Carmella hadn’t exactly been high on Elsa’s “see today” list. She’d avoided her since their argument in the kitchen when Nancy had scolded them. Janine’s words regarding Carmella had rolled around the back of Elsa’s mind, for sure, but she had also had a number of other things to deal with, obviously.
“Hello.” Elsa flared her nostrils as Carmella stepped further into the office.
“Hey.” Carmella clipped the door closed. She hovered far back near the door as though she expected Elsa to demand she leave. “I had a little break between appointments.”
Elsa’s heart sank. Was Carmella there because of the article? Did she want to rub Elsa’s nose in it or, worse, pity her for it? Elsa bit on her lower lip and then said, “What can I do for you, Carmella?” She kept her voice hard-edged.
Carmella slid a strand behind her ear. “Look. I know I’m the last person you want to see right now.”
Elsa was immediately struck with her honesty, so much so that she couldn’t drum up an immediate response.
“Like everyone else on this stupid rock of an island, I read the article,” Carmella admitted.
“Of course, you did.” Elsa shrugged flippantly. “You don’t read a book for years, but naturally, you read the first bad thing that pops up about my family.”
“That’s a lie. I read all the time. You don’t know anything about me.” Carmella’s eyebrows lowered dangerously.
Elsa pressed her lips into a thin line. She leaned back in her chair and regarded her younger sister. Yet again, they’d found themselves at war.
“What are you here for, Carmella?”
Carmella rolled her eyes back. “I’m here because — well — because I recognized a few of the names in the article.”
Elsa arched an eyebrow and leaned forward against her desk. “What are you talking about?”
“God, you make everything so difficult,” Carmella returned.
“Are you going to tell me? Or are you going to yell at me?”
Carmella reached back for the doorknob and Elsa’s heart leaped with fear.
“Hold on. Hold on.” Elsa lifted from her chair. “Don’t go. Please just tell me.”
“I shouldn’t have even bothered,” Carmella told her.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Elsa inhaled, then exhaled slowly. “Okay. What names?”
“Some of those men,” Carmella said. “The ones pressing charges against Aiden’s estate. Your estate, I mean.”
“How?”
Carmella pondered for a moment. “We get a lot of women through the Lodge, you know? Some of them stay for many days to pick up the pieces of their lives. Others, they just pass through for massages and mojitos and acupuncture.”
“I know our business model, thanks.”
Carmella groaned. “You don’t have to be sarcastic. I’m just trying to explain.”
“Okay. Then explain.”
“There are these younger girls that come through. They are addicted to Nancy’s massage and my acupuncture. They say they have to do a lot of wining and dining, you know, for their clientele. They said it does horrors to their skin and bodies — which is why they come here. And much like other women who pass through the Lodge, they get pretty chatty.”
A fire burned in the back of Elsa’s mind.
“Anyway, I have a few of them in tomorrow,” Carmella said.
Elsa pressed a hand over her heart. Her eyes connected with Carmella’s. “You don’t believe Aiden did this, do you?”
Carmella’s smile was crooked. It was one of the more beautiful sights Elsa had seen in her life.
“It’s not like I was ever close with Aiden,” Carmella offered then. “But I always remember this one afternoon. You and Dad and Nancy were on the porch talking and laughing and carrying on like a family should. Mallory and Cole and Alexie were out by the water. And I just felt so lost and in between everything else, like I had no place to go. Aiden came up to me and he told me this story about when you’d first brought him home with you, and he’d felt so strange and awkward and out of place. He said that apparently, I had told him a joke, a really awful joke, one that was so awful that he burst into laughter and was finally able to break the ice with Dad and Karen. He said he couldn’t believe the nerve of this teenage girl acting so silly. And then he asked me if I was ever silly anymore. I told him I thought maybe I’d lost the capability to be like that. He said that he didn’t think that was true— that we can always find a way back to ourselves if we really work for it. Then, he walked away.”
Carmella furrowed her brow as she spoke. Her eyes filled with tears.
Elsa’s own cheeks were damp. She didn’t remember the joke Carmella had told as a teenager. She didn’t know about this tender moment.
In fact, Aiden had hardly spoken of Carmella at all, as he’d always known she was a sore subject for Elsa.
“I loved him so much, Carmella,” Elsa breathed.
Carmella nodded. “I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this until now?”
Carmella’s laugh was terribly sad. “We don’t exactly tell each other things, do we?”
Elsa shook her head. She didn’t have the strength to speak.
After a long pause, Carmella began again.
“These girls love to brag about these men, their clients. They tell me everything. If I press it, just the tiniest bit, I think I can get them to talk. Maybe they know about Aiden. Maybe they know what’s behind all of this.”
Elsa swiped at the tears across her cheek. “You would do that?”
Carmella’s response was so quiet that Elsa strained to hear her words.
“We’re a family, Elsa. In the end, I would do anything for you. I hope you know that.”
Chapter Twenty-One
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Elsa checked the acupuncture schedule. Sure enough, straight in a line, were three women, all of whom had listed themselves as twenty-three years old. Gretchen, Rhea, and Isabella. The two blondes in the bathroom had been named Gretchen and Rhea — which meant, hopefully, that the red-haired girl was Isabella. Their appointments began at one-thirty and stretched until three, a half-hour long. Elsa pressed her palms together in half-prayer. Never in her life had she ever trusted Carmella with anything. Now, she felt as though Carmella held her life in the palm of her hand.
Nancy arrived at her office around one-forty-five. She was a welcomed distraction. She drew her arms over her head and stretched out her spine as she said, “Do you want me to make you a green smoothie? I was thinking about having one for lunch. Me and Janine had a bit too much to drink last night, and I have to admit, my body is screaming for nutrients.”
Elsa couldn’t imagine eating anything; her stomach quaked with nerves.
Nancy dropped her arms to her sides and furrowed her brow. “Has Bruce had any luck with the case?”
Elsa shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him today. I know he’s doing the best he can.”
“I ran into Susan recently at the store. She spoke about Bruce like he was a genius. ‘If anyone could figure this out, it’s Bruce,’ she said. I hope she’s right.”
“He’s a good man.”
“It’s incredible that the world can make such excellent men like him and Aiden and Neal and then such horrible men, like Janine’s father, or these horrible rich sailors.”
Elsa wasn’t sure what to say. She turned her eyes back toward her hands and willed time to pass. Over the previous year, Nancy had been her backbone; she’d been her everything. Naturally, Nancy could sense the anxiety within her.
“You’ll tell me if you need something. Won’t you?” Nancy finally asked.
Elsa lifted her eyes. “Of course.”
“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one,” Nancy told her.
Elsa grimaced. “You know I’ll be fine.”
Behind Nancy, Mallory called out to say that Nancy’s two-fifteen had already arrived and could be taken earlier if she
had the time. Nancy nodded again to Elsa and said, “Please, remember I’m here for you. We have to be there for each other. There’s no other way.”
“I remember. Thank you, Nancy.” After another pause, Elsa added, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Sugar.”
Elsa felt completely stricken after Nancy’s departure. She wandered back and forth in her office, both dreading and aching for the moment that Carmella would arrive. She half-imagined Carmella bursting in, laughing outrageously, and saying, “It’s true what they said! Aiden really did do it! He’s a damn thief! He’s been evil all this time, and you didn’t know it! You’re such an idiot!”
But no. That was crazy, wasn’t it?
All she had were her memories; how awful to feel them slipping into darkness.
At three-ten, there was a knock at the door. Elsa lurched for the handle and yanked it open to find Carmella before her. Her eyes glittered strangely. Elsa beckoned for her to enter as though they were in the midst of a covert operation. She felt like they were spies.
With the door closed, Carmella and Elsa stood looking at one another. The silence was deafening. Elsa still struggled to read Carmella’s expression. Slowly, a smile trickled across her lips.
“Well? What happened?” Elsa finally demanded.
Carmella lifted her phone from her pocket. She placed it flat on her palm.
Elsa raised an eyebrow.
“I recorded it,” Carmella said simply.
Elsa’s eyes nearly bugged from her skull. “No. That’s totally illegal. It’s —”
“Not as illegal as what they were doing, Elsa.” Carmella’s face grew hard. “Listen. Okay? Just listen.”
Carmella dotted a finger on the PLAY button. In a moment, the red-haired girl's voice sprung up through the speakers.
At first, there was the necessary introduction. Carmella’s voice began with, “And we’ve done all this before, so you know what to expect. The first little prick and then —”
“Yeah, yeah.” The red-haired girl, Isabella, sounded flippant. “No worries at all. Just take me back to that beautiful, relaxing space, Carmella! You’re a goddess!”
Slowly, their conversation trickled into other things. As Carmella stuck Isabella with needles, her speech became softer, more nuanced, more reflective.
“It’s been such a strange summer,” Isabella breathed. “Like, just a little over a year ago, I was still living in that tiny room in Queens. I mean, can you imagine me now, in Queens?”
The recording of Carmella admitted that she couldn’t.
“I was miserable. But this older woman I met at the little cafe I worked at told me about this app that paired you up with rich men. I swear I got so lucky too because I spoke with some girls who said that they met several men who were unkind or unwilling to extend the relationship further or who were only in it for the good, you know.”
The recording of Carmella said this was all fascinating, that she wanted to know more. “Things are so different than they were back when I was younger. Maybe I would have done something similar,” she said.
Elsa blinked up at the current version of Carmella and asked, “Would you have really done that?”
Carmella shook her head. “No way. I just wanted Isabella to feel like she could open up to me more.”
The recording continued.
“Me and Carlson just have this really deep connection. Have you ever had that with someone?”
Carmella’s recorded voice admitted that she’d had very few connections in her life.
This, in turn, made Elsa’s heart ached for her sister.
“That’s too bad,” Isabella said. “I mean, everyone thinks the age difference is weird and of course, there’s the fact that he pays me. But after a while, it wasn’t about the money. Not for either of us. And I’ve helped him so much with his business. I mean, in a way, it’s like we’re partners in crime.”
Carmella said that sounded beautiful. She didn’t press for more details. Instead, she artfully created an ecosystem in which Isabella wanted to tell more. People loved to talk about themselves. She was on a roll.
“I mean, you should really see the way we work together. It’s like magic. He’s made his money through a lot of different means, but he’s never had me. He calls me his secret weapon. We’ve traveled from island to island together doing this. We hang out at various local bars with all these sailors. He’s known how to sail since he was a kid, so he’s a part of this world too, but he’s also an outsider.
“Over the years, he’s worked with a number of stockbrokers and various businessmen— countless, really. He showed me the paperwork and it turns out, a few of these men he’s worked with have actually passed away.”
Suddenly, Elsa’s brain turned to fire. Her eyes jumped to Carmella’s. Carmella nodded firmly. This was real.
“Anyway, and oh my God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this —”
“Who am I going to tell?” the recorded voice of Carmella asked.
“Totally. I mean, you know that a girl has to make money where she can,” Isabella said.
“That’s right,” the recording of Carmella said.
“Anyway, we track down these widows, and we make up these stories about their husbands, that they swindled Carlson. That they set up bad investments for Carlson. Carlson is the legal and business mastermind behind all of it, but I help track them down. It’s so much fun. I always say he’s like James Bond, and I’m — well — you know, one of those hot James Bond girls. Like, um, Halle Berry was one, wasn’t she? Anyway, it’s been so fun. We’re in the middle of a few projects right now. Carlson can’t get enough. He’s so high off the power.”
Carmella stopped the recording.
There, Elsa and Carmella stood, gaping at one another. Elsa literally couldn’t speak. Her mind raced and her heart hammered in her chest. She looked at Carmela feeling the tears that threatened to fall and she swallowed the lump in her throat before finally asking, “Is this real?”
Carmella nodded. “It sure is.”
“She just spilled the beans— all of it like she didn’t have a care in the world or half a brain for that matter.”
Carmella shrugged. “People say almost anything when they have needles in them. It’s weird.”
Suddenly, Elsa flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around her younger sister. A sob rushed from her throat, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Slowly, Carmella drew her own arms around Elsa and held onto her tightly. There they stood, two sisters, who had spent most of their lives as far apart as they could. Elsa leaned heavily upon her, so much so that Carmella nearly lost her balance and teetered. This made both of them laugh despite their tears.
When Elsa stepped back, she reeled with shock. “I can’t believe that you got her to confess all of this. You did it, Carmella. You cleared Aiden’s name, our name.”
Carmella’s smile was bright. It was proof beyond anything that all she had wanted to do was show her love for her sister. She wanted to fight for her family.
“Come with me. We have to show this to Bruce,” Elsa said.
Carmella nodded. “I’ll drive.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
BRUCE’S FACE WAS STOIC. He clasped his hands beneath his chin and listened once, then again, as Isabella explained what she and Carlson Montague had been up to. He then turned his eyes toward Carmella and Elsa — a pair of sisters he had assuredly never seen together and said, point-blank, “You know this is illegal, right?”
Carmella’s shrug was flippant. “You think I care? They were dragging my brother-in-law’s name through the mud. I would have done anything.”
Elsa’s smile was electric after that. Bruce matched hers. Elsa had the funniest feeling that, if she was happy, Bruce reflected that. He lifted a pen and began to scribble notes to himself on a yellow notepad. Throughout, Carmella reached over and squeezed Elsa’s hand. It was as though the two of them had been to war together; they had stories reaching as far b
ack as forty years before. Now, they had put aside their differences for this common goal. And dammit, maybe they had succeeded. Time would tell the tale.
“I obviously can’t use this recording as evidence,” Bruce said finally as he lifted his chin. “But it does give me a direction. I’m going to look into other lawsuits this Carlson guy is putting out there. Build a case around that and contact the other lawyers involved. And of course, I’ll know what kind of questions to ask Isabella. It seems like she’s cracked around the edges. It’ll be even worse if this Carlson guy ever dumps her. I’m sure she’ll be like a faucet.”
Elsa squeezed her eyes shut. Suddenly, there was light at the end of this horrifically dark tunnel; suddenly, she felt there was hope.
“Thank you, Bruce,” Elsa said. “I can’t even tell you how much your work on this has meant to me.”
The word “work” seemed silly; it seemed to only encapsulate about ten percent of their time together. In truth, he had been much more like a friend, even as the world had spun off its axis even further.
Bruce walked them out to the foyer. He shook their hands and said he was “on it” that he would send word as soon as he knew more. Elsa and Carmella walked into the shimmering light of the late July afternoon. It was the final day of the month and in mere days, the Katama Lodge would hold a celebration for the success of its first few weeks since re-opening. Elsa felt light as a feather. Her legs sprung beneath her as she walked. She was in such high spirits that she could have floated home.
“Why don’t we get a glass of wine?” Elsa suddenly suggested. She couldn’t remember the last time she had ever purposefully tried to spend time with her sister, one-on-one.
Carmella didn’t miss a beat. “Let’s try that new winery near the Hesson House, the one along the water.”
“Perfect.”
CARMELLA DROVE THEM toward the Hesson House, Olivia Hesson’s newly-opened boutique hotel. It had already been written up with rave reviews in several magazines, including The New Yorker and The Atlantic, with a full-page spread interview with Olivia, who had recounted beautiful stories with her great-aunt, who had left her the mansion after she’d passed.
Healing Tides Page 14