The quiet was shattered by an op-ed piece penned by Gifford Knox, fresh off his latest book tour and obviously looking for trouble. He began with a brief history of Dark Isle, poked endless fun at its gimmicky new name of Panther Cay, a “slick marketing creation,” and tore into Tidal Breeze for its attempt at the “outright theft” of the island. Showing some impressive research, he described two other Tidal Breeze projects in the past ten years that involved the company’s “swiping” of public land by cozying up to politicians and bureaucrats in Tallahassee. He lamented the environmental destruction of even more of Florida’s natural beauty, blasted the idea that more gaming was needed to shore up someone’s tax base, and railed against yet another “chemically drenched” golf course.
His closing paragraph was a beauty: “Eighty years ago white people wrecked the ecosystem of Dark Isle by building a paper mill upstream on the Camino River. The pollution wiped out the oyster beds and abundant fish. Faced with starvation, the longtime black owners of the island were forced to flee. Now another white corporation intends to steal the island from its last owner and turn it into another gaudy resort for white people.”
For reasons she kept to herself, Lovely refused to meet with her lawyer anywhere other than Bruce Cable’s office on the ground floor of Bay Books. And since Bruce was always on the prowl for local gossip, or even regional, he welcomed Steven and his client whenever they wanted to meet. He offered them coffee and made sure they had plenty of privacy, then busied himself with some first editions in a narrow hallway where he could eavesdrop at will.
Only later did Miss Naomi reveal the secret to Bruce. Steven Mahon’s office was in a building that had once been a restaurant, which, decades earlier, had refused to serve black customers. Steven had no way of knowing this, and would have never known if Bruce had not whispered it to him.
Lovely had a long memory and carried many grudges.
With her granddaughters in school, Miss Naomi was as free and eager to take Lovely anywhere she wanted. Both women loved the bookstore because they felt welcome there. Bruce kept a long table near the front for African American writers and invited the ladies to the store whenever one was passing through. At Mercer’s request, he also kept Miss Naomi occupied elsewhere when Lovely was in his office.
Lovely assumed her position in her favorite chair, an old French chaise that Noelle had hauled back from Provence. Miss Naomi and Steven exchanged pleasantries as Bruce poured coffee. After a few minutes he left and closed the door. Steven placed his iPhone on the corner of the desk and said, “I like to record my client conferences, if that’s okay.”
Lovely glared at the phone, then looked at Steven. “Why you doing that?”
“It’s standard procedure. My memory is not what it used to be and I like to have a record. It’s no big deal.”
His memory was fine and he seldom recorded conversations with his clients. With Lovely, though, there was plenty of room for misunderstanding and he wanted to take precautions. She looked at Miss Naomi, who shrugged as if she had no idea.
Lovely said, “I suppose.”
“If it makes you uncomfortable, then I won’t do it.”
“No, that’s okay. Just treat me like you treat the rest of your clients.”
“I promise I am.” He picked up a stack of papers and said, “This is the answer, or response, to our lawsuit that has been filed. Two of them actually, one by the state and one by Tidal Breeze. As expected, both deny your claim of ownership. The one filed by Tidal Breeze may be a bit hard to swallow because they make a lot of allegations that are not true.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, well, the most blatant is a claim that you cannot prove you were even born on the island.”
Her face contorted and her eyes burned at him like lasers. Her bottom lip quivered and she bit it. “Who said that?”
“The lawyers for Tidal Breeze.”
“I know where I was born and I know the name of the midwife who birthed me. She birthed my mama and daddy. I know where they were born and where he was buried, same place I hope to be buried. How can you let people like that say such things?”
“Lawyers say a lot of things that aren’t true, I’m afraid. It’s just an allegation, that’s all. Just part of the lawsuit. Don’t take it personally.”
“So they can lie all they want?”
“No, they have to believe what they say, and since there are no records of your birth, they can claim you weren’t born there. Again, there will be other allegations and you cannot take them personally.”
