Hung Out to Dry

by Hadford Howell

  ***

  The third call was more difficult, but Colonel Burke had to make it, and a point.

  The person who had written, signed and dispatched JJ’s letter was none other than Dr Winston Peter Smith GCM, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Barbados Public Service (HOPS). As HOPS, Dr Smith was the most powerful public servant in Barbados. Administratively, he was required to provided Colonel Burke, as JJ’s Head of Department, with a copy of the letter that had been hand-delivered to JJ.

  Dr Smith did not duck from taking Colonel Burke’s call. In fact, he had expected to hear from Colonel Burke before day’s end, just not this soon!

  This was the one time that the usual pleasantries were not exchanged. There was an abruptness about their conversation, so much so that Dr Smith felt the need to explain why he had taken the action he had against JJ. It was based on the interim reports he had received and reviewed from the Superintendent of Prisons and the lead RBPF and BPS officers and BIB operative from the PR. These documents had led Dr Smith to an interim conclusion and the action he had then taken.

  Colonel Burke told Dr Smith that he did not buy the reasons being presented for JJ’s interim suspension. JJ and his Gold team had done what had been necessary in extraordinary circumstances. They had played things by the book. Why therefore had no one else, e.g. Lt. Colonel Simon Innis, Head of BPS/ Superintendent of HMP Dodds, been also handed a similar suspension?

  “No comment,” was Dr Smith’s response.

  The conversation was not going well. Colonel Burke had not expected it to. Dr Smith did not ask Colonel Burke if he had spoken to or met with JJ since his letter had been sent and delivered as they both knew was required. Nor did Colonel Burke volunteer this information, reflecting to himself that it was a question best not asked by Dr Smith or answered by himself at this time. Colonel Burke recognised that as this had not been done, JJ’s interim suspension could not take effect until Monday.

  Colonel Burke decided to end the conversation. The situation did not make any sense to him. JJ was an excellent, reliable and hard-working BIB operative. His best and most senior operative, no less. He would do all that he could to help JJ out of this situation, just as he would have done for any BIB operative where he felt they had acted in the correct way while responding to any dangerous situation.

  You’re entitled to your opinion and to pass judgment on what you see as the facts, but not to what the facts are, he thought, hanging up the phone.

  ***

  As he replaced the phone, Dr Smith smiled uncomfortably. He’d only done his job – everything by the book and rules.

  He knew Colonel Burke, and James Johnson would also do theirs. Here was an opportunity for BIB to help correct a mistake before things got really out of hand. There was a need to recapture the two escaped prisoners quickly –particularly Power. A successful outcome would repair the damage done to BIB’s esteemed reputation as Barbados’ best security agency suited to assisting the RBPF and BPS in achieving this recapture quickly.

  Dr Smith would never acknowledge that the call he’d received at home early the previous morning had influenced in any way the actions he had taken since entering his office yesterday.

  But it had. He was in a bind, but only he knew it.

  ***

  By the time the four BIB operatives tried to join him in his office, Colonel Burke had made the first three of his six calls and was about to start his fourth. He asked his operatives to give him another ten minutes before returning.

  The fourth he made was to Magnus Hunter.

  “Can we meet again urgently, this time at the Barbados Museum in say, another hour and a half?”

  “Yes, if you insist, Trevor,” was the prompt response he had anticipated and now heard from Hunter.

  ***

  Colonel Burke’s fifth call was to his two operatives who had returned to the secure intelligence room (SIR) in BIB HQ. He said he would come and see them in about thirty minutes. They agreed to stay put and await his arrival.

  In the meanwhile, Colonel Burke gave them the two names that had been presented to him by Hunter, requesting that they start looking for anything BIB had or could otherwise find on either person.

  Anything at all.

  ***

  The sixth and final call Colonel Burke made was to JJ.

  He had considered calling JJ first after his meeting with his operatives, but had decided to gather as much new information as possible from a variety of sources before doing so. There was no need for him to speak with Superintendent Innis, as he had recently spoken with him on his way back into the office following his meeting at home with Hunter. By speaking with others, Colonel Burke felt he would have a better idea of how best to set up what he was thinking of asking JJ to do overnight. It would allow JJ the opportunity to play a potentially major role in retrieving the prisoner escape situation – and, given present circumstances, revive his own position.

  Colonel Burke intended to tell JJ that he’d also received a copy of Dr Smith’s letter, was sorry it had been written, and that the interim suspension was only that, temporary. He also had something for JJ to do.

  ***

  Back at the Johnson’s residence, JJ sat with Vanessa in their kitchen at the breakfast table. Vanessa had prepared lunch – flying fish, mash potatoes and green salad before she had gone to the supermarket. JJ had barely touched his and was quiet for a while. She checked her phone, not wanting to break in on whatever it was he was thinking about.

  “Shit,” he suddenly said, pushing away his plate and standing up.

  “What is it, JJ?” Vanessa asked alarmed. She was wondering if the suspension letter he had received made him realise, perhaps belatedly, how grave his situation might be going forward. She had given no thought to how they would explain JJ’s situation to family and friends.

  Though it was three days later, JJ now not only remembered, but felt confident that he had recognised the well-dressed man who had sat on his own in P’s Disco at table #6 on the previous Tuesday night. JJ had not noticed when the man had left, but surmised that he must have done so around 10:00 p.m.

  “It’s okay, V. I’m in control. Just had a light bulb moment, as Samuel at the office often says. I need to follow through on it,” said JJ.

  “Honey, everyone’s going to be there for you. We’re sure what happened Wednesday wasn’t your fault. The powers that be on Bay Street have rushed to judgment, gotten it all wrong –”

  “No, V! I don’t mean that. Yes, I’m disappointed about the suspension, but that’s not what’s on my mind right now.”

  “What is then?” asked Vanessa.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure I saw Dr Lewis on Tuesday night at P’s Disco.”

  “JJ, you mean the Deputy Central Bank Governor who’s missing? The news says that the man has not been seen since leaving his office late on Tuesday afternoon. You sure you saw him, or just someone looking like him? If you’re right, you’re probably one of the last people to have seen him on Tuesday. What would he be doing in P’s Disco anyway?” Vanessa asked.

  “To hear good music, grab a meal and a couple of drinks? Why not? It was still early. Perhaps he’d heard that I played at P’s Disco twice a week and wanted to catch my set,” was JJ’s quick response.

  Vanessa punched him softly on the arm. At lease her husband had not totally lost his sense of humour.

  “Yeah. The great JJ, the DJ of Dr Lewis’ dreams! He wanted to hear you play –”

  “And why not? I’m not that bad you know. Or so the patrons tell me. Seriously V, the guy could simply be someone who loves back in time (BIT) music, and so came to relax for a while before going home.”

  “Do you recall seeing him in the club before Tuesday night?”

  “No.”

  “JJ, are you sure about this?”

  “Look V, there’s only one way for me to be one hundred per cent certain that it was him. Please call Pierre and ask him to meet me at the club in say…thirty minutes. It�
�s very important that I review the club’s CCTV tapes of that night’s patrons for the first couple of hours,” JJ stated.

  “Finish your meal before you go?”

  “Sorry V, not really in the mood to eat. I’ve got one or two things on my mind.”

  “Yes, but –”

  Just then, the landline rang, stopping their conversation dead in its tracks. Vanessa answered it.

  “Hello,” said a slightly exasperated Vanessa.

  “It’s Colonel Burke, Vanessa. Please may I speak with JJ?”

  Vanessa passed JJ the phone, mouthing Colonel Burke before quickly leaving the room to give him some privacy.

  “JJ. Can we talk? I’ve read a copy of the letter you got from HOPS. I’m so sorry –”

  JJ cut him off.

  “Chief, you know this is all –”

  "Easy, JJ. I’ve just finished speaking with HOPS. He said that, having read the four initial reports submitted by relevant parties, including yourself, he decided to issue an interim suspension of you as only he has the authority to do. It’s for three working days in the first instance, starting from today, as the letter states. If, by the end of this period, intervening investigations suggest that additional action needs to be taken against you or others in authority who might be held responsible, in part or whole, for the prisoner escape incident he would initiate such action after consulting with the PM and the Public Sector Oversight Committee (PSOC) Chair. The matter could then be referred to the full PSOC Board at its next monthly meeting that’s set for mid-May.

  “My understanding is that if, and only if, it gets to such a meeting, a hearing would then follow at which you would be entitled to have a representative accompany you, a family member, work colleague or lawyer when you appear. A Q & A session would form part of that process. Following that meeting, a decision would be taken by the PSOC on what action should follow – a lengthy suspension, dismissal or clearing your name of any formal charges brought. Of course, you may not…correction, I cannot see you being alone in such a situation if it even got so far as a PSOC meeting. But I promise you, JJ, I’ll do my best to make this all go away well before then,” stated Colonel Burke optimistically.

  "Hell! Well, I never. Are you sure of this process? I, well my Gold team, have done nothing wrong here. After all that I’ve done for BIB? This incident wasn’t of my team’s making. Truth be told, without us being on scene, more persons could have gotten hurt and more prisoners escaped, ’cause none of our partner organisations were in any state to help themselves, let alone stop anything else from happening, what with their busted-up vehicles and all. Yes, as Leader of BIB’s Gold team, I accept responsibility for the fact that the prisoners did not get to court for their appearances on Wednesday, but without us being on scene, we might be looking for all five and not two escaped prisoners," said an annoyed JJ.

  “I know all of that, JJ…and I agree with you. Your Gold team did well from where I sit and all that I’ve since heard and seen written about the incident from others. I told HOPS so when we had our first conversation yesterday and again just now. I don’t think he accepts that his decision may have been hasty or unfair, for in his eyes, and I gather from some of those at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, somebody has to carry the can, for now at least –”

  JJ cut in. “You’re telling me that I’ve drawn the short straw as it were?” he asked.

  “I guess so. Look, I’ve learnt in this business that it’s easy to do negative things, harder to do positive ones,” was Colonel Burke’s careful answer.

  “Well, well,” was all JJ could say.

  “Listen, JJ. There’s a view, indeed a clear expectation that these incidents will all be solved by Monday morning. In the circumstances, the ‘can carrier’ has to be somebody in a leadership role and unfortunately, you’re that person. I’ve been assured that nothing about your suspension will be placed in the public domain until after the weekend. Experience tells me that eventually, the person who will take the hit will be Innis. Believe you me, he’s in greater ‘do-do’ than you. Two reasons he’s not been shut down yet. First, HOPS must know that a lack of organisational resources contributed to the incident. Second, one of Innis’ closest, most trusted subordinates must have leaked the PR route. I understand that he’s been given two working days, effectively until 4:00 p.m. Monday, to establish who that person is and collect the evidence on when, how and why they sold out. Hopefully by then, the missing pieces will all have been put back into the bottle.”

  “Great, so I’m the patsy being hung out to dry…the fall guy for Innis. Lucky old me,” said JJ.

  “I guess but look, I have a task for you. Complete it before the end of Monday and all will be well. Please meet me at ‘Everglades’ at 6.00 p.m. today. Bring along your wet gear. You’re going on a trip for two or three days so will need your equipment. You’ll have to apologise in advance to Vanessa for me…tell her you should be back home to her and the kids by Tuesday latest. You’ll not be able to tell her or anyone else where you’re going. I’ll provide more details when we meet.”

  “Gotcha chief.”

  “One more thing. I told HOPS though I’d received his correspondence to you, you’d already left the office before I could meet with or discuss the contents with you. Therefore, according to PSOC Regulation 7 Part 2 (iii), the three-working days’ suspension cannot become effective until we’ve held our formal face-to-face meeting on Government premises on a normal day of the week. Our session later this evening won’t count, meaning that your suspension hasn’t formally started yet. I’ll return your BIB equipment when I see you. The mission you will undertake later will thus be official and legitimate,” said Colonel Burke.

  “Fine by me,” responded JJ.

  “Good. Six o clock.”

  There was a click as the call was ended.

  JJ wasted no time finding Vanessa. She was in the sitting room fixing the flowers she had earlier bought outside of the supermarket into a vase.

  ***

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rising Tension

  The discovery just before 2:00 p.m. in an Anglican church compound cemetery’s car park in the eastern parish of St. John of a man wearing a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans in a S-registered vehicle merited attention.

  The cemetery workers who had stumbled on the gruesome discovery had arrived to work on the three burials they expected that afternoon. Given the ongoing ECC security project and search for the two escaped prisoners, RBPF patrol cars had been seen regularly in the area, but none of the workers had known the patrol cars to visit the cemetery’s car park. So, one of the workers made a call to the police hotline and reported the incident, while another worker headed out to the main road to catch any patrol car that might be passing by. They were in luck, for a patrol car from District ‘C’ police station in St Philip soon came around the corner and was directed to the cemetery’s car park.

  What the two RBPF officers and one BDF soldier found was not pleasant. The senior RBPF officer in charge of the three-person patrol team, quickly analysed the scene before circling the parked vehicle. He made a decision and spoke directly to his junior RBPF colleague.

  “We must alert the station. Tell them to send a doctor, detectives and a forensics team to this location. The undertaker boys too, as soon as possible. We have a deceased male in a parked vehicle at what looks like a suicide, but may be something else.”

  “Will do,” said his colleague moving away to make the call.

  The third member of the patrol team looked on, rifle in hand as if he was standing guard over the area.

  ***

  JJ told Vanessa, “The chief told me that he has my back on this one, no matter how it looks at present. He has a job for me to do for him, so I’ll be gone later this evening for a day or two, maybe three.”

  “What’s that all about JJ? I’m confused. What should I tell the kids, given what’s already happened today?” asked Vanessa.

  JJ could not answer he
r first question.

  “I’ll find out more when I meet him. Why not take the kids by your parents to spend the weekend? That way they’ll not be many questions to answer. It’ll just be that I’ve had to go away for a couple of days. Oh…did you call Pierre for me?”

  “Yes – he’ll meet you at the club around 3:15 p.m.”

  “Thanks. No need to rush off then. After I’ve visited the club, I’ll come back here to see the kids once you’ve brought them home from school. We can all have an early supper together before I leave… I’ll need to be gone by 5:45 p.m.”

  “Right but, JJ, I’m worried about you and for our family.”

  “V, don’t! I’m good. We’ll all be fine, trust me. I’ll go and try to eat what you’ve prepared for me before going off to meet Pierre. I’ll have to be warm it up though.”

  Vanessa nodded and picked up her phone to call her parents to ask if the kids could come over and spend the weekend with them. Vanessa anticipated that they would enthusiastically say yes. However, on the spur of the moment, she decided against calling. Knowing that JJ would now be away for a few days, she did not want to be alone and so the children would be good company for her.

  She found JJ in the kitchen and told him of her decision. He smiled. Though Vanessa’s parents doted on both of their only grandkids and Vanessa and JJ liked it that way, keeping his family together in his absence was probably best on reflection. Angela and Andrew loved visiting their grandparents in the country or when Granma and Granddad visited them. But this weekend was not now going to be one of those occasions.

  JJ decided to finish his meal and wait until Vanessa had left to collect the children from school before he would retrieve his wet gear from its special place underneath the stairs in an area apart from where she stored the family’s Christmas decorations.

  ***