Sunset Key - Crouch Blake. Страница 6

“Sand sharks,” Fitch said. “Not to worry. Totally harmless. They like the reefs for protection. A mother and her pups.”

He offered his arm. They walked down the long dock. Letty could see the cupola of a house peeking above the scrub oak that covered the island. According to the blueprints and to Javier, that was Fitch’s office.

“How was your ride over?” Fitch asked.

“Wonderful. Your yacht is amazing.”

“Part of my midlife crisis, some would say.”

Letty glanced back over her shoulder.

James and the unnamed driver followed at a respectful distance.

“Don’t give them another thought,” Fitch said. “I know James searched you, and I apologize for that barbarous invasion, but it couldn’t be helped.”

“It was no big deal,” she said.

“Well, you’re my guest now.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Letty said. “You’ve lived here long?”

“Back in my former life, I was primarily based in Houston. I also had a winter place in Aspen. An apartment in Manhattan. Of course, those are gone now. But I bought this key twenty-two years ago when it was fourteen acres of unspoiled paradise. Designed the house myself. It was always my favorite. There’s a view of the sea from every room.”

They went ashore.

A man of fifty or so stood waiting for them in khaki slacks and a short-sleeved button-down.

“Selena, this is Manuel, my caretaker and steward. He’s been with me for…how long, Manuel?”

“Since you buy island. I live here almost twenty-two years.”

Fitch said, “Before we go to the house, I thought we’d take a walk on the beach.” He kicked off his sandals.

Manuel turned to Letty. “If you give me shoes, I take them up to house for you.”

Letty leaned over and unfastened her pumps. She stepped out and handed them to Manuel.

“And your purse?”

“I think I’ll hang on to this.”

Fitch said, “Thank you, Manuel.”

“Very good, sir.”

“You’re leaving for Key West when Angie goes?”

“Yes, I go with her.”

“Take care, my old friend.”

Letty and Fitch walked barefoot up a man-made beach.

“Manuel came over on a raft. Half of them died. Sends his paychecks back to Havana. He’s an honorable man. Loyal. He’ll never have to work again after tomorrow. He doesn’t know this yet.”

The sand was soft and stark white and still warm from the sun. There was no surf, no waves. No boats within earshot. Letty could hear the sound of leaves rustling, a bird singing in the interior of the island, and little else. The water was bright green.

Fitch picked up a shell before Letty stepped on it.

He said, “Down on the seashore I found a shell,/Left by the tide in its noonday swell/Only a white shell out of the sea,/Yet it bore sweet memories up to me/Of a shore where brighter shells are strown,/Where I stood in the breakers, but not alone.”

“That’s lovely,” Letty said.

They moved on up the shore. It seemed that with every passing second, the sun expanded, its pool of light coloring a distant reef of clouds.

“It’s why I chose the Keys, you know,” Fitch said. “Best sunsets in the world. Ah. Here we are.” They had reached the tip of the island. A pair of adirondack chairs waited in the sand under the shade of a coconut palm. They faced west, an ice bucket and a small, wooden box between them.

Letty and Fitch crossed the sand to the chairs. The sunset spread across the horizon like a range of orange mountains. There was no wind. The water was as still as glass.

Letty glanced down at the box. The top had been stamped:

HEIDSIECK & CO. MONOPOLE

GOUT AMERICAIN

VINTAGE 1907

NO. 1931

Fitch pulled an unlabeled bottle out of the ice water. He held it to the fading light. The glass was green and scuffed. He went to work opening it.

Letty said, “Special. Even has its own box.”

“This bottle was on its way to the Russian royal family when the boat carrying it was torpedoed by Germans. What must have gone through those young sailors’ minds? It took a half hour. They knew, for a half hour, they were going to die and could do nothing to stop it. Nothing but wait and watch the minutes slide.”

“In what year?”

“Nineteen-sixteen. The vintage is nineteen-oh-seven, which makes this—”

“Ninety-eight years old?”

He nodded.

“Oh my god.”

“It was recovered from the wreck seven years ago. The bottles were perfectly preserved at the bottom of the ocean. Notable not only for the rarity and the history—as it turns out, the wine itself is quite excellent. I bought one for a special occasion. I’d say tonight qualifies. Would you get the glasses, please?”

Letty reached into the box and lifted out two crystal flutes.

“Go ahead and ask,” Fitch said as he struggled with the cork.

“Ask what?”

He worked it out so slowly, there was no pop. Just a short hiss as the pressure released. The cork crumbled in his hand. He held the opening of the bottle to her nose.

It smelled like perfume.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Gorgeous.”

Fitch took a whiff himself and then began to pour.

“So ask,” he said. “It won’t offend me.”

“What?”

“What I paid.”

“That would be rude.”

“But you want to know.”

With her glass full, Letty smelled it again, the carbonation bubbles misting her nose.

“All right. What’d you pay, Johnny?”

“Two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Here’s to you,” he said.

She didn’t even know how to comprehend such a figure…for a single bottle of wine!

“To you, Johnny.”

They clinked glasses.

The champagne was amazing.

“I want to know your passion, Selena.”

“My passion?”

“What is it that most excites you in this life? What is your prime mover? Your reason for being here?”

“Prada.”

This got a huge laugh.

“Money can’t buy you happiness, darling. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

“But it affords your own brand of misery.”

“You’re a lively one, Selena. That’s good. Real good. Let’s sit back and enjoy, shall we?” Fitch said. “This is going to be a night for the senses.”

Letty leaned back in her chair. “That’s the prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen,” she said.

“I’m just glad it didn’t rain.” Fitch laughed, but there was a sadness in it.

All the color went out of the sky.

“Where are you from, Selena?” Fitch asked.

Letty had only had two glasses, but she felt good. Too good. “A little bit of everywhere. I guess I don’t really think of any one place as home.”

Fitch looked over at her. He patted her hand.

“I know this must be a strange deal for you,” he said.

“It’s not.”

“You’re kind to say that, but…” He stared out across the sea. With the sun gone, there were only shades of blue. “I’m just really glad you’re here tonight.”

* * *

They walked toward the house on a sandy path that cut through the heart of the island.

Letty held Fitch’s hand.

“You have a real sweetness about you, Selena,” he said. “Reminds me of my wife.”

“You miss her? No, I’m sorry. That’s not my business.”

“It’s all right. I brought her up. Yeah, I miss her. She left me a year and a half ago.”

“Before your trial.”

“Go through something like this, you find out real quick who your friends are. It’s not always your kin. Only real loyalty I’ve seen is from Manuel and my lawyers. Both of whom I pay. So what does that tell you? Two of my sons won’t speak to me. My youngest only communicates by email. I understand to a point, I guess. I’ve put them through a lot. Do you have children, Selena?”

“I have a son,” Letty said before it even crossed her mind to lie.

“Is he in your life?”

“He’s not.”

Through the underbrush, Letty caught a glimpse of house lights in the distance.

Fitch said, “But is there anything he could do that would make you stop loving him?”