‘It’s probably nothing, but I do know that Frank Macy has a connection to Diane. You may not remember. You were still pretty young.’

‘What’s the connection?’ Peach asked.

‘Do you remember Diane’s son, Drew?’

‘A little,’ she said. ‘I know he killed himself.’

Deacon nodded. ‘I only met Drew a couple times, but Lyle talked about him a lot. He was afraid that Drew’s behavior would undermine Birch’s campaign. It’s one thing that Birch’s stepson had a big drug problem – that’s bad enough – but he also hung out in Tampa clubs and got himself photographed in some compromising positions. And with the wrong kind of people.’

The wrong kind of people.

‘Are you saying Drew knew Frank Macy?’ Peach asked.

‘Yeah, he did,’ Deacon said. ‘Macy liked to hang out with rich kids. He knew how to hook them up with street people. Drew and Macy were together a lot. First in college, then in Tampa and Lake Wales. Macy was Drew’s drug dealer.’

19

Cab thought he’d become accustomed to the realities of fame, but it still surprised him that he couldn’t go anywhere with his mother without her being recognized. Their afternoon at the Bok Sanctuary was no different. Tarla wore a white summer dress – loose, sheer but not overtly sexy – with a leather belt tied in a knot at her slim waist. Her blond hair was casual and messy, and she wore big sunglasses and almost no makeup. Even so, people began to whisper as soon as she arrived.

At the welcome desk inside the interpretive center, a hostess in her early sixties finally screwed up the courage to say: ‘Are you …?’

Tarla smiled. Moments later, she was signing autographs.

He didn’t have anything to do while Tarla hobnobbed with her movie fans, so he spent his time examining the displays about Edward Bok, the author and editor who had built the tower and gardens in the late 1920s. It was a supremely lovely, peaceful place, designed to embody Bok’s philosophy: ‘Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it.’

He knew that Tarla had made the world a better place during her stay. Looking at the glow on the faces of those who recognized her, he realized how much she and her movies had touched lives. He doubted that he would ever be able to say the same thing. Never married. No children. Spending his days delving into dark hearts.

It didn’t feel like much of a legacy.

‘Well,’ Tarla said, appearing at his side again, slightly breathless. ‘That was fun, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes, someone told me how exciting it was to meet Naomi Watts in person,’ Cab replied.

‘You’re so funny, darling. Wicked but funny. You know, one of the women only had eyes for you. I may as well have been invisible.’

‘Excuse me?’