Hell and Gone is the story of a man who witnesses a violent robbery on the streets of Vancouver. Soon, he’s caught between the police, the shooters, and a criminal organization—all of which have secrets.
I’m not a cop or a career criminal, though I’ve stolen several dozen pens. In writing my third novel about PI Dave Wakeland I needed to do research on both sides of the law.
Reaching out to a few reformed criminals, I wanted to learn about the process. How do you plan a heist? How do you find associates willing to go along with you? And how do you get hold of the weapons needed to pull it off?
I spoke to a man who’d robbed banks in California in the 1980s, and another who’d done time for armed robbery, burglary, and drug offenses. Both were very courteous and forthright.
The answers to my questions proved pretty simple. Sometimes you don’t plan—you’re running on adrenaline and doing what seems best in the moment. You pull team members from your circle of acquaintances, people you know from the neighbourhood, the military, or prison.
My question about guns earned a few laughs at my naivete. (Both men were American.)
“We used to just find someone who owns one, break into their place and steal it,” one said.
With the specifics of the robbery now in mind, I turned to the investigative side. My police characters aren’t flawless heroes or lone wolves. As an institution, the police department is grappling with its part in systemic racism and violence, in some adapting, in others resistant to change. I wanted that tension to be reflected in the characters and story. The last thing I wanted to do was rely on Law & Order.
While many former officers were willing to talk (and some are writers themselves, who’ve written very informative memoirs), reaching out to the VPD through official channels proved helpful, but progressively more frustrating.
When I started my research back in 2015, I contacted the Vancouver Police Department’s Media Relations officer. We set up a time, and I asked him about VPD procedure. What happens in the aftermath of a robbery? Who’s in command of the scene, and what steps are taken?
The spokesperson was candid and helped me understand how the first officers on scene take control of the location, eventually handing it off to the investigator in charge.
Since that time, though, the VPD has become more of a closed shop. Subsequent requests for information were turned down. While I’m grateful for the help I received, the move toward radio silence is troubling.
A lot has changed between 2015 and now, and open (if difficult) conversations between law enforcement and the public are more important than ever.
Good crime fiction requires honesty about the slippages and complications that ensue when human beings break the law or try to enforce it. My research for Hell and Gone provided help in understanding that—sometimes by example. In telling this story of violence and institutional lies, I hope I got it right.
Sam Wiebe is the award-winning author of the Wakeland novels, including Invisible Dead (“the definitive Vancouver crime novel”), Cut You Down, and Hell and Gone. Wiebe’s other books include Never Going Back, Last of the Independents, and the Vancouver Noir anthology, which he edited.
