“I’m glad my men weren’t involved, sir.”
“I know. I think Wigmore snapped under the pressure of being commissioned. He’s looking to point his finger at anyone rather than take a good look at himself. The sad thing is, he really believes it.”
“It sounds pretty serious.”
“It’s serious, but they don’t think he’s actually dangerous. They expect to release him shortly and treat him as an outpatient.”
“Will he be coming back to the job?”
“No. I’ll see to it that he goes to pension as soon as he’s released.” Isaac leaned back in his chair and said, “Well, enough about that. Let the men know I’m pleased with how Project 13 is progressing and keep me abreast of any new developments.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Grazia.
It was eleven o’clock on Friday night when Jack and Danny stepped up on the darkened porch and Jack rapped on the door. A few minutes later, the porch light went on and the door opened a crack.
Jack stuck his foot in the doorway and said, “Police! We’ve got an arrest warrant for Jose Cuervo! Open up! We got a tip that he’s hiding in your kitchen!”
“Come on in,” said Louie. “I’ll lead you to him.”
Louie led Jack and Danny into the kitchen. Louie took his pistol from his housecoat pocket and placed it on the kitchen table, and then retrieved the bottle of tequila and three glasses.
The three men gave a silent toast and drank. When they were finished, Louie pointed a finger at Jack and said, “Pour another. I’ll be right back.”
Jack did as he was told, and Louie returned a moment later with a tape recorder. He spoke with a lisp and said, “Lithen to thith, big boys!”
Jack, Danny, and Louie howled with laughter when the tape of Wigmore’s voice was played. When it was finished, Louie became sombre and looked at Jack and said, “He might be vengeful. Keep your eyes open for a while.”
“We’ve talked about this before. As I said, the man’s a bully, which makes him a coward in my eyes. He wouldn’t have the guts to try anything.”
“I agree, but just be careful all the same. Now, time to burn this,” added Louie, reaching for the tape.
Danny pleaded with Louie to play it one more time while he refilled the glasses.
By 2:00 a.m., the tape had been played several times before being destroyed.
chapter thirty
CC sat in the passenger seat flipping through her wiretap application while her partner, Charlie Wells, drove the car. She looked up and said, “Take the next left.”
They parked in front of Bishop’s estate and had barely gotten out of the car when the sound of three rapid gunshots came from behind the home. CC and Charlie both reached for their pistols and ran to the back of the home.
A long pier led into the ocean. A large cabin cruiser was parked at the end of the dock, opposite a small boathouse. Sid Bishop stood near the boathouse and watched a clay pigeon fly into the air. Three more blasts followed, but he missed again and silently cursed the bottle.
A few minutes later, Bishop invited the police officers into his home. He poured them each a cup of tea while he sat and browsed through the wiretap application.
“This information came through a Daniel O’Reilly,” mused Bishop as he read the pages.
CC reached for a scone and said, “His informant.”
“I may need to talk to him later.”
“No problem, I’ll give you his cell number. O’Reilly works with Jack Taggart on the Intelligence Unit. They probably both run the informant. Taggart’s pretty experienced; I’m sure the informant is reliable.”
They were interrupted by the sound of the door chimes. Sid left momentarily, and CC saw that it was a catering company making a delivery.
Sid returned and said, “Sorry about that. Having a bit of a social here tonight. Now, back to this, why isn’t Taggart’s name on this application?”
“The two kids that were killed were his niece and nephew,” CC replied.
“His niece and nephew?”
“Yes.”
“It would be prudent for him to remain in the background. Less chance of defence claiming that the information is biased.”
“You’re right, but there’s more to it than that.”
“Oh?”
“The superintendent who was recently in charge of the Intelligence units told me that he considers Taggart dangerous — a loose cannon. He ordered him to stay clear of this investigation. I have the feeling that Taggart is really involved, maybe holding something back.”
“Holding something back? This application alludes to the fact that someone is divulging classified information. How classified? Would this person know where I live, for example? What about Taggart? Does he know who it is? Damn it! This shouldn’t be taken lightly!”
“There is no indication of anything to be concerned about in regard to anyone’s safety. As far as Taggart goes, I’m certain he doesn’t know anything in that regard.”
“What makes you certain of that?”
“Two things. One is they provided me with the grounds for this application.” CC paused, trying to formulate her words.
“And the second reason?” Bishop asked impatiently.
“From what I heard about Taggart, Wizard and Rolly wouldn’t still be alive.”
It was almost midnight when Nails spoke with Axle.
“Just heard from Wizard. We got a job to do tomorrow morning. Need to vaporize a couple of pigs.”
“Pigs!”
“You got it. I expect you’re about to earn your patch.”
It was Saturday evening, and Jack was helping Marcie clear the dishes from the table when Danny called. Elizabeth answered and passed the telephone to Jack.
“Just got a call from a prosecutor,” said Danny. “Some guy by the name of Sid Bishop. Must be dedicated. Wants to meet me at Willy’s Restaurant tomorrow morning at ten for coffee and go over Homicide’s wiretap application. Also wants you there.”
“CC must have put two and two together. Like I need that!” said Jack, sarcastically.
“I can try it alone. It’s at a mall, and Susan wanted to pick up some things. I don’t mind.”
“I’ll bring my own car and wait nearby. If you don’t think the prosecutor will push the application through without talking to me, then call and I’ll join you.”
“Will do.”
“Depending upon what happens, we should meet our friend right after and prepare him to do his bit.”
“No problem. We could meet him in your car and Susan can drive ours back home.”
chapter thirty-one
Rolly parked near the restaurant parking lot. He watched as Danny arrived. His wife was with him, pushing a baby stroller. She entered the mall while Danny headed for a restaurant.
He pulled up alongside Axle and Nails, who were parked in a van, and gave them a detailed description of O’Reilly’s car before calling Wizard on his cell.
Wizard waited impatiently at the airport. Damien’s flight was to arrive in ten minutes. It would be some time