Indeed, Dr Smith was a man of great ability, with seemingly the integrity to match. He took his responsibilities as Head of the Barbados Public Service very seriously, enforcing public service rules to the letter wherever possible. Continuing down the corridor to his spacious office, he wondered what the morning meeting with Motby he’d been invited to earlier was all about. In the five years since Dr Smith had been appointed HOPS, he had never gone into such a meeting with the Prime Minister without knowing what was to be discussed. Dr Smith consoled himself by noting that at least he did not have to prepare anything specific. Perhaps Motby simply wanted to pick his brains on something related to a new, wide ranging public service policy, for example on public servants’ rules, roles and/or obligations? Or might it be about a forthcoming Budgetary initiative he was considering? Time would tell.
That was tomorrow. Meanwhile, Dr Smith thought, I have a lot of work to do on my desk today.
***
Chapter Four
Contact
Colonel Trevor ‘TB’ Burke, Director of the Barbados Intelligence Bureau (BIB), returned to his office around 9:30 a.m. after chairing his weekly BIB staff meeting with his eleven operatives of the now twelve-year-old security agency. It would soon be time to call Tommy Connell, Managing Director of the UK Trading Co. Ltd.
The previous afternoon, Colonel Burke (code number B1) had received a hand-written note from HE Balwin Tullock CMG, British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, requesting that he call a Mr Connell on a specific number at 10:00 a.m. today. Colonel Burke had duly returned a hand-written note to Tullock confirming that he would do so, but had been informed by the MFAC that a local security Heads meeting had been set for Thursday with Connell.
This was to be the first time that Colonel Burke would speak directly with Connell, whose real name was Sir Thadeus Theolophus Thomas KCMG who was Head of MI6, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service.
***
Sir Thadeus was in Barbados (incognito) for a ten-day holiday with his wife Cindy Lady Thomas to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. A long-time lover of Test cricket, Sir Thadeus had seen at least one full day’s play of the past fifteen home Test Matches played by England at the Lord’s cricket ground in London. The nature of the various senior jobs he had held in Britain’s Government service had effectively prevented him from seeing England play any part of a Test Match overseas. This would be corrected during his Barbados sojourn. He would break his duck, as it were.
Sir Thadeus and Cindy Lady Thomas had earlier this morning spent some time lounging by the pool at their carefully chosen, quiet, secure and secluded west coast villa. While they had spoken generally before leaving the UK about what they would do during their holiday, it was only now after each had done a few laps in the pool that they were focussing on what their holiday activities should definitely include.
“Thad, I think the odd sea-bath will do us both good. Also, we must visit the picturesque east coast. I’m really looking forward to that,” said Lady Thomas.
“Copy that. Add both to your ‘activities list’, plus our attendance at the second and third days of the England v West Indies Test Match at New Kensington Oval over the weekend. I’m excited about that. Balwin’s got us included in his invitation. Each day we’ll be in a different box,” said Sir Thadeus.
“Hmmm. Exciting for you, a bit boring for me but I guess I must tag along and hope to find someone, another female that I can speak with from time to time. Will Andrea also be there?”
“I expect so. Getting back to our activities list. Why don’t we eat out a couple of nights? I’ll ask Balwin to recommend a couple of appropriate and safe restaurants. We can afford that,” said Sir Thadeus with a chuckle.
“Well, I promise not to break the bank when I place my order,” said Cindy Lady Thomas with a wry smile.
***
A fortnight prior to Sir Thadeus’ arrival in Barbados, he had indicated to the British High Commission that he did not wish to have any formal calls with Barbados Government officials. An opportunity to hold an informal, roundtable session with the Heads of Barbados’ law enforcement and security agencies would however be welcomed. A Diplomatic Note had been dispatched by the High Commission to MFAC requesting such a meeting for Sir Thadeus who was described in the correspondence as ‘a senior British security official’.
A week later, at a reception held for the outgoing Chinese Ambassador at Ilaro Court, the Prime Minister’s official residence, Tullock had taken the opportunity to have a quiet word with Motby about Sir Thadeus’ visit, presenting a copy of the submitted Diplomatic Note to him. A verbal commitment was immediately given by Motby that the meeting would be facilitated and MFAC would confirm this shortly to the High Commission through a response Diplomatic Note.
The High Commission duly received MFAC’s Diplomatic Note a couple of days later. It confirmed that a Thursday, 19th April meeting could take place at 3:00 p.m., with ‘Ben Mar’, the British High Commissioner’s official residence, being the venue as Tullock had agreed to host the meeting. The Diplomatic Note also specified the five persons who would be attending, all being law enforcement and security agency Heads based in Barbados: Willoughby Jeremie, Commissioner, RBPF; Brigadier Tenton, Chief of Staff, BDF; Lt. Colonel Simon Innis, Head, Barbados Prison Service (BPS)/Superintendent of Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Dodds; Colonel Burke, Director, BIB; and Commander Junior Samuel, Co-ordinator/Executive Director, Regional Security System (RSS).
There was to be no official agenda for the meeting and so no formal record of it would be taken, although all of the participants knew that their discussion would be reported on by two of the participants. Colonel Burke, as Chairman of P.A.A.N.I. would do so to Motby in the next weekly P.A.A.N.I. report. It was also anticipated that Tullock would do likewise to his London superiors in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) after the meeting. No residence staff, not even Tullock’s wife would be allowed on the premises during the meeting with Sir Thadeus. Andrea Tullock had therefore already issued instructions to residence staff to prepare afternoon tea, a variety of local juices, cucumber sandwiches, scones and sweet biscuits for the occasion. They were to lay these out on the dining room table, enabling the meeting’s seven participants to help themselves as necessary during their discussions.
***
Joseph Medbin entered the waiting room in a business-like manner. With a broad smile of greeting and his right arm outstretched, he welcomed the three men to Government Headquarters.
***
“Good morning, Mrs Carmichael… I thought you’d fired this place! Anyway, it’s great to see you. Are you enjoying your retirement so far?” asked the security guard standing at the main entrance to Government Headquarters as he offered to help her with the package she was carrying.
“Good morning, Donald. I’m happy to see you again. I can manage – just passing through for an hour or so. We’ll see you this evening?”
“Yes, Mrs Carmichael, I wouldn’t miss it for the world! You have a nice day now.”
“You too, Donald. How’s the wife and kids?”
“Everyone’s well and thanks for asking.”
“Good.” Carmichael started to climb the stairs to the third floor where, until two weeks ago, her office was located across from the Prime Minister’s.
A minute later, she was surprised to see Medbin standing at the top of the stairs. He’d left the two British officials with Ryan Appleton and was awaiting his former boss’ arrival on what used to be her old familiar stomping ground, one last time.
“Hi, Petra. I can see in your face that retirement is starting to agree with you…but yet you can’t keep away from this place of madness!”
“Hello, Joe. Thanks for your compliment – if it was one! You know I shouldn’t be… I really don’t want to be here, but the PM and Winston wouldn’t let me go until I’d signed off on the final arrangements, pre-Cabinet, for our leg of the Royal visit.”
“
I know that feeling. Let’s try to get your work here done quickly so that you can return to your retirement solace and get ready for tonight.”
“That would be nice.”
They entered the waiting room where Appleton and the two British officials had by now sat down.
“Gentlemen, this is Mrs Carmichael…” Medbin stated.
Both British officials stood up, hands outstretched. They had communicated with Carmichael by e-mail on several occasions and had also spoken with her on the telephone, but neither had met her in person yet. She had been away on overseas Government business when they had visited Barbados six weeks earlier on their initial Royal visit recce.
“I’m delighted to meet you both at last, gentlemen. Please tell me, which one is who? I like to put names to faces,” said Carmichael, shaking their hands in turn.
“Mrs Carmichael, it’s my pleasure to finally meet you too. I am Major Digby Moorhouse, Private Secretary to Her Royal Highness Princess Rowen. This is Inspector Brian Swetland, Royal Protection Unit, Metropolitan Police.”
“Thank you. Ryan, how are you doing today?” asked Carmichael as she turned to Appleton, giving him a hug.
“I’m fine, Petra…just wishing that when I get to retirement, I’ll also receive the sort of send-off you’ll experience this evening,” said Appleton with a broad smile.
“Don’t rush your career, young man. Your time will come,” she said, returning an equally broad smile.
“Well, now that the greetings are over, let’s go to the conference room and get down to business. I’m sure our missing RBPF officer will join us shortly. Can I offer any of you some refreshments…tea, coffee, juice, water?” asked Medbin.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” answered Moorhouse.
“Some water would be nice please,” said Swetland.
“I’m fine, Joseph,” chimed in Carmichael.
“Me too,” said Appleton.
Medbin picked up the phone to ask Jean Cushion to bring up the requested glass of water to the conference room for Swetland, along with Medbin’s ‘usual’. Jean knew that meant a cup of tea in the morning and coffee in the afternoon (milk, no sugar in each case).
Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Billy Browne, Visiting VIP Close Protection Unit (CPU), Special Branch, RBPF, joined them in the third-floor conference room. As RBPF liaison officer for the Royal visit, Browne had overseen and accompanied the British officials on their earlier and current recce visits. He had picked up both officials from their south coast hotel at 9:00 a.m. and brought them directly to Government Headquarters for this wash-up meeting. Browne and the two officers had now completed their final inspections of the locations chosen for the Royal visit programme. On arrival at Government Headquarters, he had been asked to meet briefly with the Prime Minister before he left for Parliament. Browne had therefore handed-off the two British officials to the young RBPF officer standing in the reception area with instructions to escort them to the third-floor waiting room.
“My apologies for being late –” he started to say, but Medbin cut him off.
“No apology needed, Sergeant. Your timing’s good, as we’re only now getting started.”
“My lucky day…” responded Browne.
Medbin asked if he wanted any refreshments but he declined the offer. With the conference room’s doors closed, the meeting commenced. Five minutes later, Cushion arrived with the requested items. There was a brief pause in their discussion. Cushion departed quickly so it soon resumed apace.
***
Back in Christ Church, at bang on 10:00 a.m., Colonel Burke dialled the number he had been given.
“Hello.”
“Good morning. This is Colonel Burke.”
“Thadeus Thomas. Thanks for calling, Colonel. I thought I should speak with you as I’m on your patch. You have a beautiful country here, sir. I wish Cindy and I had visited Barbados sooner, as we’ve already fallen in love with your little island! Look, I’d like to catch up with you before I meet with your fellow security Heads on Thursday afternoon at Balwin Tullock’s house if you don’t mind, given that we run similar agencies. How about dinner tonight, just you and me?”
“First, it’s my pleasure to speak with you, Sir Thadeus. Welcome to Barbados! While I’d very much love to join you for dinner this evening, unfortunately I have a previous official engagement that I must attend. Are you and your wife available tomorrow evening? If so, my wife Diane is an excellent cook, so we’d love to have you both over for dinner at our house. I promise that you’ll get a great meal and we’ll be able to chat securely. The ladies could also get to know each other.”
“That sounds like a great offer to me, Trevor…may I call you Trevor? We accept your dinner invitation. I’ll ask Balwin to have us picked up and brought to your place…and please call me Thad. My wife’s name is Cindy.”
“That’s good. Trevor is fine, Sir Thadeus… I mean, Thad. See you tomorrow night. Shall we say 7:00 p.m.? The High Commissioner’s driver knows where I live because he brought High Commissioner Tullock to our last Christmas party.”
“That works for us, Trevor. Have a great day. Looking forward to meeting you in person.”
“Same here. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“We plan to. Cheerio.”
As Colonel Burke replaced the receiver, he was not sure what to make of his first conversation with the Head of MI6. The man was not officious and was pleasant, friendly even. Not at all what was expected.
He swung his high-backed executive chair around to look out his window. Across the road and beyond the beach was the glistening Caribbean Sea. The few fishing boats in Oistins Bay that had been late in departing that morning gently bobbed in the blue water. Colonel Burke decided that he would break off work slightly early today and do something he had not managed to do for a couple of weeks, take a sea bath at one of his favourite south coast beaches before he and Diane attended Petra Carmichael’s two-part retirement function.
Colonel Burke realised that he had not enquired whether Sir Thadeus or his wife had any special dietary restrictions or requirements. Were they vegetarians? He would ask Tullock during the day if the couple had made any. What they could not eat could then be passed on to Diane and Sherman Broome to ensure that the meal they prepared was appropriate and enjoyable.
So that he did not forget the offer he had just made Sir Thadeus, Colonel Burke called Diane on his mobile to alert her that he had just invited two English visitors to their home for dinner tomorrow evening.
“Fine. Do they have any special dietary requirements?” she asked.
“Don’t know yet, but I’m working to establish that. When and what I’m told, I will pass onto you.”
“Okay. Hear you later. Bye.”
“Yes. See you.”
Colonel Burke swivelled his chair around to face his desk. He was happy that Diane had confirmed her willingness to host and prepare a meal for Sir Thadeus and Cindy Lady Thomas tomorrow night at their Christ Church home. He then turned his mind to completing preparation for that afternoon’s weekly P.A.A.N.I. Heads meeting.
***
It was just before 11:00 a.m. when the final arrangements for the Barbados leg of the Royal visit were finalised and signed off by the meeting’s participants. The concerns of Buckingham Palace on earlier drafts of the Barbados leg of the Royal visit programme had been shared with Major Moorhouse and Inspector Swetland prior to their return to Barbados. They had diligently articulated them beforehand and throughout their second recce visit to Government House with Browne, who had in turn shared them with other senior Barbados Government officials. This resulted in the Palace’s concerns being accommodated and a tight set of final Royal visit arrangements, subject only to the Cabinet of Barbados’ ratification at its next meeting in two days’ time. Once approved, the Royal visit programme would become ‘green lit’ and in due course be embargoed before publicly being disseminated a fortnight before the Royal visit was set to commence.
Finalisa
tion of the Barbados leg of the Royal visit programme had been the reason for Carmichael’s visit to Government Headquarters that day. She had been, until her retirement, the Barbados Government official most experience at making arrangements for major VIP (including Royal) visits. Both Prime Minister Motby and Medbin knew Carmichael would be far away from Barbados on her long-planned and well-deserved retirement cruise to Alaska with her family when the Royal visit took place next month. With Motby being keen on succession planning, he had earlier directed Medbin to understudy Carmichael during the final three months of her public service career. He had gone further and directed that Carmichael record and share her extensive knowledge of making such VIP arrangements in a webinar to and for fellow senior colleagues (including Medbin) before she left Government’s employ. This had been successfully done, so ensuring that as far as possible, future VIP visits to Barbados would continue to be handled appropriately with successful outcomes always being the ultimate goal.
***
Chapter Five
New Appointment
Following the Royal visit programme meeting, Petra Carmichael asked Joseph Medbin to assemble her former (now his) staff from the Prime Minister’s Office for a couple of minutes. There was one last thing she wanted to say to them, a personal gift of sorts. Carmichael felt tonight’s reception would be too crowded for what she wanted to share with her closest former colleagues, although she hoped they would all attend her double-event that evening.
Carmichael went to the bathroom while the staff were being assembled in the conference room that had just been vacated. On her way back, she stopped by the outer door of the Prime Minister’s Office. She knew he would not be there as he seldom was at this time on Tuesdays when the House of Assembly was usually in session from 10:00 a.m. Once Prime Minister Motby was in Barbados, he would be either in his seat in the House of Assembly or in his office on that compound.
Hung Out to Dry Page 3