CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR #2
‘Liverpool, born and bred,’ Evie answered, exaggerating her Scouse accent.
‘Been a long time since I was there though. Now, I’m calling to redirect you to our country club.
We’ve booked a table poolside for lunch and that’s about the time you should arrive.
It seemed easier than getting our cook in on her day off.
I’ll pop the address into an email so you can just click on.
It’s only about fifteen minutes from the house …
You’re staying at the Ritz-Carlton, is that right? ’
Having sent the information yesterday, Cristy said, ‘Correct. Is it far from the club?’
‘Twenty to thirty minutes, depending on traffic. It’s a cool place, great beachside café, but you have to get there early, they don’t take reservations. How long are you staying?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ Cristy replied, taking in the endless expanse of tropical foliage either side of the highway and trying not to imagine too much of what lurked in the depths. ‘I guess a lot will depend on you and what George – Gabriel – is willing to tell us.’
‘Sure, good. He’s up for this, just … just don’t push him too hard, OK?’
With a glance at David, Cristy said, ‘Is he joining us for lunch?’
‘I hope so. He said he would, and he doesn’t have any other commitments today so I expect he’ll be there.
Now, you’re heading for the Royal Poinciana Golf Club – don’t ask me why it’s royal, I’ve never figured that out – but it’s not hard to find.
We’ll head over there early to make sure we’re waiting when you arrive.
Remember, we’re going to be poolside and there’s parking right out front. ’
As she rang off, David said, ‘Given her Liverpool roots it’s seeming more likely that she’s Lukas’s old girlfriend?’
Cristy nodded thoughtfully. ‘I’m dying to find out how she ended up here with Symmonds-Browne,’ she said, all manner of scenarios dancing through her head, none of them good, especially not for Lukas.
‘Gabriel Bailey,’ David corrected quietly. ‘Has Evie mentioned Janina or Sadie at all in her emails?’
Cristy shook her head. ‘Not once. I mean, she knows it’s why we’re here, obviously, but she hasn’t volunteered a single thing about them so far.’
Speeding up to pass a U-Haul truck, he said, ‘I wonder why she asked you not to push Bailey too hard. Does that signal a short fuse that could have him walking out at the merest hint of a difficult question?’
Taking out her recorder Cristy clicked on and started to speak.
CRISTY: ‘Not far from Naples now and you’ll have heard the phone conversation I just had with Evie Baker. So I’m wondering, will Gabriel Bailey decide to join us for lunch, or have I come all this way just to be ghosted?’
She paused, lowering the device to her lap as she thought. After a while she continued.
CRISTY: ‘You know, I can’t help feeling like a pawn in some sort of a game I don’t know the rules for, which is …
kind of sinister, and making me glad I didn’t come alone.
On the other hand, I could be overthinking things, getting too caught up in my own imagination.
So maybe I just keep moving forward, follow directions and hope, when I finally manage to talk to Symmonds-Browne – aka Gabriel Bailey – that I don’t find myself sorely wishing I hadn’t come. ’
*
Half an hour later they were merging from one of the many wide, palm-lined boulevards they’d followed since entering the outskirts of town to begin a slow, meandering crawl through the Royal Poinciana’s extensive grounds.
CRISTY: ‘It’s so green and manicured, sun-drenched and fragrant, I feel as though I’m floating off into the Elysian Fields.
To give you an idea of its size there are, apparently, two Audubon International Certified golf courses here – I’m sure that will hugely impress the aficionados amongst you – seven HydroGrid soft tennis courts, and seven pickleball courts (whatever that is).
We know there’s a pool, because Evie’s already told us, but what she didn’t mention was the dress code that apparently requires “acceptable attire” throughout the club.
I guess I’ll just have to hope that the knee-shorts and floaty blouse I’m wearing are suitable.
If not, well, the luggage is in the boot – or trunk, depending on which version of English we’re speaking.
‘Anyway, from what we’ve seen of Naples so far it’s hard to describe what a striking contrast it makes to its Italian counterpart.
All they seem to have in common is sunshine and blue skies; one so grungy and cluttered with history, the other so new and clean and rich.
Ah, I’m guessing this is Evie, waving out to us, unless everyone’s ridiculously friendly around here … ’
As David swung the car into a space, Cristy continued to record, lowering her window and smiling expectantly at the woman coming to meet them.
EVIE: ‘Cristy! You made it. So lovely to see you. And you’re …’
DAVID: ‘David. Good to meet you.’
EVIE: ‘You too. You can leave the car right here, the pool’s just through that gate. Gabe’s already at the table, and very keen to meet you.’
As Evie stepped back to check her phone, Cristy continued recording.
CRISTY: ‘Evie’s a very attractive woman of around fifty, I’d say – to be honest it’s not easy to tell when various enhancements have been brought into play.
Maybe edit out that last bit, I don’t want to offend her, but honestly, those lips …
? Anyway, she’s petite, lots of jewellery, a cloud of fair hair, a winning smile and merry blue eyes. ’
Turning off the engine, David said, ‘OK, are you ready for this?’
Cristy started as Evie reappeared at her window. Quickly lowering it again, she said, ‘Are we properly dressed?’
Laughing, Evie said, ‘We’re quite casual at the pool.
If you’ve brought a suit you can take a swim after we’ve eaten.
Or you can wait until we get to the house and take a dip there.
Of course there’s an excellent facility at the Ritz-Carlton, but obviously it’s shared with other guests.
Ah! Here’s Lukas. He didn’t think he’d make it in time, but luckily he has. Come say hi.’
Still blinking, Cristy watched Evie hurry over to a smart white Lexus where an impeccably dressed, athletic-looking man of around fifty was already stepping out – and as he enveloped her in a tender, almost intimate hug it seemed only polite to look away.
‘Well, there’s a turn-up,’ David muttered wryly.
Cristy turned to look at him. ‘Please tell me I’m still recording,’ she said, holding up the device.
‘You are,’ he confirmed.
Speaking into it, she continued.
CRISTY: ‘So they’re all together, George, Lukas and Evie. Is it too much to hope that Janina might also be here in Shangri-La?’
*
Cristy and David were out of the car by the time Lukas came loping across the car park to greet them, all smiles and outstretched hands.
She felt, oddly, as if she already knew him – she did from photos, though of course he was older and greyer – and there was an air of easy sophistication about him that he almost certainly wouldn’t have had twenty years ago.
(No sign of the hat!) Maybe it was the expensive cut of his clothes and his natural tan that made him appear so comfortable in these surroundings; he really did seem to belong.
‘Thank you, thank you for coming all this way,’ he said, grasping Cristy’s hand in both of his, his Lithuanian accent making his words somehow warmer and friendlier. ‘I was worried I might miss you and I want to hear all about Sasha. How is she? Will she come too? Can we meet her?’
As Cristy struggled for an answer, David said, ‘We call her Sadie, but if you prefer Sasha …’
‘Sasha, Sadie … We don’t mind just as long as she’s safe and happy. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for her. Oh, but to see her, to hold her dear face in my hands … I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Lukas Andris, pleased to meet you.’
‘David Gaudion,’ David replied, shaking hands. ‘And likewise.’
Turning back to Cristy, Lukas said, ‘When we were told about your podcast it was like being blessed by God above. After all these years … Of course Evie got in touch right away, and now here you are …’
‘Honey,’ Evie said gently, ‘Gabe is at the table alone. We should go in or … Well, let’s go in.’
Cristy glanced at David and caught the arch of an eyebrow as they linked hands and fell into step behind the others. Keeping her voice low, she said, ‘This is so not what I expected …’
‘On the same page for that,’ he told her. ‘And there’s so much money around here you can almost smell the laundry.’
Realizing he’d be far more attuned to that than she would, she said, ‘Are you serious?’
‘I could be.’
‘It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it? Helped by the weather, of course. But what about Lukas being here? I’m still struggling to get my head around that.’
‘Me too.’
Smiling and waving as Evie turned to check they were coming, Cristy said, ‘I wonder how open and honest they’re going to be, how real they actually are.
I mean, they haven’t gone out of their way to find Sadie in all these years, and yet now they want us to believe that they can’t wait to see her and we’re a gift from God. ’
‘Whatever their story, I feel it’s going to be an interesting one. I guess it’ll just be a question of whether or not we believe it, which makes me doubly glad we didn’t bring Sadie with us.’
Sadie had wanted to come, had virtually begged to be included, but Cristy had been adamant that she and David should check everything out first. ‘We only have this Evie’s word that she has a link to George Symmonds-Browne.
And even if she does, we still don’t know exactly why he’s willing to see us, or, more importantly for you, if he’ll be able to tell us where your mother is. ’
Seeming to accept that, Sadie had said, ‘Will you keep in touch, let me know what’s happening?’
‘Of course. And if we feel it’s the right thing to do maybe you and Jasper can fly out to join us.’