The Freeloaders

THE FREELOADERS-PROLOGUE-TWO MEN WHO CAME NEAR THE ABYSS

Augustus Beville twisted and turned on the three quarter bed. This was

to be his last night in Happy Valley. He was sleeping in a room assigned

to him as an employee of Rapley Rowe, a man whom he had previously

detested for being a miser. Rapley had been cursed all over the village for

hoarding his money. But reflecting now, Beville realized that Rapley was

wise for had he followed all those taunting him he might have ended up

like him. He had lived here for the past three moths as they tried to rustle

up enough money for his plane fare back to the United States. Beville

could remember the first day he came to Happy Valley with fifteen  

million dollars in his bank account. The villagers were friendly and the

girls, young and beautiful. Very soon people realized that this was a man

to be around as he spent money freely. Whenever Beville was around, the

bars were always full of freeloaders. He was the main celebrity at most of

the dances and parties. When his wife joined him he was already half way

through his fortune. Then those two men whom he thought were his

friends had done an unpardonable act. Recovering from that first

treacherous act he had tried to put his life back together only to be

betrayed once again by another false friend. In frustration he had tried to

spend off the rest of the money and when it couldn’t finish fast enough

he had withdrawn it all, put it in a crocus bag and emptied out the

contents in Spring Mount just to spite his false friends. He could still

remember the mad dash people made to grab all those notes. Drivers

parked their cars and got into the melee. He could still see the looks of

amazement on his false friends’ faces when they saw him pass by and

did not enter the bar for the first time since he had come to Happpy

Valley. They knew what he had done. Those two old men’s heads were

bowed and Maisie was staring at him as if she had seen a ghost. True, she

had called to him at least thrre times but he had ignored her. He had no

doubt that his actions would leave many of those free loaders in debt.

It served them right to be always sponging on him. He soon became

a despised person as many of them claimed they had ordered liquor and

food knowing that he would pay. They were now being pressured to pay

or else spend time in debtor’s jail. Even those who had grabbed some of

the money he had thrown away began to taunt him. Realizing that he

would not be able to service the mortgage, he had given it up then got

this out-room to live in from Rapley when he became one of his

employees.

By taking this job, he knew that his pride had reached rock bottom,

imagine him doing menial jobs for Rapley. He had to take the room as no

one else would have given him lodgings in Happy Valley. Beville thought

that he should have returned to his native Old River, in St. Mary but

when he went there the place was as he had left it thirty years ago, to go

to the States. There were no roads, water still had to be taken from a

nearby spring and the houses were in poor condition. He had treated the

villagers to several cook-outs, buying out the nearby bar on each

occasion. His building society had in the meantime shown him the

picture of a property in Happy Valley and he fell in love with it. After his

first visit there he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the property. But for

his financial advisors he would have paid cash for it. One month later

and he was living in the mansion. He later learned that the house had

been built by Walton Green, a man who later ruined himself by his

riotous living and had to seek refuge with his relatives

down in St. Elizabeth. That would not be happening to Joshua Beville’s

son, that was a promise he had made. The house had passed through

two other owners before it came into his possession. Four years later and

he knew that he had not kept that promise. That was the time it took him

to blow away ten million dollars, not counting what he had paid down on

the property. He had lost two good women in that time. He couldn’t blame Megan. After a year she had

joined him  and couldn’t understand what was happening to him.  She wanted to know where all the money

had gone. She tried to straighten out his life for him but he wanted to party and enjoy life. Then she got

involved with Brenton Raymond after finding out about Jacinth. Then when he went up to get a divorce from

her he got the news about Jacinth and Corporal Johnson.

At forty four years of age, Beville knew that time wasn’t on his side. He had thought of suicide, especially

after the betrayals by his false friends. But he hoped to ride his luck by probably selling his brother a

storythat his wife had tricked him out of most of the money he had given him. It was he who had given him the

the money out of his lottery winning, telling him to make a man of himself. He got up and looked at the clock. It

was now two o’clock and the taxi would be coming for him at four o’clock. He sighed as he remembered

those two old men always calling down a crowd whenever he was in the bar and drinking. Then there was

that woman, always willing to serve them bbecause she knew that he would pay up. He got back into the

bed and drew the covers over himself. He would try to get some more sleep before he was shipped out.           

John Thomas Redmond, known as John Tom to his friends, had fallen in

love with the property after seeing it from the pictures his building

society had shown him. It was on fifteen acres of well fruited land and

had ten rooms. He was thinking of returning home especially after the

breakup of his marriage to Jheanel. At fifty two years of age, John Tom

thought that it was time to return home. Their three children had all

grown up and were on their own. He and Jheanel had separate quarters

and lived separate lives. After the children left they began to drift apart.

Jheanel wanted more spiritually, while John Tom, with the weight of

taking the children around off his back, thought that he could spend

more time with his friends and especially the young ladies. Jheanel had

spoken to him about the young ladies who kept calling the house and

about the rumors she had heard. Finally, frustrated, she had filed for

divorce. John Tom would not be contesting the suit. Although he was

leaving before the proceedings started, she would now own the house

and the car. She would rent out a part of the house. So John Tom had

left for home, hoping to settle in Happy Valley. He was hoping to

probably marry again and live off the interest from his savings and the

income from his property.

On arrival in Jamaica, John Tom did not go to Happy Valley but

stopped with friends in Mandeville. They felt that he should have settled

there like a lot of them. However when they saw his property thay said

that it was a good buy. He had returned to his hometown, visited with

friends and caught news about others. He had also met a few young

old friends and caught news about others. He had also met a few young

ladies who told him that they were from Happy Valley. He told them that

he was also from there and would look them up once he arrived and was

fully settled. One month later when his things arrived he was ready to

move in.