Caribbean Rage

by Clington Quamie

  ‘ Usually, strong motion instruments are deployed in urban areas which may be at greater risk because of higher concentrations of people, the location of important structures such as schools, hospitals, major commercial buildings and government offices.

  This network will provide a better understanding of how the ground responds to strong earthquakes and this information can be used to create appropriate building codes and land use policies and measures that will reduce the effects of earthquakes on the island.’

  Kaila paused to take a short breath but was in time to motion Marielli to shut up; she was about to open her mouth to say something about Godknowswhat to the radio announcer. It would have certainly interrupted the interview.

  ‘ Strong motion networks, however, take earthquake monitoring a step further by providing information on how intensely the ground may shake within a particular area for earthquakes above a certain magnitude. This information can then be used by engineers to design or retrofit buildings to withstand earthquakes within these communities.’ Kaila’s mind travelled across to Shirley Heights where Robert had accompanied two tourists. A relaxing chill crawled up her intestine as she reminisced their first romantic night at the mountain top. Her faced immediately became flushed as she perpetuated the interview.

  Ten ……………

  Inspector Daniel Cooper closely inspected the dead body alongside the Bolans highway. There was a bullet wound to the corpse’s head. His eyes gaped out of their sockets with a dead expression of shock.

  An ambulance arrived at the same time. Its multi-colored flashing lights brought about an unusual flare to the usually dark village. The disquieting siren combined with those of the line of police cars to sound a serious warning to approaching vehicles on either side of the highway.

  Half an hour earlier, Inspector Cooper was poised in bed watching a game of basketball between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs when the disturbing news reached him. Multiple gunshots had been fired outside Diamond-Ice’s building.

  Cooper hadn’t wasted time to assemble and deploy a team of officers on the scene. By the time they got there, they were informed by witnesses that the perpetrator was driving a black Mercedes and had taken off after two men in a Sedan Buick. A few minutes later, more information reached him about a series of accidents that were in progress on a crossroad near town. Cooper and his team went on the chase straightaway. He detested the stigma that was attached to cops about their tardiness on crime scenes. By the time they got to the crossroad, they were greeted with a nexus of traffic collisions.

  Cooper and his team were again briefed on the direction the perpetrator and his prey had taken off to. The police cars took a quick diversion that landed them on valley road. From there on they headed in the direction that led towards Jolly Harbour. It wasn’t much longer that one of Cooper’s officers spotted the dead body along the Bolans’ highway. The lifeless body was identified as that of an infamous exconvict called Smallmoney. He was a man with many enemies and in Cooper’s estimation his death could have easily occurred as a result of a deal gone wrong. Neither the Mercedes nor the Buick was anywhere in sight but Inspector Cooper was determined to launch a thorough investigation into Smallmoney’s murder.

  Despite his infamy, Cooper never supported the idea of anyone taking the law into their own hands. Two men from the ambulance loaded the cadaver onto a stretcher then into the ambulance. Villagers swarmed the area in little time. A few news reporters arrived on the scene just as Cooper was about to leave; his night was beginning to turn into a nightmare.

  Eleven ……………

  Four a.m. raced ahead of midnight. Baptist crouched low in the Buick driver’s seat as he cruised alongside DiamondIce nightclub. He switched off the headlights completely. The electrifying atmosphere simmered down to a degree that not even a stray dog could be spotted in the area. The serrated silhouette deafening audibly against his chest. He took a few circumspect glances around the area. There wasn’t a trace of vehicles in the Car Park.

  Baptist quickly recollected the dreadful night’s events. He drove pass the exact spot where the first gunshot had been fired at the man who had dragged him into the unexpected impasse. His heart started pounding faster and harder against his chest. The man in black could be anywhere at any moment. Baptist had become his new target. He had never crossed paths with the man or any of his associates but he had unintentionally seen his face and that was enough grounds to want him dead.

  Without a doubt, Baptist knew that his life had taken a turn for the worst. Things were never going to be normal again. He hated Smallmoney for getting him involved but there was nothing he could do; Smallmoney was as good as dead. Baptist thought of the one thing that would give him the courage to not flee the island the very morning. Two millions dollars was neatly packed away somewhere in Smallmoney’s Land Cruiser. There was an immediate problem though; the Land Cruiser was gone.

  A sudden fictitious image of Little Kevin’s dead body sprawled in the Land Cruiser began to occupy his mind. The poor guy must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time he thought. Baptist wondered if the police had already of an assortment of silence that caused buildings accompanied a

  Baptist’s heart to pound impounded the Land Cruiser for further investigations. He knew he had to get to it before dawn because the officers were going to rip it to shreds first thing in the morning. Baptist knew exactly where the impound lot was located and who was going to help him get through to the Land Cruiser. He paused for a brief moment to think of Shakira. He didn’t want to involve her in the predicament he’d found himself. He had the option to sacrifice their relationship for her own safety but images of her silky naked body coiled underneath a warm blanket on his boat mind-boggled him. He dipped into the accelerator and brought the Buick’s engine back to life still keeping the headlamps off. He had done a good enough job to evade the police earlier and he wasn’t going to blow that now. The man in black had gotten a narrow escape into Bolans village and Baptist had since lost him.

  Baptist swung the Buick into an intersection that landed him on Market Street. He was now in proximity to the harbour where his sweetheart awaited him on his boat. He gaped nervously in every direction hoping the man in black wasn’t going to jump out of the creepy darkness.

  The familiar sound of sea water connecting with the wharf made Baptist feel at home again. He retired the Buick between two dilapidated boats at the back of the fish market. It was now clearly out of sight. He then snatched the brown envelope on the passenger’s seat and started towards the fishing boat.

  The relatively sizable boat swayed from side to side as the gently waves crashed into it. It struck Baptist as odd that the boat was in total darkness.

  Shakira had always scorned him for putting out all the lights whenever she decided to sleep over. He scanned his surrounding again then carefully mounted the deck. Baptist couldn’t get his mind off Shakira. He had a very rough night and she had chosen the perfect night to sleep over. He produced a small key from his jeans pocket and unlocked the cockpit’s door. With the hatchway still unlit, Baptist cautiously descended a few flights of steps that led to the boat’s cabin. He then turned on the switch half expecting Shakira to be awake and nude. The bed was neatly made but Shakira was nowhere in sight.

  ‘ That conniving Bitch!!!’ Baptist sighed loudly. He reached for the curtain that hung loosely over the cabin’s window. It usually kept the boat darkened from outside. His anger grew with every thought of Shakira. She didn’t even have the gumption to send him a message to say she was leaving.

  Baptist threw himself on the comfortably kempt bed. He reached inside the already opened envelope and started to unfold a document that resembled a certificate of some type. The document was folded in eight pieces and was embalmed in a plastic material. His jaw dropped and froze like an immovable metal door as the sacrosanct information contained in the document began to unfold.

  ‘ What the fuck did I get myself into?’ It wa
s then Baptist understood the true mess Smallmoney had gotten him into. He began to embrace the idea of fleeing the island as did Smallmoney earlier but the information he witnessed could change his life and that of his family for generations. The two million dollars in the Land Cruiser also circulated his mind. None of it was his but it was worth taking a chance; already it was too late to get out.

  Baptist didn’t expect the man in black to be after him alone. More people were going to come looking for him now. In Baptist estimation, whosoever the madman in black worked for would care less for the two million dollars as long as the enveloped was repossessed.

  He folded the document back to its original form and replaced it neatly in the envelope. A sudden heaviness overwhelmed him. He was all alone and in big trouble. An ugly fate awaited him. The reflection from the light in the roof bounced off Baptist smart phone and dazzled him. He spontaneously reached for it. It was only then he realized the phone was turned off all along.

  When he switched it on, a range of unexpected messages flooded the screen. He read the first one from Shakira.

  ‘Hey babe…I’m here all alone…exactly as you left me…please come to me.’ 10:45 p.m. Baptist proceeded to the second message.

  ‘Babe….where are you. I’m here waiting for more than three hours

  now.’ 12:47 a.m. Branding her as a bitch earlier caused him to question his actions. Here she was craving his return while on the other hand he thought the worst of her. Baptist relaxed to take in the third message. He had a clairvoyance that Shakira’s next texted message was going to change from sweet to bombastic. A voice message surfaced instead.

  ‘Baptist, please meet me at the boat…ASAP.’ 3:10 a.m. It was a message from Baptist younger brother, John. He had chosen a life that went from crack-cocaine addiction to rehabilitation and it was always Baptist who had to cushion his downfalls. John’s message was sent from an unidentified number. He never carried a phone of his own. Baptist wondered what could have befallen his brother at that time of the morning. He checked his time piece. It was 4:48 a.m. His brother had contacted him a little over an hour and a half but hadn’t bothered to wait. Another message from Shakira popped up on the screen. It displayed an incoherent pattern of letters and numbers from a person unconsciously touching a phone’s keypad. Baptist wished she was still here. For whatever reason, she had left without texting a final message about her going away. He stopped to think and realized he wouldn’t have gotten her message in time because his phone had been off. He wondered whether she’d gone home and how she’d gotten there. Baptist tried to brush the thought of Shakira aside. He had more pressing matters at hand. He clutched the envelope and climbed into the cockpit. He then unlatched the cockpit’s door and descended onto the deck. The cool morning sea breeze tucked his shirt firmly against his body. He started towards the stern then stopped short to embrace the boat’s railing. There was only one star left hanging in the vast emptiness of the universe. It is often said that the planet Venus was nicknamed the bright morning star and could best be spotted between 4a.m. and 5a.m. Baptist took in all of it and his neck was locked upwards as if awaiting answers to questions he didn’t quite understand. He had received a single phone call that led to a chain of menacing events he’d never seen coming. Everything happened so fast. He momentarily shifted glances from skyward to the stern of the boat; it was then he saw it. An outstretched figure lay face up at the furthest point on the right side of the stern. Baptist rushed in its direction. John’s mangled body splayed lifelessly in a large puddle of blood. Baptist stooped and inspected the body. John had met his end in the most horrifying way. Three fingers were missing on his left hand. One eye was plucked out of the socket and there were multiple stab wounds to his chest.

  ‘ Holy shit!!!’ Baptist eyes widened. Without second thoughts, he knew the man in black had been on the boat. The message his brother had left earlier was a complete setup. A crushing wave of dread settled in. His mind started racing. Fuck!!! What didhedotoShakira? Baptist feared the madman was still on the boat. An intense downpour came from nowhere. At the same time, a shadow moved swiftly on the other side of the stern. Baptist got to his feet. A gunshot exploded behind him. He dove for cover crashing his shoulder into a metal pole. A dark figure was approaching quickly from behind him. Another shot went off but Baptist was already over the railing and into the calm sea water. While in the water, he managed an adrenergic somersault that landed him beneath the boat’s keel. The density of the saline water drowned another gunshot. With the envelope firmly glued between his teeth, Baptist held his breath under water. He surfaced underneath the wharf completely eluding the man in black. Baptist mimicked the swimming action of a desperate dog without making any spattering noises. He slithered quietly underneath the quay towards dry land. A goniochromismic combination of clouds peeled through the fading darkness. Dawn was rapidly drawing near.

  ****

  The Shadow moved swiftly across the ship’s deck. It was the second time in twenty four hours the big fellow had escaped him. He didn’t know the guy’s name but he had seen him around a few times. He rummaged through a wallet that had fallen off the big man. There were a few loose dollars bills inside. The photo of a blonde woman occupied the entire front compartment of the wallet. She was young, breathtaking, and full of life.

  ‘ I know that bitch! A sudden surge of excitement enveloped him. The Shadow recognized her as the premier bartender of a fancy restaurant and bar in Jolly Harbour. There was no need to continue pursuing the big man. The blonde was an easy target and he was going to use her as a gateway to finding him. He leapt over the deck and onto the jetty before disappearing into the breaking of dawn. He had one last mission to complete before the rising of the sun.

  Twelve ……………

  The conventional clock gave off a piercing reverberation that jolted Shakira out of her early morning slumber. She glanced admiringly at the male figure next to her. He wasn’t as big as her lover but was much more chiseled. 5:00 A.M. came sooner than she wanted but whether she liked it or not, her time had come to leave.

  Earlier in the evening, Shakira was comfortably awaiting Baptist’s return when an alarming message from her exboyfriend popped up on her smart phone.

  ‘Shakira…please meet me at you know where…S.B & D.U! ’ 11:51 p.m They’d developed a series of abbreviated codes in the past to communicate precarious situations. S.B meant Strictly Business and D.U. was their code for Desperately Urgent. Since their separation, Shakira’s ex had bombarded her with a nexus of phone calls and messages in a desperate attempt to reel her back into his life. Never had he used any of their secret codes.

  Shakira dismissed the latest message as a last desperate attempt on his part to allure her into joining him at a secret location they both enjoyed in the past; that was all over now. She hadn’t responded straightaway but three idling hours of awaiting Baptist’s return had given her enough time to examine the gravity of her ex’s message. She forwarded him a message and told him exactly where to pick her up. Shakira had promised herself to stick to the S.B. code but one thing had led to another and here she was completely stripped in Little Kevin’s bed. Baptist would kill her if he’d found out. Shakira was to get home before sunrise but she was offered a compelling deal that inadvertently rearranged her day’s plan.

  In the wee hours of the morning, Shakira debarked her lover’s boat and walked across to Market Street where she was picked up by Little Kevin in a Land Cruiser. On entering, her first impression was one of uneasiness. Little Kevin had the tendency to be involved in business that usually landed danger to his shores but it was the first time she had seen him so unsettled.

  ‘Thanks for showing up.’ there was an earnest echo of exigency in Little Kevin’s voice. The Land Cruiser’s windscreen was cracked with a bullet hole.

  ‘There is something important I need you to do for me.’ Little Kevin had driven off in a hurry.

  There was a bludgeoned silence between them until he sud
denly killed the engine in a garage next to his little bungalow in Fitches Creek. Little Kevin got off the vehicle as soon as it stopped. He shut the garage door inwards before switching on the lights.

  A sinister thought occupied Shakira. Did he bring me here to kill me? Little Kevin had told her in the past that if he couldn’t have her then no one else would. She had chosen to follow him to his comfy yet remote destination without hinting anyone else. No one would ever figure out the cause of her disappearance if harm was to befall her. Her heart began pounding out of control.

  She started to wonder whether she had made the right decision to follow him to his place. Whatever the outcome was going to be, it was already too late; she was already there.

  ‘Please follow me; there’s something I need to show you.’ Little Kevin hauled the Land Cruiser’s backdoor upwards. He folded the rearmost seats then unwrapped the cargo liner to reveal a deep compartment inside the trunk. He reached inside and produced a dark green crumpler backpack. Little Kevin laid the bag flat on the garage’s floor and unzipped it. The unexpected sighting of two million dollars neatly packed away in the green sac dispelled Shakira’s apprehension altogether.

  ‘A quarter of this could be yours if you help me…’ he had

  told her earnestly.

  Shakira crawled quietly over Little Kevin’s naked body to avoid awakening him. The blaring alarm did nothing to awake him. He snored profusely. Little Kevin had walked her through the events that led to his possession of the large sum of money. She had had sex with him more out of pity than sexual feelings for him but he had hardly lasted five minutes. He must have really been tired or was it really that? She had always heard that a man who was too eager to be inside a woman wasn’t going to last a minute.