“Detective Maddocks here provided us with a theory that the barcoded females might be coming into the Port of Vancouver with seafood imports, both legal and illegal, from Vladivostok via South Korea and China. Project Gateway has since expanded its investigation specifically into the seafood trade and the vessels arriving from South Korea and China. It’s early days yet, but it could provide the breakthrough we’ve all been looking for.”
Takumi opened a file on the table in front of him. “Before we go to Detective Maddocks’s briefing, a few quick updates.” He scanned the top page in the file. “The five surviving barcoded victims from the Amanda Rose have all been moved to an undisclosed location on the mainland. None are speaking. Sabbonnier and Camus have been transferred to pretrial holding facilities, also here in the Lower Mainland.” He scanned farther down the report. “Security footage from the hospital in Victoria has been examined by our techs. Footage was enhanced, but no biometric identification on the suspect was possible—he never allowed his face be captured on camera. Techs believe he was wearing a wig. Our suspect left no other forensic trace at the hospital scene that could identify him.” Takumi looked up. “This suspect was experienced. A professional. Consistent with a Russian mob hit designed to send a message.” He returned his attention to his report. “An autopsy was performed on Sophia Tarasov early this morning. COD is consistent with heroin overdose. Her tongue was excised antemortem—she was alive, likely lucid during the act.”
Someone at the table cursed softly.
Takumi glanced up. “Detective Maddocks, will you brief the team on the MVPD angle?”
Maddocks leaned forward and cut right to it. “Until the death of Sophia Tarasov, the MVPD had no knowledge of the existence of, or the murders of, other barcoded women and thus no knowledge of the gravity of the threat against the six survivors in our custody, nor were we apprised of an international interagency investigation into the murders of barcoded females, until now.”
Takumi glanced sharply up from what he was reading in the file. Maddocks continued. Takumi frowned.
“With this new intel, however, and with MVPD inclusion in Operation Aegis, we can now approach our investigation from fresh perspectives.” He opened his laptop and linked it via Bluetooth to the smart screen. He clicked his keyboard to bring up the map of the Pacific and the Russian far east that he’d shown Bowditch and Eden earlier. He explained how Tarasov’s description of crab tattoos on her assailants, plus Camus’s statement that Hells Angels at the Vancouver port were involved, had led the MVPD to consider the possibility of a trafficking route aligned with illegal Russian king crab imports to North America.
He pulled up a second map on his computer, the one he’d withheld from Bowditch and Eden. A GIS rendering of the coastline from Washington, through BC, and up to Alaska.
Eden tapped the back of her pen on the table as she scowled at the map.
“Tarasov described being transported by a small boat from the container at the Port of Vancouver here”—Maddocks highlighted the port on the screen—“to a remote location somewhere along the coast, where the girls were held for what Tarasov believed was a few weeks. Tarasov couldn’t recall how long the boat trip took to reach their destination—the women were all very ill and weak at that point—but it’s to this remote coastal location that Veronique Sabbonnier flew in by floatplane to select her six girls from the nine who’d been transported by boat to the holding location. The other ten who came from Vladivostok were taken elsewhere, possibly by truck. Sabbonnier then flew the six females blindfolded to the Amanda Rose in Victoria. That flight by floatplane took maybe an hour or two. Tarasov was shaky on the timeline. Which puts this entire coastal area into play.” He clicked a key on his computer. An area of his map washed with yellow. It included Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the San Juan Islands, the entire British Columbia mainland coast, plus the Alaska panhandle and parts of northern Washington State.
Eden said curtly, “That entire area is riddled with inlets, coves, islands, endless uninhabited wilderness.” She was clearly irked that Maddocks had not given this information to them yesterday. Had he done so, he’d likely not be sitting at this table today, part of Operation Aegis.
“Did Tarasov offer anything else that could narrow it down?” she said.
“Not before she was murdered,” Maddocks said with hard look at Eden, whose mouth twitched in response. “Apart from a description of their accommodations and an old Russian-speaking woman in black who attended to them. Plus a vague description of a large Caucasian male, maybe in his late forties or fifties, perhaps early sixties, who’d worn a hood over his head and dimmed the lights when he came to ‘test the merchandise.’ Tarasov described the same crab tattoo on his neck.” Maddocks clicked his keys and brought up an identikit image of a man.
“This came in after we’d already transferred the case files to Aegis,” he said.
Takumi’s attention shot to the male face on the screen. The cop’s features turned dark. He glanced at Maddocks.
“This is the description of the male suspect in Tarasov’s death. It was provided by our MVPD officer who was stationed outside the hospital ward when the man entered wearing a medical coat.”
The group around the table regarded the image in silence. It showed the square face of a male in what could be his late fifties without any overtly distinguishing features. Eyes evenly spaced. Straight nose. Balanced lips, neither fleshy nor thin. Average chin. Caucasian. “Unfortunately, our witness could not provide eye color and is uncertain as to how accurate this identikit is. But it shows what our suspect is not.”
Takumi cleared his throat. “This is all valuable intel. Up until this point, it was thought that the girls found here in BC might have entered North America via the East Coast and been trafficked through Montreal over land or by air. Until now, the Port of Vancouver and the Hells Angels in particular had not been identified as players or collaborators with the Russians. Tarasov’s and Camus’s statements have put this all directly into play. Along with that coastline.” He pointed to the yellow area on Maddocks’s map. “Somewhere in that area there is a holding facility, a key North American hub, where these girls from Prague are being processed and sold into service. We need to find that location.” Takumi turned to Rollins.
“Detective Rollins, can you brief us on the latest intel to come via Project Gateway?”
Maddocks disconnected his computer from the smart screen, allowing for Rollins to make his own laptop connection.