Chapter 21
The drops were huge. Perfect pear-shaped wallops of water spaced strangely far apart. The hail, they said, would come later. The erratic dive in the temperature had brought a storm system that promised to compare to dark, violent summer afternoon thunderstorms Neal recalled from his Missouri youth. The island had gone dim with the sweep of clouds, and the warm winds and patter of the rain added energy to Andreas’ upcoming house party. The inclement weather brought everyone in and kept them in, so the festivities began earlier than planned. The servant boys and Gretta bustled about preparing food, setting up trays of martini glasses and two makeshift bars in the main room, cleaning under and around the clusters of people. Malice had already taken charge of the music and was play
