Isaac nodded and said, “Corporal Crane's reputation is solid, but I'll still give her boss a call tomorrow. This is not going down as a suicide.”
“That's what Connie said, too,” acknowledged Aggi. “Nobodyâespecially a child, could endure such abuse. Obviously, that is the reason she committed suicide.”
Isaac agreed.
They were both wrong.
Isaac sat in bed reading as Sarah stood in their ensuite, washing off the last of her makeup. He thumbed through the psychiatric text and scanned the page describing the profile of a sexual sadist:
The sadist wants sexual or psychological domination ... that may include imprisoning the victim through the use of restraining devices such as chains, handcuffs, plastic ties.... Acts performed on the victim may include whipping, electrical shocks, beating, burning, mutilation, biting, urinating, or defecating on the other person ... rape, murder ...
Isaac pondered over Aggi's description of the victim.
Everything that happened to that girl, except the personal touch of murder ... along with the burning, biting, urinating, and defecation. Then again, the child was washed in bleachâperhaps the last two acts had occurred.
“What are you reading, dear?”
Isaac quickly put the book down as Sarah climbed into bed. “Just work,” he replied.
Three hours later, Isaac got out of bed and slipped on his housecoat. He found himself sitting in his den, staring at his daughter's picture.
My sweet Norah, you know the pain that Sarah and I have suffered since your accident. Some day we will be together in heaven ...
He turned his gaze to the window and out into the night sky.
The child that Aggi told me about ... does she have parents? When they find out, what will they feel? Unfathomable, even for me to know.
He rubbed his eyes and tried to block the images of what that child had endured. Eventually he resorted to saying the Lord's Prayer.
“You are faster than a monkey with stolen fruit!”
Linh looked up from the deck of the fishing trawler to the rope ladder dangling from the ship above. The young woman who uttered the words waved at her, and started her descent over the side of the ship.
Linh smiled and decided that she had descended faster than even a monkey could.
Very soon I will be together with Hangâand my new family!
It was seven-forty-five in the morning when Staff Sergeant Randy Otto received the call from Isaac.
“Are you still Corporal Crane's supervisor?” asked Isaac.
“Yes, sir,” replied Randy.
“Are you up to date on this Asian child found in the Dumpster?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Randy. “Found the night before last. Corporal Crane attended the autopsy yesterday afternoon. She said it was a suicide but actually ...”
“This was not a suicide!” said Isaac, harshly. “Try reading section 222 of the Criminal Code! A person commits culpable homicide when he causes the death of a human being through threats or fear of violence to do anything that would cause their death! I don't have the Code in front of me, but that's pretty damn close!”
Randy had never heard Isaac swear before.
What brought this on?
“Sir,” Randy said. “I am familiar with that section of the Code. Your description, as I recall, is accurate. I hadn't meant that we were treating this case as a suicide. I only meant to inform you of that detail before explaining the unbelievable abuse this kid suffered.”
“Oh,” replied Isaac. He sighed and his voice softened as he said, “The pathologist on this matter is a personal friend of mine who was over for dinner last night. I am only too aware of what this child went through. I am sorry if I snapped at you.”
“It's okay, sir,” replied Randy. “I have two daughters of my own. This case is particularly upsetting.”
Isaac was silent for a moment as he looked at Sarah and Norah's picture on his desk. Now when he spoke, his voice sounded saddened. “I have to admit, I didn't get much sleep last nightâand when I did, the whole situation gave me a nightmare.”
“I understand, sir.”
“I don't want to interfere with your work. It's always top notch. I just want to be kept up to date on the details. Anything you need, you let me know.”
“Yes, sir. At the moment it doesn't appear that she was even reported missing. We're checking with schools, hospitalsâshe has an extra thumb. Somebody must know her.”
It was noon and Jack and Laura were sitting at their desks, reading volumes of information from Commercial Crime files in regard to a suspected stock manipulation.
Jack shook his head as he once again glanced at a link-chart where lines and dotted lines told of connections amongst various corporations, companies, and people involved.
“This stuff is unbelievable,” he commented. “No wonder
it takes them years to figure out if they can, or even should lay a charge.”
“Does give me a new respect for Commercial Crime,” said Laura. “I find it boring, but it takes brains to decipher all this.”
Jack received a call on his cellphone and quickly jotted down an address. When he hung up, he said, “Come on, time for you to meet someone. It's my new friend from the Orient Pleasure. She wants to talk in person and only has an hour off for lunch. Sounds urgent.”
Jack and Laura slowly drove down an alley and Jack stopped the car briefly as Jade quickly climbed into the back seat and lay down out of sight. Jack drove to an underground parking lot where they could talk.
Jade was polite when she met Laura, but focused her attention on Jack. “I have news,” she said. “But you arrest Mister Dc, what happen to me?” she asked.
“I told you I could get you out,” said Jack. “Safely. Nobody would know.”
“I need little more money,” said Jade. “To buy house for brothers and sisters. More time.”
“If Dúc is arrested, it is unlikely he would be in jail more than a day or two to start with. If the Orient Pleasure were to close, he would have someone re-open it someplace else.”
“You would allow him?” asked Jade.
“Our judicial system would allow it to happen. We need very strong evidence to arrest people. It takes time and once Dúc is arrested, he will simply have someone else take the risk. Even if convicted, he would not be in jail long. This is not your concern. Tell us what is going on.”
“You know Cuóng?”
“That was ...”
“He man who take your money when you come to lay with me,” interrupted Jade.
“I know him,” said Jack, catching a glance from Laura. “The young fellow who works on the front counter.”
“Yes, that him.”
Jack coughed to clear his throat and said, “Tell my partner that I did not ... lay with you.”
“Oh!” A look of concern fleeted across Jade's face as she looked at Laura and said, “Jack no fuck me. He nice man.”
Laura looked at Jack, opening her eyes just slightly, pretending that she had doubts.
“I hear Mister Dúc tell Cuóng he must rent big truck today after work. Cuóng take Tommy and go get more girls to come here.”
“Who is Tommy?” asked Jack.
“He work at Asian Touch. He Vietnamese, but no speak Vietnamese. Only English.”
It was eight-fifteen at night when Jack and Laura drove their car onto the last ferry of the day, leaving from the Tsawwassen terminal. The ferry was bound for Duke Point, near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The cube van, being driven by Cuóng, with Tommy as a passenger, was a few vehicles ahead of them on the ferry.
Two hours later, they disembarked and headed north on Highway 19 from Nanaimo and west on Highway 4.
“Think we're going to Port Alberni?” asked Laura.
“Could be, but my guess is closer to the ocean where a fishing boat could moor.”
It was shortly after one o'clock in the morning and they were nearing Tofino before Jack and Laura saw the cube van
leave the highway and turn down a gravel driveway leading into the woods.
Jack continued past the driveway and parked on the shoulder of the road. They didn't have to wait long. Less than half an hour passed and the truck reappeared, retracing its path and eventually heading east on Highway 4.
“Back to the ferry,” suggested Laura.
“Good thing,” replied Jack. “Be hard to explain to Quaile what we're doing on Vancouver Island instead of listening to whose filing cabinets we're going to seize in a couple of years.”
“That's right,” said Laura. “I forgot. There's a meeting with Commercial Crime at eight tomorrow morning.”
“Hopefully, Quaile will think that's where we are,” replied Jack. “I'll call Commercial Crime in the morning and say we're tied up and to start without us.”
They followed their quarry, catching the first ferry from Duke Point, departing at five-fifteen in the morning. They disembarked two hours later in Tsawwassen and by seven-forty-five they had followed the truck to a residential address in Richmond.
Jack kept his head turned as if he were talking to Laura and drove by just as Cuóng was backing the truck up a driveway to a home with an attached garage.
“The truck's too big to go inside,” said Laura.
“I'll turn around and drive past again.”
“Tommy eyed us going by,” warned Laura.
“We'll make it look like you dropped me off,” replied Jack.
Laura switched places with Jack and slowly drove past the house again. She caught a glimpse of several Asian women being ushered inside the garage.
“You can get your head out of my lap now,” she said.
“I don't know,” replied Jack. “Feels sort of comfortable. Think I'll take a nap.”
A second later, Jack yelped as Laura twisted his ear and sat up.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Find a good spot to watch with the binos and hope that our Russian friends show up. If they do, I think we should call in the troops and make arrests.”
“And if they don't?”
“Let's see what happens,” replied Jack, tersely. “We need the evidence on them, not these peons.”
“You heard what they do to break these women in.”
“I know.”
“Brutally gang raped by Giang and his bunch.”
“Damn it, Laura! Don't you think I've been thinking of that?” said Jack angrily. “Pull over here, it's a good place to watch,” he added, as he picked up the binoculars.
“We can't just sit back and let that happen,” she said, letting her own anger boil over as she parked the car.
“What are we supposed to do about it? If we arrest these peons and don't connect the Russians, they'll continue to get away with it. They'll pick other people besides the Trans. There are lots around the globe who are more than willing to deal in human flesh.”
“As long as men support it, there will always be women being victimized,” said Laura. “Jade can identify the Russians as being in Hanoi. If she testified, that should count ...”
“For nothing,” said Jack. “She can't risk testifying now. Even if she couldâso what? Two guys looked at a bunch of pretty woman. There's nothing to tie them into the business end of this. We need hard evidence. Boats, documents ... maybe someone with the courage to step forward and do what is right ... instead of keeping secrets!”
Laura knew that the rage Jack felt wasn't directed at her.
He's got the same look on his face as that night in Cuba, when
he told me about his family.
“Believe me,” said Jack. “I am not done with Dúc and Giang. But it's the Russians who are at the top of my list.”
“So you're going to sacrifice these women, if need be, to catch the Russians.”
Jack sighed and said, “Yes, because in the end, it will save more women.”
“Providing we catch them. Otherwise this sacrifice is for nothing.”
“We
will
catch them,” said Jack, with determination.
“I don't like it,” said Laura. “The whole idea sickens me.”
“If it didn't sicken you, I wouldn't want you as a partner,” replied Jack. He handed the binoculars to Laura and said, “Cuóng and Tommy are just leaving, but take a look at who just arrived.”
Laura adjusted the binoculars and saw that two mini-vans had arrived. The drivers were walking toward the house.
“We've got two of the Tran brothers,” she said. “Thao and Húu.”
Jack swallowed a surge of bile.
Where are the Russians ... and where is Dúc?
Jack and Laura watched as the two brothers disappeared inside the house. Thao reappeared by himself and the overhead garage door opened briefly to allow him to back his van inside.
Minutes later, the overhead door opened and he drove away as Húu repeated the process and also drove away shortly after.
“Dividing up the girls,” said Jack. “Maybe Dúc is just late. He'll probably show up with a van soon. Maybe the Russians will be with him.”
Maybe, but not likely ...
Dúc did arrive soonâalone in his car.
Laura looked at Jack and said, “Guess there are no girls left.”
Jack nodded silently, watching as Dúc walked up and knocked on the door.
“Figure he's here to pay for their storage?” asked Laura.
“Probably. No Russians,” said Jack, feeling depressed. “I bet he already paid them.”
“Maybe we can get a warrant for bank records,” suggested Laura. “See if we can link them and the Russians. Quaile will think a warrant like that is for Commercial Crime.”
“You can try, but I think by the way the Russians throw cash around, you're not going to find much in the way of a paper trail. This isn't a Commercial Crime type file.”
“Speaking of that,” said Laura, “it's eight-thirty. Maybe we should head over to Commercial Crime.”
“Yeah, let's give it a minute. If Dúc leaves right away, I'd like to follow and see if he does meet with the Russians.”