21. April 13, 2023 #3
Deschamps exited the kitchens, spitting out rapid-fire patois over his shoulder.
He was probably in his late fifties, early sixties—his body wiry with muscle and tan from working the fields.
While his short hair was gray, he wore it shaved close to his head, which was bald on top.
He had an infectious smile, an often-seen feature judging by the lines around his eyes and mouth.
Unlike the men who had come from the meeting in their designer “casual” wear, he was wearing a blue button-down shirt that hung open over a plain, dusky-blue T-shirt, a pair of tan cargo pants, and brown work boots.
Once he had delivered his last instructions, he placed a straw fedora on his head and called out to the guests as he came toward them.
“Luncheon is ready if you will all follow me, please!”
The guests moved slowly but en masse toward the French doors at the back of the main building. Zion pardoned himself. “Excuse me. I need to catch up with my foreman for a moment and see about arranging that extended tour for you. I will see you at lunch.”
Demon stood still and took a sip of his drink, his eyes narrowing as he watched Zion leave.
“What was that all about?” Cherry asked .
“Later. Stick close.” He stared at her. “I mean it. Do not leave my side. If you need to go to the restroom, tell me, and I’ll find a reason to excuse myself as well. Go nowhere with anyone but me.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between his. “Something bad is happening.”
“Later.”
Several wagons attached to two horses each stood on the dirt road off the patio.
Zion handed Cherry into the wagon, then gestured for Demon to follow her before getting onto the vehicle himself.
Once everyone was aboard, the driver clicked his mouth, gave a snap of the reins, and the horses took off down the road.
Fifteen minutes later, the groups found themselves at an alfresco dining site amidst the banana trees.
Several long tables with seating for twenty on both sides were set up in a naturally shaded area for meals of this kind.
Given the large number of guests and how organized everything was moving, he figured they did this often.
The few women present oohed and aahed, engaging Cherry in their discussions of the fine china and crystal laid out and the flower arrangements.
Although warm, there was a slight breeze, making dining outdoors more than pleasant.
As soon as the guests were seated down the long table, waitstaff began appearing from a small building. Fresh wine was poured all around, and each diner received a chilled shrimp appetizer, while Cherry received a fruit plate due to her dislike for seafood.
Cherry leaned toward Demon at her right. “These are the same individuals we had dinner with last night.”
“Mm-hmm,” he agreed, biting off a piece of shrimp.
“There were probably three hundred guests at the ball. This is about one hundred people. ”
“Legitimizing the event as much as possible. The people we need to focus on are the ones here. These are the moneymen.” He glanced at the gregarious foreman who had led them to the table. “We met him briefly last night. What do you know about him?”
“Calvin Deschamps. He’s been the manager here for thirty years. Took over for his father when he passed. The farm has been in the family for generations.”
“Who’s the boy?”
“His grandson, Andres. I think he’s eighteen? When Calvin retires or passes, he’ll take over the groves.”
“Not the father?”
Cherry shook her head. “Got the story from one of the women while you were out on the phone. She was all atwitter to share with me the tragic story of Nico and Ava Deschamps. Ava died shortly after giving birth to Andres. Some sort of infection set in.” They shared a look.
“Apparently, Nico was so distraught, he began drinking almost immediately. Drove his fancy sports car off a cliff.”
“Hmm. Wife dies, then a grief-stricken husband? Sounds like the husband wasn’t with the program,” Demon muttered. “So the grandfather is raising the boy. Where’s the grandmother?”
“There isn’t one. She died while in labor. Story is, Nico had to be cut from her body in order to be saved.” She put a forkful of salad into her mouth.
“This family seems to have very bad luck with having babies.”
“Mm-hmm,” was all Cherry would say. “Did you see the sign as we came in yesterday?”
Ah. She’d noticed. Was she making the connection of Zion to the Salieri all on her own? “Yes. I especially liked the aesthetic design of the second S in LES VERGERS DE LA MER .” He decided to test her response to a piece of further damning evidence. “It was in the plantation sign too.”
“Yes. I noticed,” she said quietly.
Okay. She was putting the pieces together that the team had already been suspicious of before they’d left L.A .
The waitstaff returned with individually covered dishes as they removed the appetizer plates.
Under each dome was green fig and saltfish, with the exception of Cherry, who was served tassot.
Zion had made sure that she would have a main course that wasn’t fish.
Demon had to admit that Zion knew how to take care of people.
He spared no expense to make them feel pampered in his home, provided unique experiences they could share about their visit, and, in general, charmed them.
Unfortunately, like Demon had noted earlier, the beauty that was outside didn’t always match what was within. The most venomous creatures were often the most beautiful in order to attract their prey.
“Why do you want a tour?” she whispered to him between bites of food.
Demon’s brow furrowed. “Not sure. Just do. My shite meter is blaring warning signals nonstop. Has been since we left this morning.”
“You mean it wasn’t prior?”
“Oh, no. It was. Just not as loudly as this morning.”
“Ciarán,” Zion called, “whatever has caused that frown?”
Lifting his head and turning toward his host, he thought hard on the fly.
“I was just thinking about all the things we have on our wish list to accomplish this week and how little time we have to do it. I’m guessing we’ll have to rethink our plans a bit.
Might need to consider saving some of it for another trip in the future. ”
“Did you have any definitive plans?”
Demon grinned, looking down at Cherry and taking her hand in his, raising it to his lips for a kiss.
“Tomorrow, I have a surprise for my lovely wife. I’ve set up some surfing lessons for her.
She’s never been, and it’s a hobby of mine, so since the waves here are calm and good for beginners, we’ve got a semi-private lesson set up in the bay. ”
Her pupils dilated as she gazed back at him.
Interesting. Could Steel be right that it would let her see him in an all-new light?
In all honesty, it had been an easy way to arrange for them to have a meeting with the team if they were all in an isolated group on the beach and the water. Maybe this would have dual benefits.
“How… interesting,” Zion replied. “I didn’t know you had an interest in surfing. Then again, it’s been a long time since I saw you last.”
“Lots of things change over time,” Cherry agreed.
Demon continued, “We also planned to spend some time on the coastline, so that will be good for tomorrow, as well. There was a café recommended to me by a co-worker that we thought we would try, which has some stunning views of the bay. Walk and see some of the shops. That sort of thing. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the next day.
” Demon flashed a wicked grin around the table.
“It’s our honeymoon, after all. We do what we want when we want. ”
Some of the women tittered and ahhed at his gently naughty comment.
Some of the husbands winked and raised a glass.
He noticed that the men who did not have wives gave somewhat indulgent smiles.
Those were the men they needed to concentrate on.
He needed to figure out how to get photos without being suspicious.
“You know,” Cherry said, “we didn’t have a traditional wedding back home.
Last night was essentially our wedding reception.
This could be considered our wedding supper, despite being out of order in the normal line of events.
We need a photo to commemorate the guests at our wedding, don’t you think? ”
Feck, this woman was brilliant. He knew he loved her for a reason.
“I think that’s an excellent idea, Esme,” he answered. He gestured to the boy standing off to the side. “Would you mind?”
Andres came forward. Demon tapped the camera button on the screen and turned the phone horizontally. The picture would stay in the phone’s album, but it would also immediately pop up into Midas’ email. He’d know exactly what to do with its sudden arrival.
“This side of the table can just turn around over their shoulder, and we should be able to get everyone in if we take it in panoramic style. ”
Everyone turned their faces to the camera, the picture was taken, and the “wedding supper” was memorialized.
Zion walked over to one of the other tables to speak with a guest, and the rest of their table became immersed in a discussion of the best beaches on the island.
Cherry crooked a finger underneath his collar, pulling him close in what would appear to anyone watching as a flirtatious move.
When he ducked his ear to her lips, she whispered, “You said Steel got a Cyclopes eye stuck to the outside of the window of the meeting room?”
“Yes.” Immediately, he knew where she was going with her question. He nuzzled her neck under her ear, answering her softly. “If they activated the eye feature even though they couldn’t see inside the room, they’ll have video of anyone arriving. That window is on the entryway side of the building.”
She turned her face in toward him, creating a veil of privacy when her hair spilled over her headband to shield their faces.
“You know Midas,” she assured him. “It might’ve seemed like overkill at the time, but even if he didn’t have a use for the video feed, it was running.
Probably still is. He should be able to get footage of everyone coming, going, or both. ”
“If they were in the meeting, that means they’d be in the know most likely.” He caressed the side of her face with a single fingertip, and he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Notice anything interesting about the married couples?”
“Other than the women who appear to be in their mid- to late twenties, even if their husbands are pushing fifty?”
Yeah, his woman was no dummy. When he broached their theory about Zion to her, he didn’t think she’d be all that surprised that he believed her uncle to actually be a member, although so far, no S button appeared on his clothing.
And given his interest in Esme, the timing of Bosworth’s disappearance on Esme’s graduation day was unlikely to be a coincidence.
Maybe her father’s digging into Salieri business had already put that kidnapping in motion, but Zion had been working toward getting his daughter closer to him.
Knowing what they did about the Salieri’s use and disposal of women?
Esme had lived far longer than Zion had planned for her to originally.
There was the gentle tinkle of silver against crystal, and all eyes were drawn to Zion once again standing at the head of the table.
“Family.” He raised his glass to Cherry and Demon.
“Business partners and friends.” Another raise of the glass to the guests at his table.
“And let’s not forget our enemies.” When everyone looked around at each other confusedly, Zion gave a conspiratorial smile as he leaned forward and fake whispered, “I’ll give you a hint.
They’re not here.” A chorus of chuckles broke out amongst the guests.
He continued his speech, his wineglass in the air.
“Thank you for joining me this weekend. I am honored by your presence, and together, we have hopefully strengthened current business ties as well as forged new ones that will be lucrative to all as we aim to make this world a better, safer place for all.
“My beautiful niece, Esme, and her new husband, Ciarán, have requested a tour of the banana farm’s inner workings, so if there are others who would like to join them on the impromptu tour, Calvin Deschamps, my overseer, will be happy to escort you on the long, hot, dusty walk after your desserts, which the waitstaff are bringing now.
The saner amongst you who choose to refrain, the wagons will be around in approximately thirty minutes to return you to the main building, where I promise you more wine.
” Again, laughter rose up from his attempt at humor.
“Please. Enjoy yourselves this afternoon at my expense, and the vans will return passengers back to Les Vergers de la Mer at your pleasure.” With a further raise of his glass into the air at his guests, Zion inclined his head at the applause and drank a sip of wine.
As his guests’ focus returned to their socializing, Zion reached for Cherry’s hand.
He kissed the back of it. “Once again, bèl fi , I hope you will excuse me. While it is social time for my guests, I have some business to attend to with regard to the end results of our meeting this morning. I hope you enjoy your tour today. There is no hurry. Take as long as you’d like to explore when the tour is complete.
There are some lovely walking paths that loop around the first grove closest to the center buildings.
As long as you stay on those, you cannot get lost or too far away.
Matthew will wait for you until you are ready to return to Les Vergers .
” A flash of his trademark smile, another kiss to the back of her hand, and he was striding off to a golf cart that had pulled up to take him back to the main building.