Hung Out to Dry

by Hadford Howell

  “I get it. Now, can you tell me the room number and the name or names of the guests to whom the room-key card was allocated? Also, are they still with you?”

  “Just one moment please,” said Alli going off to check the residence computer.

  Less than a minute later, he returned to Moss.

  “Room 310. Mr Rhohan Castille. He arrived last Wednesday afternoon and was originally set to leave on Saturday but had extended to Sunday and then did so again till today. Our system shows that Mr Castille has already checked out.”

  “Oh? When?”

  “This morning – not long ago in fact.”

  “Thank you. Any idea where he was going…the airport perhaps?”

  “No idea, Inspector.”

  “Okay. Can I see the room he occupied please?”

  “Sure. The maid would not have gotten to it yet, but…is something wrong, Inspector?”

  “Maybe. Tell me, when Mr Castille left this morning, did he hand back in both of the room keys that were issued to him on arrival?”

  “Again, let me check on that for you Inspector.”

  Alli shuffled off to speak with one of the two receptionists on duty. The one closest to him was dealing with departing guests, while the second receptionist was working with an airline crew which had just arrived.

  Alli decided to make the check himself before returning to Moss with a slight frown.

  “Are you clairvoyant, Inspector?” he asked.

  “Not that I know of, I prefer common sense and evidence. Now Mr Alli, what do you have for me?”

  “Well, you’re onto something here. Only one of the two room keys we issued for room 310 to Mr Castille was returned. Our record show that he claimed to have lost the second room key somewhere on our property. One in six guests misplace their issued room keys on our property, so his explanation would not have raised any eyebrows. It’s obviously not the case here as you have it. May I ask where you found it please?”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to say, Mr Alli. Before I see the room, I need to make a call, so excuse me for a minute please.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll wait here for you, Inspector,” said Alli.

  Moss walked away from the reception area to call his boss.

  “Chief Superintendent Vickers, may I help you?”

  “It’s me, Moss. Jackpot. Found the hotel, room and have identified the person allocated to it who had been given the room key you presented me with yesterday. It’s the ‘Rising Sun’ in Rockley. Guest was a US citizen, a Mr Rhohan Castille. He checked out this morning. I’m planning to check the room which has not yet been cleaned by the hotel’s maids. Wouldn’t expect to find anything left behind, except for his fingerprints and DNA but on reflection, I think our forensic boys should come over and do their stuff.”

  “Excellent work, Byron. That thinking may make you Commissioner someday,” said Vickers.

  “That’s unlikely but thank you, sir,” said Moss before continuing.

  “I’m speaking with the property’s Duty Manager, a very helpful guy. I’ll place the room ‘off limits’ and stay there until our boys arrive. You may want to consider alerting the Commissioner about issuing an APB for Mr Castille…a ‘Stop Notice’ too so as to stop him from leaving Barbados through any of our ports of entry. If you ask me where he’s heading, I’ve no idea but suggest we first check the airport in case he plans to leave us today, if not for the US then a neighbouring island.”

  Moss realised that he was almost out of breath. “Just saying, sir,” ended Moss.

  “As you were speaking, I was thinking similarly. Yes, I’ll get one of our forensic teams over to you ASAP. I know where to find the Commissioner so will contact him. Your discovery will give them more ammunition to help with whatever he and Colonel Burke are planning to discuss with the US Ambassador this morning. I’ll put out the APB and a Stop Notice on Mr Castille. We sure don’t want him leaving Barbados before we can speak with him. Can you get a screen shot of him from the hotel’s CCTV system? It would have captured him on arrival, indeed whenever he passed through reception. Send it to me and I’ll have the APB unit place his picture alongside the notice. Okay?”

  “Yes, sir. Just that I could do with some more sleep and some TLC, but you can’t help with either,” answered Moss. Luckily, he and Vickers had a good rapport so he knew such comments were not out of line.

  “Well, Byron, you can enjoy both of them when you get home tonight with Pearle. What’s your answer to that?”

  “I’ll get working on your requests, sir.”

  “Thank you. Bye.”

  Moss looked at his phone before going back to Alli. Moss had to ensure that he got to Room 310 before the hotel’s maids did so.

  ***

  On hearing from Moss, Vickers had stopped his vehicle by the side of the road. He’d been heading in to RBPF HQ but now needed to make a few appropriate calls.

  First, he called the Superintendent-in-charge of the RBPF’s three forensic teams to request that one of them be urgently sent over to the Rising Sun property where Inspector Moss was waiting for them outside of Room 310. Moss would brief them on arrival. That was agreed.

  Vickers’ second call was to Jeremie on his secure phone. Jeremie had made Vickers aware that he would be meeting with Colonel Burke at BIB HQ early that same morning ahead of a potential meeting later that morning with the USA’s Ambassador. Vickers felt sure that Moss’s information on Castille might help them with whatever they were seeking to discuss with the Ambassador.

  Third, Vickers called Operations Control at RBPF HQ. He instructed that an APB and a Stop Notice be issued for Rhohan Castille as soon as his picture was received from Moss.

  These calls having been made, Vickers decided to turn his vehicle around and head for the airport. If Moss was right, Castille might already be on his way there.

  ***

  Vickers’ call to Jeremie was indeed timely and most welcome.

  Colonel Burke and Jeremie were travelling in the former’s BIB vehicle along Wildey Road about five minutes away from the US Embassy’s compound. Jeremie had placed the call on speaker. The developments regarding a US passport holder named Rhohan Castille were interesting. Find him and some more problems could be solved.

  Having earlier heard from AC Smith that RBPF now had the names of the individuals involved in Power’s ‘rescue’, Jeremie and Colonel Burke believed the jigsaw puzzle related to Power’s escape was falling into place. Those behind the escape would soon be caught. The RT, RC or RP mentioned by Ambassador Carter had led to Castille’s identification. With regard Telford’s death, Castille was now connected to it by a south coast hotels room key that had been issued to him but had not been returned to the hotel on his departure. Pilessar was the ‘big fish’ from the Miami-based, USA entity known as The Organisation and she was in Barbados. Power’s overnight recapture in St Vincent and his imminent return to Barbados were also good.

  Missing were other pieces of the puzzle that still needed to be fathomed. Who was Pilessar here to meet with? They needed this information ASAP. Time for Samuel and Margaret to push the boat out to establish who the person (or persons) were. The potential capture of both Castille and Pilessar during the day would be a very nice way to close off.

  Colonel Burke nodded. Next, he and Jeremie had to tackle the USA’s Ambassador. They arrived at the US Embassy’s Wildey, St Michael compound at 8:50 a.m.

  ***

  Innis had earlier made the appropriate arrangements on arrival at HMP Dodds that morning to receive the recaptured prisoner. Once everything was in place, he left HMP Dodds and headed for GAIA, ensuring that he was early for his meeting with Oliver. Innis had always disliked being late for any appointment or meeting, hence his tendency to be in place well before any agreed time.

  Knocking on Oliver’s secretary’s doors, he had again achieved his wish. It was 8:55 a.m.

  ***

  Castille and Wharton met as arranged at the airport by the el
ectronic departure notice board at the airport, not at 8:30 a.m. as they had planned, but nearer to 8:50 a.m.

  “You’re late,” said Castille.

  “The call came through later than expected, hence I’ve only now got here,” responded Wharton.

  “Tell me,” said an impatient Castille.

  “I’ve written it down. Page ten,” said Wharton passing Castille the day’s local newspaper.

  “Thanks. Now where’s the airline counter…you said LIAT? Where do I buy my ticket?”

  “Over yonder, near the top of the hall. LIAT counters are second in line,” responded Wharton.

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  “Be jolly now, my friend.”

  Wharton turned and left Castille. He headed to the ticket booth to pay for his airport parking ticket before going to his vehicle. He was keen to get to SBB&G as he would be opening up that morning.

  ***

  Punctually at 9:00 a.m., Colonel Burke and Jeremie were shown into Ambassador Rowley’s large office by his trusted secretary, Mona Fisher.

  “Good morning, Ambassador. I hope you had an enjoyable weekend? Thanks for seeing us on such short notice. I trust your seeing us hasn’t messed up your schedule too much at the start of a new week?” asked Colonel Burke.

  “Good morning, gentlemen. No, not at all. I’m always happy to meet with any of my host Government’s Ministers or senior officials…you both know Miss Busbee, my Cultural Secretary.”

  “Indeed. How are you, Miss Busbee?” asked Colonel Burke.

  “I’m fine sir, thanks for asking,” she answered with a quick smile.

  “Gentlemen, let’s get down to business. How might I or the USA Embassy be of assistance to you today?”

  It was Jeremie who spoke. He came straight to the point.

  “Ambassador, are you aware of a US outfit known as The Organisation? It’s based in Miami, Florida.”

  Ambassador Rowley looked at Busbee. “No, Commissioner. What are they into? The mere fact that you as Commissioner is in my office asking about this entity suggests that they’ve done something wrong here, or are about to, no?”

  “We’ve no clear evidence that it has done anything wrong in Barbados yet, but there are indications that they might be gearing up to do so, perhaps at this very moment.”

  “Okay…that being the case I’ll have my people look into your claim and get back to you in due course. Do you have contact details for this entity, the people leading it, or related info you could leave with us?”

  “As a matter of fact, we do.” Colonel Burke passed over a sheet of paper with the requested information. He also handed over a picture of Pilessar.

  “And who is this?” asked Rowley.

  “That, Ambassador, is Miss Emma Pilessar of the Greater Americas’ Corporation, a.k.a. The Organisation. We understand her to be its CEO. She arrived in Barbados yesterday afternoon and is scheduled to leave this afternoon. She did not go to the Private Home address in Christ Church that she listed as her temporary place of residence on her immigration document on arrival. No one there had ever heard of her, so where she is on the island is not clear at this time. We’ve therefore concluded that Miss Pilessar is here to meet with potential local business partners. Do you believe our thinking is way off base, sir?”

  “Perhaps Colonel Burke, but there could be other reasons why all that you speak of is not the case, something that neither of you, Miss Busbee or I have even thought of,” Rowley stated.

  “What other reasons might there be for her visit, Ambassador?” asked Colonel Burke.

  “Gentlemen, it’s not my place to guess, but while she is in Barbados, can’t she meet with whomever she pleases?”

  “She can indeed Ambassador, but I promise you that we’re close to finding out who she is meeting with (or has already met), along with the why before she departs,” responded Jeremie.

  “As I’ve indicated to both of you, all we can do here is examine your claim and get back to you. I promise to do so as soon as possible. Would tomorrow be soon enough for you? If that’s acceptable and there is nothing else that I can do for you two goodly gentlemen –” stated Ambassador Rowley rising from his chair with a straight face. His gesture appeared to offer friendliness and co-operation but yet was a clear attempt to dismiss Jeremie and Colonel Burke.

  “With all due respect, Ambassador. No and yes are our responses to your observations. Tomorrow is not good enough and there is something else that you can do for us,” answered Colonel Burke firmly in response to Ambassador Rowley’s comments. Jeremie knew from Colonel Burke’s posture that he was determined for them not to be dismissed so easily by Ambassador Rowley.

  “Tell me,” was Rowley’s response, his face showing the first signs of agitation. Or was it anger? He was not used to anyone coming into his embassy, his office and speaking to him in such tones.

  “We’d respectfully like an answer before we leave your embassy. Also, we now make a formal request for your country’s assistance related to the use of one of your drones to help us locate…not Miss Pilessar, but one of her employees. We’ll be able to speak to her when she turns up at the airport for her flight. As far as we know, she is unaware that we’re looking for her,” stated Colonel Burke.

  “My friends, where do you get your information from? Hollywood? Our embassy has no drones, drone facilities or even operational capabilities here. American media often carry stories about our Government taking out terrorists in far off places by the use of drones that are operated by our military personnel. Some of that may well be true but Embassies, certainly none that I know of in this hemisphere including the Caribbean, have any such facilities,” said an unhappy-looking Rowley.

  “We hear you loud and clear, Ambassador. While we have no reason to doubt you, the information available to us suggests that you have the capacity to facilitate our request,” responded Colonel Burke.

  “Pray tell me how so…and how would you know that, Colonel Burke?” requested Rowley.

  “You forget that I’ve sat in with one or two of your security agencies and have completed courses put on by your military in the US not that long ago. I’m pretty sure that the US Frigate now anchored in the Bridgetown Port has at least two drones on board and with that, the appropriate operational capacity. Come on Mr Ambassador, give us some help here. We don’t want your drone to blow up or kill anyone, just help to capture someone who has broken our laws. I’d be very surprised if your request to the ship’s Captain, even your superiors somewhere in the State Department in DC, would not exceptionally facilitate my country’s official request. If it was not of primary and crucial importance to us, we would not be asking you for this specific kind of assistance. Be assured that we’re not about publicising such cooperation between our two countries.”

  “Well –” started Rowley.

  “Look, I’m being honest with you.”

  With Ambassador Rowley looking clearly uncomfortable, Jeremie took over.

  “We need this assistance as one of our senior Government officials was recently murdered. You follow the news, I believe. We’re pretty sure that it took place as a direct result of actions taken by an employee of The Organisation, possibly on the direct instructions from its Head. We want to find that employee. We are endeavouring to secure him, and it is a him, before he leaves our jurisdiction. We must also speak with both Miss Pilessar, Head of The Organisation as well as her underling. Both are currently on our patch, not the US’s. We can legally hold Miss Pilessar responsible for the senior Government official’s death as an accessory, even if she was not at the murder scene.”

  “Gentlemen, are you being serious?” asked an incredulous Rowley.

  “Yes, we are, sir. We’re happy to step outside to allow you the time needed to make the requested arrangements. To help you, I have here and now present you with a formal letter of request that should help to smooth the way with and for your people. It specifies the assistance we are seeking. You’ll see that this is all connecte
d to the recent prisoner escape,” said Colonel Burke imploringly.

  Ambassador Rowley accepted and opened the envelope presented by Colonel Burke and read the letter inside. It was signed by Prime Minister Motby.

  Ambassador Rowley shook his head. “You mean the Power guy? Very well, gentlemen. I’ll pass on…up your request and ask that it receives urgent attention and consideration. I anticipate and warn you that the answer is likely to be negative. Also, I can’t even promise a quick reply.”

  Colonel Burke and Jeremie had never seen Ambassador Rowley look so rattled.

  “Miss Busbee, please show our two guests into our conference room and keep them company while I make some calls. On your way out, please send in Mona.”

  “Of course, Ambassador. Gentlemen, this way please,” said Busbee, leading Colonel Burke and Jeremie out of the Ambassador’s office.

  “Thank you, Ambassador,” said Colonel Burke as he and Jeremie followed Busbee.

  ***

  JJ was in the unmarked windowless vehicle which brought Power from RSVGPF HQ in central Kingston to the back part of the Argyle International Airport. Rather than arrive as part of a heavy and visibly armed security convoy, the unmarked vehicle had made the forty-minute journey with minimum escort to its destination. This way, it attracted little attention to the general public.

  The vehicle containing Power had been accompanied by two also unmarked RSVGPF vehicles containing several armed police officers and soldiers. The escorting vehicles had carefully interchanged during the journey.

  ***

  It was around 9:35 a.m. when Castille’s phone rang. He was finishing up a late breakfast in the airport restaurant, his purchased ticket and boarding pass for his scheduled 11:45 a.m. flight to St Vincent in his shirt pocket.

  “Hello.”