Chapter 3

Nathan made a note and then nodded for William to continue.

"I think that once the reality of that sunk in, Charles started gambling with the money that he did have access to. I wonder if he thought he could score big and then ended up owing more money then he could pay back. All I know is that for the last three years, Charles has jumped at every chance to travel to New York and Chicago for business. I also know that he spends most of his weekends in Toronto. One of my investigators followed him and saw him go into a known underground casino. According to him, Charles was greeted by name and lead back to a high stakes table. The investigator sat at the bar and played a few hands of poker watching Charles who played for several hours. It appeared that he was up and then he would be down. There are several of these times documented in the stuff that is coming."

"So you think that the men that were running this casino are the ones smuggling stuff?"

"I wasn't sure at first, but I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt at this point. Whether or not they are the ones that are charge or not, I am not convinced. What I know is that at one point Charles owed these men several hundred thousand dollars and now as far as my investigators can find, Charles doesn't owe money, but actually has several thousand dollars in the bank. I believe that he was getting a cut of the profits after his debt was paid off. It is the only way that makes sense. Based on what I pay him and the money that I knew he owed, he shouldn't have that much money in the bank.

I have confirmed with his father that he receives one hundred dollars a month from his trust and not a penny more. Charles has asked his father for money several times over the years and he hasn't received any. His father told him that if he wanted money, he needed to work for it. I think that if his father could totally cut him off, he would. From conversations that I have had with Charles, Sr, I know that Charles will inherit little of his father's fortune. Since Charles' younger brother, David, has taken over most of their business, he will inherit the majority of things. Including control of Charles' trust fund until the conditions set forth are met."

"So if I have this straight, Charles has basically been cut off by his father. He has over extended himself and at some point he owed people money from gambling. As far as you know he is still gambling and had money that you don't know how he got it."

"Yes. That is correct. I am sure that Charles is worried about what I know and what I have told the Mounties. I am not so much worried about what Charles as done, but what he has promised the men that he is involved with. The men at the underground casino in Toronto are connected with people in the States, specifically Chicago. This is what I mean by this is bigger then we thought. I have talked to contacts of mine that work in law enforcement in the States. They have told me that there are several competing factions in the criminal world there, especially in Chicago and New York. They are fighting for control and their operations have spread across the border. I know that there will be people that you will be able to arrest here, but I don't know that you are going to find the higher up people here in Canada, but I could be wrong."

"That may be true. But any criminal element that we can shut down here in Canada will be an improvement. I know that if there are people working out of the States, we might not have the ability to arrest them. That doesn't mean that we can't turn information over to the proper authorities in the States, in hopes that they can put more of them behind bars where they belong."

"True. I just don't want you to be disappointed about things."

"I understand the limitations of my position. I also know that if they are working on both sides of the border then they have to have key people in place on both sides. I will be pleased to shut down any part of it that I can."

"I understand that. I also know that some of the information that I have uncovered might not be able to help you, but maybe should be turned over to the authorities in the States."

"I understand that. However, if a person or persons have committed a crime on Canadian soil, I will do everything in my power to see them pay for their crimes."

Nathan looked at the clock.

"Lunch is going to be here soon. How about this? We have lunch and you leave your information here with me this afternoon and I can go through it. You meet with Charles and your assistant and do what you need to. Then this evening after supper, you and I sit down and you answer some of my questions. As much as I want to hear everything from you, I need to process what you have told me and I also want to go through the papers that you brought so that I can decide for myself where this investigation is going."

"I think that is reasonable. I know that I have given you a lot of information and you have questions, but I also know that you need time."

The men gathered their paperwork and Nathan placed everything into his room for the time being. He then went and knocked on Allie's door.

"Lunch will be here soon, why don't you come join us."

Allie put a bookmark in her book and left everything on the small desk in her room. She then stood and went to Nathan. She gave him a huge hug, which was quickly returned. When Nathan and Allie returned to the sitting area, the steward was just setting up their lunch. Once everything was set up, the steward checked with William if there was anything else that they needed.

"No, we should be good."

"Harold." Nathan said. "Can I get a private table in the dinning car for my niece and I for supper?"

"Yes, Sir. How about quarter to seven."

Nathan looked at Allie, who nodded.

"Very well. Thank you."

"Please see that their meals are charged to me."

"Of course, Mr Thatcher."

With that, the steward left and the group got ready to eat.

"Uncle Nathan." Allie said.

Nathan looked at her and knew what she wanted.

"Excuse us. We usually say a prayer before each meal."

"Please go ahead." William said.

Both William and Patrick put their sandwiches down and bowed their heads.

"Heavenly Father. Be with us as we travel and keep us all safe. Bless this food to our bodies. Please give us wisdom in our conversations and guide us to where we need to be. Amen."

"Amen."

The group had a great time talking over their lunch. William and Allie had fun asking each other questions. Nathan mostly sat back and listened unless a question was directed toward him. Patrick contributed a little, but mostly had fun listening to William and Allie. William seemed to have met his match when it came to Allie. As much as William wanted to get to know her better, Allie was the one who got most of the questions in. She was even able to make William stop and think with some of the questions she asked. He figured that she would have asked about his family, but she was more interested in his business and all the travels that he had done. Allie was overjoyed when William told her that she had spent time on Prince Edwards Island in the area where Lucy Maud Montgomery lived. Nathan chuckled at Allie's enthusiasm, especially about PEI.

"Thank you for lunch, Mr Thatcher."

"You are welcome. Maybe we can do lunch again tomorrow before we arrive in Regina. Have a nice afternoon with your uncle and enjoy your supper tonight."

"Thank you very much."

"Nathan, we will talk later. Please come knock on my compartment after you return from supper. We can talk then."

Nathan nodded. William and Patrick excused themselves, got up and left. Allie helped Nathan stack the dishes on the tray and left them by the door. Allie went back to her homework in her room. Nathan then called the steward to get the dishes. When the steward came, Nathan asked for some more coffee. The steward promised to quickly return with coffee and juice. Once Nathan had his coffee, he went and got the paperwork from his room. He started going over the papers and making a list of questions that he needed answers. Very quickly Nathan realized he needed a second list of additional information, as well as a list of things that he actually knew about the case. It was two hours later that Nathan felt like he was getting a handle on the information in front of him. He also had no doubt in his mind that Charles Kensington III was heavily involved in the smuggling of the contraband. He had enough information in front of him to arrest Charles for trafficking in stolen goods.

"Uncle Nathan."

"Yes, Allie-girl. Was there something that you need?"

"I just wanted a break from homework. I was wondering if we can play a game of checkers."

"Sure."

Nathan gathered his papers and put them on the bench seat next to him as Allie went to get the checker board. As much as Nathan wanted and needed to work on the case, he also knew that he needed to spend time with Allie. It had only been a couple of months since they had moved to Union City and Allie only had a few friends. She was happy that her uncle got the promotion that he deserved, but she was not happy about having to leave Hope Valley. It wasn't that Allie didn't want to make friends, it was just hard joining a class in the middle of the year. There was a part of Nathan that didn't want to leave Hope Valley, but there was a bigger part that knew that he couldn't stay there and watch Elizabeth with Bouchard.

It was half way through their second game, that Nathan knew that something was wrong. He also knew that he had to tread lightly. Even though he had always tried to talk to Allie about everything, as she got closer to being a teenager, Nathan knew that it was harder for Allie to talk about some things with him. He also knew that she hadn't fully healed from everything that had happened in Hope Valley and there was a part of him that wondered if she ever really would.

"Allie-girl. I know that something is wrong. Please talk to me."

"I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I can't promise that I won't get upset, but I promise to listen to you and answer your questions as best as I can."

Allie sat there for a moment, chewing her bottom lip, thinking about things.

"Did Mr Thatcher do something wrong?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"I couldn't help but overhear a little of your conversation. I tried not to listen, but your voices carried to my room."

"Okay. I understand that have questions, but there isn't much that I can tell you. Mr Thatcher, believes that someone working for him broke the law, so he is helping me to catch him."

"What about Mr Bouchard?"

"Why do you ask about him?"

"I heard his name as well. I know that you don't like him because of everything with Mr Thornton."

Nathan closed his eyes and said a quiet prayer. They hadn't talked much about Elizabeth since they left Hope Valley. There was a part of Nathan that still loved her and it hurt to think about what could have been. Nathan also knew that Allie had been hurt and really wanted Elizabeth as her mother. Nathan knew that he had to be careful what he told Allie, but he also knew that she was smart and understood more then she let on.

"Allie. I know that we haven't talked a lot about Mrs Thornton since we left Hope Valley. It isn't that I don't like Mr Bouchard. It is that I don't like the way that he does things. He wasn't honest with people and he did things that he shouldn't have and put people in danger. I tried to help him, but he didn't want my help."

"Are you going to arrest him?"

"If he truly broke the law, then yes the Mounties will arrest him. Is there something that you want or need to tell me?"

Allie sat there for a bit, again chewing on her lip. Nathan knew that Allie was trying to work something out in her mind.

"I don't know if I can tell you."

"Why?"

"I heard things when I was helping at the mercantile and working the phone exchange."

"Okay. I know you can't tell me specifically what you heard, but maybe you can tell me in general what you heard."

"How about this. Say a person got a lot of phone calls from the same number and they would speak French. On the phone we would only listen for a second or two to make sure the connection was complete."

"How do you know they spoke French?"

"I heard some of the other Mounties where we have been stationed speak French."

"I didn't know you knew French."

"I don't really. I just know it a few words when I hear it."

"Thank you for telling me. I know that you took your job seriously and I am proud of you for coming to me. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't think much of it. I only thought about it when I was talking to Mr Thatcher at lunch."

"So the person receiving the phone calls from the same number, did they come about the same time of day or were they more random?

"Usually the same time, but sometimes at random. They also usually came the same day that a package arrived for the same person, now that I think about it. Does that help your case?"

"It might. Thank you. Please try not to worry about things. Let's just enjoy our supper tonight. I was thinking of relaxing a little before we go. Are you going to be okay out here?"

"Yes. I know. Don't answer the door and don't leave the compartment."

Nathan nodded, picked up his paperwork and went to his room. As Nathan thought about things that he knew. He knew that Bouchard spoke French, he had heard him. He also knew from the information that Thatcher had left, that Bouchard seemed to be connected to the same people that Charles was connected to. What Nathan needed to know was Bouchard calling the shots or was he being used as well. The more that Nathan thought about the thing he knew about Bouchard, it called his role into question. He knew that Bouchard had come from the States and returned to New Orleans at one point for several weeks. Yet, every time people asked about his past, he was vague and wouldn't give specific answers. Nathan knew that he had more questions that he needed answered about Bouchard before he could determine how involved he was.

After a nice relaxing supper with Allie, Nathan decided to meet with William in his compartment as he didn't want Allie to hear any more of their conversation. Nathan was already concerned about Allie growing up too fast. He was also knew that Allie was concerned about him. He also knew that she wouldn't say anything, but he knew that she was still upset about everything that happened in Hope Valley. Nathan sat down, but was distracted.

"Nathan."

"Sorry, Sir. I am worried about Allie. She happened to overhear part of our conversation. She asked me some questions. I tried to answer them and she understands that I can't talk about much."

"Was there something specific that she was worried about?"