The Gilded Age
Gold mined in the jungles of Peru brought riches to three friends in Miami—but it also carried ruin.
THE ATAVIST, FEBRUARY 2021
The baby was due at Christmas. It would be her first child. At the stylish ranch house she shared with her husband in the Miami suburbs, on a weekend day in November 2012, guests kept arriving amid explosions of Spanish. Te ves hermosa! How beautiful she looked, they said, as they kissed her on the cheek.
Everyone knew that Iska and her husband, Sam Barrage, did parties well. She must have spent weeks planning the shower. A chef made crepes and a bartender poured mimosas on the terrace by the pool, underneath the palms. Among the visitors were two of Iska and Sam’s closest friends: a married couple, Renato and Miriam Rodriguez. In a way, they were honored guests. Renato, who’d helped Sam put together the baby’s crib, would soon be named godfather.
The Rodriguezes hadn’t been at the house very long when Sam pulled Renato aside. It was time, he said. The two of them had to leave, right away. Renato knew why….