Page 72 of Camino Ghosts

4.

By noon, Bruce had Bay Books ready for a party. A table near his office was covered with hors d’oeuvres, finger sandwiches, and wine bottles. And, of course, a stack of Lovely’s book. Sniffing free wine, and after being hazed by Bruce, the writers showed up. Myra and Leigh, Amy Slater, Bob Cobb. Sid Larramore from the newspaper. Several of Diane’s friends. Mercer and Thomas and two of their friends. A dozen or so loyal customers who never missed a gathering arrived in fine spirits. When Lovely entered behind Miss Naomi, she was greeted with a loud ovation. She preened and bowed and kept saying, “Oh thank you. Oh thank you.”

She declined a glass of wine but took a soda. When it was time for words, Steven tapped his glass and offered a toast to the best client he’d ever had the privilege of representing.

Bruce announced there would be a book signing on Friday. He asked Lovely to pose with her book for a round of photos, and within minutes they were posted on Bay Books’s social media.

5.

Tuesday morning, Monty Martin issued a statement saying he was obviously disappointed with the Court’s ruling but had great respect for Judge Burch. He would appeal immediately on behalf of his client and was optimistic about their chances. Tidal Breeze had no intention of walking away from Panther Cay, a “futuristic project” that would provide jobs for thousands of Floridians.

Wilson Larney read the statement and shook his head. He was sitting on the sofa in his splendid office, looking at the Atlantic, having coffee with Dud Nash. No one else was present.

“How would you rate Monty’s work in the trial?” Wilson asked.

“Good. We had a bad set of facts, Wilson. Plain and simple. We didn’t know about the burial site.”

“It was in her book.”

“Yes, but we didn’t really believe her book, did we? We paid Harmon a ton of money to check out the island. They found nothing.”

“And those four guys died?”

“Yep, later. In four different places.”

“And Harmon hid this from us?”

“Yep. The truth is that once the cemetery was discovered, we were flat out of luck.”

“You know we’re getting hammered. I just got a call from our PR people. The blacks in Dade County are threatening to boycott our casinos. That’s about twenty percent of the traffic. We’re getting calls from black activists everywhere.”

“I know, I know.”

“And the chances on appeal are slim?”

“Eighty percent of the time the Supremes stick with the local judges in these types of cases. It’s a real long shot. And if we get lucky and win on appeal, then we have even bigger problems on the island. The litigation could take years.”

“How much have we spent on legal fees so far?”

“About a million.”

Wilson grimaced, as always, when discussing fees paid to Dud’s firm. “Ballpark, how much would the federal litigation cost us?”

“Twenty-five million over eight to ten years, with a good chance of losing.”

“Why are your fees so high?”

“Gee, you haven’t asked that question in, what, a week now? We charge that much because we’re worth it.”

“I don’t feel so great right now. It’s a PR nightmare and you know how I hate publicity.”

“My advice is to let things cool off. We have thirty days to file a notice of appeal.”

“Things aren’t going to cool off, Dud. We’ve kicked a hornet’s nest and they’ll eat us alive.”

6.

The second article from the Times was prominently featured on page eight, under the headline “Florida Court Rules Against Resort Developer.” Thalia Chan recapped the opinion from Judge Burch and included a statement from Lovely that read, “I am relieved that the Court has chosen to protect the sacred property of my ancestors. This is a great day for the descendants of enslaved Africans.” In response to a question written and submitted by Thalia through Diane, Lovely said, “I hope the state of Florida will take some of the money it planned to spend on a bridge and create a memorial to my people.” Steven Mahon was quoted: “The court did what was right and just and in doing so averted an environmental disaster.” The story was accompanied by an aerial photo, taken by a drone, of Dark Isle.

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