Ghost Night (29 page)
Authors: Heather Graham
There were a dozen times when Vanessa wanted to turn to Sean and say, “Did that really happen? Did we see what we saw? Did an evil ghost walk the world just as easily as the pained spirits of those who had been wronged, or who sought to help others?”
She never spoke. Maybe they both knew that the world was composed of good and evil. As Bartholomew had suggested, good men were good men.
And evil men—and women—were evil.
Just how crazy had Zoe become?
And did it make them all a little mad?
They were questions that haunted Vanessa at first. But they weren’t about to stop her from living her life, from being with Sean. Barry healed quickly, and Marty was thrilled to walk around with a cane for a while. Liam came to before the authorities even arrived, furious with himself for having fallen prey to a pathetic little bastard like Bill Hinton.
But they had survived, and they had found a certain truth—if not the total truth. No one would really know what had happened on the pirate ship—and man might never really know what had caused hundreds of years of wild weather and strange occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle.
They didn’t expect to solve that riddle.
They weren’t salvage divers, either. They were filmmakers.
And so they became the filmmakers who worked with the salvage divers who brought up the pirate ship.
Vanessa still had a strange knack for finding treasure. She’d be led sometimes by a gentle presence in the water—a blonde woman who had worked too hard in life, fallen in love with a pirate and been murdered for that love. Kitty Cutlass.
She had feared for Bartholomew that night. But he had joined her later in the confusion on the shore, and he had assured her that he was not going to the place that was now hosting Dona Isabella. He wouldn’t say more, just that he was destined for a better end, and that he was actually quite anxious to get back to Key West.
It wasn’t long before they had a break and spent time in the city. And it was at dinner at O’Hara’s where she saw that Bartholomew was really all right. He had been sitting with them idly at the bar, and then…
His Lucinda, his lady in white, came by, and he was gone, hurrying out to the street to meet her, where he held her tenderly in his arms, where their eyes met, and he kissed her.
“Very romantic!” she said, pleased.
Sean pulled her into his arms. “Let’s go home,” he said softly. “And I’ll show you romantic.”
She smiled, and slipped from the bar stool.
She turned into his arms. “I don’t need to think much at all anymore, Sean O’Hara. I know. I know that I love you.”
“I know…that I love you,” he said.
And they left the bar, and went home, and made good on their words to each other.
Key West is known as the Conch Republic; those born there are known as Conchs and those who have been there for more than seven years are known as Fresh water Conchs.
Naturally, in Key West, you’re going to come upon many conch offerings. The Bahamians and the Keys’ people tend to believe they’ve both created the same recipes, but you’ll find subtle flavor variations wherever you go.
But when in Rome—or the Conch Republic—it’s great to try the local dishes. And conch chowder and conch fritters—two very popular uses for the shellfish—can be absolutely delicious.
One thing to remember—conch meat can be tough and rubbery. In any recipe, it’s best to bring a heavy-duty meat mallet, and be ready for dicing and grinding!
These recipes may not be low-cal—but if you’ve been imbibing a few of the local drink choices, you won’t care too much!
(8 servings)
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen conch meat, well ground or chopped
4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
2 quarts water
4 cups diced lean pork meat (bacon may be substituted)
1 cup fresh or canned tomatoes, diced
2 small onions, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 green pepper, chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Place conch in half olive oil, half butter, and heat on low heat; do not brown, just allow to heat. Add potatoes and water and bring to a boil; reduce heat. In a separate
pan, sauté lean pork (bacon) and tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic until tender. Add to the conch mixture and allow to cook thirty to forty-five minutes, covered, until a creamy texture is reached and conch is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste—and enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups pounded and diced conch
1 clove garlic
1/8 cup minced onion
1/8 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/8 cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
4 eggs (or substitute such as Eggbeaters)
Salt and pepper to taste
(For a spicy Bahamian version, add 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper or a touch of hot sauce.)
Directions:
Sift the flour and baking powder together, mix other ingredients with eggs, then blend together. Season as desired. (Mild, or with a kick!) Form fritters,
and deep-fry in vegetable oil until crispy and golden-brown. Great when served with a Key lime mayonnaise. Add some cayenne to the mayonnaise for those who love more spice.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6398-1
GHOST NIGHT
Copyright © 2010 by Heather Graham Pozzessere.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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