The Ghost Soldiers by James Tate

Author:James Tate [James Tate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, pdf
ISBN: 9780061734434
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2008-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

SWORDFISH FOR HIRE

I cleared my throat and said, “My favorite sport is deep-sea fishing.” “That’s very interesting,” she said. “I had an uncle once who died in a deep-sea fishing accident. It was a very unique case in deep-sea fishing annals. He had fought this swordfish for over an hour when it leapt from the sea and speared him through the heart. The swordfish was caught, but not by him. He was dead on the spot.” “Well, I’m sorry to have brought the subject up. It must cause you great pain to think back on it,” I said. “Oh, not at all. He was a terrible bastard. That fish did what we’d all wanted to do for years,” she said. “Do you think that fish knew what he was doing? I mean, someone might have even paid him,” I said. “The family has often discussed this, but no one will own up to it,” she said. “A suicide-fish, trained by the best experts,” I said. “Of course, he made sure none of us ever got a damned cent of his money,” she said. “I take it there must have been a lot,” I said. “He owned three railroads and several skyscrapers,” she said. “And where did the money go to?” I said. “Some whore in Venezuela,” she said. “Had you known about her before?” I said. “No one had known anything, but after his death we found out a great deal. Her name was Gabrielle Sabella. He’d met her on a business trip about ten years before. She owned a dress shop in Caracas and, ironically, he had gone in there to buy his wife a present. Gabrielle was from a poor family, but with her extraordinary good looks had moved up in the world. She could no doubt smell Uncle Raymond’s money. He never tried to disguise it. What began as a simple affair grew into an obsession. He had to have her and she had to have his money, as it turned out, all of it,” she said. “Perhaps it was she who hired the swordfish,” I said. “Believe me, we’ve all thought about this,” she said. “Of course, a swordfish doesn’t need money. I mean, they don’t have a house or a car or kids to put through school. You’d have to have some other way to barter with them,” I said. “So Uncle Raymond told his wife, Stella, that he had developed some important business contacts in Venezuela and for the next ten years he flew there once a week for two nights. Gabrielle’s demands grew increasingly until, finally, Uncle Raymond put the whole empire in her name in his will,” she said. “I wonder how she knew where to find the fish and how did she talk to him?” I said. “What nonsense are you talking about now? Haven’t you been listening to me?” she said. “Yes, of course I’ve been listening to you. How did your aunt Stella feel about all this after she found out?” I said.

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