CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR #3
Wondering if that was now more likely to happen than not, Cristy went ahead through an arched gateway to a spacious pool area filled with loungers and palm trees, although not many people.
An array of large, circular tables was set out on a shady terrace overlooking the water and as they approached a tall, slender man of around sixty with thick silver hair and dark glasses stood to greet them.
For a strangely disorientating moment Cristy felt she was watching him morphing from his younger, almost shadowy self into this older, markedly less sinister reality.
‘Cristy, David,’ Evie said eagerly, ‘this is Gabe. He’s very pleased to meet you.’
As Cristy shook his hand, which was lean and bony, he said in a decidedly plummy British voice, ‘I’m very pleased to meet you. I hope you’ll excuse me for not removing my glasses.’
‘He’s photophobic,’ Evie jumped in. ‘Ultra-sensitive to light.’
‘You’re from England?’ he asked Cristy.
‘We are,’ she confirmed, and stood aside for him to greet David.
‘What part?’ he asked, addressing David now.
‘Originally Gloucestershire,’ David replied. ‘These days, Guernsey. And you?’
Evie said, ‘Gabe was also born in Gloucestershire, close to the Oxfordshire border.’
‘Shall we?’ Lukas suggested, holding out a chair for Cristy to sit next to Gabe.
David took the other side and immediately a server was there ready to take orders for drinks.
Arnold Palmers all round. As the server departed Evie began extolling the club’s many virtues, gamely backed up by Lukas, while Gabe sat quietly in his chair, smiling benignly and gently tapping his fingers on the table.
Other diners began to appear, filling nearby tables, some waving a hello to Evie, while Lukas discreetly provided names and status.
High flying lawyers, real estate agents, CEOs of multi-nationals …
The list went on and Cristy couldn’t help wondering how he’d describe Gabe were he giving a commentary to someone else. Gabriel Bailey, old English aristocracy, ex-human trafficker no longer sought by law enforcement?
Seizing a pause in Evie’s lengthy plaudits (was she nervous, or always as chatty as this?) and Lukas’s asides, Cristy said, ‘I have to confess we weren’t expecting to see you, Lukas. You’re a very welcome surprise.’
He smiled in a way that made him appear both apologetic and pleased by the compliment. ‘We weren’t sure until this morning,’ he said, ‘that I was going to make it back in time to see you. I’ve been in New York, on business, but here I am now, and delighted to meet you.’
Still trying to get a through line on things, Cristy said, ‘Can I ask, before we go any further … Two colleagues of mine are in Vilnius searching for your sister Audra …’
‘Ah, yes. Am I able to help with this? I can let you have her phone number and email and I’ll make sure she knows it’s all right to speak to them. I’ll need their names, of course.’ He was already poised to tap into his mobile.
After providing Clove and Jacks’s details, Cristy waited for him to relay them to Audra, while Evie and Gabe smiled on and David looked as amazed as he did amused.
Cristy recalled Natalie Irwin saying that Lukas had a way with him that ‘kind of cheered you up’, and it didn’t seem he’d changed, for she had to admit he really was likeable.
Lukas looked up from his phone, grinned and saluted them: mission accomplished.
‘I’ve been listening to your podcast since we found out about it,’ he told her.
‘I’ve got so much to ask … We’ll come on to it, of course, but I want to apologize for being so difficult to find.
It’s just that when Evie and I took this job, with Gabe, one of the conditions at the time was that we didn’t let anyone know where we were.
There were some very good reasons for it, but things have changed over the years … ’
‘Not completely,’ Gabe put in.
‘No, not completely,’ Lukas agreed, ‘but there’s no harm in us talking to Cristy and David now.’
Cristy half-expected Gabe to object, but he only nodded absently, so she said, ‘Just before coming here I spoke to an old friend of yours, Natalie …’
Lukas nodded. ‘Ah yes, Nat. How is she? I’ve always felt terrible about cutting contact with her. She was such a very good friend to me when I needed one most.’
‘You should be in touch,’ Evie told him. ‘At least let her know you’re still alive.’
‘I think she’d appreciate that,’ Cristy said.
Clearly glad she thought so, Lukas said, ‘I should do it before she has chance to hear the interview we give you. It seems only fair for her to find things out before everyone else, don’t you think?’
‘Absolutely,’ Evie agreed.
‘I’ll arrange for her interview to be sent to you,’ Cristy said, ‘so you can hear her in advance as well.’
‘Thank you,’ he smiled. ‘I’m already looking forward to hearing her lovely voice. I used to try to mimic her Yorkshire accent, and the way she laughed at my efforts …’ He laughed himself and gave a sigh of nostalgia.
When no one seemed inclined to say anything else, Cristy said tentatively, ‘Will it be OK to record here?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Evie jumped in, ‘I should have explained right away. No phones, or anything of that sort, are allowed in public areas. I hope you don’t mind.
And we thought that rather than dive right in, this would be a nice, relaxed get-to-know-you lunch before we go back to the house.
We can talk about anything you like there. Is that OK with you?’
‘Of course,’ Cristy replied, embarrassed that she’d rushed into asking when it should have been obvious that a recording device would be close to offensive in a place like this.
‘We’re happy to talk to you,’ Gabe told her. ‘And we want to hear all about Sasha.’
‘I’m sure they’ll tell us everything,’ Lukas said. ‘After all, we want a two-way exchange here, don’t we?’ He was looking at Cristy, apparently seeking assurance that she wasn’t going to hold back on them.
‘Of course, we’ll tell you about her,’ she promised, ‘but I hope you’ll explain things to us first.’
Lukas’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. ‘A very reasonable request,’ he agreed, ‘but please keep in mind that no one here intends her any harm – if that’s what you’re afraid of.’
‘No one ever did,’ Gabe put in.
Lukas grimaced. ‘Well, that’s not exactly true, but let’s leave it until later.’
Gabe nodded and let the subject drop as easily as if they’d been discussing the weather. ‘What would you like to eat, Cristy?’ he asked. ‘Can I recommend the Cobb salad? Or perhaps you’d prefer lobster? It’s always very well prepared here.’
As Cristy scanned the menu Evie said, ‘I think I’ll have the snow crab,’ and smiled up at the server, as he brought the drinks.
Lukas and David decided on lobster, Cristy went for the seared tuna while Gabe ordered shrimp pappardelle.
The menus were taken, and toasts of welcome were made – and next thing, almost as if they were picking up on a recently abandoned conversation, Lukas and David were engrossed in a detailed discussion of the financial markets.
Evie smiled on happily, clearly proud of her man, while Gabe tilted his head to one side seeming to listen, although he had nothing to add.
Apparently realizing she was watching him he turned to her and said, ‘Are you a golfer, Cristy?’
‘Uh, no, I’m not,’ she replied, feeling absurdly as though she might be letting him down. ‘Are you?’
‘Mm, I play most days. Did you know that they call Naples the golfing capital of the world? Some say it’s Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, but for me it’s right here. What about tennis, is that your game?’
Caught by the suddenness of the question, she replaced her glass on the table and said, ‘It was, some years ago. I haven’t played in a while.’
‘Pity. How about pickleball?’
‘I don’t actually know what that is.’
‘Very noisy. Evie’s quite good at it.’
‘It’s kind of like badminton, but not,’ Evie explained. ‘There are courts here. I can show you if you like.’
Cristy smiled back at her and felt once again as if she were in some sort of parallel universe where the real world was something that happened a long way from here.
‘We’re not Trump supporters,’ Lukas was telling David.
‘The man is fiscally and judicially ignorant, although he likes to think he’s king of all he surveys.
Of course, everyone around these parts has Republicanism running through their veins, so it’s best not to get into a conversation about politics.
Not the done thing, old boy,’ he added, affecting an accent almost as British as Gabe’s.
‘We have some very interesting wildlife here,’ Gabe announced. ‘Especially the birds.’
Cristy turned to him uncomprehendingly.
‘Gabe conducts bird tours,’ Evie explained. ‘He’s very knowledgeable. They call him an avian consultant.’
‘Amongst other things,’ Gabe chortled. ‘If you’re interested I’ll be happy to show you around while you’re here. We have a pair of ospreys on Pines 9 that you ought to see. I’m very keen on the American Kestrel, myself – you’ll know that as a sparrow hawk, I expect.’
‘Tell us about the Florida Wood Storks,’ Evie urged. ‘I know they’re one of your favourites and you speak so poetically about them.’
And so, bizarrely, for the next hour or so, they listened to George Symmonds-Browne waxing lyrical on his specialist subjects (which also included wildflowers and turtles’ mating habits) while tucking into some delicious food and becoming, in Cristy’s case, increasingly fascinated by the dynamic between these three.
How on earth had they ended up here together, and who in the heck was paying for it all?
It surely wasn’t coming from the proceeds of Gabe’s earlier career, or maybe it was.
She was, of course, dying to ask, but clearly this wasn’t the time or place, and she wasn’t sure she could anyway, when there seemed no way in through the shiny, happy carapace they exuded, not a single crack nor a shadow of an opening.
Finally, they were walking back to the cars, David side by side with his new best friend, Lukas, and Cristy between Evie and Gabe who’d very gently taken her arm.
‘Were you followed here?’ Gabe asked quietly.
Startled, she said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’
He nodded and Evie said, ‘There’s nothing to worry about, Gabe. We’ll be home soon, safe and sound.’
*
Barely waiting until David started to drive out of the club’s grounds behind Evie’s car, Lukas following in his, Cristy said, ‘What is it with Gabe? He doesn’t seem … He’s so … not what I expected.’
‘I know what you mean,’ David responded, ‘but if you ask me none of them are.’
‘You appeared to get along very well with Lukas.’
‘Sure, he comes over as a regular guy, very knowledgeable about the world of finance … Wasn’t he a builder, a plumber, a delivery driver, back in the UK?’
‘That’s what Natalie Irwin told us, but that was ten or more years ago. He’s obviously upped his game since coming to work for Gabe.’
‘And has in that time amassed himself – or Gabe – a small fortune.’
‘Did he tell you that?’
‘He didn’t have to. No one who knows the stock market the way he does isn’t playing it and winning. So I’d say, they’re pretty well covered financially speaking.’
After considering that for a moment, while clocking one exclusive gated-community after another as they drove the glossy eight- or ten-lane boulevards, still behind Evie’s Mercedes, Cristy said, ‘Gabe asked me if we were followed here. Do you think we might have been?’
David frowned. ‘I can’t say I noticed anyone, although we haven’t exactly been looking. Anyway, he surely wouldn’t be hard to find in a place like this, so who’d need to track us to get to him?’
‘He’s changed his name,’ she reminded him thoughtfully. ‘So I’m asking myself, is he still running scared of the gangs? I guess he must be, given he’s no longer a person of interest to Interpol, so it can’t be law enforcement he’s hiding from.’
‘If he really is hiding.’
She glanced at him quizzically.
He shrugged. ‘Something’s off – or at least odd – about the set-up here,’ he commented.
Knowing exactly what he meant, Cristy watched Evie turn into a private development with exquisitely tended flower beds and clusters of succulents on the sloping lawns each side of the entrance.
They slowed to a stop in front of two towering electronic gates with the community’s name, Floral Grove, in gold lettering on each one, and a uniformed guard ambled out of a whitewashed, red-roofed booth to greet Evie and Gabe.
‘There seems to be a lot of security around here,’ she remarked to David, noting a handsomely groomed German Shepherd eyeing the apparently friendly exchange between his handler and the recent arrivals. ‘What do you say to that?’
‘What I’m thinking is, once this particular episode airs the whole world is going to know where they are, so why have you been invited here?’
‘I’m going to guess that part of the deal of telling us what we want to know is going to include not revealing their whereabouts.
Which will make the intro I did on the plane redundant along with most of what I’ve recorded since.
However, this is about Sadie, not location – so what really matters is finding out how she ended up with the Winters sisters back in 2000, and what the heck happened to her mother? ’