Hed found a crystal sphere in the pyramid, and taken it. When hed left the cave, hed heard a voice telling him to get out and never to return.
Sean sat back, shaking his head, puzzled. If hed ever found such a cave, hed have partners and film crew down in the water before he ever came out of it.
Ray Brown didnt do that.
He didnt tell the world about his remarkable experience.
He brought his crystal to a psychics fair in Phoenix in 1975.
If his cave had ever been discovered or the secret of the crystal divulged, Sean didnt know about it, nor, going from site to site to site on the Internet, could he find any mention of itthe cave, that was. There was mention only of the crystal.
Behind him, Bartholomew sniffed.
God! Would you not read over my shoulder? Sean asked.
Bartholomew ignored the question.
They are referring to the Gulf Stream. They are referring to an area that, even in my day, was one of the most heavily traveled sea passages in the world. The current is always five to six knots, storms rise up constantly out of nowhere, and statistically, it would be almost impossible for things not to happen in the area. Ah, but absurd things do happen. So is there a Bermuda Triangle? Or is it just the natural state of the world? he queried.
I believe that youre right about the fact that the sea can be dangerous, the Gulf Stream can be treacherous and human beings can make errors. There was a case just a few years ago where seven fishermen were out. The captain had sailed the waters more than thirty years. They left on a clear day, and a rogue wave overturned the boat. They werent five nautical miles from shore, but after the wave hit, the boat overturned. Two died and five were found alive. If the five hadnt been recovered, it would have been another case for the Bermuda Triangle, because no trace of the fishing boat was ever discovered and they were in relatively shallow waters, close to shore, when it happened. I dont believe in crystals or aliens. Who knows? Maybe a city was sunk thousands of years agoIve been places where they know that one day the volcanoes beneath the surface will blowand old islands will go down and new ones will be formed. Hawaii will sinkhell, one day, Florida will sink. Thats the planet. But as far as people being murdered by the Bermuda Triangle, crystals, aliens, or even a subspecies of humanity with gillsI dont believe it for an instant.
Bartholomew laughed. That from a man carrying on a conversation with a ghost!
Sean glared at him.
Hey! Bartholomew protested. Im just pointing out that there is more in the world than what most people are willing to see or accept. But frankly, Im with you. I dont believe in aliensnot from other planets. Oh, there may be life out there, but I have a feeling that life might be fungi or sponges. And no one sees the futureexcept for God. Ive been around a very long time. Ive been able to observe quite a bit. Like the fact that youre thinking about all of this because youve spent the day on the computer.
Is there no one else you can go haunt? Sean asked him. Where is your beautiful lady in white?
Bartholomew waved a hand in the air. Ill see her later.
A ghost, yes. He was talking to a ghost. Not his faulthe blamed that on Katie! So he was talking to a ghost, and calling others absurd!
Ghosts are different, Bartholomew said, as if reading his mind. We were, we lived and breathed. Energy doesnt dieand we are the result. Most human beings have a religious or spiritual belief, and if you believe in what you dont see, as in God, then its not such a stretch to believe that souls exist. And we all know that even among the living, some people can communicate and some cant. But I do agree with you. The perpetrator of the evil deeds surrounding the film crew was not the Bermuda Triangle, the power of a crystal or a little green man popping out of the ocean. Theres a live person, homicidal, organized and possibly psychotic, he finished.
Sean stared at him, hiding a smile.
I have spent some time in the police station, obviously, Bartholomew said. Actually, its quite something. People are always saying Id just love to be a fly on the wall. Well, that is one thing about departing ones earthly form. I am able to be a fly on the wall.
Ah, so youre an expert now on all things law enforcement, Sean teased.
No, Im gifted at listening to other peopleand you may never know when you need the services of an excellent eavesdropper.
Point noted, thank you. Isnt it time for high tea, or something like that? Sean asked.
Im off to find my dear beauty in white, Bartholomew said. Be nice to me, Sean OHaraI believe Im still here to watch out for you, so you just may find that you need me!
Bartholomew walked to the door, and disappeared through it.
Sean turned back to the computer and keyed in the name Vanessa Loren.
Fascinating! Marty said to Vanessa. She and Katie had joined him at his house on Fleming Street. It was what they called a shotgun house, built with a long hall or breezeway, so that if the front and back doors were both open, you could fire a shotgun and the bullet would run right through the house. Basically, the plan was to keep the air going through the house at all times, since it had been built long before air-conditioning became a customary feature in homes in the hot, subtropical climes of the Keys.
Marty seemed like a very nice guy. Vanessa had actually seen him before, stopping in at OHaras for Katies business, Katie-oke. OHaras was always pleasant and laid-back, and a lot of locals planning acts for different festivals, private parties or any such ventures spent time there. The bar had the kind of comfortable feel that worked for locals and tourists alike. Vanessa hadnt met Marty formally before, but shed seen him do a good job with a pirate bellow in a rollicky sea shanty.
His house was decorated to fit the man. There were a number of ships bells, ships in bottles, old figureheads, anchors and other paraphernalia from the past set up around the house; he was a collector of books, music, logs, parchments, deeds, old money and more. The place was eclectic and comfortable. Vanessa thought that he must have a small fortune in the place as far as the value of some of the antiques would go, but it was still comfortable and casual.
Fascinating! Marty repeated, then he looked sheepish and rueful. Oh, thats terrible, thats really terrible of me to say. Im so, so sorry about your friends, of course. And I suppose it all did terrible things to the futures of those who survived. But that it all happened when you were working on a movie about Mad Miller and Kitty CutlassIve always been intrigued by the tales of people that have come down to us. History. People make it so dry. This date and that date. Its not dates schoolchildren should be rememberingits the people. History should be like a reality showor Oprah. No, Jerry Springer. People love the weaknesses, the cruelty and sometimes even the honor of others!
Maybe an enterprising person will get it together that way one day, Marty, Katie said.
Aha! Marty told her happily. Thats exactly what Im doing at the fort this year. An interview with a few of our notorious pirates and their consorts. You have to come. Better yet, you could be consorts, harlots, barmaids
I have to work, Marty, Katie reminded him.
Im hoping to be working, Vanessa said.
Marty sighed, disappointed, and studied Vanessa. Have you not worked for the last two yearssince the incident on Bimini?
No, no, Ive been working, Marty. Im doing all right. You know the commercial for the new underwater camera that any two-year old can use? I wrote it.
Marty shuddered. All those two-year-olds!
It was fun, actually. We shot in a lovely private pool, and the kids were really adorable, Vanessa assured him.
Marty still looked at her worriedly. You okay down here? Where are you staying?
Shes got a perfectly good room at my house or with David and meshe wont take either, Katie said.
Im just down Duval, perfect location, a little room for rent above one of the shops, Vanessa told him. And Im quite happy.
But what if youre not safe? Marty asked.
Im right on Duval, in the midst of the tourist horde. Theres someone up just about all hours of the night, and the cops are out in droves. Im safe. Look, Ive been bugging police and anyone else you can think of for two yearswhatever happened, happened. Its sliding by, and thats why Im so concerned. This killer might lie dormant for a long time, then swoop down on another group of unsuspecting boaters.
Marty stood. Well. Just in case you didnt come across this in your research, I have something to show you.
He walked over to the large buffet where a ships dining bell held the central position. Reaching behind it, he pulled out a framed picture. He turned to her with pleasure in his eyes. Dona Isabella! he told her.
Vanessa walked over to study the picture. It was a pen-and-ink drawing of a woman in an elegant gown circa the early eighteen hundreds. Her hair was loose, curling around her shoulders. The artist had captured the beauty of the woman, and something moresomething that was partly flirtatious and might also be cunning. She could see that the sketch had been titled The Mystery of a Woman.
How do you know that this is Dona Isabella? Vanessa asked.
Marty smiled, proud of his acquisition. He opened the frame, showing the old parchment on which the portrait had been sketched, and the signature of the artist. Len Adams had sketched the picture, and he had written, Dona Isabella at Tea with a Friend, 1834.
Ive had it authenticated, of course, Marty said. Len Adams is known down herehis pieces are coveted. He died very young of tuberculosis, so he doesnt have an extensive body of work. He came here because he was dying in the north. He died anyway. But he sketched many wonderful portraits.
Vanessa was fascinated by the picture, and suddenly felt guilty about her slasher-film script. Of course, in the movie, Dona Isabella had been the victim of Kitty Cutlass, quickly in the film, and quickly out. It had been Kitty Cutlass whod returned from her watery grave to join with the ghost of Mad Miller to wreak murder, mayhem and havoc upon the unsuspecting teens sailing to Bimini and on Haunt Island.
Oh, girl, youre one after my own heart! Marty said, appreciating the way she looked at the picture. Ill copy it for youwont be the original, but youll have the beauty anytime you choose. Poor thing! So lovely, such a coquette and so tragically young to be a victim. He looked at Vanessa. Boy, that would be something, wouldnt it? What if your people were killed because the ghosts of Mad Miller and Kitty Cutlass are out there, cruising between Key West and Bimini, right into the Triangle, alive through some wild magnetic source?
Vanessa stared at him.
He gave her a tap on the shoulder. Joshing with you, girl. But if you want more pirate history, you come on back here anytime, all right? And if you need anything at all, you come to see me. Im like a Key West structure, an institution, always here, and I wouldnt be anywhere else in the world.
She thanked him, and she and Katie said goodbye.
Do you think that the murders might have had something to do with the story you were filming? Katie asked as they walked. No, wait. Well wait until we all get together, and then well talk about it. I dont want to make you repeat it all over and over.
They stopped in front of the Beckett house and Vanessa looked up at the grand facade. So youre living in the Beckett house! Vanessa teased.
Katie shrugged. Life is pretty bizarre, just like death.
So it seems, Vanessa agreed.
Katie opened the front door with a key and they stepped into the hallway. She paused. I guess theyre already here, she said. They walked through the large parlor, through the kitchen and to the back porch, handsomely furnished with white wicker and plush jungle-colored cushions. There were three men there alreadynot just the two tall, dark-haired men Vanessa assumed to be Liam and David Beckett, but Sean OHara, as well.
They all stood as Vanessa and Katie came into the room.
She envied Katie, who walked comfortably up to David Beckett and slipped an arm around him. There was something nicely sure and confident in the motion, and more so in Davids smile of response. They were happy.
David and Liam shook hands with Vanessa and were pleasant and cordial. Sean, of course, she had already met.
He waited quietly.
Then the awkward silence fell at last.
Why doesnt everyone sit, and Ill get some drinks and snacks, Katie suggested.
Great! Vanessa glared at her, feeling as if she had suddenly been thrown to the wolves.
But she was the one who wanted help!
She sat stiffly, folding her hands around her knees as she looked at the three. Perhaps this is way out of bounds. But I dont know where else to go from here.
Start at the beginning, David suggested. Sean has told us what you want us to dobut start back at the beginning, the film shoot you did, everything that happened that night and everything that happened after.
Vanessa decided to start out looking straight ahead, and then she decided to speak as naturally as possible and not avoid anyones eyes. Ive loved Key West since I was a child, since my father first brought me down here. When my friend Jay Allen came to me saying that he wanted to make a film, the first thing that came to my mind was the story of Mad Miller, his mistress, Kitty Cutlass, and the murder of poor Dona Isabella. Everything went fine, and we were down to a skeleton crewGeorgia and Travis, the last characters who remained alive, Jay and myself, of course, two young production assistants, Bill Hinton and Jake Magnoli, and Barry Melkie, our soundman. Zoe was everything as far as props, costume and makeup, with the help of Bill and Jake. Oh, and of course, Carlos Roca. Lew, our Bahamian guide, was there, too. That night, we had just about wrapped, and I was by the fireJay was there, Im not sure who else at first, but everyone was just winding down. Suddenly, Georgia came screaming down the beachshed seen heads sticking out of the sand, arms. She described a scene that was the exact one in which we found her and Travis the following morning.
You found Georgia and Travis? David asked.
She nodded gravely.
You found the bodies? Sean asked.
I did, Vanessa said. Lew and Jay came quickly down to the beach, then the othersand then the Bahamian authorities.