Singer surprised Alex by blushing. “You get the idea. Territories are also strictly defined, which can lead to conflicts. You’ve no doubt read about the turf wars in Montreal that flare up every few years between the Hells Angels, the Rock Machine and others. Something as innocuous as drinking in the wrong bar can spark a conflagration that leaves a dozen people dead in the streets.”
Alex sipped his drink. “But the Wild Roses are different?”
“Yes. In many ways, the club is quintessentially Albertan – young, fiercely independent, pragmatic, and concerned solely with making money. Rufus Hodge is their undisputed leader; he is utterly ruthless, and his word is law.”
Alex nodded. He had gleaned some of this from Chuck during the trial. Back in the early 2000s, Hodge had come seemingly out of nowhere, taken over a loosely affiliated group of small-time criminals, and, over the space of just a handful of years, shaped them into an extremely efficient – if highly illegal – business. While the small satellite clubs of the big eastern gangs were busy strutting around Calgary and Edmonton, selling pot and getting into brawls, Hodge was quietly building his methamphetamine empire with a dozen labs scattered throughout the bush in the sparsely populated northern half of the province. By the time anyone realized what was going on, the Wild Roses had sewn up the burgeoning crank market across three provinces. And the more people flocked to the new gold rush of the oil sands, the more people wanted the product.
When Chuck was undercover, he’d heard rumblings of a skirmish between the Hells Angels and the Roses in Winnipeg. Five men had been found dead in a minivan that had rolled down an embankment into the Red River. The coroner’s report indicated that it was massive trauma, not drowning, that had killed them. He attributed it to the drop into the river. As it turned out, the Angels had sent six men to intimidate Hodge into giving up the territory they saw as theirs. Five of them ended up beaten to death and placed in the van; the sixth managed to pass along a dire warning from Hodge before he died of internal injuries in hospital a few days later.
“The silence on the street would suggest that Crowe is someone who’s not to be messed with,” Alex offered.
“So it would seem,” said Singer. “And that, coupled with the fact that none of the other Roses are talking to Hodge, would suggest that Crowe is now running the show in his absence. Charles had suspected as much, but didn’t seem to ascribe much significance to it.”
“So if we run with our assumption here, Crowe is taking care of Hodge’s agenda, and that agenda is revenge. We need to talk to the cops and get some protection until he’s caught.”
Singer got up from her chair and closed the study door. Then she opened the drawer of a small side table next to the sofa and withdrew a manila envelope. When she sat back down, she looked as sober as Alex had ever seen her.
“The chief of police contacted me this morning with that same thought, and they’ll no doubt try to get in touch with you later today. But police protection is not what we need, my boy. Charles was the toughest, smartest cop I’ve ever met, and he was taken out as quickly and easily as a sacrificial pawn on a chessboard. Besides that, as far as anyone can prove, Jason Crowe is a law-abiding citizen whose only vice is his questionable taste in friends.”
Singer leaned forward earnestly. “Charles and I had many discussions during the trial, about many things. One of them was the possibility of reprisal from the Wild Roses. He believed it was unlikely, and I believed him . But he was also a thorough cop, and he was a realist who believed in contingency plans.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I’m ashamed to admit this, Alexander, but I’m afraid the attack on Sarah Payne is not the only secret we were keeping from you. Charles knew there was a possibility, however
Alex sipped his drink. “But the Wild Roses are different?”
“Yes. In many ways, the club is quintessentially Albertan – young, fiercely independent, pragmatic, and concerned solely with making money. Rufus Hodge is their undisputed leader; he is utterly ruthless, and his word is law.”
Alex nodded. He had gleaned some of this from Chuck during the trial. Back in the early 2000s, Hodge had come seemingly out of nowhere, taken over a loosely affiliated group of small-time criminals, and, over the space of just a handful of years, shaped them into an extremely efficient – if highly illegal – business. While the small satellite clubs of the big eastern gangs were busy strutting around Calgary and Edmonton, selling pot and getting into brawls, Hodge was quietly building his methamphetamine empire with a dozen labs scattered throughout the bush in the sparsely populated northern half of the province. By the time anyone realized what was going on, the Wild Roses had sewn up the burgeoning crank market across three provinces. And the more people flocked to the new gold rush of the oil sands, the more people wanted the product.
When Chuck was undercover, he’d heard rumblings of a skirmish between the Hells Angels and the Roses in Winnipeg. Five men had been found dead in a minivan that had rolled down an embankment into the Red River. The coroner’s report indicated that it was massive trauma, not drowning, that had killed them. He attributed it to the drop into the river. As it turned out, the Angels had sent six men to intimidate Hodge into giving up the territory they saw as theirs. Five of them ended up beaten to death and placed in the van; the sixth managed to pass along a dire warning from Hodge before he died of internal injuries in hospital a few days later.
“The silence on the street would suggest that Crowe is someone who’s not to be messed with,” Alex offered.
“So it would seem,” said Singer. “And that, coupled with the fact that none of the other Roses are talking to Hodge, would suggest that Crowe is now running the show in his absence. Charles had suspected as much, but didn’t seem to ascribe much significance to it.”
“So if we run with our assumption here, Crowe is taking care of Hodge’s agenda, and that agenda is revenge. We need to talk to the cops and get some protection until he’s caught.”
Singer got up from her chair and closed the study door. Then she opened the drawer of a small side table next to the sofa and withdrew a manila envelope. When she sat back down, she looked as sober as Alex had ever seen her.
“The chief of police contacted me this morning with that same thought, and they’ll no doubt try to get in touch with you later today. But police protection is not what we need, my boy. Charles was the toughest, smartest cop I’ve ever met, and he was taken out as quickly and easily as a sacrificial pawn on a chessboard. Besides that, as far as anyone can prove, Jason Crowe is a law-abiding citizen whose only vice is his questionable taste in friends.”
Singer leaned forward earnestly. “Charles and I had many discussions during the trial, about many things. One of them was the possibility of reprisal from the Wild Roses. He believed it was unlikely, and I believed him . But he was also a thorough cop, and he was a realist who believed in contingency plans.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I’m ashamed to admit this, Alexander, but I’m afraid the attack on Sarah Payne is not the only secret we were keeping from you. Charles knew there was a possibility, however
Similar Books
