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was leaving.
    â€œI’m a policeman,” he said. “Where’s her family? Why isn’t someone here?”
    â€œJenny and Charlie are her only family now. Neither she nor her husband had siblings. Her husband’s parents are in a nursing home and her own parents died several years ago.”
    â€œNeighbours? Someone?”
    â€œI asked. She said she didn’t live in the sort of neighbourhood that was conducive to making friends. Sounds like she didn’t have the time or the money to go out. She was either waitressing in a coffee shop or looking after her children while her husband went to school.”
    â€œThere has to be somebody!”
    â€œApparently not. I’ll watch her. She won’t be going anywhere as long as her son is in OR.”
    â€œAnd if he doesn’t make it?”
    The counsellor bit her bottom lip and didn’t reply.
    Jack reached for his wallet and said, “If that happens, please call me. I’ll help.” He gave her his business card and included all his numbers.
    Jack was just leaving the hospital when he met Connie Crane coming in.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” she demanded.
    Jack looked at her and said, “That sounds familiar. Think you’ve asked me that before.”
    â€œI did on another investigation, and you didn’t mind your own business then, either.”
    â€œI just wanted to see her. See what she looked like.” “Did you?”
    Jack nodded.

    â€œNo tattoos,” said Connie. “No weathered face. If her makeup wasn’t smeared all over she would look like what I think she is.”
    â€œHow’s that?”
    â€œInnocent!”
    Jack sighed. “That’s my read too.”
    â€œSo I’m just having a hard time believing your crap that it’s all a coincidence. I want names. Who do you suspect?”
    â€œThat’s just it, I don’t suspect anyone.”
    â€œYou take down a bunch of Satans Wrath labs today and think it’s all a coincidence?”
    â€œThey know me. They also know Natasha and they know we don’t have any children. It’s not them. I have a good source. If it turns out to be some low-level punks working the bottom end of the labs, I’ll find out.”
    â€œThese guys were professional. Cold and calculating. They shot him in the heart first. Didn’t care that he was holding his baby. That’s when his wife and daughter showed up. Then they stepped forward and shot him in the back of the head. After that, they just turned and walked away. These were no punks. These bastards have killed before.”
    â€œIt still could be a coincidence. Completely unrelated to me.”
    â€œCould be, but I want you to think about it. Tomorrow morning I want a list of possibilities. After that, keep your head low and butt out this time!”
    â€œIf this isn’t personal, that is exactly what I intend to do.”
    â€œAnd if it is?”
    Jack turned on his heel and walked away.

chapter three
    It was nine o’clock in the morning when Staff Sergeant Luigi “Louie” Grazia strode across the carpeted floor in Assistant Commissioner Isaac’s office and then stopped in front of his desk, waiting for him to look up.
    For management purposes, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was broken down into four regions Canada-wide: Atlantic, Central, North West, and Pacific. Assistant Commissioner Isaac was the criminal operations officer who oversaw all the operational investigations in the Pacific Region.
    Louie knew that Isaac deserved the respect that went with his position. He was a shrewd and tireless worker. He could quote policy and legal matters to the point that Louie wondered if it was true that he had a photographic memory. Isaac was also unbending when it came to policy — something that made Louie uncomfortable. His section tended to have many grey areaswhen it came to what was right or wrong.
Well, actually some