Thats life, David said flatly. Well, Ill leave you to whatever you were doing, he told her. But as he turned, he stopped suddenly.
Katie saw that he was looking at a man across from them, in another section of the cemetery, one that was bordered by Olivia Street.
She knew that Tanya Barnard was buried in that section; most people knew that she was buried there, even though her marker wasnt on her grave. Because of the Carl Tanzler/Elena de Hoyos story, the powers-that-be at the time of her death, along with the family, had determined that no one but Tanyas parents would know exactly where she had been buried; there would be no grave robbing. In death, Tanya had become a celebrity.
Katie had never seen Tanyas astral self, soul or haunt.
She had seen Elena de Hoyos frequently. Then again, if anyone had the right to haunt a place, it was poor Elena. Ripped from her grave, her body adored and yet desecrated, she had missed out on the beauty of youth and the sweetness of aging in the midst of normal love.
She didnt weep when she walked. She did so with her head high. And sometimes, she danced, as if she could return to the dance halls of her day, as if she imagined herself young again, falling in love with her handsome husband-happy days before tuberculosis, desertion and the bizarre adoration of Carl Tanzler.
Would she know Tanya if she saw her? She had heard the story about the woman, of course. It had been Key Wests scandal and horror. Her picture had certainly been in the newspapers. But Katie had never really seen Tanya.
Damn, David murmured.
The man across the way seemed to know exactly where he was, and what he was looking for.
Katie stared, squinting against the sun. He was the man who had been in OHaras last night, the man who had appeared to be familiar, who had tried to buy her a drink. He had flowers; he laid them at the foot of a grave.
Who is it? she asked.
He didnt glance her way. Sam Barnard. Tanyas brother, he said.
Katie stared, looking at David, and then at the man again. David left her, striding across the cemetery. He passed the brick vaults and kept going, at last calling out. His voice carried on the breeze. She heard him calling out, Sam!
Sam turned slowly. He was clean shaven now, in Dockers and a polo shirt, and she wondered if he had been as drunk as she had thought last night, or if he had been playing the drunk, watching folks at the bar. He had to have been familiar with OHaras-her uncles bar had been there for twenty-five years. But her uncle, Jamie OHara, had not been there. Jon Merrillo had been on as the manager, and Jon had only been in Key West for five years.
Katie felt her heart thundering. For a moment she thought that she should turn away, that none of this was any of her business. But then she felt a trigger of unease. No, fear. What if the two men were about to go after one another? Maybe Sam Barnard had vengeance on his mind. David Beckett had just returned, and suddenly Sam Barnard was back in the city, as well.
She dug into her handbag for her phone, ready to dial 911.
But she didnt.
The two men embraced like old friends. They began speaking to one another, and walked toward the grave together.
She felt a strange sensation-not cold, not heat, just a movement in the air. She turned her head slightly. Bartholomew had an arm draped around her. Thats touching, he said. Seriously, you know, I like that fellow. He reminds me of someone I knew years and years ago He shrugged. Hey, it might have been one of his ancestors, come to think of it.
I thought he was a jerk and you were going to protect me from him, Katie said dryly.
Bartholomew shook his head. Hes redeeming himself. Thats what life is all about, eh? We make mistakes, we earn redemption. So, you want to join up with them?
No. No, I want to slip away.
Wait.
Wait-for what? Katie asked.
Maybe Tanya Barnard is hanging around the cemetery.
Do you see anyone? I dont, Katie said.
No, Bartholomew admitted. Maybe shes gone on all the way. But she was murdered, and her murder was never solved. Youd think, with her brother and ex-fiancé together, she would make an appearance.
Do you see anyone? I dont, Katie said.
No, Bartholomew admitted. Maybe shes gone on all the way. But she was murdered, and her murder was never solved. Youd think, with her brother and ex-fiancé together, she would make an appearance.
Katie looked around the cemetery. No ghosts were stirring. None at all.
They were probably unhappy with the laughing tourists.
Every man and woman born came to the end of their lives. Death was the only certainty in life.
But ghosts could be touchy.
Lets go. I have to go to work tonight and I want to do some searching online, Katie said.
You go on. Im going to hang around a bit longer, Bartholomew said.
Snooping-or looking for your lady in white? Katie asked.
A bit of both. Im looking for my beautyor waiting for you, my love. But youre awfully young, so Id have a long wait.
Well, thanks for that vote of encouragement, Katie said.
She walked quickly, exiting the cemetery from the main gate. Neither of the men, now involved in a deep conversation together, noticed that she left.
Sam Barnard was Davids senior by four years. Hed been in college when David had been in the military, so they hadnt hung out, but theyd shared many a holiday dinner with one or the others family.
I heard about Craigs death, and Id heard they were trying to reach you, Sam Barnard told David. To be honest, though, I didnt come down to pay my respects to anyone. Id heard a local was trying to buy the museum. It brought everything back. Not just the fact that my kid sister was murdered, but the way she was leftand the fact that her killer was never found. Hell, I didnt come down to start trouble. Ive spent the past years not even a hundred miles away, and I havent made the trip down here since my folks left. But now
Im not letting anyone reopen the museum, David told him.
They sat at a sidewalk bar on Front Street. Sam lifted his beer to David. Glad to hear it. And Im not here to hound or harass you, either. I know you didnt do it.
Do you? David asked.
Sam nodded. I guess a lot of folks think Ive followed you down here to pick a fight, beat you to a pulp, something like that.
Probably.
My folks knew you didnt do it. I knew you didnt do it.
That means a lot.
You know, I knew what was going on. She was my sister, but I never put her on a pedestal. I really loved her, but she was human, you know. Real. From the time she was a little kid, she wanted to live every second of the day. When you left for the military, I had a bad feeling. Tanya was never the kind to wait around. She was never going to find true love with that football jock-he had a roving eye. I told her so. Shed made all her arrangements for college in the north. But she wasnt leaving until she had talked to you. Im pretty sure she was going to make a stab at getting back with you. Thats why she was drinking. She needed courage.
She never needed courage to see me.
You didnt know-you really didnt know that she wanted to make up, did you? Sam asked.
No. And no matter what, we would have stayed friends, David said. I didnt hate her. Maybe I understood.
Shes just a cold, closed case now, Sam said.
I hope not. I hope theres still a way to find the truth, David said.
How, after all this time? Sam demanded. Hey, you didnt secretly go off and become some kind of investigator, or medium, eh? What the hell could anyone possibly find now?
Actually, cold cases do get solved. Not all of them, no. And no-I cant conjure up Tanya to find out what happened.
So you are a photographer? Sam said, frowning. And you film stuff, too, for nature films? Underwater-like Sean.
Yep. Oddly enough, yes, Sean and I wound up doing close to the same thing. I do more straight photography than Sean, though. He waited a minute, but Sam remained silent. And you-youre still running charter fishing boats, right?
Sam nodded, rubbing his thumb down his beer glass. Yep, I do fishing charters.
Is there a Mrs. Sam yet?
No. And you-you never married either, huh?
Im all over the globe, David said.
Sam leaned toward him, his grin lopsided and rueful. Neither one of us has married because were both fucked up. The murderer might as well have strangled my folks right alongside my sister. And lets see-the girl you thought you were going to marry winds up dead and replacing an automaton, and everyone thinks you did it. Hell, yeah, I can see where youre pretty screwed up in the head.
Oddly enough, Ive been fairly functional, David told him. But I guess maybe I thought that my grandfather would live forever. And I sure as hell never thought anyone would want to open the place again. Hell, I had told Liam to do whatever he wanted with whatever. I got back here just in time to stop him from selling the place.
So, what, are you just going to let it decay, crumble into itself like the House of Usher? Sam asked.
No, my plan with the place is to clear it all out, whitewash it and put it on the market. Liams parents are living on their private island now so hes got a house-his mom and dad sold it to him for a dollar since he was their only child. I have my grandfathers house, so I dont need another one. And Im not staying forever.
Sam laughed. And you think folks will just forget about what happened here? The ghost tours will go by there, night after night. Tanya was killed and discovered in the museum, and the story will never die.
Nor will the suggestion that I managed to kill her and carry her into the tableau, David said. Unless-
Unless you discover who really did it, Sam interrupted. Yeah, well, I can see that. And Im here, if you need me. Ive rented a house up at the end of Duval. And heres my cell. He scratched out a number on a cocktail napkin. Call me if you need me.
Yeah, I will. Actually, I do have some questions for you, David said.
Like, where was I the night of the twelfth? Sam asked.
Sure. That would be good to know. Did you see your sister that night? Im trying to trace her footsteps.
Trace them until they walk you right up to a killer? Sam asked.
David nodded. So?
So?
So where were you that night?
That night? You found her in the morning Oh, right. The police said that she was killed sometime between seven and nine on the twelfth, the night before. The museum was open until midnight, so sometime after midnight, the killer brought her body into the museum for you to find during the first tour the next morning.