Hung Out to Dry

by Hadford Howell

  ***

  The call Commissioner Jeremie anticipated came a lot earlier that morning than he had expected However, it did not come from the BIB Director.

  It was 4:30 a.m. when Jeremie’s land line rang. It was Assistant Commissioner (Administration), Jethro Smith. He apologised profusely for waking-up his boss so early, but he had felt the need to report what was a potentially damaging incident for the country that had taken place a couple of hours earlier in St. Lawrence Gap, Christ Church. AC Smith then passed the telephone to Station Sergeant Robert ‘Bob’ Black, in charge of the close-by Worthing police station.

  He briefed Jeremie on the night’s St Lawrence Gap incident.

  When Black was finished, all that the startled Commissioner could say to him was, “Thank you Station Sergeant Black. This is crazy. Put AC Smith back on the phone please.”

  Once AC Smith was back on the line, Jeremie said, “Jethro, what the hell’s going on in Barbados? This makes, let’s see one, two, three unusual incidents that have occurred on this island since 10:00 a.m. yesterday morning. As far as I can see, none of them have anything to do with our ongoing ECC project. Dammed if I know why this is all bubbling up now. The PM will have my head for breakfast if I’m not careful and can quickly get to the bottom of at least this latest fiasco,” he said.

  “Sir, let me assure you that we’re on the case to catch the perpetrators of this crime. It appears to have been ‘an attempted robbery gone wrong’. The shot man has been transported to QEH. I’m no medic but am told by those who have seen him that they see no reason why he should not pull through. He was only shot in the left arm,” said AC Smith.

  “Thanks, Jethro. Please have SS Black e-mail me a full report of the incident at home by 6:00 a.m. I expect this will be one of the top news items this morning, if it’s not already out there, so I’ll need to be ready to make a statement to the media and answer some questions by the time I get to HQ. I suspect I’ll also have to visit the scene this morning.”

  “Will do, sir. Night, I mean good morning to you and to Mrs Jeremie. Again, sorry for waking you up.”

  “No worries, Jethro! Being woken by my staff at all hours comes with the territory I occupy. Oh, please alert Inspector Gray too about this. I’ll need her tomorrow morning. Goodbye.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  Sarah Jeremie was surprisingly awake. He guessed that his raised voice had woken her from her deep slumber. He quickly told her about the St Lawrence Gap incident and that there were now three unusual incidents that had taken place in Barbados over the past twenty-four hours. She was not amused to hear any of this, or at having to wake up so early this morning to police business. I’m used to Will being called at night a lot more since becoming Commissioner but Christ, even at this early hour? she thought.

  AC Smith knew the St. Lawrence Gap incident might have to result in some re-jigging of the RBPF’s manpower allotted to cover Day 1 of the Test Match starting on Friday. For sure, the PM and the Minister of Tourism, International Transport and Sport would be on Jeremie’s case by daylight. They would want him to re-assure everyone who visited St. Lawrence Gap that it was, is and would continue to be a safe place for patrons, locals and visitors alike, to go for relaxation and entertainment over the coming week and beyond.

  Jeremie also knew that he would need to give this assurance. Local politicians would be in a tizzy once news of this incident hit local airways and newspapers. It was already out there on social media. They might not now be any way to avoid new travel advice notices being issued by local Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates, particularly the Brits, given that their national cricket team was on island with thousands of supporters and one of their sports journalists had been directly involved in the incident. She would no doubt be providing a first-hand account of her unfortunate experience – if she had not already done so. Pity, because this would now negatively counter-balance the positive stories that were already in circulation as a result of last night’s successful and incident-free cricketing party.

  Jeremie would now beat Colonel Burke’s anticipated call to him later this morning, only in reverse. His wake-up call to Colonel Burke would be around 6:00 a.m. After that, he would also need to speak with the Prime Minister. Right now, he wanted another hour’s sleep, unless the phone rang again.

  ***

  The individual living on the East Coast rose 5:45 a.m. It was an alien time for them to do any business, but following Power’s visit the previous night, the individual needed to make four short but important calls. One was to a businessperson in Miami. It was now time for them to make an urgent visit to Barbados to discuss their proposed new Eastern Caribbean (EC) relationship in person. A two-day visit would be sufficient to finalise the arrangements.

  Another call was to a businessperson on Barbados’ west coast who ran a couple of businesses, including a fishing boat operation that was part-owned by the individual who was calling. A request was made to arrange a special fishing boat journey that would include an overnight visit to deliver a special cargo as part of one of its five-day fishing trips to the southern Caribbean. The individual would ‘reward’ the businessperson for making this extra overnight journey. The ‘package’ would be delivered to their home later that afternoon.

  The third call made was to a soft-spoken man in a well-to-do residential district in a neighbouring southern Caribbean country. Could he receive and look after a package being sent his way for a while if it was dispatched to him overnight? The usual arrangements would apply.

  “No problem.”

  “Fine. Thank you.”

  “Collection arrangements at my end will be in place for the morning. Early?”

  “Yes.”

  “Call you back on receipt of package?”

  “No. Less conversation is better.”

  “Okay.”

  It was obvious that the two persons had conducted this kind of business transactions before.

  The east coast individual knew what Power had on them could be damaging if even a small part of their activities were ever to be made public. The individual did not want, could not afford to let that happen. Their professional life and position in Barbadian society, good covers for their ‘other’ underworld business endeavours, had to be protected. Hence the agreement to off-load Power that afternoon.

  The fourth and final call made by the individual was to someone in authority.

  “Hello,” answered the official.

  “Good morning. I need a favour?” stated the individual.

  “My you’re early. Pray tell me what you need,” was the response.

  “A distraction of sorts, within the next thirty-six hours.”

  “No kidding. Why?”

  “Look, I have a situation here. Doesn’t involve you – yet. You don’t need to know the why. You up for this?”

  “I’ll see what can be done.”

  “Appreciate that. Have a nice day.”

  “After this start, how can I?” asked the person in authority.

  “I’m sure you’ll find a way.” The east coast individual ended the conversation.

  ***

  Colonel Burke was awoken by Jeremie at 6:01 a.m.

  Once he had been informed of the early morning shooting incident, Colonel Burke got the distinct impression that his good friend and fellow P.A.A.N.I. Head had just gotten his own back on him for the call he had made to Jeremie five hours earlier. He also recognised that Jeremie had been considerate enough not to have called him a few hours earlier.

  ***

  The 6:30 a.m., 7:05 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. radio news programmes on various radio stations had all carried a story on the overnight attempted robbery and shooting of a British visitor in St. Lawrence Gap. The middle report had stated that Commissioner Willoughby Jeremie would visit the incident’s location and make a statement to the media between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., well before the Test Match started at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. Jeremie’s comments were expected to re-assure every
one that Barbados remained a safe place to live, invest, work and play.

  There was no new word on the two escaped prisoners from the day before. Efforts by the country’s law enforcement agencies were continuing to apprehend them and they would hopefully be recaptured before nightfall if they did not turn themselves into a police station before. The public was warned not to approach either of the two escaped prisoners, particularly the most dangerous of them, Power, a known repeat criminal currently on gun, drug and other charges too numerous to mention. His long criminal record dated back twenty years. The prisoners were not thought to be together but their details were widely available.

  ***

  Lewis’ mobile phone alarm had woken him up at 6:30 a.m.

  Damn! He was not pleased. That was his wake-up time when in New York, not Barbados! He regretted not having remembered to turn off his phone alarm before he went to bed early that morning. As he was up, Lewis knew he would not be able to get back to sleep as the brightness of the morning was already shining through the pulled curtains of the bedroom he used whenever he came home.

  He decided to get up and go for a walk and a run. He used the bathroom, washed his face and brushed his teeth before pulling on his exercise gear that he kept in one of the drawers when on such visits to Barbados. Lewis made a check on his mother. He was glad to see that she was sleeping soundly. He left the house quietly for his half-an-hour walk and run around the neighbourhood. He felt this would help to clear his head. He’d had an uncomfortable night, just four hours sleep in the end because he could not help but review and reflect on the fond relationship he had with his dad. Lewis noticed some of the subtle changes that had taken place in the neighbourhood since his last visit. The walk and run helped to freshen up his mind.

  On re-entering the house, Lewis decided to call the mobile number shown on the business card that his mother had presented to him, given to her by the two RBPF officers from the previous morning. Lewis wanted to start finding out what the latest was from the leading investigators on his father’s disappearance.

  “Chief Superintendent Vickers. May I help you?”

  “Yes, hello. Good morning, sir. Bertram Lewis here, Dr Lewis’ son. I’m here from the States, staying at my parents’ residence. Came in last night.”

  “Thanks for calling, Mr Lewis. Nothing I want to tell you over the telephone. Can we meet at RBPF HQ around, say 9:30 a.m.? I have a stop to make but should be there around that time.”

  “Fine Mr – I’m sorry I mean Chief Superintendent. 9:30 a.m. is fine.”

  “You know where our HQ is located, Mr Lewis?”

  “Think so…in the old Barclays Bank building in Roebuck Street?”

  “Correct. See you later, Mr Lewis.”

  As Bertram rang off, his mum appeared and gave him a hug.

  “Good morning son. Who are you speaking to this early?” Mrs Lewis asked.

  “Morning, Mum,” Lewis said, kissing her on her forehead. “Just one of the policemen who came to see you yesterday. I have a meeting with him this morning,” he replied.

  “Which one?” she asked.

  “Chief Superintendent Vickers. I called him to find out if they had any new developments on Dad’s investigation. He didn’t say, but invited me to come and see him at RBPF HQ at 9:30 a.m. today. I’ll get cleaned up and come back to join you for breakfast.”

  “Okay, son.”

  Twenty minutes later, Lewis had done the three morning S’s and casually dressed. Breakfast, prepared by Ava Prescod, was already on the table in the family room.

  ***

  Power did not see Wharton until the morning when he returned to the house. When asked if he had gotten a good night’s rest, Power claimed to have done so.

  “Slept like a baby, although I went out for a walk and got caught when a heavy shower fell around 10:00 p.m.,” Power said so to explain to Wharton why there were a set of his still damp clothes hanging up in the bathroom.

  Wharton thought that had been a strange thing for Power to do but said nothing. Of course, given the way rain falls in Barbados, while it had apparently rained on the east coast, not a drop of water had fallen in St Michael where SBB&G was located and where he had spent the night. It did not matter that the time Power told Wharton that the heavy rain had fallen on the east coast had actually taken place more than three hours after.

  Wharton had earlier that afternoon told Power that he visited his mother in St John most weekday afternoons for a couple of hours. He usually returned home around 4:00 p.m. to change, before setting off for his SBB&G shop to spend the evening. That knowledge had enabled Power to work out a tentative escape plan prior to his meeting last night with the individual. Power had later fleshed out his plan once the early morning meeting with the individual had ended.

  Power planned to depart Wharton’s house at 2:00 p.m. He would head for his initial rendezvous point where transportation to his west coast destination would be provided. Escape from Barbados was on. Payment to The Organisation was not.

  ***

  Dr Richard Preston Dawson, Managing/Medical Director of the Dawson Clinic, was also a Member of Parliament (MP). In fact, he was Leader of the Opposition P.B.P.

  Dr Dawson arrived on the compound of his Dawson’s Clinic just after 7:30 a.m. This was much earlier than he usually arrived on any Thursday. He’d come in especially earlier today because he planned to attend Day 1 of the Test Match at New Kensington Oval tomorrow as a guest in a box belonging to one of the main medical companies operating in Barbados. He therefore wanted to clear up some outstanding paperwork on his desk to make time to attend the Test Match.

  As he was parking his vehicle, he saw a young woman standing at the clinic’s entrance. He did not know who she was, so anticipated that she might be one of his constituents in need of his urgent assistance. Wednesdays was his announced week-day to see constituents at his clinic when he would try to deal with their problems and concerns, so this young lady was a day late or six days early. Nonetheless, as an experienced politician, he knew that he could not always determine when, or the circumstances through which he would encounter and have to deal with his constituents.

  After parking his vehicle, Dr Dawson approached the clinic’s entrance.

  “Good morning, miss, how may I help you? My constituency surgery is on Wednesdays. The clinic does not open before 9:00 a.m. on the other weekdays,” he told her with a smile.

  “Good morning, Dr Dawson. Sorry, but I’m not one of your constituents. Nor am I here for an appointment at your clinic. I’m also sorry to approach you in this way and so early, but I have something that I feel I must share with you, but not out here. Can we go inside please?” asked the young woman.

  “Slow down, slow down, young lady. I do not even now your name,” Dr Dawson stated disarmingly.

  “Sorry! My name is Evadne Scott. I live in Black Rock and work at Precision Laboratories,” the young lady replied, before quickly continuing.

  “Once you see what I have, I think you’ll be glad that I’ve come. It’s likely to get me in trouble, fired even from my job, but I felt compelled to share what I know with you,” Scott said uncomfortably.

  “I’m sure it cannot be that bad! Alright come on in, but give me a few minutes to open up this place. We can then have a chat and see what you have. You’ll also have to show me some i.d., okay?”

  “Thank you. No problem on the i.d. I know you’ll want to be sure that I’m who I say I am,” said Scott.

  “Yes, indeed.”

  Dr Dawson unlocked the door. He had a strange feeling something bad was about to happen. He used Precision Laboratories, but did not know this young lady. Nevertheless, he was intrigued to learn what she so desperately wanted to share with him. He kept his apprehension under wraps.

  “Well, Miss Scott, let’s see what you have that’s got you so excited, or is it upset? From your statement, it could be either or both. I’m sure neither of us want to end up in any trouble, do we?” Dr Dawson asked.r />
  Fifteen minutes later, Dr Dawson, for the second time in three days, settled rather uncomfortably back into the executive chair in his office. Scott had shown him clear evidence that the blood test results he had received earlier that week from Precision Laboratories for six of his patients were erroneous. They had been mixed up. As such, potentially negative consequences for his patients were in play. Delivering the blood test results had been his responsibility and he had already done that. He felt guilty for having passed incorrect information to them. How now could he correct what were very difficult situations?

  Dr Dawson decided he had to contact and invite his six patients to return to his office for an urgent consultation. But three of them were out of the country (two on business, one on holiday). That left three in Barbados and he had learnt from the morning’s news, that one of them was now missing. It suddenly crossed his mind that there may be a link between his missing patient and the results he had given him.

  “OMG,” he said quietly.

  “Dr Dawson, what was that?” asked Scott.

  “Uh, I’m sorry, Miss Scott. Look, thank you for bringing this to my attention. You say that your manager will decide what action to take this morning? Seems to me that he has a big job on his hands if all the blood test results from last week and the weekend past have been given to the wrong doctors. They, in turn have probably also provided erroneous results to their patients. I’ll wait to see what happens publicly on all this, but worse-case scenario, your manager should urgently start contacting the involved doctors about this mix-up – today. This is nothing short of criminal behaviour,” stated Dr Dawson.

  “I won’t disagree with you, Dr Dawson. I’m really sorry about all this.”

  “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I appreciate your honesty and integrity in coming to see me. Who else knows about this and why did you come to me?”