Straits of Fortune - Anthony Gagliano [5]
“Whatever happened to you and Vivian?” he asked.
“We came to a parting of the ways.”
“In other words, it’s none of my business.”
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s just that there’s not much to talk about.”
“You thought she had too much money for you to keep up with. Was that it?”
“That was part of it, but there were other reasons.”
“Such as Mr. Matson, for instance.”
“Among others.”
“You’re looking a bit edgy, Jack. I’m not offending you, am I?”
“Not really. I just never thought you were all that interested in the matter.”
“I understand it was you who introduced her to Matson. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Maybe in retrospect that turns out not to have been a smart move.”
“They call it networking.”
“She would have married you, you know.”
“We must be talking about two different people. Who told you that?”
“The only person who would know for sure.”
“I never got that impression.”
“She was using Matson for leverage. You saw it happening, and you let it continue. Then when the thing got to a certain point, you became indignant and walked away.”
“I introduced her to a client of mine at a party, Andy. That didn’t mean she had to sleep with him.”
“That’s the first time you ever called me ‘Andy.’ Despite all the times I asked you to. It was always ‘Colonel’ or ‘sir.’ Now it’s ‘Andy.’ Are we friends now, Jack? Should I be flattered, you distant, hard-nosed son of a bitch?”
“Why be flattered? It’s a lot better than me calling you ‘Dad.’”
He laughed. “Would that have been so bad? I always thought we got along rather well.”
“Why don’t you tell me why it is you asked me out here today? I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s getting late, and I don’t like to keep Elvis waiting. You never know. He might show up today.”
“Vivian got into a rough crowd after you left.”
“She was with a rough crowd when I met her. She was living in Tattoo City for quite some time before I came along.”
“You added Matson to the population, a cheap pornographer.”
“There were a lot of people I introduced her to: doctors, a few politicians, some lawyers, even an anthropologist. She picked him out of a fairly large bunch. It was her choice, not mine, not yours.”
“You let him take her. You didn’t even bother to fight. He had money and you didn’t, and so you just surrendered Vivian to him. I would have expected at the very least that you would have kicked his ass. I was disappointed in you, Jack.”
“I guess that’s why you got me out here today. So we could sit around and be disappointed together. Is that it?” I stood up. “I usually get paid for my time, Colonel. It’s the only thing I have to sell that’s worth anything. But that’s okay. This one’s on me.”
“How would you like to make a hundred thousand dollars?”
I hesitated for a moment and studied the fault lines in his forehead. Then I sat down again.
“I know you can’t be bought,” the Colonel said. “But I was hoping you might be for rent, at least for a few hours.”
“What’s this got to do with Vivian?”
“I suppose I played that card too early.”
“No. Not too early, but you did play it. And you played it hard. You can’t put it back in the deck now.”
“You see that yacht out there?” he asked.
“I see it.”
“There’s a dead man on it.”
My heart leaped at the wall of my chest and fell back, ready to try again. I stared at the Colonel for a moment; then I lowered my shades and looked out at the yacht.
“A dead man,” I said. “And who might that be?”
“Matson.”
“Matson?” I took a deep breath, not moving my eyes from the yacht.
“Walk with me, Jack. I get stiff if I sit too long.”
We took a narrow path that followed a break wall until it curved around toward the gazebo where I used to sit with Vivian and then on past the long-neglected tennis courts with their nets hanging limp and exhausted in the flagrant heat of midday. Beyond that was the Japanese garden the Colonel had had installed at great cost when he purchased the property. But not even the Green Giant could have made the project a success. The climate was too humid,