dumb boy

There was a person in my village as a youth who was teased ceaselessly by the school children. This is my feelings about what they did, I made him a HERO.

Every village seems to have at least one person who is born with a physical difference. And becomes the object of teasing for the school children and is viewed as dumb by the elders. In my village California there is one such person.

“Look Dumb Boy!” Cecilia shouts from behind me as we are walking home from school one afternoon. The other children laugh, run past me and surround him blocking off any easy means of escape.

“Ugh, ugh, ga, ga, e, e, yah, yah” they begin to say one after the other and  laugh out loud, “Talk nah boy, say something, ugh, ugh.”

Dumb Boy stands there watching them not saying anything, not even making any attempt to escape. They intensify the teasing by opening their mouths, pointing inside and repeating the sounds.

“Ugh, ugh, ga, ga, e, e, yah, yah” then jump around on one leg.

I am angry, no raging mad. I look Dumb Boy directly in the eyes and stump off heading home.

 An hour later my front gate opens and in steps Dumb Boy. He is dressed in baggy pants and sleeveless shirt, barefoot as usual and smiling at me. I refuse to return the smile and turn my back to him. He comes close and sticks me with his finger and says.

“Ah, ah, ah, yah, yah, yah.”

I turn, face him and shout out, “Why do you allow them to do that to you?  Why do you just stand there as an imbecile, doing nothing? And not even try to get away, why?”

“Rajesh, stop it this moment!” my mother shouts from the house.

“But mom he just stood there.........”

“Come Anthony have some cake and juice”

Dumb Boy walks pass me with a sad face. He goes to the kitchen steps, accepts a glass of juice and a plate with three pieces of sponge cake from my mom. Then he then sits on the steps and eats while looking out into the yard. My mom stands on the steps behind him, hands on her hips and gives me ‘the stare’.

 

 

 

Dumb Boy, is the only son of Juan and Maria Carlos. His parents came to my village when the government was constructing new bridges and improving the drainage of the area. The project included building a low dam to catch the flood waters in the rainy season. They lived in a small wooden house, down the trail next to the village recreation grounds. It was there Maria became pregnant with Anthony. There were no complications with the pregnancy. A healthy big boy was born, and he grew up as any other child. Eventually it became apparent that he was not speaking when the children his age were. A test by the village doctor confirmed his parents’ worst fears. Anthony would never be able to speak, he was dumb.  This discovery changed the lives of the Carlos’s forever. His father became ashamed of him and forbid him to play with the other children. He was kept inside and away for all visitors. The quarrels and fights began then between Juan and Maria. Juan’s drinking soon followed. Anthony was healthy, curious and playful; he loved to be around people.  He would climb out the window and go to play with any children who were around. So Juan resorted to beating him whenever he ‘disobeyed ‘and ‘ran away’. Maria would often place herself between Juan’s stick and Anthony, absorbing the blows for her son. His friends pleaded with Juan to send him to a special school.

“Juan, they will teach him to do many things especially to communicate with people who can speak.”

“You want my son to walk about twisting his hands in the air in people’s faces, sticking his fingers on his chest like some drunken man. You want that for him eh, you want that for him”

“Juan that is sign language, a school in Aripero teaches it.”

“No, no, no!”

“Juan, please for the child’s sake.”

“The child….the child. So what about me? What about Maria?”

Many arguments would take place until Juan bluntly refused to talk about it anymore and walked away whenever anyone attempted to introduce the subject of his son. Maria however would talk to her friends about Anthony, but ensured this was kept secret from Juan. Her friends came when he was at work and left before he returned home. They took the route through the recreational grounds so as to ensure they did not accidentally meet him returning home.  One Sunday evening, the supervisor from his job was visiting with his family. A promotion was in the offering for Juan, who was a very dedicated worker. Anthony was locked in the bedroom. He heard the voices of children playing, climbed through the window and joined them in play in the front yard. His screams of joy soon travelled into the house and reached the ears of Juan, who rushed outside. Anthony froze when he saw him and attempted to run away but was caught. Juan grabbed the nearest stick he could find and began striking Anthony. What he failed to notice was the sharp points on the stick. Anthony screamed with each blow. So intense was his rage that Juan did not see the blood on his son or the stick. He only stopped and looked when Maria and the other adults screamed at him.

“Stop, Juan stop, you killing him, you killing him!”

Juan froze, looked down at his son and saw the blood. Then looked at the stick and saw more blood. He dropped the stick and let Anthony loose. Maria raced to Anthony, picked him up and carried him screaming in pain inside the house. Juan stood frozen in the yard. He looked around him first into the faces of his shocked supervisor and his scared wife and children. Then into the frightened faces of his neighbours as they quickly filled the yard.  Anthony’s screams had travelled far in the afternoon air, bringing to a halt a cricket match under way in the neighbouring recreational grounds. Juan heard the cries of his son as they echoed from inside the house. He saw the lips of the gathering neighbours move as they related the recent events. He saw his supervisor’s wife run into the house to help Maria. He saw his supervisor quickly exit the yard with his crying children. He saw, he saw but did not move.

That same afternoon Juan left the village without his family. He never returned and was ever heard from again. Maria went to work with Juan’s former company but the abandonment had a devastating effect on her physically and emotionally. Her health deteriorated rapidly. Anthony did his best to help his mother especially when she was too sick to rise from bed. Then one morning he woke to find her stiff and not breathing in her bed. He refused to live with anyone or leave his home. The governmental authorities would take him to various foster homes but he would ‘escape’ and return home.  He hid in the bushes until they left. Eventually they gave up and Anthony Carlos just wandered the streets, trying to talk to everyone and got the name Dumb Boy.

I whistle to Anthony but he ignores me. I can see he is obviously still upset with me for my outburst earlier. But I will make up with him, we always do. I whistle to him again, same response. I see a pebble at my foot. I pick it up, take careful aim and fire. It strikes him on the little toe of his right foot.

“Ya!!!!!” He screams almost scattering the juice and cake and then looks at me angrily.

“Rajesh?” my mom says from inside and walks down the steps to stand behind Dumb Boy.

I put on an innocent look as I watch him feverishly rubbing the spot on his toe where the pebble struck.

“What did he do Anthony?”

Dumb Boy tries to tell her what I did. He points at me, then to the pebble and his toe,”Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.”

“Rajesh Stephen Singh!” I am in trouble now.

“Yes mom.”

“Tell me you did not do what Anthony says you did.”

I know the next words, “Stones do not have eyes, but people do. Do not throw them at people!”

“Stones do not have eyes, but people do. Do not throw them at people! Apologize to Anthony.”

“I am sorry D.............Anthony.”

“I expect both of you to behave as friends, do you hear me?” we both nod yes.

When I do my home studies Anthony is usually looking over my shoulder. He observes every movement of my hand and maps every stroke of my writing. I always read the words out loud and move my finger under them so he can follow along. However no encouragement I give to him will motivate him to write. He will stand for hours quietly absorbing everything.

 “You should be a scholar by now, Anthony. You know every lesson I have done. I bet you can sit my exams and pass them with an A.”

He will shake his head no and point to his mouth.

“You do not need your mouth to sit a written exam Dumb Boy and you know that very well don’t you?”

He does the same shaking of his head and pointing at his mouth.

Anthony will spend most of his free time at my home. He does odd jobs around the village mostly cleaning yards or moving things. Anthony is unusually strong and will move by himself things that require two men to shift. Some villagers try to cheat him, now and then but my parents will have none of that. They ensure he is paid the same rate as a speaking person.

 Anthony enters the yard. He slams the gate shut, walks to the kitchen steps and sits down heavily. He is mad.

“Who slam my gate like that Rajesh?”

“Anthony did, dad.”

“Boy you lose your mind. You did not build that gate.” my father says from the top of the steps,” Why you vex so boy?”

Dumb Boy looks up at my father, points to his stomach then pulls out his empty pockets.

“WHAT!” my father says, “Oh no, they don’t. Show me who!”

“Sunil!” my mom says, appearing at the top of the steps. My father looks back, “Let me go with you. Sandy, Rita, Rajesh, come with us.”

We exit the yard and walk down the street following Anthony. My mom is holding my father’s arm firmly. She talks to him softly, trying to calm him down before we reach.

“I am fed up with them doing this Alison, fed up, fed up!”

“Sunil, honey, calm yourself. We will easily get this over with.”

We arrive, mom walks in front of my father and calls out,

“Good afternoon Samuel, good afternoon Suyu”, my father tries to move past her but she blocks him. The curtains in the window move and the youngest daughter comes out.

“Afternoon Ms Alison, afternoon Mr Sunil”

“Where is your father and your mother?” dad booms. Ayanna takes a step backward and glances quickly at the open door.

“Sunil, please!” my mom says, giving my father an angry look.

“Will you ask them to come out please? There is a matter we wish to clear up with them. Anthony go and stand at the bottom of the steps.”

Ayanna’s parents come out, look at Dumb Boy and smile. And then look at the rest of us standing at the gate. Mom steps aside and my father speaks, but not before she gives him a penetrating glance.

“Good afternoon, Samuel and Suyu.” Ayanna turns, runs back inside and looks through the window.

“There seems to be a bit of misunderstanding between you and Anthony, regarding payment for something he did for you.”

“Misunderstanding, he work for us cleaning up the yard and we give him food to eat.”

My father takes a few deep breaths before speaking again.

“How many days, did he work?”

“Three I believe, yes three but we give him food every day.”

“What is the standard rate we pay for yard cleaning in this village, Samuel?”

“Let me see, $80.00 for normal cleaning, $100.00 for heavy work, yes that is it.”

“Good, from the heap of rubbish I see outside your fence, it would be safe to say heavy work was done.”

Mr Samuel looks at the heap of rubbish. He then looks at Dumb Boy, whose head is nodding a rapid yes, then back at my father.

‘Yes, you can say that.”

“Good, so you owe Anthony $300.00. And you will agree that it is an act of kindness to give those who work for you something to eat and drink.”

 When Mr Samuel looks around and sees his neighbours. They have been listening and are nodding their heads in agreement. He turns and tells Ayanna, “Bring the money for me.”

My father says, “Sandy, Rita, Rajesh, you stay with Anthony” and leaves with my mother. We children walk into the yard and stand beside Anthony. We fold our arms and count the money as Mr Samuel pays him.

The Village Cultural Centre, standing on the recreational grounds had due to normal exposure to the elements become an eyesore and unstable structurally. The Waterloo village council, in association with the surrounding village councils, since they all use our centre and grounds for their village activities, made repeated requests to the relevant governmental agencies for monetary assistance to rebuild the centre. Months pass with only promises. But after the last heavy rains we realise the centre cannot withstand another rainy season. So all of the village counsels met and decided to raise our own money, a grand bazaar, sports day and ballroom dance weekend was agreed upon. We will do the preparations for free, cooking, baking, decorations, etc. Edwin’s Brass would perform for free since a few of the members found wives from our village. The surrounding villages promised to fully support us. The preparations took a week of very late nights and early mornings but on Friday evening the activities began. Our village looked like Carnival. A flood of people descended upon us for the weekend and did not leave until daylight Monday morning.  Monday morning found the village committee counting the proceeds of the weekend, the total $200,000.00! The repairs would cost half of that so it was suggested we would build a larger centre. The money was secured in the safe, under the stage and everyone went home.

Tuesday Morning there is shouting in my yard.

“OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! THIEF, THIEF, THIEF!!” it is Ms Melda, the village know it all.

“OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! THIEF, THIEF, THIEF!! ALL DE MONEY GONE, ALL DE MONEY GONE!”

The dining table balances on two legs and thankfully settles back down as we in unison stand and rush outside. My father grabs his razor edged short cutlass before going outside. My mom sees him but says nothing.

“Calm down Melba, tell us what happen”, my dad says but I see he is far from being calm. My mom holds his right hand firmly, the hand with the cutlass.

“Mr Belfour went to de centre this morning to check on de building plans, and oh God have mercy, find de safe burst open an’ all de money, gone, gone! De poor man sitting there crying he eyes out.”

We rush off before she finishes, leaving her standing there holding her head and crying. Anthony who eats breakfast with us every morning, runs off and keeps ahead of us reaching the centre first. Villagers are running into the street from their houses in various stages of dress. There is not a dry eye in sight. Inside the centre is a packed mourning ground, a funeral. We have to push our way through. There in the back office, sitting on a chair with his head buried in his hands and sobbing is the village committee chairman, Mr Belfour. At his feet lies the small ancient safe battered, with its door ripped open. Its insides are scattered on the floor like blood at a murder scene, it was murder. My father his assistant, walks over and surveys the objects.

“You call the police Barry?”

With his head still buried in his hands he answers, “I send Winston to call, I....... I.......Who will do this to us Henry, who will do this to us?” his voice trails off. My father rubs his shoulder and looks back at my mom. His eyes are filled with tears; my mom goes over and stoops beside him. I feel Anthony poking me with his finger and pulling my arm, while looking at the floor.

“What is it?” I ask, he continues to pull my arm, “what is it?’ I ask again.

“Ah, ah, ah”, he sounds to me, still pulling my arm

“Get that dumb boy out of here, this is a place for serious business not the grunts of an imbecile!” it is Mr Ellis, the womanizer of the village.  My father rises to his feet and looks up into Mr Ellis’s eyes. My mom holds his right hand. Mr Ellis swallows nervously.

“None of that here today gentlemen, we have a crime to solve and we must do it united not divided.” All eyes turn to see a tall police inspector standing in the doorway. With him are two constables standing on either side of him,”George take that blade from him. I sense some bad blood flowing and I only want to arrest a thief today.”

“Yes Sir”, the officer on his right says. He walks over to my father and takes the blade from him.

“Good, now let us get down to some serious business”, he says while carefully scanning the room, recording everything both people and objects.

“Scott Williams?” Mr Belfour says, raising his head from between his hands and squinting at the Inspector from behind tear clouded eyes. He then returns his spectacles to their rightful position.

“Well I’ll be a....... uh hum.......Barry ‘bulls eye’ Belfour. Good God man, I see de name on de permits and say no it can’t be de same person in knew from de regiment.”

The two men move across the room and hug each other in the tightest bear hug I have ever seen. They then pound each other on the back, move apart and wipe their eyes. The Inspector quickly recaptures his composure and looks back at his subordinates.

“Uh.......uh ........uh, so how have you been Barry?”

“Doing well, moved here years ago to supervise the government construction projects. I fell in love with the place, the people and then one person in particular. She’s away visiting our daughter studying at university. Do some consulting work and help the villagers in any way I can.”

“I Joined the Police after leaving the regiment and got posted all over this island. Uh, I will fill you in later, need to solve this crime man. Imagine just one week after coming here, sh..........uh hum. Fill me in on the details”

Mr Belfour begins from the committee’s decision not to take the money out of the village the same evening a week ago.

“Who knew about this?”

“Excluding myself, Sunil, Ellis, Mrs Baldwin, Ms Chang and Mr Ali my business partner”

“Don’t forget that dumb imbecile over there”, Mr Ellis says pointing at Anthony. My father swings a fist at him but my mom is anchoring his arm down. Mr Belfour quickly places himself between my father and Mr Ellis. My mom forcefully pulls my father away, bracing him against a wall. Shouting erupts from the villagers close by. All of them come to my father’s defence.

 Inspector Williams walks right up into the face of Mr Ellis and shouts, “I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU TAUNTING THAT BOY. THE NEXT TIME YOU DO IT; I WILL GIVE THAT MAN HIS CUTLASS AND TURN MY BACK. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

“Y......yes sir.......yes sir.”

“Is he calm now, miss........miss.”

“Alison, yes he will be alright”, my mom replies while hugging my father. She rests her head on his chest, rubbing his back. My father’s eyes are closed. I feel Anthony pulling my arm again. I look at him. His eyes are filled with tears as he looks at my parents. I look at the inspector who is now examining the safe.

“You alone have the combination Barry?”

“No, my wife knows it; the committee felt it was better that way. Sunil suggested it and we all agreed.” The inspector looks at my father and nods his head.

He stands, moves Mr Ellis aside with his left hand and examines the window. He bends over to take a close look at the left side of the frame. Then he bends over and looks at the outside of the building. He turns abruptly saying, “Let us go outside please”. Anthony is still pulling my arm.

We go outside.  Inspector Williams goes directly outside the window and points at scuff marks under the window. He then turns and walks away from the building examining the ground as he goes. Inspector Williams stops every few steps, stoops looks closely, stands and resumes walking. He soon comes to the fence next to the trail which leads to some of the village houses. A part is broken down. He examines it, turns and asks.

“What lies beyond this fence?”

“The trail leads to some houses, farm lands, fruit trees and if you continue walking to the dam and the forest. Oh yes a right branch of it runs almost parallel to the street behind the houses. It stretches for a few hundred feet and then goes back to the dam,” Mr Belfour answers.

Anthony is pulling stronger at my sleeve almost turning me around. The inspector notices this and asks, “Who here lives the closest to the Centre down that track?”, while walking to the fence and looking over.

Mr Ellis smiles and begins to speak, “This imb...................” he is cut short.

“Give Sunil the cutlass now George!” The constable moves toward my father. My mom screams and blocks him off from the officer.

“What did I tell you inside the building, Ellis?”

Mr Ellis’s eyes are bulging. He is breathing heavily and sweating.

Anthony begins to shake me now and make noises while looking at Mr Ellis. The inspector smiles while looking at both of them. I look at the inspector, then to Dumb Boy who is really shaking me now. I get an idea. I run off into the centre grab a pencil and paper, run back and give it to Anthony. He looks at it and shakes his head.

“Anthony Carlos!” my mom says in her do not disobey me voice, “write!” Anthony writes slowly using large shaky letters. Inspector Williams walks over and looks as he is writing. My mouth falls open, no, it cannot be. The inspector laughs out loud. He turns to his men and points to Mr Ellis saying,

“Arrest him for theft!”

The officers quickly handcuff a shouting, protesting Mr Ellis.

“This is an outrage, a disgrace, a clear miscarriage of justice. You cannot take the word of a dumb imbecile over the word of an upstanding citizen!”

Anthony got up late Monday night, due to mosquito bites. He went outside to burn the bush which keeps them away. He was stooping outside when Mr Ellis ran past his house carrying a bag, using the trail behind the houses. Mr Ellis apparently saw something in the darkness as he ran past. He was targeting Anthony in an effort to discredit him if he should point him out. The inspector saw from the physical evidence that it was a tall man who stole the money. But it was Anthony who placed Mr Ellis clearly at the scene.

“I demand justice!” Mr Ellis continues to scream.

“So are you a calling the boy a liar, Mr Ellis?”

“Most definitely.” An enraged Mr Ellis answers.

The villages that are near including my family and Mr Belfour are steering at him and shaking their heads. Soon the whispers of the crowd transport the events to those occupying the centre and the road. They are divided about the guilt of Mr Ellis. My parents and sisters believe Anthony. As for me if Anthony says he saw something I believe him 100%.

“Well, fair enough. Let us proceed to your house and do a search if it is O.K. with you?”

“I have absolutely nothing to hide. Let us go.” A smiling Mr Ellis answers.

“O.K., then,” Inspector Williams says, “You lead the way son,” he says to Anthony.

We all follow Anthony who climbs over the fence and begins to walk down the path leading to his house. The Inspector laughs out loud and shakes his head, as he climbs over the fence behind Anthony. The villagers follow along including an unsmiling Mr Ellis. The murmur from the crowd seems to disturb him tremendously.

Anthony follows the trail up to his house, then turns right and continues until he comes to the fence behind Mr Ellis’s house. Without looking he bends down and enters the yard through an opening which I have never noticed when walking past on my way home. There is an audible gasp from the crowd when they see the entrance to the yard taken by Anthony. I look behind me and see numerous pairs of eyes steering at Mr Ellis. I cannot read minds but I can assume the thoughts behind the looking are not favourable.

We enter the yard as Anthony stands at the steps leading to the rear door of the house.

“I will ask you again before these witnesses, Mr Ellis. Do I have your permission to search the house and land for the money stolen from the Village Cultural Centre?” Inspector Williams asks Mr Ellis.

“You have my permission to search anywhere you desire Inspector” Mr Ellis answers smiling.

Inspector Williams looks at him enquiringly for a few moments then looks to Anthony. A puzzled look is upon Anthony’s face as he notices the smile upon Mr Ellis’s face. I walk over to Anthony and give him a friendly punch on his shoulder. He looks at me with an unsmiling face.

“They will find the money. I am certain of it.” I tell him but the look on his face says he is not convinced.

“George you come with me. Mohammed you stay here with Mr Ellis.” He exchanges an unspoken message with the officer who moves Mr Ellis away from the crowd. He then looks at Mr Belfour who also places himself between the accused and the villagers.

“I expect all of you to remain within the bounds of the law when we find what we are looking for.” Inspector Williams says with a loud voice as he slowly surveys the crowd.

“We give you our word.” My father says, “And I speak for everyone here.”

“Good, George, follow me.”

The two officers enter the house through the rear door which leads to the kitchen. We stand outside as they conduct their search. Time seems to struggle slowly forward in the bright sunshine. Soon we have to seek shade as the earthen yard hurls skyward the life giving rays of natures heat machine. Mr Belfour and Officer Mohammed glance often at their timepieces and each other. Mr Ellis is singing softly to himself. He has a smile on his face. My family is standing under the shed where Mr Ellis keeps his plants. His flowers are among the most beautiful in the village. We all admire the time and dedication he devotes to his potted jewels.

Anthony is squatting near some of the largest flower pots. They are the recent acquisitions to Mr Ellis’s increasing floral haven. I can still see the pride in his eyes as they were off loaded from a van a few days ago. My mother is speaking softly to Anthony who is slowly nodding his head. The door to the house opens and a disappointed looking Inspector Williams exits the house. An equally unhappy picture covers the face of Officer George. Officer Mohammed looks at the faces of his superior and fellow Constable.

“Sir.......?”

“No luck Mohammed.” Inspector Williams says as he lightly strikes the officer on his shoulder.

“But Sir, the evidence and the witness, they all point to one person?”

“Yes, I know but we have done a thorough search and found nothing.”

“So I am free to go?”Mr Ellis asks.

Anthony suddenly jumps to his feet and seems to be going mad.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,” he jumps around saying while pulling at us and pointing at Mr Ellis.

“Calm down Anthony, calm down!” my parents say to him, but he will not be calm.

I try, my sisters try but Anthony will not listen to any of us.

“You see what I was saying from the beginning. He is a fool. An imbecile, an.......”

“Shut up Ellis!” Inspector Williams shouts.

There is total silence from everyone including Anthony.

“I have had enough of you saying those words about this boy! Come here.......”

“His name is Anthony, Sir” I say out loud.

“Anthony, come here.” The Inspector commands.

Anthony looks at us and slowly walks over to Inspector Williams.

“Where has Mr Ellis been spending most of his time, when he is in this yard, over the past few days?”

I look at Mr Ellis and notice the smile disappearing from his face and large drops of sweat forming on his brow and forehead. Inspector Williams turns and looks directly at him also and smiles. He turns and faces Anthony again.  Anthony stands for a few moments looking around the yard while scratching his head. Very slowly he turns and points to one of the large flower pots Mr Ellis recently added to his yard.

“No you don’t!” Officers Mohammed and George shout as they wrestle a fighting Mr Ellis to the ground. The crowd rushes forward. Inspector Williams, Mr Belfour and my father run over and place themselves between the crowd and the struggling men.

“Calm down people. Calm down. We have everything under control” The Inspector says aloud to the crowd.

“Everything is O.K.” my father and Mr Belfour also shout in support of Inspector Williams.

“He better not get away from those Officers!” voices shout from the crowd.

“He will not. Look they have him well bound now” the inspector says pointing to the Officers as they push Mr Ellis firmly against the house and throw their weight on him.

“I will not do it again! Do not hurt me!”

Laughter thunders from the crowd.

“Like Mr Sweet man not so sweet after all” many voices shout as the laughter continues.

“We have him totally secured now, Sir” the Constables say as they turn a scared looking Mr Ellis to the crowd.

“Good work men. Carry him over to the flower pots.”

Everyone moves over to the shed where the large flower pots are. Inspector Williams closely examines the flower and the pot, then in one swift motion pulls the plant out. It offers no resistance and easily vacates its habitation. The Inspector places it gently at his feet, leans over and looks into the flower pot. He smiles, puts on a pair of surgical gloves and pushes his arm down into the pot. A few seconds later he brings into our view an object wrapped in plastic. He turns and shows it to Mr Ellis who gives a soft sigh and collapses.

“Oh God he die just like that!”A woman in the crowd shouts.

The two constables immediately check his pulse and smile.

“He is not dead, just a case of guilty of theft and scared of jail.” They tell the crowd.

Once more laughter booms from the crowd but not from Inspector Williams. He is removing the packages one by one from the flower pot and placing them on a table in the shed. When has removed all of the packets he starts to unwrap them, one packet at a time. We stand there watching his every movement in complete silence.

“I will have to check the money here before removing it to the Station to record it. I want to ensure the full amount is here. If it is not I will have to search more of the flowerpots.”

We watch as the money is checked note by note. Mr Ellis awakes from his short nap and watches from a sitting position on the floor of the shed as the money is counted. He avoids looking at anyone; his focus is upon the floor or his feet. We are not aware of heat or hunger as we observe the counting. I feel a small stab of fear when a thought crosses my mind. If all of the money cannot be found, how will the villagers here respond?

“It is all here, every last note.” A smiling Inspector says as he looks at the people sitting in the yard.

“I will take it to the station along with Mr Ellis. Barry I will need statements from you and all of the people on the committee. In addition to this I need a copy of the financial records and any other documents where the amount of money is recorded.  I will also need a statement from Andrew. He is a key witness and will have to testify in court.”

Andrew shakes his head no and begins stepping backward from under the shed.

“Andrew Carlos where are you going?” my mom says to my retreating friend. He freezes immediately and smiles looking at her. “Rajesh will be with you when you go.” My dad says.

Anthony looks at me, comes over, hugs me and smiles. I am excited to have such an important part to play. But the best will be helping my friend Anthony.

A few minutes later the handcuffed village criminal is marched unceremoniously down the village street to the waiting police jeep. Inspector Williams walks in front, striding in perfect military steps. He is followed closely by constables George and Mohammed. The tall criminal is sandwiched between them. Officer George is on Mr Ellise’s right and Officer Mohammed is on the left. The Inspector has the money in his possession. Behind the officers is Mr Belfour, Anthony, me and my family. The villagers are close behind us nosily discussing the day’s events and giving their opinions regarding the sentence our native thief will receive. Mr Ellis is bent almost completely over and does appear as tall as he normally does. The officers have to pull him along since he is dragging his feet on the asphalt carpet. Soft sobs drift from his sagging head. This is an awful sight.

When we reach close to the jeep, Inspector Williams has to clear a path through the crowd gathered there. The officers open the rear door of the vehicle and stuff the limp lanky figure of Mr Ellis inside. Officer George enters and sits beside him. Officer Mohammed closes the door and enters the driver’s side.

“As you can all see the crime is solved and.........blast it........one of your own is responsible for T it. This is always the part I hate in my job, having to arrest a trusted elder for crimes. To me much more than trust is destroyed. Well.........” Inspector Williams stop speaking and look at us for a few moments without seeing us. We remain silent as we look at him. He is feeling our pain.

“Barry bring the documents and the others, especially Anthony to the station today.”

“We will be a few minutes behind you Inspector.”

“Good, very good, O.K. men let us take him in.”

The Inspector opens the door to the front passenger’s side, enters and closes the door. Officer Mohammed starts the jeep and moves off slowly, giving those standing in front of the police vehicle time to move aside. Inspector Williams waves to us  as the jeep clears the crowd. We stand there watching it move down the road, turn unto the main road and go out of our view.

Author's Note

It was not a crime/mystery story initially but it grew as I continued to write, so be as gentle as you can.