@@@@@ The gal-pal and the bodyguard got to Gay 348
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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 right over there She pointed toward
where the Gulf twinkled between two bright pink
art deco buildings"At least four hundred people
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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 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
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"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
