There was silence.
Don’t all rush to speak at once, thought Gray as a couple of hands eventually went up. She pointed to the closest raised hand.
“Cornelius Pickett, Star News Corporation. Tell me, for these PRs, do you think sufficient security is provided for this activity?”
“It has been so far. May I remind you that this is a first in Barbados,” answered Gray.
“So, will changes be made to the security level for future PRs?” was Pickett’s follow-up question.
“I cannot say right now, but I’m sure it will be looked at,” Gray answered.
“Barbara Jarvis, Barbados News Corporation. Can you tell us who the missing prisoners are? How dangerous are they? When would the authorities hope to recapture them – tomorrow, the weekend?”
“You’ve asked me multiple questions there. The names of the prisoners will be provided as soon as we have the appropriate publicity materials to do so. Yes, of course we know who they are but please be patient with us. We will endeavour to recapture both prisoners as soon as.”
“You’re not telling us if they are murderers, housebreakers, drug dealers…the public will be worried at today’s developments. Should the country be worried? What were these escapees at Dodds for?” persisted Jarvis.
“Look, we’ll give you what information we can as soon as we can. As you are aware, the public’s safety is our ultimate concern. That’s it, folks. I’ll see you again at 5:00 p.m.” With that, Gray left the podium and media huddle.
Jayne, who was watching Gray’s performance from a distance, turned to Mohammed and stated, “Not a job I’d want to do day after day.”
“Funny you should say so. Nor would I,” he responded.
“Come on you two. If you progress upwards in this or another other Government organisation, dealing with the media is just another thing you’ll need to do, though not perhaps every day like the Inspector. Let’s finish up what we can here and head back to BIB HQ. I suspect we, well, at least I might not be on leave now for the rest of today and tomorrow after all,” said JJ.
Members of the media who had not yet taken pictures or video of the scene now did so for their publications.
***
The Deputy Governor’s disappearance was already set to be on next Tuesday’s P.A.A.N.I. Agenda when it was anticipated that the matter would long have been resolved in a positive way. Given the immediacy of the now underway ECC project, Colonel Burke had felt no pressure to hold an emergency P.A.A.N.I. meeting before then.
As two new national security incidents were developing, Colonel Burke decided at 11:15 a.m. to place an urgent call to Motby to brief him on the morning’s two incidents. Thanks to the media, the prisoners escape was already trending in the public domain. Once that call was completed, he decided to hold an emergency P.A.A.N.I. teleconference for 3:00 p.m. that afternoon at which only the Deputy Governor’s disappearance and the prisoners escape would be Agenda items. As usual, he would chair the session before appraising the Prime Minister of the latest developments in both cases sometime prior to his attendance at the 6:30 p.m. cricket reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence, before Motby returned to Ilaro Court for the night.
Colonel Burke was unaware of the long-planned Motby family dinner with Captain Rodney ‘Rod’ Selwick. Motby’s private engagements at Ilaro Court were not part of BIB’s normal portfolio, so there was no need for him to know about this event.
***
After receipt of Colonel Burke’s call, Motby was more concerned about the Deputy Governor’s disappearance than the prisoners escape. After all, it was not a breakout from HMP Dodds. He was confident that Commissioner Jeremie and Superintendent Innis would work quickly to recapture the two escaped Barbadian prisoners.
The Deputy Governor’s situation was something completely different. He did not know what to make of Dr Albert Lewis’ disappearance. He knew him, but only in his official capacity. Like most people, Motby had questions. Was it mischievous? Had Dr Lewis simply lost his mind? Was this related in any way to his Government? Only time would tell.
Motby returned his focus to the matters of state he had to deal with during the day and preparation for tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting. Motby expected the two escaped prisoners to be recaptured and the Deputy Governor to be found by the time he went to bed that night, if not by the following morning.
***
Lewis had spoken with his mother on his way to the airport.
Mrs Lewis had updated him of a visit to her home by two senior RBPF officers that morning. She confirmed that she, her husband’s office nor the RBPF had seen or heard from his dad since Tuesday (yesterday) afternoon. The RBPF officers indicated that they would not make Dr Lewis’ apparent disappearance public before tomorrow morning. Mrs Lewis’ thoughts of kidnapping were pre-empted when she indicated that neither she nor the CBOB had received any request for money to secure her husband’s safe return.
At least not yet.
Lewis informed his mother that he was coming home and was already on his way to Barbados. He told her not to even think about picking him up on arrival. He would grab a taxi and so she should expect him to be with her by 11:30 p.m. tonight latest once his two flights were on time.
Mrs Lewis thanked him for responding so quickly. He detected a few soft sobs from her, but deliberately did not ask her whether she had been crying. He knew his mum. She would have cried but would, as usual, try to cover it up from both of her children. Mrs Lewis asked him if he had spoken with his sister. Lewis stated that he had not done so because he was waiting for her to update him on everything. He would now call his sister shortly.
Thirty minutes later, having parked his vehicle at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Bertram Lewis self-checked himself into the AA system in New York for his flight to Miami and onward journey to Barbados. It was time to call his sister.
Caroline Lewis-Greenidge lived in Texas. It was a hard conversation for them to have, but they got through it. Lewis agreed to call Lewis-Greenidge on his arrival in Barbados when their mum would also speak with her.
Lewis-Greenidge in turn called her husband to notify him of the situation back home in Barbados. She then called her mum. She would then wait until her brother got home to do so again.
***
Castille arrived in Barbados on the AA flight from Miami at 1:40 p.m. Once clear of Customs, he went to the car hire facility where he had booked a car using his own name, producing his USA driver’s licence. He paid cash for the week-long rental, collected the vehicle and set off for his south coast hotel. It helped that he was not a first-time visitor to Barbados. He understood the complex road network for an island of its size. However, as insurance, he would use the GPS that came with his hired car to get him to his rendezvous destination. He would not take the most direct route by choice, but follow a more circuitous route to arrive at his location well before the scheduled 5:30 p.m. meeting time. This plan should allow him time to grab something to eat, even relax some before setting out for his east coast rendezvous with Power.
Thereafter, Castille had one more engagement to complete that night before returning to his hotel. He would order in room service, watch some television, shower and turn in for the night. Before leaving the east coast, Castille also planned to collect the item that he had asked Wharton to secure for him. It would be needed later in his Barbados visit.
***
BIB’s Gold team arrived back at BIB HQ around 2:00 p.m. They were an unhappy bunch. Three of the prisoners on the PR had been returned to HMP Dodds by RBPF officers – Jessica Lynch, Franchesca Moradi and Orrin Foulkes. Their day in court would now come later through no fault of their own. The injured and traumatised RBPF and BPS officers had been transported to hospital by a couple of ambulances to receive further medical attention.
The search for Warren Field and Jasper Power was underway. So too was that for the persons (it looked like four men) who had made the prisoners escape possible by th
eir actions. It was felt from the outset that Field would quickly be recaptured. However, as it was unlikely that the breakout had been arranged for all of the prisoners, Power had clearly been the target. It was obvious that Power, being the most dangerous of the two escapees, would be the hardest prisoner to track down and recapture, especially given his past record of interaction with law enforcement and his ongoing penchant for doing bad things.
The prisoners escape, the way it had occurred, signalled to JJ’s Gold team that there must have been some preparation and planning. Technical ability, skill and nerve had all been required to enable the successful execution of what would have been a complicated escape to pull off. Because shots had been fired by the rescuers during the incident, it was clear that the persons involved did not mind hurting anyone who got in their way.
That brought a heightened dimension to the incident. It was too early to be certain if any inside assistance had been provided to make the escape a reality, but JJ and his team suspected as much following the incident. Tracking down the culprit would be the task of the BPS and RBPF, with BIB assistance if necessary.
***
During the 3:00 p.m. teleconference, P.A.A.N.I. Heads were provided with updates on the prisoners escape and the CBOB official’s disappearance. Superintendent Innis apologised to his colleagues for the escape of the two prisoners who were now causing all their agencies extra work on top of the ECC security project that was now up and running.
He explained HMP Dodds’ recent transportation, equipment and staff shortage challenges and acknowledged that these issues, separately and/or together, had contributed to the prisoners escape. He refused to accept that the BPS should not take sole and full responsibility for the escape.
Colonel Burke, having spoken with JJ prior to the PR, following the escape and again on JJ’s return to BIB HQ, was aware of these things, but was glad that Innis had at last laid them out for P.A.A.N.I. Heads’ consideration. Innis was upbeat about recapturing both escaped prisoners within the next twenty-four hours. P.A.A.N.I. Heads raised the possibility of an inside job. Might someone in a trustworthy position at HMP Dodds have leaked today’s PR details, including the routes, to those who had executed the escape? Innis thought this highly unlikely but could not rule out that possibility. The question was then raised as to who might have done so, but it was not pursued as this very point was the subject of an ongoing internal investigation Innis had already initiated and was leading.
Jeremie reported that senior RBPF personnel were on the case of the missing CBOB Deputy Governor. Background information had been secured, but no strong leads developed to date. He expected an update from Vickers, his lead investigator, around 4:30 p.m. and promised to share developments with his fellow Heads.
***
Once the teleconference was over, Colonel Burke called the Prime Minister to update him on the escaped prisoners’ situation. They agreed to speak again at 6:00 p.m. that evening, by which time he also hoped to have something positive to report on the Deputy Governor’s investigation from Jeremie.
***
By 4:30 p.m., the British High Commissioner’s official residence, built in the 1920s and located on Erdiston Road, Pine Hill, St Michael, was a hive of activity.
Preparations for the evening’s cricket reception were now near completion. In another two hours, around five hundred guests were expected to descend on the residence and its grounds. Though the two earlier events of the day were of concern to some of the senior officials in Government because they were of national importance, only one of them, the prisoners escape, was generally known to the public and the media. But these were not the issues on the mind of the expected guests and so would not dampen the spirit of fun, frivolity, relaxation and sporting delight they hoped to experience at tonight’s function.
Between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., the High Commissioner and Mrs Tullock would host one of the residence’s largest receptions for the year. Five well-stocked bars were already set up to serve expectedly thirsty sports-mad guests. Five food stations were also being stocked to feed those who would need to soak up what they drank. Four tents of varying size were in the final process of being assembled on the residence’s grounds and fitted with lighting. In the kitchen, residence staff who had taken delivery of a variety of foodstuffs from sponsors during the day, were also finalising their preparations of the goodies to be served up later.
Guests at tonight’s reception were set to include ICC officials, the West Indies and England cricket squads for the second Test Match, both teams’ support staff, visiting UK family members who were in for the Barbados Test Match, local, regional and international media, sponsors, cricket tour group and club representatives, local businessmen and women, politicians, senior public servants and diplomats from Barbados-based High Commissions, Embassies and Consulates.
To help ensure that all went well, the full staff of the British High Commission would be ‘on parade’. They would have particular hosting duties to perform across the reception’s duration. The High Commission had been closed at 3:00 p.m. that afternoon to enable staff to get home, clean themselves up, dress and arrive at Ben Mar no later than 6:00 p.m. They were all part of the ‘home team’, as Tullock, his wife and the residence staff liked to refer to all High Commission staff on such occasions. The experience of organising similarly sized receptions at Ben Mar over the years suggested that though 8:30 p.m. was the scheduled time for the reception to end, the last guests might not depart before 10:00 p.m.
Were this to happen tonight, Tullock would not complain, since his sole goal for the evening was to ensure that Andrea and himself, supported by their home team, hosted an incident-free and enjoyable evening for their attending guests. The attending UK story-seeking media in particular, should only see evidence of a successful reception. Parts of the event could then be shown on television, locally and back home in the UK. Positive images of what guests did could also be captured on mobile phones for subsequent posting on social media.
***
Vickers reported back to Jeremie at RBPF HQ just after 5:00 p.m. The investigation had not discovered Dr Lewis’ location or why he had disappeared.
“Sir, his wife, his secretary and others in CBOB that we’ve spoken to also don’t know. A check of his diaries, electronic and hand-written, revealed nothing helpful. Alarm has however grown throughout the day for his well-being. The media remain unaware of his disappearance,” stated Vickers.
“Alright. What have you learnt about Dr Lewis the man, his family, his daily routine, his past fortnight’s office movements?” asked Jeremie.
“Well, we’ve looked over everything about the man and the areas you’re asking about. Nothing unusual. Overnight, we will review what we have learnt and done today and will seek to pursue new leads – real, potential or imagined, in the morning.”
“Okay, Johnny. I’ll advise Colonel Burke that we’re making slow progress, but tomorrow hope to achieve a lot more. The PM will have to be satisfied with that when they speak, I think at 6:00 p.m.”
“Sir, we’re going to find Dr Lewis in the usual way. Through hard detective work. We’ll shake some trees and see what falls out,” concluded Vickers.
“Got it, Johnny. It’s why you’re in charge of this case. Governor Edwards wanted one of my best men on the job and that’s why he wisely asked for you. You’ve notified him of progress to date?”
“I’ll do so shortly, sir.”
“Very well. Please keep me posted on how you go.”
“Right. Have a good night sir,” said Vickers.
“You too, Johnny. Let’s speak again by lunchtime tomorrow,” ordered Jeremie.
“Will do.”
Once away from Jeremie’s office, Vickers said to Moss, “We’ll sleep on what little we know and think of a few new angles to pursue by morning.”
“Agreed.”
***
Before leaving RBPF HQ for the evening, Vickers called Governor Edwards as he had promised to do e
arlier that day. He apologised for calling him later than expected, reporting what they had done and indicating that Dr Lewis’ whereabouts were still not known, nor was there any plausible reason for his absence from his family or the CBOB.
Edwards was disappointed but thanked Vickers for the efforts he and Moss had made so far. He hoped tomorrow’s efforts would discover Dr Lewis’ whereabouts.
Vickers and Moss went their separate ways. As he neared home, Vickers thought of a way BIB might help Moss and himself. The next day would also see them raise their efforts to find Dr Lewis.
***
Chapter Ten
Payment Demand
It was around 5:40 p.m. when Castille and Power sat down for a chat at Spend Big Wharton’s home.
Hung Out to Dry Page 14