Chapter Seven- Things Change

France – Present Day

"So, things were heating up nicely between you and Lisa then, Jaden. What happened to throw everything into a tailspin?" Gustave asked.

"Gustave, I pieced this part together from the recording and the navigational system in my father's car and the accounts of my mother. So as it turned out, while Lisa and I were strolling on campus, my father had other things on his agenda.

Jamaica – 1990's

"The weather forecast was for sunny weather in the morning and thunder storms in the afternoon, but the weather people got it wrong again. Damn fools," swore Daniel McNamara as he turned unto Palisades Road.

It was raining cats and dogs and he was not prepared for this type of weather; the rain coat and umbrella were left at home. He wondered aloud if Marcus would make it in this weather for him to discuss a strategy for getting rid of Mathew Thompson. He would still chance and continue the journey and he had no way of making contact with Marcus as the nagging from Samantha threw him off and he rushed out of the house leaving behind everything important. He was tired of the tension in the house and his beautiful wife had become a miserable nag over the past couple of weeks. Even though he tried to understand her view point, he wished she managed her frustration better. He could barely see through the windshield despite the efforts of the wipers, but to his pleasant surprise he glimpsed Marcus's car parked in the lay-by on the left.

Pulling in beside Marcus's car and winding down the window he called to Marcus to join him in his as he had no intention of getting wet. Marcus obliged and made a mad dash for the passenger side; amazingly he seemed to slip between the rain drops and showed signs of only a few drops of water hitting the target.

"Sir Mac, what can I do for you this rainy day?" Marcus asked while they shook hands.

"Well…" he paused as he formulated his response. "Marcus I have a delicate and deadly matter that I need your guidance on." With a deep breath followed by a sigh, he began his account.

"A few weeks ago I had an incident in which I was attacked and I managed to shoot one of the assailants, but I gather he is alive and in police custody. I have already retained legal counsel, but dead men tell no tales and I know how long and drawn out the justice system is in this country, not to mention how expensive."

Marcus listened keenly and waited until Daniel had said his last word and considered before he asked,

"What do you want me to do? There are many options, we can wait on the process to run its course or accidents can happen even in the most sterile and secure environments."

Both men chose their words very carefully as if they were being recorded.

"Sir Mac, your family is my family too and for a small fee I can take care of the matter," Marcus said. "After all, I spent more than 15 years in the Force and no worries, this would be like taking candy from a baby. Give me five hundred thousand and everything will be as if it never happened and don't ask me how, because the less you know the better it will be for you."

Daniel thought about what Marcus said and shook his head.

"Look at your feet. There is a brown paper bag. It has what you asked for."

Marcus reached down and picked up the bag and smiled.

"Shit, Sir Mac, are you ok?

"Yes, Marcus, please continue," he responded.

"Sir Mac, I did some digging based on my confidential informants. It seemed someone engaged Mathew Thompson, the son of the don, to erase Jaden and make it seem like a robbery, but the fool ended up being shot and is now under police guard."

"Marcus, this life was not for me, but I have to think about my family and I need to get rid of this morning's breakfast from my shirt and from the seat between my legs."

"Sir Mac, don't worry, I will take care of everything. So, Sir Mac, you came prepared man!" he said as he reached forward to open the door.

Daniel said in a sharp tone, "Wait breddrin! So when?"

"I told you already, Daniel; the least you know, the better it is for you."

The car door opened and closed with a bang.

Daniel was pensive and several thoughts flashed across his mind. Had he crossed the line? What the hell had he done? He recalled several Lifetime movies and the criminals being arrested for conspiracy to commit murder or worse. He told Mummy how he started to sweat in the air conditioning and felt a bout of nausea coming over him. It was as if he had no control of his body and before he could wind down the window or open the door, the vomit was already spewing through his closed lips.

"Gustave, I am sure that the drive back to St. Jago Heights was long and strenuous for him, as I could hear him trying to fight the urge to vomit again and he even burst out crying."

"Crap, that must have been hard on you to listen to all of that Jaden," Gustave replied.

"Gus, you would not like to know how hard and I still have the tape I recovered from the car; there was no way I would have handed that over to the police."

"So, you withheld evidence from the cops, Jaden; and why did your father record the conversation?"

"No, dummy. I protected my family, what else would you have me do? I guess he did not trust his brother-in-law, Marcus."