Isaac nodded. “Enough said. Congratulations on a job well done.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s move on to why I called you in. That delicate matter you brought to my attention ten days ago became an indelicate matter. By your odour, I presume you were at the farmhouse?”
“Yes, sir. When we got off the ferry from Victoria, Corporal Crane was with me. She received a call and we went to the scene. After that I spoke to my informant.”
Isaac looked at Mortimer. “Corporal Taggart was investigating Satans Wrath Motorcycle Club. They were exporting shipments of marijuana to Dallas, Texas, in a semi being driven by a Robert and Roxanne Barlow. After the marijuana was unloaded and the Barlows left, we had the DEA seize the shipment.”
“How much marijuana was seized?” Mortimer asked.
“About 250 kilos,” Isaac replied, “but that’s incidental to what took place later. Neal Barlow, who’s Robert’s brother, is a member of the Gypsy Devils motorcycle gang. They’re a puppet club controlled by Satans Wrath and were responsible for looking after the delivery. During the investigation, seventy-five kilos of marijuana were surreptitiously taken from Neal.”
“So 325 kilos were actually seized,” Mortimer said.
What part of “incidental” don’t you understand?
“It caused the bikers to suspect that Neal had cut a deal with the police in exchange for Robert and Roxanne’s freedom. We expected that Neal would be murdered, but we didn’t expect Robert and Roxanne to also be murdered, let alone in the heinous fashion that they were.”
Mortimer just gaped.
“We could’ve had Robert and Roxanne arrested in the States,” Isaac went on, “but Satans Wrath believed the Gypsy Devils were responsible for the shipment being seized and had given them two weeks to plug the leak. If they didn’t, the clubs would be at war and most of the Gypsy Devils would’ve been murdered.”
“Good God,” Mortimer spluttered, then glared at Jack. “Your actions are reprehensible!”
“It was my decision,” Isaac said forcefully. “The ones who are reprehensible are the criminals he’s working on.”
Mortimer frowned, then sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest.
Isaac cleared his throat. “So, to continue … I was left with the choice of either agreeing with Corporal Taggart’s plan to set Neal up as a sacrificial lamb, or have Robert and Roxanne arrested — which may or may not have prevented Neal’s murder in the resulting gang war. That war would’ve also jeopardized the lives of innocent people.”
“This is unbelievable.” Mortimer’s jaw quivered. “What a thing to ask Ottawa.”
“There wasn’t time to sit around while Ottawa procrastinated,” Isaac declared. He looked at Jack. “Did your informant have any information about what happened?”
“Yes, sir. My informant was present when the murders took place and he —”
Mortimer interjected. “You’re telling me that you allowed an informant to take part in a triple murder?” He leaned forward and gripped the arms of the chair as if prepared to run away.
“Yes, sir, I did,” Jack replied. “As it turns out he was basically a spectator.”
“You don’t catch sewer rats with church mice,” Isaac stated. “The murders would have taken place regardless.” He glanced at Jack. “Please proceed, Corporal.”
“Yes, sir. Two members of Satans Wrath and eight of the Gypsy Devils took part in the murders. Under orders from Satans Wrath, the Gypsy Devils bound, gagged, and tied their three victims to kitchen chairs. Cans of lighter fluid were given to the Gypsy Devils.” Jack had to steel himself to continue without emotion. “They burned Roxanne first, then Robert. After that, Neal was disembowelled and a Satans Wrath member dipped a broom into his blood and painted a message on the wall. It read the number four, the letter U, and the initials JT.”
“For you, JT,” Isaac said, looking at Jack.
“Yes, sir. I was told that Purvis Evans ordered the message be left for me.”
Isaac glanced at Mortimer’s stunned face. “Purvis Evans is the new national president of Satans Wrath,” he explained.
“He also goes by the nickname of Pure E, which is short for Pure Evil,” Rose added.
“A title that he obviously deserves,” Isaac said.
Jack nodded. “Sir, I’m sickened by what transpired. When I approached you with the question of whether or not to arrest Robert and Roxanne, Damien Zabat was still national president. He never would’ve done what Pure E, I mean, Purvis Evans, did.”
“Pure E seems more appropriate than Purvis,” Isaac said dryly. He paused, then added, “They say hindsight is twenty-twenty, but given the situation, were it to occur again, I’m not certain I’d do anything different.”
“Your informant witnessed these murders,” Mortimer stated.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then he can testify!” Mortimer sat forward again, looking pleased with himself.
Gee, why didn’t we think of that? “No, sir. I promised the informant I’d never put him in that position. He’s not a paid agent, but was caught doing a crime and agreed to supply information in lieu of being charged.”
“What kind of crime?” Mortimer asked.
“He’s a weenie wagger.”
“A what?”
“He was caught exposing himself in public. Satans Wrath would likely murder him if they found out because of the embarrassment it’d cause if it became public. Initially he provided me with information about a marijuana grow-op.”
Isaac turned to Mortimer. “Corporal Taggart then worked his way up the ladder. His work was instrumental in discovering how Damien Zabat, the previous national president of Satans Wrath, had been laundering money. Last week we raided Damien’s home and also conducted searches of lawyers’ offices in Vancouver, the British Virgin Islands, and Chihuahua, Mexico. We seized somewhere in the neighbourhood of twenty million dollars, along with another five or six million in assets. Further to that, to prevent his son from going to jail, Damien provided Corporal Taggart with information about a boatload of cocaine being delivered to France. That shipment was seized last night.”
“I heard about it on the news,” Mortimer said. “Four Satans Wrath members were arrested, along with several Europeans. A tonne of cocaine was seized.” He paused. “There was no mention of involvement from us. The news made it sound like the investigation originated in Europe.”
“That was to protect the informant,” Jack explained.
Mortimer frowned. “That was dumb. The press coverage would have benefited us all.”
“Not the informant,” Jack said sharply.
Isaac glanced at Mortimer. “I think it best to let Corporal Taggart call the shots on informant safety.”
Mortimer stared silently at Jack.
Isaac said, “I won’t keep you any longer, Corporal. I’m sure you’d like to go home and get some much needed rest.”
Rose cleared her throat. “Sir, there’s been a further development you need to know about. I think it best to let Corporal Taggart explain.”
Jack felt the dryness in his throat and swallowed. Talk about a bad day at the office. “It was Damien’s wife, Vicki, who provided me with the financial information allowing us to seize his money and assets.”
“His