Adriana Eastlake's husbandThey
came back from... Adriana Eastlake's husbandThey
came back from Atlanta to help with the search
after Tessie and Laura went missing, that much is
true, but they never left Duma Key again
x
We went into the parlor where I had first met
Elizabeth EastlakeThe long, low table was still
there, but now it was emptyIts polished surface
struck me as a pitch-perfect mockery of life
"Where are they?" I asked Wireman"Where are her
chinas? Where's the Village?"
"I boxed everything up and put it in the summerkitchen,"
he said, pointing vaguely"No real
reason, I justmuchacho,
would you like some green tea? Or a beer?"
I asked for waterJack said he'd take a beer, if
that was all
cheap chanel watches rightWireman set off to get them
842
He made it as far as the hallway before starting
to cryThey were big, noisy sobs, the kind you
can't stifle no matter how hard you try
Jack and I looked at each other, then looked away
xi
He was gone a lot longer than it usually takes to
get two cans of beer and a glass of water, but
when he came back, he had regained his composure"I don't usually lose someone I
love and poke a candlestick in a vampire's face in
the same weekUsually it's one or the other He
shrugged his shoulders in an effort at insouciance
It was unsuccessful, but I had to give him points
for trying
"They're not vampires," I said
"Then what are they?" he
balenciaga bag asked
"I can only tell you what her pictures told me
You have to remember that, no matter how talented
she might have been, she was still only a child
I hesitated, then shook my head
843
Hardly more than a babyI guess
you'd say Perse was her spirit-guide
Wireman cracked his beer, sipped it, then leaned
forward"And what about you? Is Perse your
spirit-guide, as well? Has she been intensifying
what you do?"
"Of course she has," I said"She's been testing
the limits of my ability and extending them - I'm
sure that's what Candy Brown was aboutAnd she's
been picking my materialThat's what the Girl and
Ship paintings were about
"And the rest of your stuff?" Jack
balenciaga replica handbags asked
"Mostly mine, I thinkBut some of it-" I stopped,
suddenly struck by a terrible ideaI put my glass
aside and almost knocked it over
"What?" Wireman asked"For God's sake, what?"
"You need to get your little red book of phone
numbers
He went and got it, then handed me the cordless
telephoneI sat for a moment with it in my lap,
not sure who to call firstBut there
is one rule of modern life even more ironclad than
the one which states that there's never a cop
844
around when you need one: when you really need a
human being, you always get the answering machine
That's what I got at Dario Nannuzzi's home, at
Jimmy Yoshida's, at Alice Aucoin's
"Fuck!" I cried,
montre cartier ronde slamming the disconnect button
with my thumb when Alice's recorded voice started
in with "I'm sorry I'm not here to take your call
right now, but-"
"They're probably still celebrating," Wireman said
"Give it time, amigo, and it'll all quiet down
"I don't have time!" I said"Fuck! Shit! Fuck!"
He put a hand on mine, and spoke soothingly"What
is it, Edgar? What's wrong?"
"The pictures are dangerous! Maybe not all, but
some, for sure!"
He thought about it, then noddedLet's
think about thisThe most dangerous ones are
probably the Girl and Ship series, right?"
"YesI'm sure that's the case
"They're almost certainly still at the gallery,
waiting to be framed and
pink and black chanel purse shipp