Page 85 of Paradise West
As Steve had predicted, the ghost tours wanted to make Paradise West a major stop on their itinerary. Amelia’s story was not only painful and real, but her phantom light could still be seen on some nights. It seemed that she would never stop loving or mourning Ian.
Charli firmed her mouth as she sprinted into the main house, looking for Jack. Amelia’s tragic story had just gotten a little more heartbreaking.
“Jack!” she shouted as she ran up the first flight of stairs.
“We’re up here!” he yelled from the third floor.
She scrambled up the next flight, puffing from the exertion.
He hurried down the Widow’s Walk spiral staircase toward her, his brow beetled. “Is everything okay?”
Charli wheezed and waved the manila folder in the air.
He glanced at it. “What is that?”
“Art mentioned something to me this morning at the office,” she panted.
“Okay,” he said. He reached out and smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear. “What’s got you so worked up, baby?”
“Art was talking about a wealthy merchant in Key West during the mid-1870s and 1880s who was a big influence on maritime law in Florida.”
“Yeah, and?” he urged, a slight grin on his face.
Charli took a deep breath and released it. “His name was Ian Kennedy and, according to sources, he arrived in Key West in late 1871.”
Jack’s brows shot up and Charli bobbed her head at his expression. “Yes! Exactly! So I went to the library to do a little research and found this entry in a book on Key West mariner history published in 1905.”
She shook her head. “This was right under our noses from the very beginning. I can’t believe I didn’t research him before.”
“What did it say?” he asked quietly.
Charli pulled the copied pages from the folder and held it up for him to read. “Ian didn’t die in the shipwreck of the Marybeth. He contracted yellow fever before the hurricanes hit and was left by the ship’s captain to convalesce in a convent in Santiago de Cuba.”
Jack’s brow dropped. “So, he didn’t die in the shipwreck like Amelia believed? But the newspaper article listed him as one of the sailors who went down with the ship.”
“There’s no way the newspaper would know that Ian had gotten sick and had been removed from the ship,” Charli insisted. “It went down in the storm just days later with no survivors.”
“My god,” was Jack’s guttural reply. “He was alive the whole time.”
Charli nodded and then continued. “He eventually recovered from the disease, but it was nearly a year from the time that he left Key West until he was able to return. But by that time, Amelia was already gone.”
She ran her finger along part of the passage on the page. “This doesn’t say anything about Amelia or the baby, but Ian named his first ship Amelia and the next one Malcolm. He must have known Malcolm was his son.”
Jack only blinked at her, not saying a thing.
“Because Malcolm was raised by Elizabeth and Timothy as your family history states, it’s clear Ian didn’t claim the baby when he returned—probably to avoid any scandals for the family. And it says here that he never married and died in 1885 of unknown causes.”
“Shit.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck and turned to pace the hallway. “As if this story couldn’t get any more tragic.”
Charli pressed her lips together and sniffed. “Yes, but we know now that Ian didn’t go down with thatship and that he came back for her. He loved her. He really loved her.” She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “And there’s more, Jack.”
He stopped in front of her and stared at her silently, patiently waiting for her to continue.
“There was also a photo of Ian in the book.”
Jack’s eyes bulged. “You’re kidding.”
Charli held out the paper, showing him a posed photograph of a handsome, dark-haired, suited man who looked extremely familiar.
