“Over an hour ago,” replied Laura.

“Good. This seems almost too easy.”

“Too easy? We’re dealing with a serial rapist. I’m not finding it easy at all.”

“I’m talking about the new technology,” replied Jack. “Slap a magnetic car tracker under some bad guy’s car and what used to be an eight-man surveillance can be done by one person sitting at home.”

“If you don’t mind curling up in bed with a laptop waiting for the alarm to sound,” said Laura.

“Would you rather spend your shift out here twenty-four seven?”

“No, I’ve done enough of that, too.” Laura looked at Jack. “I’m not complaining. This is great.”

Jack returned to his own car and stuck a radio earpiece into his ear. After a radio check with Laura, he strolled down the sidewalk towards Virgil’s carport while Laura watched with binoculars.

Laura watched closely as Jack ducked into the carport. The house remained in darkness and within minutes Jack had accomplished the task and met her back in her car.

“Do me a big favour and make sure the batteries never run down … including the laptop,” said Jack.

“Is the laptop waterproof? Do I need to take it in the shower with me?” asked Laura with a grin.

Jack didn’t reply, but looked sombre as he stared out at Virgil’s house.

“You okay?” asked Laura.

Jack nodded. “I’m okay, but there is something I haven’t told you yet.” He turned in the seat to face her. “I told Isaac that I will hand in my resignation if this guy succeeds in attacking another woman.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“No,” said Jack curtly.

Laura looked at the laptop and thought about all the past experiences she had with electronic equipment that had gone faulty, or momentarily failed to work at a crucial time. “It happens, Jack,” she said softly. “Stuff like this breaks down all the time. This whole situation is not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” he snapped. “I’ve met Amanda and Megan and didn’t even have the guts to tell them what I was doing. I sure as hell don’t feel I have the right to pack a badge if I let Virgil rape someone else.”

Chapter Nineteen

The next few days saw Jack busy in Victoria, where he obtained a local cellphone and dropped off resumés at various recruitment agencies. One agency took particular interest and said they had a company in mind that was looking for someone with Jack’s qualifications. It gave Jack hope.

Potential living arrangements were also obtained. The mother of one of the RCMP members in Victoria managed an apartment complex. She agreed to allow Jack to use it as a mailing address. If Jack was hired, she had an apartment available at the end of the month that he could rent.

On Friday morning, Jack took a stroll past the marina on the inner harbour across from The Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria to see if he could see Oskar’s boat.

The marina was packed with many boats and people who were arriving for the Swiftsure Yacht Race scheduled to start in another ten days. Jack decided against going down to the actual docks in the event he bumped into Oskar.

On Friday afternoon, Laura was at her desk when she heard the alarm go off on the laptop, advising that Virgil was on the move. She was becoming used to his regular pattern and stared at the map.

For the last couple of days, Virgil had only made short trips to a store or periodically gone to the home of a man who Laura discovered had a criminal record for trafficking methamphetamines.

On one occasion, Virgil had gone from the man’s house to a casino before returning to the man’s house again. It was obvious they were friends and Laura guessed that the man was part of Virgil’s drug-trafficking ring.

This time Virgil’s route from home took him on a different path and she watched with interest as he left his home in Richmond and took the Oak Street Bridge into Vancouver. There he doglegged over to Granville Street and turned off on 66th Avenue before doubling back.

He’s checking for heat …

Laura grabbed the laptop and ran from the office. Virgil’s location was only minutes from her office and she kept her eye on the screen as she drove.

Virgil had turned his car around and was slowly driving around a block. The block was highlighted on her map in green and was labelled RIVERVIEW PARK.

You bastard …

Minutes later, Laura located Virgil’s BMW parked on Angus Drive, which led to the park. The car was empty and parked one block away from the park. Laura drove back to the park and was relieved not to see any moms playing with their children. She also didn’t see Virgil.

Jack answered his cellphone and held it away from his ear as Laura shouted, “Jack, where are you?”

“Driving off the ferry from Victoria. What’s up?”

“Our friend, the bastard. He’s parked about a block away from a city park.”

“Is he watching somebody?”

“I don’t know. He’s not in his car and I don’t know where he is. I drove past the park and there’s nobody in it that I could see.”

“You sure he’s not in the car? He could have ducked down.”

“I don’t think he would have seen me in time to do that, but I’ll drive past it again and check.”

“How long has he been there?”

“A couple of minutes.”

“His usual MO would be to conduct surveillance and come back at night, where he probably does more surveillance. Is this his first time to that area?”

“As far as I know, but he could have been here before we caught him. What if he already had someone staked out?”

“I don’t see him doing that if he thinks he is being followed. He’s not that stupid. He knows that he’s dead meat if there is an assault in the area where his car is.”

Jack waited a moment and heard Laura curse under her breath before saying, “I spotted him. He’s coming out of a house with some guy and they’re chatting up on the steps.”

Jack breathed a sigh of relief before asking, “Did he see you?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“I want him to think that Special ‘O’ is on him. He’d know that you and I couldn’t physically do it on our own all the time.”

“Oh, man,” muttered Laura. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Next time I talk to him, I’ll mention that Special ‘O’ wondered who he was visiting and called you to come take a look.”

“Might work.” Laura paused, then muttered, “I really hate this bastard.”

“You never used to swear when we first started working together.”

“I know. You’ve driven me to it.”

Jack chuckled, but heard his Victoria cellphone ring. Jack quickly said goodbye and answered. It was Oskar Cruickshank.

Chapter Twenty

The next Friday, at exactly ten o’clock in the morning, Jack walked along one of the fingers of piers on the inner harbour in Victoria and approached a sailboat called Corporate Asset.

Oskar had told Jack that if the interview went well, that he would be assessed further over the weekend, with a final decision being made on Monday.

Jack was dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt and blue tie for the interview, but felt out of place as he walked past clusters of people who were dressed in shorts and T-shirts. Despite his appearance, few paid him any attention. Their conversations seemed focused on discussing the wind and weather forecasts for the upcoming yacht race scheduled to start in three days.

Those who weren’t gathered on the piers sat on either the bows or the sterns of their boats sipping coffee. Everyone appeared to be in a friendly and festive mood.