Donald and Catherine Martin sat down beside each other in the five-seater leather sofa. Mr. Martin’s low curly hair was completely grey, as was his very full moustache, and his long face and limbs gave him the appearance of being very tall, although he was less than six feet tall. Mrs. Martin was almost the same height as her husband, but appeared much taller, probably because of her bolt-straight back. Her thick jet-black hair combed into one, completing the persona of an old-style headmistress or matron. After serving them a drink, Jenny sat beside them, while Kenneth sat opposite them in his leather chair that had been moved from the patio into the living room. Despite the late hour, Sean was still there, and as was customary, he was sitting on the carpeted floor, with his back resting against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him and his track shoes resting beside him. His left big toe stuck out through a hole in his bobby socks. Lisa had left to take their son, Andy, home to bed, and the only other person still in attendance from the evening lyme was Marshall, who was standing in the open archway that led to the dining room. When Kenneth first met Marshall in high school his greeting was,
‘Mi nah look no friend.’ He ran his long dark fingers through his short uncombed afro.
Kenneth matched the intensity of his screw face, ‘Nuh problem.’
Marshall glared into Kenneth’s green eyes, before giving him a simple nod and strolling away. That was eighteen years ago. No one really understood their relationship dynamic back then. No one really understood it now, but no one questioned their loyalty to each other.
Kenneth grimaced as he slowly leaned forward in his chair. ‘Mr. and Mrs. Martin, I thought it best if we talked face-to-face, instead of over the phone. Why did you call me?’
Mr. Martin sighed. Mrs. Martin took her husband’s hand and softly patted it. ‘I, we were hoping …’ He stopped and took a deep breath. He looked at his wife. Mrs. Martin returned his look, and squeezed his hand. Mrs. Martin turned to Kenneth.
‘This is extremely difficult for us. Our daughter Janet has not been seen for the last three days.’ Her voice was steady, firm, and almost stern.
‘Have you spoken to the police?’ Kenneth asked.
Mr. Martin gently cleared his throat, ‘We …’ He hesitated, looked to his wife and then continued, ‘we believe they may be involved.’
‘Oh?’ Kenneth said.
‘What evidence do you have of that?’ Sean asked.
‘Well …’ Mr. Martin started.
‘Hold on.’ Kenneth held up an arm. He leaned further forward in his chair. ‘We are getting ahead of ourselves. First tell us what happened.’
Mr. Martin explained how the family had taken a short break at a hotel with some friends. It was something they did every once in a while, like many other Jamaicans. A beach is no more than thirty minutes drive from most parts of the Corporate Area of Kingston and Saint Andrew, while the closest of the famous tourist resort areas is no more than ninety minutes drive away, and a long weekend is always a favourite time to chill out at a nice hotel. Mr. Martin related his last conversation with Janet. She never came back down to the poolside after leaving them to clean a wine stain from her dress.
‘It’s my fault,’ Mrs. Martin blurted out, catching everyone by surprise. ‘I should never have insisted that she go and clean out the wine stain. If she had stayed with us, she would still be here with us.’ Her voice trembled and she struggled with the words. Mr. Martin hugged her, his long arm extending around her shoulder.
‘Catherine, you don’t know that, so please stop tormenting yourself.’
‘Mrs. Martin. All we can do now is focus on the positives,’ Kenneth offered.
‘So you said Janet is eighteen?’ Sean asked.
‘Yes.’
‘And you’re sure she hasn’t gone off with some young man?’
Mr. Martin’s soft eyes showed a glint of anger, and Mrs. Martin stiffened and glared at Sean. ‘Young man! Our daughter is not a Bogayagga.’
‘I’m sorry, Ma’am. I didn’t mean to …’
‘Yes you did,’ Mrs. Martin cut Sean off. She paused and took a deep breath. ‘But it is OK. Although we are old we are not naive. We know the temptations out there for young people today. We had Janet when we were almost beyond my childbearing years.’ She smiled at Sean. ‘But we were young once too.’ She looked lovingly at Mr. Martin.
‘Look, we want to be completely honest with you, Janet is young at heart. Very much so,’ Mr. Martin said
‘You mean she’s a retard?’ Marshall asked.
‘No, no. She is a straight “A” student, but …’ Mr. Martin looked at his wife, searching her face. ‘I’m struggling to find the words that best describe her. Some would say she is naive. She sees the best in everything and everyone. She rarely sees the bad side. She loves life, and its beauty to the fullest.’
‘So she wore …’ Marshall stopped. ‘I’m sorry. She wears rose pink glasses.’
Mr. Martin responded quickly, without acknowledging the slip by Marshall, ‘I guess that is one way of saying it. We have protected her, because we strongly believe that her disposition is a gift, not a hindrance. As children, this is how we all saw the world …’
‘Yes, but we all have to grow up,’ Marshall interrupted.
‘Indeed, but then we hate instead of love, and as a result there is more grief instead of laughter.’
‘That’s the reality of life,’ Marshall chirped.
‘Yes, unfortunately, but I tell you the truth,’ Mr. Martin’s voice rose in volume, ‘unless you change and become like a little child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’
Marshall involuntarily took a step back and rubbed his short beard. No one spoke.
After a pause Mr. Martin continued. ‘It’s a message we have come to understand because of Janet. That is why we have protected her. We have tried to allow her to grow up in her own time. She always brings laughter to a room, lifts hearts, helping people to see light in the gloom. She …’ Mr. Martin’s voice trailed away.
‘So this brings us full circle, why are you here?’ asked Kenneth, breaking the silence.
Mr. Martin looked at Kenneth. His eyes welled up and he said softly, ‘We have nowhere else to go.’
The sound of a chirping cricket drifted into the room on the cool and gentle breeze, through the open glass louvres on either side of the bay windows that fronted the living room. ‘Why do you say the police are involved?’ Sean asked, as he wiped his eyes.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin looked at each other. ‘To be honest, we don’t know that to be true,’ Mr. Martin offered, ‘but the investigation just doesn’t feel right.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘An officer promptly came by the hotel and took our statement. He was a nice young man. He radioed the station while he was with us, and said someone would be over very soon to look at the room and look for any clues. We waited for the rest of the night and no one came by. We called the station and they said the officer had taken ill and would not be back at work this week. We asked what was happening with the investigation and they said it would have to wait until the officer was back at work. We asked if his report had been submitted and acted upon, and we were told that that information could not be shared with us. We called the Commissioner’s office and they said they could not interfere in a local investigation at such an early stage. We can’t wait until next week to find out if something is being done to find Janet.’
‘Why do you think I can help?’ Kenneth asked.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin exchanged brief looks.
‘We,’ they looked down at their laps in unison. ‘We have heard about your past.’ Mr. Martin offered, his voice noticeably lower in volume.
‘Our Pastor suggested that we call you,’ Mrs. Martin added quickly. They did not look up at Kenneth. ‘He said you have the ability to fix things.’
‘You know I wouldn’t normally ask, but I won’t be able to do anything for a few days until I am a hundred percent. I’m only asking her to use her connections to make some inquiries. Nothing more.’
Marshall rubbed his chin for a while, and then nodded, ‘OK. I’ll ask her. She’ll do anything to make an impression with you and Jenny.’
‘I hope she doesn’t think that she has to impress us?’ Kenneth countered.
‘Come on, Kenneth. Really?’
‘What?’ Kenneth looked at Jenny for support.
‘You can be exacting,’ Jenny said. Turning to Marshall, she smiled. ‘Marshall, you know that any friend of yours is a friend of ours.’
Marshall got up and kissed Jenny on the cheek. ‘You have a big heart. That’s why we all love you.’ He headed for the front door. ‘We’ll be in touch,’ he shouted as he closed the door.