‘Is that really you baby?’
‘Yes Mom, it’s me.’ Janet was crying, laughing and trying to talk to her mother and father at the same time.
‘How are you, Janet?’ Mr. Martin asked. ‘Did they hurt you … in any way?’ The concern in his voice came across the phone line loud and clear.
‘No Dad. Not in the way you are thinking.’
‘So what did they want? Why did they take you?’ Mr. Martin pressed.
‘That’s what I intend to talk to Mr. Johnson about. He said it is better if I don’t tell you too much.’
‘When are you coming home?’ Mrs. Martin asked.
‘I guess I’ll be on the next flight home,’ Janet said, looking inquiringly over at Kenneth, who was in deep discussion with Jenny, Marshall and Kathy. Kenneth looked over to Janet and motioned for her to give him the phone.
‘Mr. and Mrs. Martin, this is Kenneth.’
‘Hello Mr. Johnson. Thank you so much for getting back our Janet,’ Mrs. Martin responded.
‘You’re very welcome. It’s ironic that we found her when we weren’t looking.’
‘We have been praying incessantly and feverishly…’ Mr. Martin said. A phone rang in the background, and there was a pause on the line.
‘… And the Lord has answered our prayers,’ Mrs. Martin chimed in.
‘Excuse me Mr. Johnson, while I answer my cell phone,’ Mr. Martin interjected.
‘So when are we going to see Janet?’ Mrs. Johnson asked.
‘We have been talking about that …’
‘Hello. Hello,’ Mr. Martin interrupted excitedly.
Kenneth paused, because he was confused by the sudden intrusion.
‘Sorry, Mr. Johnson?’ Mr. Martin called.
‘Yes?’
‘It’s Donald Martin again. That was the police. An Inspector Albert. Good news! He said he has some news for us about the case, so he said he is coming over in the next thirty minutes to speak with us.’
‘Hold on. Busha George just called you?’ Kenneth asked in surprise.
‘Yes. He said …’
‘Leave the house now!’ Kenneth said urgently.
‘What?’
‘Leave the house now. No, hold on, let me think for a moment.’
‘Mr. Johnson, this is …’ Mr. Martin said.
‘Please! Can I have some silence for a moment, I need to think.’
‘Mr. Johnson, you are very rude, and I would ask that …’
Kenneth handed the phone to Jenny and walked away, pacing the full length of the living room.
Jenny put the phone to her ear.
‘… to be on the next flight. Do you hear me?’ Mr. Martin was saying firmly.
‘Hello,’ Janet said in the handset.
‘Hello?’ A confused Mr. Martin responded.
‘I’m sorry Mr. Martin. Kenneth gave me the phone while he thinks through the problem,’ Janet said.
‘What problem? We have our Janet back. We are not interested in any other problems.’ Mr. Martin’s voice was beginning to rise in volume.
‘To be honest, I don’t know. But I do know that Kenneth is not usually wrong when it comes to these things.’
‘Young lady, we greatly appreciate all your help, but I think we would very much like to put an end to this matter now.’
‘I’m sorry, I …’
Kenneth grabbed the phone from Jenny, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Martin, I am going to ask you to follow my instructions to the letter. This is very important, and you don’t have much time.’
‘No, no Sean. Listen to me,’ Kenneth said agitatedly into the phone. ‘You have to fly out of MoBay instead of Kingston and into Orlando instead of Miami. I’ve reserved a car there for you to pick up.’
‘Do you really think that is necessary?’ Sean asked.
‘I don’t know who these guys are, but they seem to be well connected. We just need to take some extra precautions. Bring your gear. We probably have to do some modelling.’
Sean sighed into the phone, ‘OK. We’ll see you in the morning.’
The car was still moving when the back door flew open. Sean had to hurriedly slam on the brakes before Mrs. Martin leapt from the car and sprinted towards the house. Kenneth and Jenny stepped aside and allowed Janet to walk towards her mother and fall into her arms. Mr. Martin was only two steps behind. The threesome merged into one. Sobbing emanated from the collective mass of bodies as they stood hugging in the brick driveway of Kenneth’s Florida home.
Kenneth and Jenny greeted Sean, Lisa and little Andy, and after waiting a few moments they quietly went inside, leaving the front door ajar for the Martins.
‘This is all about a bag?’ Mrs. Martin asked in surprise.
‘I guess so,’ Janet responded, shrugging her shoulders.
‘The bag, where is it now?’ Kenneth asked.
‘Probably at the hotel where I stayed overnight.’
‘Haven’t I told you not to accept bags, or any articles from strangers when you are flying. They even ask you at the desk when you check in,’ Mrs. Martin scolded.
‘I know. But he looked so harmless, and had this terrible scar on his head. I didn’t see any harm in carrying it for him.’ Janet’s voice trailed off, and everyone fell silent.
‘What could be in that bag that is so valuable?’ Kathy wondered, breaking the silence.
‘None of this would have happened if I hadn’t forgotten the bag,’ Janet chastised herself.
‘You don’t know that, sweetheart,’ Mrs. Martin consoled her.
‘It’s probably not what is in the bag, but what the bag leads to,’ Sean said absentmindedly.
‘Huh?’ Everyone turned and looked at Sean. It took a few seconds for Sean to realise that everyone was staring at him.
‘What?’
‘What did you just say?’ Kenneth asked him.
‘What? I don’t know. What did I say?’ Sean asked turning to Lisa.
‘Something about the bag leading to something,’ Lisa answered.
‘Oh. That. Isn’t it obvious?’ Sean said, looking around the room. Everyone stared back at him with blank expressions, waiting for Sean to explain.
‘What?’ Sean asked.
‘I hate when he does this,’ Jenny said exasperated. ‘No! It’s not obvious. Isn’t that obvious!’
‘Sorry. It just appears to be logical in light of the evidence,’ Sean began. He stopped and stared out the window. Everyone waited. Kenneth was going to say something and Lisa held up her hand and put her index finger to her lips. They waited. Eventually, Sean looked at Janet. ‘If you had remembered the bag, you would be dead now.’
‘Oh my Lord!’ Mrs. Martin exclaimed, grabbing Janet and hugging her vigorously.
‘I’m sorry to alarm you Mrs. Martin. But it is …’ Sean paused and looked across at Jenny, ‘it is incontrovertible.’ He slipped off his chair on to the rug and took off his track shoes.
‘Listen. If this bag contained something valuable, it would have been smuggled, not taken in hand luggage. The contents are inconspicuous in the hands of a teenager, but noticeable if carried by an adult. It was being carried into Jamaica, and we are aware of three people who have been murdered to protect this item.’ Sean looked out the window again. It took thirty seconds for him to continue, ‘I need to do some analysis to be sure.’
‘Sure of what?’ Kenneth asked.
‘Of the pattern.’
‘What pattern?’
‘When I find it I’ll let you know.’ Sean got up and walked to his bags and took out his laptop.
Kenneth was about to ask some questions, but Lisa shook her head. Jenny rose.
‘Everyone should be hungry. Let’s go to the kitchen and leave Sean to do his thing.’ Jenny left the room, and everyone slowly followed, leaving Sean, cross-legged on the rug, laptop balanced between his knees, tapping away at the keyboard.