Whiskey Beach(141)
“Ooh-la-la.”
“You bet. They were the first to start holding big, elaborate parties. And one of their sons, Eli—”
“I like him.”
“You should. He built—had built—the first village school. His youngest brother fell for the schoolteacher, and they ran off together.”
“Romance.”
“Not so much. They were killed heading west to make their own fortune.”
“That’s very sad.”
“In any case Eli continued the tradition of expanding the house, the business, and the parties continued—with some scandals and tragedies thrown in—up to Prohibition. If things got lean, you wouldn’t know it by the way they lived. The twenties roared into the thirties, and the government realized they had screwed up and banning whiskey was costing them one hell of a lot. People bellied back up to the bar, in the open, and we opened another distillery.”
“The whiskey empire.”
“Through it, we’ve had art connoisseurs—and those reputed to have had affairs with artists—suicides, two who spied for the Allies, and plenty who died in various wars, a dancer who soared to fame in Paris, and another who ran away with the circus.”
“I like that one especially.”
“A duchess through marriage, a cardsharp, a cavalry officer who died with Custer, heroes, villains, a nun, two senators, doctors, lawyers. You name it, they’re probably in there.”
“It’s a long line. Most people don’t—or can’t—trace their family back that far, or have a place that’s been in that family for so many generations.”
“True enough. But do you know what’s missing?”
“A suffragette, a Playboy bunny, a rock star?”
He laughed. “We had some of the first. I didn’t come across any of the other two. What’s missing is Esmeralda’s Dowry. It’s mentioned along with the Calypso, the wreck, some speculation on Broome—did he survive or was the survivor a simple seaman? Speculation again on the dowry: Did it survive? But in these two most in-depth and sensible histories I’ve come across, the weight’s on no.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re right. I prefer believing it survived, just like in my version, the young brother and schoolteacher made their way west and plowed fields and made babies.”
“They drowned when their wagon tipped over crossing a river.”
“They planted corn and had eight children. I’m firm on that.”
“Okay.” Either way, he thought, they’d been dead a very long time. “On the dowry, it makes me wonder, again, what information Suskind has that I don’t. What makes him so sure that he’d risk so much, that he’d kill? Or is it all just bullshit?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if it has nothing to do with the long-lost treasure? I just jumped there, automatically. Somebody digging in the basement. What else?”
“Exactly, Eli.” Puzzled, she turned to study his profile. “What else?”
“I don’t know. Nothing I’ve found takes me anywhere else. But nothing I’ve found, realistically, takes me there either.” He glanced at her. “I think he’s just fucking batshit.”
“That worries you.”
“Damn right it does. You can’t reason with crazy. You can’t predict it. You can’t really plan for it.”
“I’m going to disagree.”
“Okay. And?”
“I’m not saying he isn’t twisted. I think anyone who takes a life, unless it’s in defense of self or another, is twisted. But you know, it’s verified that he and Lindsay were involved.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” he repeated. “And she wouldn’t go for crazy. Not overtly crazy. But people can hide their nature.”
“Do you think so? I just don’t, at least not for long. I think what we are shows. Not just in our actions, but in our face, our eyes. He’s worked on this for more than a year and a half—closer to two years now—as far as we know. Getting close to Lindsay, talking her into driving to Whiskey Beach when she didn’t like it. So there’s probably some charm in there. He’s also juggling a wife, children, a job. Twisted, I think, yes, but not batshit. Batshit’s out of control. He’s still maintaining.”
“Twisted’s bad enough.”
When they fought their way into Boston traffic, he turned to her again. “You’re sure about this?”
“I’m not sitting in the car, Eli. Forget that. I think we should drive by her house first. If there’s no car, we can check her work. She’s part-time, so it’s a toss-up. So much energy in the city! I love it for a day or two, then, boy, I want out.”