"So he disappeared one dark night "He...
"So he disappeared one dark night
"He disappeared, but not by the dark of the moon
That was not the Davis styleIn October of 1926,
less than a month after Hurricane Esther knocked
the living hell out of his life's work, he sailed
for Europe with a bodyguard and his new gal-pal,
who happened to be a Mack Sennett bathing beauty
The gal-pal and the bodyguard got to Gay Paree,
but Dave Davis never didHe disappeared at sea,
without a trace
"This is a true story you're telling me?"
She raised her right hand in the Boy Scout salute
- the image slightly marred by the cigarette
smoldering between her first two fingersIn November of '26, there was a memorial
service chanel cabas bag right over there She pointed toward
where the Gulf twinkled between two bright pink
art deco buildings"At least four hundred people
613
attended, many of them, I understand, the sort of
women who were partial to ostrich feathersOne of
the speakers was John EastlakeHe tossed a wreath
of tropical flowers into the water
She sighed, and I caught a waft of her breathI
had no doubt that the lady could hold her liquor;
I also had no doubt that she was well on her way
to squiffy if not outright drunk this afternoon
"Eastlake was undoubtedly sad about the passing of
his friend," she said, "but I bet he was
congratulating himself on surviving EstherLittle did he know cheap mulberry handbags he'd be throwing
more wreaths into the water less than six months
laterNot just one daughter gone but twoThree,
I suppose, if you count the eldestShe eloped to
AtlantaWith a foreman from one of Daddy's mills,
if memory servesAlthough that's hardly the same
as losing two in the GulfGod, that must have
been hard
"THEY ARE GONE," I said, remembering the headline
Wireman had quoted
She glanced at me sharply"So you've done some
research of your own
614
"Not me, WiremanHe was curious about the woman
he was working forI don't think he knows about
the connection to this Dave Davis
She looked thoughtful"I wonder how much
Elizabeth herself remembers?"
"These days prada replica handbags she doesn't even remember her own
name," I said
Mary gave me another look, then turned from the
window, got her ashtray, and put out her cigarette
"Alzheimer's? I'd heard rumors
"I'm goddam sorry to hear itI got the more lurid
details of the Dave Davis story from her, you knowI used to see her all the time, on
the circuitAnd I interviewed most of the artists
who stayed at Salmon PointOnly you call it
something else, don't you?"
"Big Pink"I knew it was something cute
"How many artists stayed there?"
"LotsThey came to lecture in Sarasota or Venice,
and perhaps to paint for awhile - although those
who stayed at Salmon Point did precious little of
thatFor most louis vuitton hangbags of Elizabeth's guests, their time
615
on Duma Key amounted to little more than a free
vacation
"She provided the place gratis?"
"Oh, yes," she said, smiling rather ironically
"The Sarasota Arts Council paid the honoraria for
their lectures, and Elizabeth usually provided the
lodging - Big Pink, née Salmon PointBut you
didn't get that deal, did you? Perhaps next time
Especially since you actually work thereI could
name half a dozen artists who stayed in your house
and never so much as wet a brush She marched to
the sofa, lifted her glass, and had a sip
"Elizabeth has a Dalí sketch that was done at Big
Pink," I said"That I saw with my own eyes
Mary's eyes gucci tote gleam