The Columbus Affair

Why?

Probably because their lives offered little else in the way of satisfaction, which was sad. What he’d heard many times rang true. “Jamaica has a little of everything but not quite enough of anything.”

They eased through the congestion, the buildings old, two to three stories high, packed so close that even a breath of fresh air would have difficulty squeezing through. When they turned onto a side street, two men appeared in front and signaled with outstretched arms for the car to stop. Both had ropelike hair and wild beards. They flanked the vehicle, one on either side. Shirttails hung out and low—shielding weapons.

Béne shook his head and muttered, “Buguyagas.”

And that’s what he thought.

Nasty tramps.

He wound down the rear window and asked, “You need something?”

He intentionally avoided patois, which he knew would be their preferred way to speak. The man on his side of the car clearly did not know him and was about to speak, but the other one rushed around the hood and grasped his friend’s arm, signaling for the driver to go on.

“What is it?” Béne asked. “Neither of you can talk?”

Mumblings passed between them that he could not hear, then the two men ran off.

He shook his head.

What were they going to do? Rob him right here in the street?

“They lucky we don’t have time to shoot ’em. Go.”

He found the shanty where Felipe lived, its walls a collage of scrap lumber and rusted tin. Four individual rooms were padlocked from the outside. Barrels of rainwater lined the edges, which meant no plumbing, confirmed by a strong scent of urine. Goats roamed the front and sides.

“Bust it open,” he ordered, and his men kicked down the makeshift doors.

Inside the largest enclosure was a room about six meters square. There was a bed, television, stove, dresser, and laundry basket. Eighty percent of the people in Spanish Town and Kingston lived like this or worse.

His gaze found the bed and, just as Felipe had said, lying on the filthy floor was a stack of old documents. One of his men brought them to him. Another stood guard at the door. Guns were drawn. Their two greeters may have alerted the local don that Béne Rowe was in the neighborhood, so they might receive a visit.

A courtesy, for sure.

But still a visit.

“If anyone bothers us,” he said, “move them away.”

His men nodded.

He found the deed the man had described from 1671, written in Spanish or Portuguese, he wasn’t sure, the faded ink difficult to see. There were several other parchments, each sulfur-colored, brown at the edges and brittle, all in the same language. He was able to read a few words, as Spanish had been a language he’d learned.

He heard a commotion outside and turned as a woman with two small girls appeared at the doorway. His men had the good sense to conceal their guns. She was deeply black, wearing a dress of yellow, pink, and green. Her bare feet were stained with road dust.

“Who you?” she demanded.

“A friend.”

She stepped into the room, a defiant look on her face. “You broke in?”

“It was necessary.” He gestured with the documents he held. “I came for these.”

“Where’s Felipe?”

He shrugged. “Are you his wife?”

She nodded.

“His children?”

“One of ’em.”

That was the thing about killing. Somebody always suffered. But he could not allow anyone to play him for a fool. On this island reputation meant everything, and Felipe sealed his fate when he sold out.

A shame, though, that these three would also pay the price.

He reached into his pocket and found his money clip. He peeled off twenty $100 U.S. bills and tossed them on the bed.

“Wa’ that for?” she asked.

“I owe Felipe. His pay.”

She apprised him with a mix of anger and dependency, one he’d seen all too many times. This woman would never see Felipe again. The big-eyed child would never know her father. No one would ever know what had happened. Felipe would rot away in an abandoned cemetery high in the Blue Mountains.

But such was the fate of liars.

“We go now,” he said. “You take care.”

He headed for the door with his documents in hand.

“He not comin’ back, is he?” the woman asked, her words laced with worry and fear.

He decided to be honest. “Take the money on the bed. I’ll send some more. Be grateful and silent.”

Her rough face was drawn, her brown eyes bloodshot. This woman’s tough life had just gotten tougher.

“Ev’ry gal look for man to tek care o’ her. When she fine him she is woman and she is true.” Her voice had turned icy.

He knew what she meant. The men she attracted changed lovers as often as moods. She’d finally avoided that with Felipe.

But there was nothing he could do.

So he left.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ALLE KEPT HER COMPOSURE AND SIMPLY STARED BACK AT THE man who called himself Brian.

“Have you and Simon ever discussed religion?” he asked.

Like she was going to answer him. “I want to eat my dinner. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”

“He’s a devout Orthodox Jew. You’re not. How do you get along?”

That comment surprised her. In their many discussions of Judaism, Zachariah had always talked reform. Fundamentalism repelled him. Orthodox Jews claimed to be authentic, which was insulting, he’d said, to all of the rest. She agreed. Until the 19th century, the Orthodox dominated. But not anymore. Thanks to heaven, Zachariah had told her.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Do you know much about the Simons,” he asked, “the family history? Zachariah’s father and grandfather were great supporters of Israel. They supplied money and political influence that helped form that state. They were ultra-radicals, linked to things that today you’d be prosecuted for. The Simons have been politically connected to every government elected there, always on the conservative side.”

“That doesn’t make Zachariah a radical,” she said, hating herself for even debating the point.

“I’m sure he’s tried to convince you that he’s some sort of progressive. He probably needs you to believe that in order to get what he’s after.”

The waiter returned and laid a salad before her.

She reached for her fork.

Brian’s hand came across the table and grabbed hers. “What you just did to your father was despicable.”

She flushed with anger. “Let go of my hand.”