The secretary glanced at the report and saw either B/R, C/R or C/R/C behind each of the paragraphs in the report.
“Yes, I wondered what that meant. Is it a code for who supplied the information?”
Roger shook his head. “Nope. I’ve seen it before. It’s used by the Intelligence Unit for informant debriefing reports. Stands for ‘believed reliable,’ ‘completely reliable,’ or ‘completely reliable and can be used in court.’ They also use UR for unknown reliability or sometimes DR for doubtful reliability. This report didn’t originate from I-HIT. My money is that it was written by Jack Taggart.”
“So this goof on Friday was trying to make people think it came from him,” replied the secretary. “What an ass.”
Mr. Frank downloaded a report provided to him by the benefactor and waited a moment as the cryptographic program on his laptop revealed the contents. The report originated from the Asian Organized Crime Task Force and his face paled as he read it, his heart beating rapidly. When he finished reading, he silently cursed himself once more for trying to seduce Mia Parker. Fortunately her name was not mentioned in the report …
He tried to calm himself further by noting that in an addendum to the report, the benefactor was not concerned about the attention the police would be giving Dong Tran VC-1 as AOCTF called him, but knew Tran was closely associated to Benny Wong CC-1. The benefactor noted that Wong was sometimes used by Mr. Frank and therefore suggested that Wong be warned as a courtesy to promote his continued co-operation.
Mr. Frank knew that Wong’s standing with the benefactor had recently gained new significance. A scientist specializing in the field of agriculture biotechnology was frequenting one of the massage parlours that Wong controlled in Vancouver. Hidden audio and video cameras had recently been installed. New technology that cost the Canadian government years of research and a truckload of money to invent could soon be in the hands of the benefactor.
Mr. Frank recalled how he first turned Benny Wong, whose contacts as a shipping magnate were valuable. Wong had fled from China ten years previously due to corruption charges. Mr. Frank assured him that the benefactor would see that the charges against him would not go ahead as long as he co-operated. They would only remain pending because the benefactor was in a position to squash any deportation request.
Wong was well aware that his life would end abruptly if anyone was told of the benefactor or was to identify Mr. Frank as anyone other than a trusted friend. A friend who was not to be spoken about.
Mr. Frank went over his decision to have the witness murdered. He had not believed that the police investigation would progress this far and rehashed the decision he had made.
Did I really have a choice? If Mia Parker was convicted, the benefactor would have discovered that it was over my stupidity … the spilled wine … the drugs … trying to seduce her.
He swallowed nervously as he considered the consequences. I would be terminated … perhaps executed. Yet if I had admitted my mistake in advance, the benefactor would not have given permission to kill the witness. The fear of a police investigation identifying the benefactor’s hand in such a matter would be catastrophic. The benefactor’s presence to the Canadian authorities would become a high priority and could jeopardize other interests. I had no choice … my whole career would be over. Years of faithful service …
He pondered what to do next. Wong hadn’t dared question his request to have the woman murdered. In fact it was his suggestion to use the Vietnamese to insulate any possible contamination of the benefactor. Wong said he would appease Tran by arranging for his people to receive a kilo of cocaine as payment. An amount which for Wong meant absolutely nothing. Mr. Frank agreed with the plan and Wong subsequently made the request to Tran. Wong would not know who Tran would have passed the orders on to.
Will Tran be angry with Wong for getting his people into trouble? It is not Wong’s fault the Vietnamese screwed up. On the contrary, passing on the contents of this report will make it clear that Wong’s source of information is accurate and help place him in the trusted confidence of Tran … something that could be valuable in the future.
Mr. Frank took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he thought of another consequence. The police know it was murder … will they connect it to Mia? He clenched his fists tightly, then slowly opened his hands as a means to ease the tension. Relax … she has been trained to handle interrogation. Not knowing anything about it makes it even easier for the interrogators to spot her innocence. Later, when she comes to me, I will simply deny any involvement …
Mr. Frank subconsciously nodded as he reached a decision. I need to bring the police investigation to a dead end. The benefactor will not care if the Vietnamese murder each other ... as long as I’m not implicated.
Mr. Frank knew he would have to meet with Benny Wong again.
Chapter Twelve
“You’re kidding,” said Jack, trying to sound disgusted as he spoke with Roger Morris over the phone, while at the same time giving Laura a thumbs-up sign. “Yes, I wrote it. Also had it signed by my boss. As far as I-HIT was concerned, it was for their eyes only. I was going to tell you about it, but didn’t want it to go through your whole office for obvious reasons.”
“I’m sorry, but I thought you should know.” Roger sighed. “You may want to put Boyle’s head on a chopping block.”
“Boyle can always bullshit and say he was leaving no stone unturned, but he still should have checked with me first,” said Jack, sounding angry,
“Let alone try to take credit for it,” noted Roger.
“I’ll take the matter up with Connie Crane. She’s his supervisor,” replied Jack.
“Your report is a real attention-getter. Very high-level stuff naming Dong Tran VC-1 as personally ordering a hit. We’ve never had grounds to get wire on Tom Nguyen VC-3 or Bien Duc VC-2, let alone Tran. I have to tell you, I have a real concern that it could be leaked.”
“If it happens, between you and me, don’t worry about it,” said Jack.
“Really?”
“Really. More people than my informant knew about this. Several bad guys were in on it. In the meantime, I’m hoping the report will give I-HIT the grounds they need to apply for a wiretap.”
“Doubt that will work with VC-1 and two.”
“I agree, but they might have better luck with VC-3 and the driver, Anh Dang.”
“I’m sure it will take them a couple of weeks to get the paperwork done for a wiretap, but keep me appraised, will ya?”
“Will do.” Jack hung up the phone and reflected on the situation. A lot can happen in a couple of weeks …
“Didn’t take Boyle long to pass it along,” noted Laura. “I thought he would do it this week.”
“Likewise,” said Jack. “He must have hustled over to AOCTF as soon as he got it.”
“That jerk. He is still hoping to arrest everyone and take credit for it all.”
Jack ignored the comment as his brain evaluated the situation. “We probably should have been watching Bien Duc VC-2 this weekend. We better get out there, but first I’ll call Connie and give her a bad time.”
“If your theory is right and someone decides to kill Duc, it didn’t occur to me that you would want to save him,” said Laura.
“I don’t plan to. Whoever is sent to do it will be following someone else’s orders. It would be nice to turn whoever that is so we can work our way up the ladder.”
“So we need to watch Bien Duc to find out who kills him,” sighed Laura. “Another grey area.”
“If anyone does try,” replied Jack. “This is only a theory. A long shot, really.”