"At the beginning," Spann said. "So let's hit the files."
12:37 p.m.
Monica Macdonald and Rusty Lewis came into the White Spot just as Spann and Scarlett were leaving. They took the same table. Both ordered the weight-watchers' platter.
"So where do we start?" Lewis asked, sipping a cup of
coffee.
"The way I see it, we haven't many options." Macdonald thought a moment. "The Central Corps will start with local info. I say you and I abandon our country. Let's go south." "And do what?" Lewis asked. "Tap the FBI?" "Remember that baby kidnapping case several years ago? The infant out of White Rock found in Oregon? Well I was on the Force team that worked with the FBI. I even went out a few times with this Bureau guy from Seattle. He'll remember me."
"You still keep in touch?"
"No, but he'll remember me. So I say we leave this afternoon and make for Washington State. Let's get a look at the skin list they'll have there. We'll get a jump on the other flying patrols and Central Corps and maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe we'll find an American skinner poaching in Her Majesty's far western forest."
"Sounds good," Lewis said. "Do you want to drive or shall I?"
"I'll drive," Macdonald said. "You look far too tired."
2:45 p.m.
Commercial Crime Section (Special "I") Target: Steve Rackstraw (aka "The Fox") Tape installed: October 31st 0900 hours. (Tipple) Tape removed: October 31st 1130 hours. (Tipple) u/m "The Weasel" now known as John Lincoln Hardy, u/m only known as "The Wolf."
Outgoing local call.
Weaseclass="underline" Hello. Fox: Hey. Weaseclass="underline" Hoodoo. Fox: Hoodoo yourself.
Weaseclass="underline" (Chuckling) Hey nigger… Hey nigger… what's happening?
Fox: Be ready… you know… It's on. Weaseclass="underline" That's cold, man.
Fox: I was wondering about that house youse knows. Burnaby?
Weaseclass="underline" It's cool. Everythin' all moved in. Fox: Ah… that's good. Weaseclass="underline" There were so many ladies out last night. Fox: Uh huh.
Weaseclass="underline" They shoot at you, no need to shoot at them…you know, drive them white boys wild.
Fox: Yeah I know. Play the sucker man… Hey nigger, are you ready? You be gettin' your hoodoo soon.
Weaseclass="underline" That's good… cause I's hurtin'.
Fox: Okay. Bye. Weaseclass="underline" Bye… Hey. Fox: (Laughing) Hey hey.
3:57 p.m.
Incoming call. Long distance.
Fox: Hey hey.
Operator: I have a collect call from Mr. Wolf. Will you accept the charge?
Fox: Yes I will.
Wolf: It's cooking on the 6th.. The pot boils over at midnight.
Fox: I'm ready… The cous will be down there to see all you.
Wolf: Ah… right… be seein' the man then.
Fox: Okay, bye for now.
Wolf: Au revoir.
4:01 p.m.
Outgoing local call.
Weaseclass="underline" Yeah?
Fox: Time for a nigger hoodoo man to catch his ride an' be gone. It's on for the 6th.
Weaseclass="underline" All right… let's go.
Fox: Say hello to our Momma for me… you hear?
Weaseclass="underline" I hear. Bye for now.
Fox: Bye. Hey hey.
Halloween
6:15 p.m.
Tonight the moon was almost full. And tonight was also Halloween.
There are those who say they don't need to look at the sky or consult an almanac to know when a full moon lurks behind the rain clouds. For they are policemen and firemen and hospital workers and bartenders and ambulance drivers. From years of experience they have learned that the nights just before full moon will bring out more violence, more uncontrolled emotion, more just plain weirdness than any other time.
It has long been known that in mental hospitals the most bizarre behavior occurs in the twenty-four to forty-eight hours preceding the full moon. Now there is scientific theory to back this up: it is accepted as fact that the moon's weak magnetism affects the earth's metal-induced magnetic field. This is primarily true of iron. Based on this fact, a Chicago study concentrated on a single element in biological tissue. It concluded that magnetic and gravitational interaction between the earth and the moon may very well be involved in certain human physiological and psychological changes.
Halloween, of course, takes no account of science.
Halloween concerns itself with only evil forces.
And so it would this year.
At 6:15 p.m. a nun came out through the front door of the convent, past the shaded alcoves in the wood designed for contemplation, along one side of the shallow pond with its celestial reflections, and up the path to the main road where the North Vancouver bus was waiting.
Before this Halloween was over there would be another victim.
7:05 p.m.
The library was a dingy room on the main floor of the command building. Over the years it must have been used for some sort of storage, for all four walls were lined with shelves from the ground up to the ceiling. Several very large tables were scattered about the room and covering these were photostats of every available document on all three of the killings. Copies of the various photographs were in the process of reproduction, while every half hour additional material came in that had not been there before.
Scarlett and Spann sat at one of the tables working on all three files.
"When you get right down to it," the woman whispered, "there's really not much here."
"I was just thinking the same."
"This haystack will have to get bigger before we'll find the needle."
"Yeah."
"Want to get some supper?"
The man looked at his watch. "Actually I was thinking that it's time for me to leave."
"Oh, so you still go out Trick-or-Treating."
"No, it's my mother. She hasn't been very well. She lives in the East End and the street punks scare her. My sister and I go over every Halloween."
"Sorry. I shouldn't have been so flippant."
Rick Scarlett shrugged as if to say, It's what I expected. Out loud he said: "Where shall we go from here? We're going to have to come up with a line of investigation. This got us nowhere."
"Let's wait for a look at the pictures. Maybe there's something in them."
"I got a minute," Scarlett said. "Let's look at them now."
"Well, we can't do that, my good man, until they arrive, now can we?"
"Let's go up and take a look at the Superintendent's wall. He said his door was open. He's not going to object."
Three minutes later the two of them knocked on DeClercq's office door. When no one answered, Scarlett tried the handle. The door was unlocked. They entered the room and Spann switched on the lights.
As a result of the Superintendent's work during the day, the overview had exploded. Two whole walls were now covered with pinned-up pictures and reports and pages of notes. It was only a minute before Katherine Spann locked on one of the photos. She let out a low whistle then began reading the notes and reports and telexes tacked around the picture. Finally she turned to her partner and said: "Tomorrow we go downtown early and quaff a couple of beers."
"Great. We kick off by drinking on duty. Tell me lady, where'd you have in mind for this professional suicide?"
"Let's start with the Moonlight Arms."
"The heart of junk city. You got class. I like your debonair style."
"That, my good man, is where I once saw this dude. And perhaps we'll find him again."
Rick Scarlett followed her pointing finger to one of the photographs — the picture of John Lincoln Hardy, suspected pimp of Helen Grabowski.