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He swallowed hard and then stared up at the ceiling as he spoke. “It’s bad. Very bad.” He paused to swallow again, as if forming the words were making him sick. “There are evil men on this island who do terrible things to women. They don’t like it when others interfere with their work. I stopped them from a job, and they didn’t like it. They found me at that market, shot me, and left me to die.” His hand shook harder, and I squeezed it again.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Jeremiah.”
“It’s okay, I’ll be fine. When I’m out of here, I’ll pack up my family and move to a different island if I can. It’s just a matter of surviving until I scrape up the cash,” he said.
“What if I could help you with that?” I asked him. The idea popped into my head before I could even think it through. After all, it involved someone else’s money entirely.
“I’d say you really are an angel,” he said with a sense of awe.
“Just put a halo on me and call me Gabriel.” I beamed. I really hoped I wasn’t overstepping and that Christine would be kind enough to help and then not be mad that I offered up her money.
“I wouldn’t be able to accept that kind of help. That’s much too kind,” he said earnestly. He shook his head gently and squeezed my hand again.
“Nonsense. Would you feel better if you provided something in return? Would that make you feel better about taking the help and making a better life for yourself?”
“I suppose it would, but I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer. I’d offer labor to you, but I’m not in any shape to work at the moment,” he said.
“No, that’s okay. I’m going to share a secret with you, and then I’ll tell you what it is you can trade. You have to promise to keep my secret, even if someone threatens you, okay?” I asked.
“I promise,” he said. Curiosity had grabbed him. He probably would have promised anything to hear what I had to say next.
I hit the record button on my phone, hoping that I’d convince him to share more info with me. I was building my case, and I’d need Jeremiah’s statement as evidence.
“I’m investigating those guys who do bad things to others. Me and my friend Adam, we are here to put an end to what they are doing, but we need some more info. We have a couple of suspects, but any information you can give us will help.”
“What makes you think I know much about them?” he asked me. He pulled his hand back. His walls were already reforming, and I fought the urge to recoil from that. I wasn’t here to hurt him, only help.
“Because they were willing to kill you over whatever it is you know. Wouldn’t a warning have been sufficient if you meddled in one of their kidnappings? No, you know more than you let on, because you’ve done it multiple times, haven’t you, saved someone from being stolen from their families?”
“Yes,” he said solemnly. He folded his hands in his lap and reclined his head back against the back of the bed.
“That’s incredibly brave. You can continue that legacy by sharing what you know. Let us help,” I said.
He shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re up against. You don’t know what you are asking from me.”
“Then help me understand. Help me succeed, Jeremiah. I want you to be the last person ever hurt by these bad people. Only you have the power to help me.”
He was silent for a moment as he mulled over my pleas. “Okay, I’ll help you. Are you serious about trading info for money? I will have to leave town the moment I check out of this hospital, and I don’t have the funds to do so,” he said.
“I’m dead serious. In fact…” I turned around to face Adam. “Text either Christine or Jones and have them get together some cash to assist this man. See if they can bring it now.”
“On it. How much do you think you’ll need, Jeremiah?” Adam asked.
“I think ten thousand American dollars would do. That should hopefully help me get a place for me and my family on another island. The more remote the better at this point,” he answered.
“Have them pull twenty, just in case,” I mouthed.
Jeremiah must have read my lips, because he asked, “For real?” His voice had raised an octave higher. He went slack jawed, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
“Yes, for real. I don’t want to pull you from one danger and then drop you into another. You use that money and make sure your family is safe and taken care of, okay?”
“You’ve got it. Now let me tell you everything I know.”Finally.
“Please do.” I gave him an encouraging nod.
“There is a group who are referred to as the Reapers. They snatch women and sometimes children out of their homes in the middle of the night. They often take tourists and then they sell them. They try to keep everyone quiet by spending enough money in the local markets to keep everyone fed, effectively buying silence or tolerance of what happens. Some of us were fed up and started a group we called the Watchmen. Us Watchmen do what we can to screw with their plans.”
“So you’ve messed with their plans over and over? They’ve probably warned you multiple times and you didn’t listen, so they reacted by shooting you,” I said, piecing together his story.
