by Honey
“Where is she? Where did the man say Jay is keeping her?” Zach quizzed.
The way Roy and Orville eyed each other told Zach they knew Jill’s exact location. He couldn’t understand why they didn’t want to tell him. She was his wife, and he was responsible for her being in danger. As her husband, he had a right to know where she was. Zach trusted the police to do their job, but he didn’t trust Jay. She was an accomplished psychopathic criminal, capable of doing the unthinkable. If she felt trapped, with her back against the wall, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill Jill. Zach wanted to be there to stop her by any means.
“Roy, I don’t wanna wait for Jill at the police station. Take me to her. She needs me. I gotta be there the minute she’s found. I won’t get in the police’s way. I promise.”
“No, Zachary, we will go to the police station. The chief—”
“The chief doesn’t know Jay the way we do! We both know what my sister is capable of. She was your boss for four years. You witnessed her manipulation firsthand.” Zach turned to Orville and tried to make him understand. “This is your oldest child we’re talking about. I promised you I would take good care of her. It was a mistake leaving her here. Please help me fix it.”
“Roy, Zachary is right. We must take him to Jillian immediately,” Orville insisted.
Chapter Sixty-six
Jill heard men’s voices calling her name in the distance, from all directions. It had been twenty minutes or so since she’d first heard vehicles making their way up the winding hills. She had no idea how many men or cars there were, but she imagined that there were lots of them.
Heavy footsteps running closer to the house and barking dogs caused Jay to toss and stir in her sleep. She was sprawled out on the raggedy sofa, where she’d been for a few hours. Earlier that afternoon, she’d stumbled in the house, sloppy drunk, reeking of alcohol and cigar tobacco. In one hand she had held a half-empty bottle of Disaronno. A big red apple had been in the other. She had slurred a few curses and threats at Jill while she had led her outside to pee at gunpoint. Then she had given Jill the apple and a bottle of warm water and had watched her gulp it down. As drunk as Jay had been, she hadn’t forgotten to tape Jill’s mouth shut afterward.
The shouts and the pounding footsteps grew louder. The men had surrounded the house. Jill’s heartbeat accelerated. Her eyes fell on Jay again. She was now lying on her back, snoring loudly, with her mouth wide open. Her left arm was hanging over the edge of the sofa, and she had dropped the gun on the floor close by. Jill jumped in her seat when someone tapped on the window. She looked up and saw two police officers staring at her. The silence following that was eerie.
The first kick to the back door was loud and forceful. Jill started twisting and turning in her chair, wanting very much to break free. Jay sat straight up and looked around, confused. Another kick made her fully alert. She grabbed the gun from the floor and quickly fired off a shot into the ceiling. Dust, broken wood, and pink fiberglass fell down on Jay and Jill. The kicking stopped, and so did the shouting.
“I’ll blow her fucking brains out!” Jay yelled. She coughed several times as she ran behind Jill and held the gun to her left temple. The dust and debris that had fallen from the collapsing ceiling burned her eyes. More fell onto the floor, making a huge cloud of dust. Jay coughed more intensely. “If you bust in here, I’ll kill this bitch! Then I’ll off myself! Nobody will win!”
The tense atmosphere suddenly became quiet. It felt like an eternity to Jill. Sweat trickled down every inch of her body. The dust and debris made it hard for her to breathe. She whimpered, and tears stung her eyes when Jay tugged on a fistful of her curly Afro.
“Get ready to die, you selfish, ungrateful bitch. I’ll put a bullet through your skull before I let them take you from me. We’re gonna die right here together. You and me, Jay and Jill, ride or die, just like old times.”
A second later Jill saw four policemen through the front window. Another group had gathered on the side of the house. She could see them through a cracked side window. Jay paid no attention to the activity outside. Her face was buried in the crook of Jill’s neck.
“We’re going to hell, and it’s your fault. You and Zach disrespected me! Now you gotta die.”
The scene outside the shanty in the hills became busier as more police officers arrived. Chief Bess was in command. He was adamant that no deadly force would be used against Jay unless it was absolutely unnecessary. The FBI had requested that she be apprehended alive. Agent Wooten was en route to Jamaica, hoping to take Jay back to the States. The most experienced marksman on Kingston’s police force had a clear shot at Jay from his position outside the cracked side window. All he needed was the official order from Chief Bess to take her out.
Down the hill, Zach had grown tired and frustrated with the chief’s passiveness. The small structure, which he’d described as a shack, should’ve been infiltrated by the officers hours ago. He, Roy, and Orville had been obedient and had stayed at the bottom of the hill, many yards away from the scene. A crowd of nosy natives had joined them.
“I’m about to go up there and get Jill! What the hell are they waiting for, huh?” Zach faced Roy and Orville, having asked them the same question repeatedly over the past hour and a half. “Why can’t they shoot Jay and rush in to get Jill? How hard is that?” Zach started up the hill, his hand in the waistband of his jeans.
Roy pulled him back and restrained him. “No, Zachary, you mustn’t interfere with the police. They’re the trained ones. Let them do their job. Be patient, my friend.”
Zach snatched away from him. He looked up at the sky, at the dark clouds that were forming. The sun was still shining, but not as brightly as it had been earlier. There was a hint of fresh rain in the air.
“The rain is coming,” Orville said, looking up as well. “It is a good sign.”
“How so?” Zach asked and moved closer to his father-in-law.
“Whenever we are on the sea, the first sign of rain tells us it is time to head for safe cover. No matter what we are doing or how well we are doing it, the dark rain clouds are our sign to end our tasks and practice safety. For twenty-one years now, I have made voyages for the same company. The ship has changed, and many of my shipmates have come and gone, but one thing has not changed. The sign of rain is still a good sign. Let us wait now, eh? My daughter . . . your wife will return to us safely today. The rain says so.”
Suddenly, two officers ran toward the back of the house. Zach, Orville, and Roy walked closer toward the scene.
“What’s going on, y’all? Can either of you tell?” Zach called when they were several yards from the two officers.
“No,” they answered in unison.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Drops of cool rain fell from the sky. The crowd of spectators began to disperse, but many stayed. More officers ran to the back of the house. Without warning, Zach sprinted the rest of the way up the hill, heading in Chief Bess’s direction. Neither Roy nor Orville could run fast enough to catch him.
“What’s happening, Chief?” Zach was breathless from running.
The man in charge turned toward the voice. “Mr. King, you shouldn’t be this close to the official scene of an ongoing police operation. Please, sir, go back where you were, and wait for us to complete our work here. Your wife will be brought to safety soon.”
Zach shook his head as the downpour increased in intensity, limiting his visibility. “I’m not leaving. I won’t get in your way, but I’m not going back down that hill without Jill.”
“Very well, Mr. King. If you insist on staying, please consider yourself advised that neither the city of Kingston nor I am responsible for your well-being. You’re in the middle of an official ongoing police operation without my consent. You could very well get hurt. Your sister is armed and dangerous.”
“Hell, I’m packing and on the edge too,” Zach wanted to say, but he held it back. He fingered the outline
of his gun and leaned against one of the police vehicles parked at the top of the hill. He looked down the hill and saw Roy and Orville watching him anxiously. Zach turned his back, dismissing them.
Chapter Sixty-seven
By nightfall, Jill was hungry and had a full bladder. With the tape over her mouth, she couldn’t tell Jay anything. It wasn’t like Jay gave a damn anyway. Aside from the rain falling inside the house through the collapsing ceiling, there was calmness all around. The hushed voices of the policemen and their bright flashlights assured Jill that her rescue was still in the making. Jay had guzzled down the rest of the Disaronno, but she wasn’t drunk. The liquor had stimulated her instead. She was wired up.
Jay got up and turned the radio on. It filled the small house with static and reggae music. She searched the pockets on several pairs of pants piled high over the back of a folding chair. The gun remained secure in her right hand. Jay smiled at the half-smoked cigar she found, like it was a pot of gold. She lit it in a hurry and blew the smoke in Jill’s direction.
“Are you ready to die? You know that’s the only way we’re leaving here. If we were in Atlanta, I’d be dead by now. Hell, you probably would be too. The ATL SWAT team would’ve stormed this little house and blown my damn head off a long time ago. Those motherfucking Barney Fife, cartoon cops ain’t gonna do shit. I’ll bet my last cigar they ain’t got no bullets in those guns.” Jay walked over and peeked out the front window cautiously. “So you ready to go to hell with me? All my wicked deeds are out there. Shit, I’ve done it all and then some.”
Jay pointed the gun at Jill. “But you, you’re a sneaky and slick one. We thought you were naïve and innocent, but you fooled us. You seduced my brother in my penthouse and fucked him behind my back. Then you left your family and homeland to follow me to Atlanta so you could finish what you started. You’re a deceitful little bitch. You’re ungrateful too.” Jay waved the gun carelessly in the air and walked over to Jill. “I was good to you, damn it!”
Jay was unraveling, slipping further and further away from sanity. Her countenance had hardened to that of a deranged person on the verge of murder. The louder she cursed and screamed, the more afraid Jill became. She closed her eyes and envisioned Zachary Junior and Zach. What happy memories she could recall of Nahima floated through her mind. Her parents, her brothers, and Angelina appeared one by one. Would she ever see them or touch them again? The cool muzzle of the gun brushed against the side of Jill’s face. She held her breath and waited for her life to end. Jay yelled wildly and yanked her hair.
“You, Wallace, Venus, and Zach ruined my damn life! I never had a fair chance,” Jay cried. “Why did y’all screw me over? I needed someone to love me!”
Jay pressed the muzzle of the gun against Jill’s temple with an unsteady hand. Jill whimpered and closed her eyes once again, preparing for the darkness of death to take her away. Into the night, piercing the quietness of the hillside, the blast from the gun made time stand still.
Orville fell to his knees and dropped his face to the ground when a second shot was fired. Roy kneeled and wrapped his arm around him as sobs racked the weary sailor’s body. Zach shouted Jill’s name repeatedly above the police activity and the heavy rainfall. He was surrounded by several officers, who were struggling to hold him in place. He fought them off and attempted to run to the side of the house, after Chief Bess. They restrained him.
“Get off me! Get off me!” Zach demanded, his voice at a much higher pitch than normal. “Jill!”
An ambulance’s siren blared, and the sound grew louder as it sped up the hill. The small crowd of spectators pointed the driver in the direction of the house. Roy pulled Orville to his feet and guided him up the hill to where Zach stood, crying silently. Father and son-in-law embraced. Their tears fell freely down their faces. Roy wept also but kept a watchful eye on his friends. His attention was divided between them and the paramedics who were rushing toward the house with a stretcher and medical equipment.
“I need to see her,” Zach whispered. “I need to see Jill. It doesn’t matter if she’s dead. I gotta see her.” He tried to break away from the group.
Roy placed his hands forcefully on both Zach’s shoulders, prohibiting his movement. “No. Zachary, let the professionals tend to Jill, and give the police time to assess the situation.”
Zach nodded and wiped his face with both hands. “This is the worst day of my life. None of this should’ve happened. I will never forgive myself for leaving her behind.”
“Zachary! Zachary! Where are you? Zachary! I’m okay!”
Zach adjusted his eyes in the steady drizzle of rain. They sought out the source of the familiar voice. Coming toward him was a tall officer, who was carrying Jill in his muscular arms. Chief Bess was behind them, smiling.
“Jill? You’re alive!” Zach ran to his wife.
Orville fell to his knees once again, but this time he cried, thanking God for sparing his daughter’s life. Roy breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the rainy, dark sky. He laughed from deep within as the raindrops continued to fall, mixing with his tears.
* * *
“I will not postpone the recital, Zachary. My students have worked too hard. They’re prepared. The show must go on.”
Zach hadn’t left Jill’s side since she arrived at the Johnson Medical Center. He had watched the nurses and staff check her from head to toe until the doctor arrived. Zach was there when Dr. Johnson repaired the cut above her right elbow with fifteen stitches. The shattered glass from the marksman’s first shot through the window had sliced her flesh pretty good.
“Let her dance, Mr. King. I insist. The entire island has been looking forward to the dance recital for weeks. As her doctor, I don’t want her fans to blame me for the cancellation. And as a financial sponsor of the event, I demand to see a show tomorrow night. Mrs. King, you have medical clearance to dance, dear heart,” Dr. Johnson said, smiling. He left the treatment room.
Zach looked around. Jill, Orville, and Roy were waiting for his answer. “Okay, there’ll be a show tomorrow evening, and you can dance. But you’ve gotta take it easy. You need to rest tonight, but first, I want you to eat and drink a lot of fluids.”
“I want to see my son.”
“Zachary Junior is with your mother. I just spoke with her. That little dude is wide awake and noisy. He’s a smart kid. He knew something was wrong. Let him stay with your parents at the hotel. You are going with me to the Blue Lagoon so I can take care of you. Get dressed. We’ll wait for you outside.”
Roy and Orville followed Zach into the hallway, while Jill changed from her hospital gown into a red sundress. Faye had sent it to the clinic by way of a few police officers. Chief Bess, Agent Wooten, and two other FBI agents approached the three men.
“Mr. King, gentlemen,” the chief greeted them. “Mr. King, we need to speak with you privately if we may, sir.”
Roy and Orville walked away and took seats in the waiting area down the hall.
“Your sister asked for you before she was taken to surgery,” Chief Bess informed Zach. “She was shot in her right hand seconds before she attempted to kill your wife. It’s a very serious wound, Mr. King. She won’t die, but she has lost two of her fingers. The other bullet struck her in her left leg when she tried to escape through the back door.”
“Is Jay here at this clinic?”
“Oh no, sir. She’s at Kingston Public Hospital. I’m sure she’s in surgery as we speak. We can have an officer take you to her if you’d like.”
“Hell nah. I don’t wanna see Jay. Tell her that. I never wanna see her again. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a sister. She’s dead to me. Give Jay that message for me, okay?” Zach turned and retraced his steps to Jill’s treatment room.
Chapter Sixty-eight
Mamie, Leo’s friend, tapped softly on Nina’s door before she opened it. She smiled at her sleeping border and turned to Leo, who was standing in the hallway. “She’s resting, but I’m sure she’ll
want to see you. I’ll wake her.” Mamie entered the room and approached the bed. She shook Nina gently. “Ma’am, you have a visitor. Wake up, my dear.” Mamie nudged her gently once more.
Nina stirred and opened her eyes slowly. “What time is it?”
“Ah, at last you are awake,” Mamie said. “It’s half past ten at night. You slept a long time. There is someone here to visit you. Let me get him for you.”
Seconds after Mamie exited the room, in walked Leo, holding a baseball cap in his hand. He looked around the space, where a single candle on a table flickered. “How are ya, Nina?”
Nina sat up, yawning, and stretched her arms above her head. “I’m fine. This is a nice place, and Mamie is a great hostess. How much longer will I have to stay here?”
Leo sat at the foot of the bed. “I am not sure yet. The police are wanderin’ about the hillside, askin’ folks lots of questions about yer friend. She is alive, ya know? A sharpshooter shot two of her fingers clean off! Then he put another bullet in her leg. The dancer is safe, though. All thanks to God.”
“I’m so glad Jill is okay. I was afraid Jay would do something terrible to that poor girl. She’s such an evil person. She’s crazy too.”
“Yet she was yer friend.”
“Jay was never really my friend. She didn’t care about me. I’ve been reflecting on our relationship ever since I found Jill in that hellhole we were staying in. No friend would’ve dragged another into this bullshit. If Jay truly loved me, why was it so important for her to get revenge on her ex-lover?”
“Leo has no idea, my dear.”
“Why couldn’t she forget about her and be happy with me?” Nina paused as tears filled her eyes. “I left everything in Atlanta to come here and live like a cave woman with Jay. Now I have nothing and nowhere to go. She ain’t going down by herself. Believe me. Jay will tell the police and whoever else will listen that I came to Jamaica with her. They’re gonna hunt me down like a dog. And when they find me, they’re gonna send me back to America, and I’ll rot in prison.”