Chapter 21
The next day, Kevin, Deviane, Kiran and Anila were talking in Kiran’s room. It was midday, the sun was shining brightly and the mood was one of joy and happiness. Everyone was particularly happy, because word had just come in that the Prime Minister had just survived a no-confidence vote.
"I want the bridesmaids to wear yellow gowns," Deviane said. "Yellow is my favorite color."
"I didn't know that," Kevin said.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Kevin. But you'll have plenty of time to learn, don't worry."
"I'm not worried. I'm the happiest man alive."
"Where do you want to have the wedding, Deviane?" Anila asked. "At the Cathedral?"
"I don't know. I haven't had time to think about it."
"Why don't you have it at the Royal Botanical Gardens?" Kiran suggested.
"I'd love to have it there, but are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
"No, God knows when I'll get married. Have it there if you like."
"It's so beautiful there. Would January be okay, Kevin?"
"Sure, whatever pleases you, honey."
"Good, it's set then." Anila said. "We'll have it the last week of January at the Royal Botanical Gardens. I'll call the manager tomorrow and reserve it."
"How many people do you think will come from Plano to the wedding, Kevin?" Kiran asked.
"Oh, probably not more than a dozen or so. My family is pretty small."
"Well, it doesn't matter, you've made hundreds of friends here in Trinidad," Anila noted.
"I know; the people of Trinidad have been so nice to me. I really like it here."
"I hope you'll stay and make your home here, Kevin," Anila said.
"We haven't really given that much thought yet," Kevin replied.
"We're going to school in the United States, and then we'll see what happens," Deviane added.
"Well, there's no rush to make a decision. Do you have any idea what school you want to attend?"
"I've been looking at UCLA and Stanford out in California, but Deviane may have her mind set on another college. It doesn't really matter that much to me, as long as we're together."
"I like UCLA, but we should consider Columbia or Yale too," Deviane said.
"Fine, there are a lot of good colleges to choose from," Kevin replied.
"In a couple of weeks, when you two are feeling better, I want to have an engagement party for you," Anila said. "We need a big social event in Trinidad, to break all the tension that's in the air. It will be wonderful. I'll invite everybody who's anybody."
"That would be great, Mom," Kiran said. "I love big parties."
"It's not really necessary, Mother," Deviane said.
"Nonsense. I want to celebrate my little baby's engagement. It's a mother's right."
"Okay, whatever makes you happy."
As the conversation continued, the Prime Minister entered the room. He was dressed up and looked quite impressive. Anila ran over to him and gave him a big hug.
"Congratulations, honey. I heard the vote came out well."
"Yes, but it was a razor thin victory. Not the mandate I needed to push through the reforms this country needs."
"Well, I'm sure that, in time, you'll get the support you need, honey. Anyway, we were just discussing Kevin and Deviane's wedding. I want to have an engagement party for them in a couple of weeks."
"That would be nice, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow Kevin for a few hours. We need him down at the courthouse."
"Oh no, not again. We need him here to help plan the wedding."
"Oh, I think you all will do just fine without me. I better go and help out, if I can."
"Don't keep him long, Daddy," Deviane said.
"I won't, you have my word on it."
The Prime Minister left the room with Kevin at his side. They left the hospital and got into a waiting automobile.
"So what's going on? You have some more suspects?"
"We've captured a high ranking NDC officer, one of Malcolm Mann's right hand men. We're sure you must have seen him."
"Why would I have seen him?"
"He must have been at the warehouse with Malcolm."
"Hmm."
"So you really love Deviane, huh?"
"Oh yes, I do..., more than anything."
"I've never seen her so happy. I guess you two were meant for each other, huh?"
"Yes, we're going to be very happy together."
"I suppose this means I'll have a dozen grandchildren running around destroying my house?"
Kevin laughed. "I don't know, we haven't talked about kids yet, but I’m sure someday we’ll have one or two."
"That’s okay, you've got plenty of time for that later. Live it up now, while you're young and can enjoy it!"
"We plan to."
"Kevin, you know that Malcolm Mann escaped, don't you?"
"Did he? Damn it!"
"Well, this man we have in custody is the highest ranking NDC official in Trinidad. It's imperative that we convict him. Otherwise, our government will look feeble and lose face. The leader of the UAR has warned me that he will withdraw his support of the government if I don't make some progress in arresting and convicting NDC officials. I was very disappointed that you were only able to identify one person out of the twenty-four we showed you last week. Why couldn't you have recognized eight or ten of them? What difference would it have made?"
"Sir, we've had this conversation before. You know how I feel."
"Yes, and it's too bad, because if you don't help with this problem today, you can leave Trinidad and forget about Deviane."
Ahmad’s words hit Kevin like a jolt from an electrical socket. Incredulous, he turned and glared at Ahmad.
"What? You're joking, right?"
"I am sorry, Kevin, but I am completely serious. If you don't recognize our prisoner as being at the NDC headquarters on the day of the kidnaping, then I'm going to take you directly to the airport and send you back to America!"
"You can't do this! Deviane won't stand for it. Your wife won't stand for it."
"They will both do as I say! It's time for you to face reality, Kevin. Sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do, but we still do them if it's necessary to survive, or to get what we want."
"That's bullshit! I thought you believed in law and justice. You're no better than Malcolm Mann!"
"Ha! You've been here one week and you think you understand what's going on in this country? You know nothing about Trinidad! Nothing! You think you've got all the answers, but you don't even know the questions."
"You're absolutely right, I know nothing about Trinidad, but I know a lot about justice and democracy, because I live in America. What you're doing is wrong."
"I don't care what you think, Kevin. Let me make it as clear as a crystal goblet to you. If you don't identify this man as being one of the traitors who beat you up, then you'll never see Deviane again."
Kevin didn't reply. He just shook his head and turned away from the Prime Minister. When they arrived at the courthouse, Kevin reluctantly followed the Prime Minister inside. They went to the interrogation room and Kevin sat in front of the two-way mirror. The man being questioned had his face turned away so Kevin couldn't see it. He waited, praying he would recognize the face so he could put an end to this madness without having to make a choice between his integrity and Deviane. When the man finally turned his face toward the mirror, Kevin's heart sank. Suddenly feeling very dizzy, he nearly collapsed. The Prime Minister grabbed him, to keep him from falling over. Once he was stabilized, he looked in the very familiar face, the face of a saint, his protector, Obatala!
"Shit, you can't do this! That's the man who saved our lives. He's the man who saved us from the death squad."
"I don't think so. You thought he was saving you, but he was actually delivering you to a location where the NDC could find you and take you away."
"That's total bullshit! Obatal
a hates the NDC. He loves freedom and liberty. He's one of the kindest men I've ever known! I will not accuse him of having any association with the NDC. I can't believe you would do this to the man who saved your daughters' lives. I've totally misjudged you. You're just a ruthless tyrant!"
"All right, Kevin, if that's what you want! We'll go back to the house, pack your bags and you'll be on your way back to Texas! Don't even think about taking Deviane with you! I won’t let her go with you. Don't call her or write her, and don't even dream about coming back here to see her. You're not welcome in Trinidad. Do you understand?"
"She won't stand for this, you know. You'll have to make her a prisoner in her own house. She'll hate you for the rest of your life."
"Like I said, sometimes we have to do things we don't like to do. We have to do what's best for Trinidad."
Tears began to well in Kevin's eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Trinidad and never seeing Deviane again. Oh, God. What am I going to do? This can’t be happening. Just when I thought everything was going to work out. Damn it! What an evil bastard you are, Ahmad.
"Come on, let’s go," the Prime Minister said.
No, I need time. I’ve got to stall. I need time to think. There has to be a way out of this.
"Can I talk to Obatala before we leave?"
The Prime Minister considered the request and then nodded his assent. Kevin hurried over to the door to the interview room and knocked. The door opened and the guard poked his head outside.
"Let him see the prisoner for a moment," the Prime Minister commanded. The man opened the door and let Kevin in. He left them alone in the room.
"Obatala, are you all right?"
"Kevin, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“Nor I to see you. Are you okay?”
“More or less. If this is gratitude, I'd hate to have them mad at me."
"I know, this is so ridiculous," Kevin moaned.
"What are you doing here?"
"They wanted me to identify you as a high ranking NDC official. Since Ray is dead and Malcolm got away they need a fall guy–someone they can parade in front of the people as an example, I guess. They said if I didn't identify you, I couldn't marry Deviane."
"You were going to marry Deviane?"
"Yes, we've already started to plan the wedding."
"Do you love her?"
"Of course. She's the woman I've been searching for all my life. We were meant for one another."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Do you have to ask? I couldn’t betray you. I told him, no way. I wouldn't help send an innocent man to his death. I certainly wouldn't send a man who saved my life twice."
“But, you’ll lose Deviane.”
“Maybe not, but if so, then that’s better than letting you die. I couldn’t live with myself if I betrayed you. And I don’t think Deviane would want me to either.”
Obatala closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Kevin wondered what was going through his mind. Do you know I killed your brother? Oh, God. Will you ever forgive me? Obatala opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Go back and tell him you changed your mind."
"Huh?"
"Tell him you'll testify against me. Tell him I'm the number three man in the NDC. Living around Ray, I know everyone in the organization. I know how they operate and I can give the Prime Minister exactly what he wants."
"Obatala, no. They'll hang you."
"Tell him I'll do it on two conditions. First, he must swear to me, in front of his daughters, that I will not hang. Secondly, he must let my family leave Trinidad and provide them with fifty thousand dollars, to start a new life in America."
"Obatala, why would you do this?"
"Because, like I told you before, the NDC stole my brother from me, and turned him into a ruthless beast. The only way I can get revenge is to see to it that every last remnant of the NDC is destroyed!"
"There's something I need to tell you about your brother."
"What?"
"Oh God, Obatala. I'm so sorry!" Kevin said and then began to cry.
"What is it?"
"I'm afraid. . . I'm afraid he's dead."
Obatala closed his eyes and sighed.
"Oh God, I hoped somehow he would escape this nightmare. Damn it!"
"You haven't heard the worst of it."
"What could be worse than his death?"
"To be looking at his killer."
"What?"
"I killed him. He beat us up and we struggled. I managed to get the rifle away. I had no choice. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, not for him, but for you."
Obatala stood like a rock in a hurricane, his eyes fixed on Kevin. Then he lowered his head and took a deep breath. Breathing heavily, he walked a few steps away and stared at the two way mirror.
He mumbled, "Then he deserved to die. I'm ashamed he was my brother."
Kevin wiped away his tears and took a deep breath.
"Don't worry about Cetawayo and the children. Deviane and I will watch out for them. I think you should ask for a hundred thousand dollars. Fifty thousand won't last long."
"Okay, so be it."
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes, go tell the Prime Minister."
"Thank you, Obatala. You've saved my life again. I couldn't have lived without Deviane."
"Go on, get out of here before I change my mind."
"Goodbye, I'll always remember you."
Kevin and Obatala embraced. Kevin left reluctantly. He went directly to the Prime Minister who had been waiting impatiently for him.
"Okay, I've changed my mind. In fact, I've talked the prisoner into making a full confession. He knows everything about the NDC, their plans, how they operate and he'll cooperate fully in bringing every last NDC member to justice. Of course, it's all a lie, but you don't care, do you?"
"Why would he do this?"
"Because he's a decent man. He truly despises the NDC and what they stand for. You know he's Ray Mohammed's brother, right?"
"Of course, that's why we suspected him."
"Well, he tried to get Ray out of the NDC, but couldn't do it. Now he wants to do whatever it takes to bring them down. He also wants to see Deviane and me married. He cares about us, but I guess you wouldn't understand that, would you?"
"I love Deviane, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices."
"Tell that to Obatala's wife and three kids. Oh, there are a couple of conditions."
"What conditions?"
"Obatala will not hang, you must swear to it in front of your daughters. And you'll arrange for Obatala's family to leave Trinidad and go to America. Of course, they will need cash to live on, two hundred thousand U.S. Dollars would be about right."
"Two hundred thousand dollars?"
"Yes, that's pocket change considering how much you're going to get from him. You'll save a million dollars in prosecution costs alone."
"Okay, it's a deal."
"Good, then take me back to Deviane. I miss her already."
"Kevin, I hope you will forgive me some day. Some-"
"I know, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive you, as long as Obatala is rotting in some prison for something he didn't do. I'm sorry."
"Will you tell Deviane?"
"How can I keep it from her? She's going to be my wife. We will not have secrets from each other. She will know everything."
"I'm doing this for them, you know. It's for their benefit. Anila loves being the Prime Minister's wife. She would be devastated if I were thrown out of office."
"I don't think you give her enough credit. She loves being in the limelight, but she loves you more. She'll stand by you no matter what happens."
"I'll make this up to you Kevin, I promise."
"Sure, can we get back now? The girls are expecting us."
"You go ahead. I'll have the driver take you back to the house. I need to stay here and mak
e sure Obatala does what he has promised to do."
"Oh, he will, he's a man of his word. I promise.”