“That’s a relief,” smiled Jack. “I was in Mexico two years ago and saw some pretty scary guys. Lucky for me, there was a taxi nearby and I high-tailed it back to the resort. The prospect of getting mugged scares the pants off of me.”

Oskar gave a fake, sympathetic smile and said, “Well … those kind of people are out there, which is why we hire professionals to protect our people.”

“That is really comforting to hear.”

“Personal safety comes first at all times. As a matter of routine and for all the work we do to find the suitable employees, we do take insurance policies out on our CEOs, but don’t worry, we have never had to collect on anyone being murdered yet,” added Oskar, giving a genuine smile.

“Goodness! I hope not!” exclaimed Jack.

“If you are hired, you would be travelling extensively, particularly in developing countries. Perhaps Africa, the Far East, China. Wherever needed.”

“I haven’t been to China or Africa, but I am fairly familiar with many of the cultures of the Far East. I’ve travelled in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and stepped foot into Myanmar, as well.”

“I see,” said Oskar, looking pleased. “So your asthma does not hinder you from travel?”

“Not at all. As long as I’m not expected to swim, run, or climb a mountain, I’m okay,” replied Jack. “As I said earlier, I even do a little golfing for exercise.”

“Nice to hear. Now, about salary. To start, you would be on probation for a six-month period and I am prepared to offer you seven-K a month. If you make it through the probationary period, you would receive a guaranteed ten-percent increase each year for the next three years.”

“So I would be in the six-figure bracket in three years,” said Jack. “That, uh, sounds reasonable,” he added, putting a controlled amount of excitement in his voice to make Oskar think he was thrilled with the offer. Too bad your CEOs don’t live long enough to collect it …

“I have what I hope is some potentially good news for you. Remember when I said to keep your schedule clear for the next three days?”

“Yes, you said if I passed the interview, I would be further assessed over the weekend with a final decision being made on Monday.”

“I can tell you that you are the last person I am interviewing for the position. Up until now, I have only selected one other potential candidate. You will be the second candidate.”

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to compete,” said Jack. I wonder if I could break the other guy’s leg …

“The other candidate’s name is Stewart Potter. His background is in forensic accounting.”

“I see,” said Jack. Maybe I should break both his legs …

“I have three corporate clients I wish to entertain this weekend. Mr. Yu arrived from Shanghai yesterday and the other two should be arriving on separate flights today.”

Jack nodded politely.

“They are here as my guests to take part in the festivities surrounding Swiftsure. I’ve put them all up at The Empress. Between you and Potter, I am going to give you a modest cash budget to entertain them over the weekend. I will then interview them and dependent upon what they say, it will form a major part of my decision as to which one of you I hire.”

“Guess I better be nice to them,” joked Jack. “Would myself and Mr. Potter entertain them together as a group?”

“No. All three have been invited to a cocktail party on my boat at four o’clock this afternoon. It will be a chance for everyone to meet. Mr. Yu speaks limited English. His culture would expect that I entertain him for the most part, however, I would still like you and Potter to try and get some one-on-one time with him tonight.”

“I understand.”

“The other two clients are both American. John Barfoot and Len Stein. I want you to look after Len tomorrow and John on Sunday. Potter will do the reverse.”

“By look after?”

“Entertainment, meals, whatever …”

“Sounds like an easy and fun assignment,” said Jack. “Do they need to be picked up at the airport?”

“That part has been arranged with The Empress. This afternoon we will have cocktails and go out for dinner later. Dress casual and have fun.”

Thirty minutes later, Jack went to a motel room and met with a cover team comprised of four members of the Victoria RCMP Drug Section. One member, Constable Willy Mineault, was a trained undercover operative whom Jack had worked with before and highly respected.

Willy had a head of curly hair sticking out from under a woollen cap and a moustache that grew to the bottom of his chin. He was dressed in jeans and wore a T-shirt with a pattern of nautical rope knots displayed across the chest.

Jack had seen him on the pier a short distance from Oskar’s boat chatting with people who were excited about their entry in the race. Willy’s appearance allowed him to fit in perfectly.

Jack outlined the good news that he had passed the first stage of the interview and explained what was to follow. The bad news, he told them, was that there was one other applicant by the name of Stewart Potter being considered.

“Maybe we could break his leg,” suggested Willy.

Jack grinned. “Wrong, Willy … wrong!” He chuckled for a moment before becoming serious again and continuing, “It would be a serious problem if Potter was hired. I think we would have to risk telling him, even though it could jeopardize the operation.”

“At least it sounds like you would then be hired next,” said Willy.

“Oskar is offering a really good salary. I think if Potter backed out, it would most certainly draw suspicion. Oskar is already talking about retiring. Suspicion now might convince him to retire immediately. If he did, we would probably never get him for murder, let alone find out who orchestrates the murders.”

“And if we don’t tell Potter, he could get murdered,” noted Willy.

“Exactly. Another problem is identifying whoever it is that Oskar works for. Mr. Merlin or Marlin. Even if Oskar retires, who is to say that the other guy won’t go right on killing people?”

“Better hope you’re hired and not Potter,” said Willy, solemnly. “I’ll do a background check on him and see what I can discover about the guy in case we do need to approach him.”

“My hope is that I impress the clients more than he does,” said Jack.

“You should have that going for you,” said Willy. “Didn’t you say that Oskar is looking for someone who is really friendly and outgoing?”

“According to my source, he is,” replied Jack.

“Well, I’ve never really thought of accountants as being party animals. I bet Potter is some shy guy who lives at home with his mom.”

“We can only hope.”

“Serve these clients up some of your olive soup.” Willy grinned. “They would never forget you.”

“I don’t know,” replied Jack. “Seems to me your memory wasn’t so good after a few martinis.”

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Willy’s initial background check of Stewart Potter left Jack feeling apprehensive.

Potter was thirty-five years old and had spent the last six years working as a forensic accountant for a large accounting firm. Prior to that, he had worked in various African countries for the Red Cross.

“So much for him being a shy guy living with his mother,” said Jack.

“Yeah, guess I was wrong about that,” admitted Willy. “He is married and has four children. Two adopted seven-year-old twin boys from Somalia, one four-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome, and another six-year-old daughter.”

Jack saw the glum look on Willy’s face and felt the same way. The idea of Potter being set up for murder sickened them. Jack knew he could not knowingly risk Potter’s life.