. Seems I have an urgent call waiting.”

“Gee, I wonder who that could be?”

Rose sighed. “Guess this is why I make the big bucks. See me as soon as you’re done there.”

When Laura parked behind Virgil’s car, Jack turned in his seat and stared silently at Virgil.

“So I’m free to go?” asked Virgil, nervously.

“Yes, but you will remain on a very short leash. I need you to find out whatever you can to help us catch these guys. See if you can find out who your brother works for. The guy you said is Mr. Merlin or Marlin.”

“I’ll try. Oskar should arrive in Victoria today. He told me he would stay until at least the end of the month. He is going to be in some sort of boat race.”

“That would be the Swiftsure International Yacht Race,” said Jack. “They have it every year during the last week in May.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“You told me he plans on killing three more people before Christmas.”

“Yeah, then he’ll retire on some beach some —”

“I want you over there tonight.”

“I’ve been up since two o’clock yesterday afternoon! It’s now ten o’clock in the morning. I need —”

“You need to get your ass over there!” yelled Jack.

“Okay, okay,” replied Virgil quickly.

“I’ll let you go home and sleep for a few hours. It will take me that long to get a proper surveillance team on you.”

“Surveillance team? You said you weren’t going to tell anyone!”

“Special ‘O’ won’t know anything about what you told us.”

“Special ‘O’?”

“It’s a specialized unit who are experts in surveillance.”

“But they’ll know what I did?”

“No. I use them frequently. A judge will only issue a wiretap order as a last resort. We have to show that other investigative means were tried and failed. Special ‘O’ is used all the time with drug dealers to conduct surveillance and put in reports to prove that surveillance alone is not sufficient to catch someone. I’ll assign them to follow you and tell them I think you are dealing dope. As a matter of routine they will identify who you meet. It will go toward convincing me that you’re on the level. Perhaps later, I’ll have them watch your brother.”

Bullshit, thought Virgil. You want to catch me the next time I go and pork some bitch. He looked at Jack and said, “How long do you expect they will be following me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a week or two.”

Yeah, I bet …

“Until Special ‘O’ is set up on you, we will follow you home and wait nearby until they arrive. I want you on the seven o’clock ferry tonight. That will give you time for a little shuteye.”

“Fuck, after what I have been through, I doubt that I’ll be able to sleep, anyway,” grumbled Virgil.

“Try and find out how Oskar picks the victims and anything else that would help. We’ll be giving you our phone numbers. If you hear something important, call us day or night. Also keep your own phone handy in case we need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, okay,” replied Virgil, “but tell them to be careful if they’re following my brother. He’s really bright. I was a straight-A student all through high school and in the top two percentile of my intelligence scores, but I can tell you, Oskar is a lot brighter than me.”

“So if you have the brains, why did you pick a career as a criminal?” asked Jack.

Virgil looked at Jack and shrugged.“Because I enjoy a challenge, although I have to admit that up until now, keeping a step ahead of you guys hasn’t been all that challenging.”

Jack felt irritated that Virgil seemed to be enjoying the moment and decided to change the subject. “Is your address right on your driver’s licence?”

“Yeah, it’s a duplex out in Richmond,” replied Virgil.

“Got a garage?” Jack asked.

“It’s a carport. It will be easy to see my car, if that is what you’re worried about.”

Jack nodded and said, “Okay, the cuffs are coming off.”

Once Virgil had been released, Jack opened the glove box and handed him the knife.

Virgil was hesitant to take it, as he eyed Laura, wondering if it was a trick.

“Take the goddamned thing,” said Jack, harshly. “But be warned, if you do any more rapes, all deals are off, got it?”

“Never again,” said Virgil, quickly tucking the knife in his belt and pulling his shirt over it.

Jack stared at Virgil who returned his stare without blinking. After a moment, Jack nodded. “Good, I’m hoping I can believe you.”

Virgil was careful to act solemn, but scowled hatefully at Laura before opening the door and leaving.

Laura waited until Virgil got in his car and pulled away from the curb before pulling out to follow him. She then cast a sideways glance at Jack and said, “Did you see the look he gave me before he got out?”

“Yes. He likes to control women. You throwing him to the ground and choking him didn’t sit well with him.”