Burgess had placed himself between Jan and Jacintha and was enjoying the two ladies’ company. Jan was full of questions about the island, its history, its culture and just about everything. Inevitably, the tree frogs came up. She found them delightful and was desperate to see one.
“It’s unusual to see them unless you have a lot of shrubbery near the house. They love banana trees because they have pockets of water in them and so there’s a lot of moisture.” Burgess felt a little like the sudden resident expert on the subject.
“There are some banana plants in the garden of my hotel. I’m going to explore with a flashlight and see if I can see one.”
“Better not do it too late at night,” interjected Archie. “They might take you for someone who’s planning to break in! That would look good in the paper the next day… I can see the headlines now: ‘Canadian forensic specialist found lurking in bushes’.”
“Cute, Archie,” giggled Jan, “always the policeman and now, since you’re such good friends with the media, I see you keep a close eye on the PR aspects of a case!”
“Well, you have to recognize that your name and picture have been in the local press on several occasions. You are, by now, a local celeb.”
“I’ll bear that in mind next time I want to go lurking in any bushes!”
Inevitably the conversation steered towards the murders and the heroin smuggling.
Pamela turned to Burgess and inquired, “Buddy, do you think we’ll ever get to the bottom of this? You know what this island’s like. Nobody is going to want to talk.”
“Who can say, Pamela. Somehow, I have a feeling that people are really unhappy with the way the island is going, especially in terms of gangs and drugs. I feel hopeful that we’ll get lucky on this one. The murder of the girl is also a reminder of the murder of the Canadian boy years back and nobody wants to see this murderer go free. It also helps that he’s not a Bermudian. At least he’s not related to anybody and people won’t feel they’re shopping their relatives.”
“I’m pretty certain Gonzalez and Hofstein will come up with some leads in Miami too,” added Archie. “They strike me as two pretty switched on detectives and, if they get help from the big guns like the FBI and DEA, I think they’ll have all sorts of resources both in terms of manpower, fire-power and technical equipment to help them out.”
“We mustn’t underestimate our own secret weapon as regards intelligence gathering.”
“What’s that Buddy?” asked Jacintha.
“Nana!”
They all roared.
“I swear,” continued Burgess, “she knows more about what’s going on, when it’s going down and who’s doing what to whom than anybody I know. Which reminds me, would anyone like to try her home-made loquat liqueur?”
“I wouldn’t want to miss out on that,” said Jan.
Burgess set about making some after dinner drinks for the team and, as the evening began to draw to an end, they all realized that they were reluctant to go home so they decided to go to John Smith’s Beach for a moonlight walk.
“I need to walk off that steak and, in particular, your grandmother’s wonderful rum cake,” said Jan. “I don’t even want to think about the mix of cocktails I’ve had this evening. Let me see, champagne, wine, rum in the cake and you said the loquat liqueur had a vodka base? I’m going to be a little under the weather tomorrow!” The other Canadians echoed her sentiments and put their shoes back on for the steep walk down Knapton Hill.
Archie decided to take his bike and Burgess would take his car to bring everyone back afterwards. Everyone agreed that Knapton Hill was beautiful, except when you were at the bottom looking up!
“Come on Pamela, I’ll give you a tow. You already know Knapton Hill.”
“Sure, Archie.” She hoped she sounded casual but could feel the pulse in her throat.
Jacintha and the De Souzas rode with Burgess whilst the intrepid Canadians began to troop down the hill.
If they thought the beach would be peaceful, they were wrong. Campers had reggae and hip hop playing; there was the lingering smell of barbecues and several people were in the water. The mood was festive, carefree and relaxed. The moon was so bright that they had no trouble seeing in the dark. Archie took Pamela’s hand as they walked along the sand. Both knew that that one action had changed their relationship forever. Archie hoped he knew what he was doing. He had had a lot of girlfriends but none had impressed him or got under his skin quite the way that Pamela had. He hoped this would work out because he would hate to lose her as a friend. Pamela, for her part, was enjoying every moment of this evening. The bike ride had been too short and she realized that she was falling for Archie big time. She knew he had a track record with women and it frightened her to think that he had so much power over her. This would also surely complicate things at work. Right now though, she didn’t care about work. She wanted to soak in every detail and replay all the memories tomorrow.
The others had already sensed the attraction between Pamela and Archie and let them go on alone on their walk. Burgess felt that he needed to stay with his guests, although he would have liked to have had Jacintha to himself. Patience, however, was one of his long suits and he was quite prepared to wait for the right moment. He sensed that any relationship with her would be complex and he was not going to do anything to force it or jeopardize it. He wanted to get to know her better and find out what made her tick and why she had chosen to become a pathologist. There had to be a story behind that career choice. For the moment, he was content to relax and walk with her and the others and enjoy the small talk and banter that differed so greatly from the topics of their work conversations. Tomorrow was another day and she had agreed to accompany him to the cricket match. Things were looking good.
Chapter 23
Burgess sat up with a start. Someone was in the house. He then recognized the sound of pots and pans clanging around in the kitchen. He had a monumental hangover and, for a moment, was confused as to the origin of all that noise. He looked across at the empty space next to him and remembered saying goodbye to Jacintha when they got back from the beach. Good. He hadn’t done anything stupid! Peering cautiously out of his bedroom, he could see Nana in the kitchen trying to get rid of the chaos from the night before. Now normally, Nana would not intrude on him, so he felt that she must have a very good reason for coming down.
In fact, Nana had two good reasons. One was to tell him that there had been five heroin-related deaths during the night and more were expected over the weekend. She had heard from a lady in her church who worked in Emergency at the hospital. Burgess suspected that “Church Lady” must be one of Nana’s prime sources of information for she seemed to be more on top of events and developments than either the government or the police combined. The second topic was to let him know that she had heard (the source was undisclosed) that Jacintha Brangman was the niece of Eugene Brangman, the plumber, whose sister had moved to Atlanta and been murdered there when Jacintha was about twelve years old. That could explain the unusual career choice and the fact that Jacintha had not grown up on the island. Burgess was grateful for this bit of information. He knew he’d better tread carefully and wait for Jacintha to bring it up.
“Thanks, Nana. If you ever want a job in Serious Crimes, just let me know. You could head up the intelligence division!”
Nana cackled in delight. She loved to be at the forefront of the latest news. She would never classify herself as a gossip but just as someone who was on top of events in her community. In fact, Nana would never speak ill of anyone. Her love of information was limited to facts, rather than commentary on this and that. Burgess appreciated the fact that she was neither a gossip nor one of those people who spread malicious rumours. In his line of business, rumours could waste a lot of precious investigation time, sending the police down wrong paths and making often innocent people’s lives thoroughly miserable.
“Leon, I just thought you should be aware of this as I know you two are meetin
g up today. By the way, I want to give you a few dollars for when you go to the Stock Exchange.”
Nana was referring to the Crown & Anchor games. Cup Match is the only time that public gambling is allowed on the island and it takes place in a huge marquee where tables have been set up especially for the occasion. Bermudians refer to it as the “Stock Exchange” where they go to win or lose according to their luck. Nana hoped that her grandson would be able to parlay her few dollars into something a little more substantial.
“Sure, Nana, I’d be happy to. Right now, I’d love some of that coffee I smell brewing.”
“Sure, honey. Let me get this kitchen cleaned up for you too. You had a good time last night and you deserved it. You boys’ve been working way too hard and it was good to see you all having some fun. Now, that Pamela is perfect for Archie. You make sure he treats her like the lady she is… and smart too! The same goes for Jacintha. A beautiful girl, Leon. I know her uncle quite well.” Burgess had to admit that Nana was a class act. He recognized the tacit warning in that last sentence to make sure he treated Jacintha well so as not to have any negative reflection on Nana and the rest of the Burgess clan!
“Oh, you can be sure of that.” He took his coffee and headed for the shower. Nana could hear him whistling and smiled to herself. Her grandson had fallen hard for this one! She hoped that Jacintha would be everything he hoped and determined to find out as much about her as she could. Only the best would do for her Leon.
Parking was well organized at the Somerset Cricket Club and the police were very much in evidence. Detective Inspector Burgess recognized several from the uniform division and several more in plain clothes. He also saw some colleagues from narcotics who had their dogs with them. That was always a good deterrent. He knew that, all told, there were about a hundred of them keeping an eye on things and this was in addition to the security that the cricket club had hired. At the gates they went through the metal detectors, something that had become a necessity a few years before due to some youths carrying machetes inside their pant legs as well as a range of smaller knives. The recent law on carrying bladed weapons, which could instantly land you three years in jail, had cut down on a lot of this kind of behaviour. Cup Match was one event that usually went off with only minor incidents, mainly due to drinking and some dope, and for the most part was a family event with booths and stalls of food and drinks, face painting and activities for the kids.
People had already taken their seats and the game was under way. Burgess knew that he would get a beer tossed over his head if his team did not win. Archie would see to that. He hoped that this year he would have the pleasure of pouring it over Archie instead. He and Jacintha wandered around greeting friends and acquaintances and sipping their sodas in the heat. Burgess was glad he was not working at this year’s event. He had been so involved in the murders that he had been spared the duty. It had been a while since he had had the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and watch a little of the cricket. He was pleased to be seen escorting Jacintha around. He noted the approving looks of some of his friends as they appraised her. She really was a beautiful woman and totally oblivious to the effect she had on men. He found that refreshing and her lack of guile was something that he found appealing. She seemed to be so at ease in her own skin. As a companion, she was interesting, easy to talk to and a good listener. He found himself opening up to her as he never had before. People generally found him quiet and somewhat reserved until they got to know him. He liked to get the measure of a person before he became their friend and, in his line of work, he came across a lot of people out there who were all style and no substance. He was careful, therefore to choose his friends wisely and knew that some might consider him “standoffish.” He really didn’t care.
“Hey Buddy, over here!” Burgess and Jacintha turned to see Archie and Pamela sitting in the stands. Pamela was wearing a pin of light and dark blue ribbons to show she was a St. George’s fan. Fans of Somerset had dark blue and red ribbons. Some were tied on antennas of cars, others wore them pinned to their clothes or hats and still others wore the team colours to show their support. Brightly coloured umbrellas were everywhere. Many sat with straw hats, baseball caps or brightly coloured handkerchiefs tied around their heads and some of the older crowd carried small battery-operated fans. They were all prepared for the searing heat that August can produce and ready to enjoy the day.
Over in the corner of the grounds were the tents where the Crown and Anchor tables were set up. The heat inside must have been over 120 degrees. If was stifling. People were mopping themselves with hand towels and slapping on Sea Breeze cologne to cool off. The effect was only momentary but it was better than nothing. Burgess and Jacintha decided to have a flutter on behalf of Nana. After a short time they left, having lost all of Nana’s money.
“I’ll have to make up some tall story that I won and give her back her money and then some!” said Burgess.
“It’s the only way,” agreed Jacintha. “Otherwise you’ll never live it down! Come on, let’s go and get a fish sandwich or something. I’m hungry.”
They wandered around the grounds in search of a stall that sold codfish cakes just content to enjoy the fun. Even though their jobs exposed them to the ugly side of Bermuda’s society, today for once all thoughts of that were banished as they enjoyed the best of what the island had to offer. Both knew that they needed this respite from the criminal side of life otherwise they would probably end up in therapy. Jacintha, courtesy of Nana, already knew she had five more cadavers waiting for her and God only knew how many more after the weekend. She therefore intended to enjoy every moment of today in the company of this extraordinary man for whom she was developing quite an admiration – and God knew that Jacintha was not an easy woman to impress.
Chapter 24
Despite the warning about the drugs, seven more addicts had been poisoned over Cup Match. Jacintha’s biggest problem was storing the bodies and the hospital was going to have to keep some of them in a refrigerated truck. She hoped the press would not get wind of that because she was stressed enough without having to deal with the likes of Johnny McCabe and his camera crew.
Her cell phone rang and her spirits lifted as she heard Burgess’s calm greeting.
“Hi, Buddy. Yes, it’s a zoo down here. The one good thing about my job is the clients don’t complain! The administrative staff is going nuts but we’ve managed to get a refrigerated truck that we can use. Yes, the hospital’s public relations department is going to handle all of that with the families.”
Burgess could hear the anxiety in her voice. “If it’s any consolation to you, the Jamaican wants to cut a deal. Seems he’s very worried he’s going to end up very dead in Southwall and wants to get deported back to Jamaica! I am hopeful we can get some very good evidence from him.”
“That’s great news. I am so glad we had such a wonderful weekend because I have so much to do here today, I hardly know where to start.”
“I know you’re busy. I’ll let you get back to work. Maybe we can get together for dinner one evening this week?”
“I’d like that.”
“Okay, I’ll call you this evening and we can talk.”
Jacintha suddenly felt that she could cope with anything now. Detective Inspector Burgess, for his part, was having trouble focusing on the investigation. His mind kept replaying parts of the weekend in his head. The phone on his desk served to interrupt his reverie and the voice of the superintendent sent his mood into a nosedive.
“Burgess, I understand we have eleven bodies down at the morgue.”
“Yessir.”
“I have the Governor, Commissioner and Ministers of Health and Tourism all over me. We have got to get this under control asap.”
Evidently, the superintendent had already forgotten the victories of Wednesday.
“Yessir, we’re working on that right now. Our suspect is apparently willing to talk and we can perhaps find out how this drug got on to the island and
how much of it there is.”
“Well, get on it and keep me posted.”
“Yessir.” Burgess wiped his head with his handkerchief. The superintendent would be the death of him. How did such an idiot ever reach that position of power? He had renewed respect for his boss who normally had to deal with him. Since the detective chief inspector had gone off the island for cancer treatment, the task of liaising with the superintendent was now fully on Burgess’s shoulders. He put the superintendent in the same league as Williamson. Either one of them was equally capable of cold-bloodedly stabbing him in the back.
His phone rang again. It was De Souza. “We’re going over to the hospital to interview Ja’von Williamson. You want to be here?”
“Sure, I’ll be right there. Which ward? The surgical one?”
Square Snapper (Detective Inspector Burgess) Page 9