Stew remained holed up in his room, so later that afternoon, Oskar went and knocked on his door. Stew refused to open the door and said he wasn’t feeling well.

Oskar cursed to himself as he returned to the pool.

The rest of the day slowly passed and Jack hung out with Oskar and Pike at the pool. Oskar made another invitation through the door for Stew to join them for dinner and was rebuffed. Back at the pool, Oskar told Jack that his trip to Hat Yai would be postponed until Tuesday, in the event he could talk some sense into Stew before he left.

Jack was pleased. With luck, he hoped he would not arrive in Hat Yai before Oskar talked to his boss. Arrests could be made and Jack would no longer be left dangling like raw meat in a pool of sharks. Providing Virgil doesn’t screw things up …

It was five o’clock Monday morning when Jack was awakened by a panicked call from Stew.

“I’ve been poisoned. Help me,” he gasped.

Chapter Thirty-Four

It was July 1, Sunday morning in Vancouver when Virgil checked himself out in the bathroom mirror. He had finished shaving … and not only his face. Except for his eyebrows, there was no other hair on his body. Gee, you didn’t find any DNA, officers? Such a shame …

He carefully examined his scrotum one more time and then grinned at his reflection before padding barefoot out to the kitchen to look out the window.

The clouds had disappeared and it was going to be a warm summer day. Perfect for Canada Day. A day for families. What woman would take her child to a park by herself … unless there was no man in her life …

Virgil came out of his house and went for a brief walk around the neighbourhood. He did not see anyone who could have been suspected of conducting surveillance, nor did he expect to.

On Friday evening, Virgil had driven around in remote urban areas. He was certain he would have spotted anyone if they tried to follow him, but repeated the scenario again last night with the same effect.

Taggart lied to me when he said I was being watched. How stupid does he take me to be? How stupid is Taggart? Perhaps Oskar will succeed in killing him …

Virgil returned to his carport and flicked on a portable radio on his workbench before sawing off a short piece of broom handle. He smiled as he drilled two holes in the short stick of wood before attaching a piece of cord. When he was finished, he glanced around to ensure that nobody was watching, before seeing if the rope would fit over his own head.

It did easily. Too easily. He adjusted a knot in the end of the cord until it was the right length. A simple roll of the wood and a twist of his wrist would tighten the rope around a person’s neck. With one hand he could operate the device and allow a person to breathe … or not to breathe.

Virgil felt the blood surge to his groin as he fantasized. He imagined a naked woman under him, squirming her flesh against his as she struggled for breath. He visualized relaxing the strangle hold to keep her alive and slow his ejaculation, then repeating the process over and over. When he was ready for the final climax, he envisioned her arching her back in death … her body writhing … struggling for another breath of air. A breath that he would not allow her to have.

He would still bring a knife to help ensure her co-operation until he had her under control, but this time his fantasy did not include using it.

Ah, my lovely. This will be much more pleasurable than rattling a knife across your headboard. Yes, it is unfortunate that you must die, but changing my routine … well, like I said, you have Taggart to thank

for that.

When Virgil was finished, he reached to shut off the radio, but paused as the news talked about another drone attack killing terrorists in Pakistan. Yes, eyes in the sky, he mused, before flicking off the radio.

As he turned to walk away, a new thought flashed into his brain. He stepped outside his carport and looking up at the sky, before glancing back at his car. Are you as stupid as I thought, Taggart?

Virgil popped the hood on his car and looked inside. He did not see anything out of place. He closed the hood and slowly walked around the car. On the bumper under the trunk he saw something. It looked like two sets of finger marks in the dust. Marks that looked like someone had gripped the bumper to pull themselves out from under the car.

Seconds later, Virgil smiled from where he lay on his back under his car. The magnetic car tracker was stuck to the side of his gas tank. He carefully pulled it off and put it on his workbench.

Oh, Mr. Taggart … how thoughtful of you to provide me with an alibi!

Moments later, Virgil backed out of his driveway. He was still cautious and drove in an out of neighbourhoods, often doubling back to ensure that there really was no physical surveillance on him. When he was finished, he drove to a small playground and parked.

As he waited, he pretended to be using his cellphone. Anyone passing by who should happen to see him, would not suspect his real intentions.

Minutes after he arrived, a woman with three small children arrived to use the park. Virgil guessed that she was about thirty and had her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was a heavy-set woman and her horizontally stripped T-shirt hung over her blue jeans. It did nothing to make her look attractive, but Virgil was willing to forego beauty over his lust to dominate.

Virgil watched as the woman sat on a bench and lit a cigarette. Are you the one? Sorry if I don’t let you enjoy a cigarette when I am done with you tonight …

Virgil’s attention was distracted by an image that appeared in his rear-view mirror. It was that of a young woman in her twenties, walking up the street with two toddlers who clung to her fingers.

The woman was beautiful, with long blond hair and a good figure. She was wearing cut-off blue jeans and a white, short-sleeved blouse. Virgil decided that her long, bare legs looked particularly inviting. He unrolled the car window to see if he could pick up any of their conversation as they passed.

Ah, you really are lovely. Virgil briefly closed his eyes and tilted his head back as he fantasized again. There will be no need to hide my face under a sweaty mask. I do look so forward to putting my bare face on your body.

“Mommy! Can I play on the slide? Can I?” one toddler asked.

“Go for it! Have fun!” she said with a smile and let go of their hands.

Yes, have fun. Tonight your mom and me will have fun, too …

Virgil watched as the young mom went and sat on the bench with the other woman.

Talk about beauty and the beast …

Half an hour slipped past before the young mom took her children by the hand and walked back down the sidewalk. Virgil stayed in his car until they were far enough away that nobody would notice he was following her.

Ten minutes later, he watched as they entered an alley and then cut across a small patio on a ground-floor apartment complex. The patio was strewn with children’s toys and she paused to watch as one toddler pushed the other on a small plastic car.

A moment later, she unlocked the sliding patio door and disappeared inside, while the toddlers took turns, using their feet to propel themelves in circles around the patio. Seconds later, the woman slid open a kitchen window and fussed with the screen for a moment, before disappearing from view.

Virgil continued to walk down the alley, but heard her shout out, “Tomorrow I’m going to take you on the bus to visit Grandpa and Grandma. What do you think about that?”