Grace shook her head. “He invited me to watch the sunset. Same thing I told you two days ago.”
“But you did not go? Your younger brother fell ill?”
“That’s right.”
“How long had you and Mr. Crist been dating?”
“A year and a half.”
“So you would categorize your relationship as serious?”
Grace struggled again with the Caribbean inflection and the blending of words and oddly placed syllabic emphasis.
“Yes,” she said.
“Were you in love?”
Grace’s eyes teared over. “Is it really necessary to ask these questions?”
“I’m afraid it is, Ms. Sebold.”
Grace wiped her lower lid with the back of her finger. “Yes, we were in love.”
“Was Mr. Crist in love with anyone else, besides yourself ?”
“What?” Grace asked with a confused look.
“Was there anyone else that Mr. Crist also loved?”
Grace shook her head. “No.”
“No?” Pierre asked while keeping his eyes focused on her.
Pierre’s assistant slid papers across the table until they rested in front of Grace.
“This is a list of calls made from Mr. Crist’s room phone. Three calls were made to New York. The phone number is listed to Ms. Allison Harbor, who we’ve learned was a friend of Mr. Crist.”
Grace swallowed hard. “She’s his ex-girlfriend.”
“Is that so? When I spoke with her, she suggested their relationship was still active.”
“They go to school together, so I’m sure they still see each other on campus.”
“Isn’t it true that they were stillintimate, Ms. Sebold, and not merely acquaintances, as you suggest?”
“No. That’s not true.”
“And you were not concerned about this?”
“No.”
“But isn’t it true thatyoualso called Allison Harbor during your stay at the resort? Why make such a call if there is no concern?”
Grace looked down at the list of phone calls in front of her. She did not answer.
“So let me organize my thoughts,” Pierre continued. “Mr. Crist, who was in love with you and only you, climbed up Gros Piton, spread a blanket out over a bluff, opened a bottle of champagne, poured two flutes, but never told you about this rendezvous?”
Grace shook her head again. “No, hedidtell me. Not about a . . . rendezvous. He just asked me to meet him on the bluff. I didn’t go, though.”
