Monday, May 3, 2010 - Look on the west side, Edgar
On the Gulf side of...
Look on the west side, Edgar
On the Gulf side of Heron's Roost, the snarl of
weeds, vines, and creepers that had once been John
Eastlake's lawn gave way to sea oatsThe breeze
was good and the view was better, making me
realize that the one thing you rarely got in
Florida was heightHere we had just enough to
make it seem like the Gulf of Mexico was at our
feetDon Pedro Island was to our left, Casey Key
dreaming away in a blue-gray haze to our right
"Drawbridge is still up," Jack said, sounding
amused"They're really having problems this
time"Look down there, along that
old pathDo you see there?"
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He followed my pointing finger"The denim louis vuitton handbag rock
outcropping? Sure, I see itNot coral, I don't
think, although I'd have to get a little closer to
be sure - what about it?"
"Quit being a geologist for a minute and just look
What do you see?"
He lookedIt was Jack who got it
first"A profile?" Then he said it again, without
the hesitation"We can only see the forehead, the
indentation of the eyesocket, and the top of the
nose from here, but I bet if we were on the beach,
we'd see a mouth, as wellOr what passed for oneAnd Shade Beach right below it,
I'll bet you anythingWhere John Eastlake went on
his treasure-hunting expeditions
"And where the twins drowned," Wireman added
"That's the path they louis vuitton hangbags walked to get thereThe breeze tugged at our hairWe
looked at the path, still visible after all these
yearsLittle feet going down to swim hadn't done
thatA footpath between Heron's Roost and Shade
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Beach would have disappeared in five years, maybe
only two
"That's no path," Jack said, reading my mind
"That used to be a roadNot paved, but a road,
just the sameWhy would anybody want a road
between their house and the beach, when it
couldn't have been more than a ten-minute walk?"
Wireman shook his head
"Edgar?"
"Not a clue
"Maybe he found more stuff on the bottom than just
a few trinkets," Jack said
"Maybe, but-" I caught movement in the tail rolex air king automatic watch of my
eye - something dark - and turned toward the house
"What is it?" Wireman asked
"Probably nerves," I said
The breeze, which had been coming at us from the
Gulf, switched slightly and puffed out of the
south insteadIt brought a stench of putridity
with it
Jack recoiled, grimacing"What the **** is that!"
950
"Perfume from the pool would be my guess," Wireman
said"Jack, I love the smell of sludge in the
morning
"Yeah, but it's afternoon
Wireman gave him a duh look, then turned to me
"What do you think, muchacho? On we go?"
I took a quick inventoryWireman had the red
basket; Jack had the bag with the food in it; I
had my art suppliesI wasn't cartier santos 100 chronograph sure just what we
were going to do if the rest of Elizabeth's
drawings had blown away in the storm that had torn
the roof off the ruin just ahead (or if there were
no more pictures), but we had come this far and we
had to do somethingIlse insisted on that, from
my bones and heart
xii
We had reached the point where the driveway began
to be overgrown with strangler fig when I saw that
black thing go flickering through the high tangle
of weeds to the right of the houseThis time Jack
saw it, too
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"Someone's there," he said
"I didn't see anyone," Wireman saidHe set down
the picnic basket and armed sweat from his brow
"Switch with me awhile, chanel bags wholesale Ja
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