by Jaden Skye
Then he pulled Cindy close to him and they kissed deeply.
“You’re a wonderful detective, Cindy,” Mattheus murmured when they pulled apart, “and a better woman than you’ll ever know. You’re worth waiting for, really worth it. I’ll stay here as long as you want.”
*
Cindy arrived at the little park down the block from the hotel, where huge hibiscus flowers bloomed and birds sung their hearts out. She got there before Loretta and waited on a wooden slatted bench. Cindy was relieved to have one more person to talk to about the case. No matter what anyone said, Cindy knew she wasn’t finished investigating, but had no idea why.
As soon as Loretta arrived she pranced over to Cindy brightly, excited to see her there.
“You’re a good person, Cindy,” Loretta said as she sat down close to her. “There aren’t too many good persons left in this world anymore, but you’re definitely one of them. We need you here. I need you.”
“Why, thank you very much,” said Cindy, deeply touched. “Why do you say that?”
“You care about my mother,” Loretta replied.
“Yes, I do,” said Cindy sadly, feeling Loretta’s huge loss, “and you care about her, too.”
Loretta winced. “I always did but no one realized it. They were all awful to me, got in the way. I’ll never get over it.”
“Yes, you will,” said Cindy, turning her full gaze upon the frail young woman. “Time will show you how to get over it, Loretta. One day you’ll learn how to forgive them all.”
“Forgive them?” Loretta gritted her teeth. “How could you even suggest something like that?”
“Because you’ll do it not only for them, but for your own sake too,” said Cindy. “I know you can, you’re a good person, too.”
Tears filled Loretta’s eyes and her face suddenly softened. For the first time Cindy saw under her stony exterior how pretty she really could be.
“No one ever said to me that I was a good person,” Loretta suddenly whimpered.
“Well, I’m saying it now,” Cindy insisted. “You’re a good person Loretta, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I won’t,” Loretta’s voice was barely audible.
Cindy wanted to hear what else Loretta had to tell her. “Tell me what you have on your mind,” Cindy asked.
Loretta was happy to plunge in. “I don’t believe Alana did it for a minute,” she started, eager to finally be speaking her mind. “There’s stuff you don’t know about everyone,” Loretta spoke fitfully.
Loretta’s moods shifted so quickly, Cindy wondered if she could trust anything Loretta said. She wanted to give it a try, anyway. “What don’t I know?” Cindy asked.
“I want you to call my mother’s friend Veronica and find out,” Loretta’s eyes darted back and forth. “Let Veronica tell you about my mother’s so called wonderful marriage to Owen.”
Cindy immediately remembered that Veronica was the woman Tara mentioned in her diary who kept warning her about her relationship with Owen.
“Are you in touch with your mother’s friend Veronica?” Cindy was surprised.
“Not really,” said Loretta, “but I saw some of the things she posted on my mom’s Facebook page and decided to contact her and get her phone number. First thing I told her my mom had been murdered. I thought she’d faint on the spot. Then we had a good talk. Veronica’s a straight shooter, like you. I know you’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will,” said Cindy fascinated, as Loretta handed her a crumpled piece of paper with Veronica’s number sprawled on it.
“Call her now,” urged Loretta, “don’t waste a minute.”
Cindy uncrumpled the paper, took out her phone and dialed. In less than a moment a harsh voice on the other end answered, “Who’s this?”
“Veronica, this is Cindy Blaine of C and M Investigations,” Cindy replied.
“A detective?” Veronica sounded ruffled.
“I’m investigating your friend Tara’s death,” Cindy quickly put her at ease.
“Oh God, oh God, I should have seen it coming,” Veronica exclaimed. “Tara lived in a fool’s paradise. I warned her, she wouldn’t listen, and now she’s dead.”
“Warned her about what?” Cindy quickly jumped on it.
“I warned Tara over and over that Owen had something going on,” Veronica insisted. “She refused to believe me. She said I was crazy, that I liked making trouble in everyone’s marriage.”
“Was that true?” asked Cindy straightforwardly.
“Sure, I like pointing out bullshit, if that’s what you mean,” Veronica answered directly. “If you don’t point it out up front, if you don’t give people warnings, stuff like this can happen later on. You know how many women get killed by creepy husbands?”
“What made you think Owen had something going on?” Cindy continued, shaken.
“Nothing definite,” Veronica continued boldly. “But Owen’s a sexy, rich, charming guy, and Tara became more and more boring every year. She was stupid too, took him completely for granted, didn’t even dress up much anymore. A few times we were all out together, I saw Owen looking at other women, big time.”
“Most men look, don’t they?” asked Cindy. “What’s the big deal about that?”
“Yeah, they look,” agreed Veronica, “but Owen felt like he was on the prowl. This was one, hungry man.”
“Did you want Owen for yourself?” Cindy wanted to test and unnerve her.
Veronica guffawed. “Not really,” she said, “though it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing. I could have made him happier than Tara, for sure.”
“Owen says they were happy, had a great marriage,” Cindy insisted.
“Yeah, yeah,” Veronica tossed it off, “guys say everything to cover up, don’t they? But where was the fire between them? Where was the spark? Completely gone, if you asked me.”
They talked a while longer and Cindy hung up from the conversation feeling more out of sorts than before.
“Veronica’s a smart woman,” Loretta jumped in as Cindy put her phone away. “She’s got it going on.”
“Thanks for telling me about her, Loretta,” said Cindy.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Loretta wasn’t letting it go. “She told you about my mother and Owen?”
“She told me what she thought,” said Cindy.
“Owen was released from jail too quickly, it’s not right,” pouted Loretta.
Cindy knew that Loretta had it in for Owen, and had to take all this with a grain of salt.
“Don’t leave the island so fast, please,” Loretta pleaded. “My mother deserved better, her whole life long.”
“Alright,” Cindy capitulated. “I’ll stay in Jamaica a little while longer and see what else comes up.”
“Thank you,” Loretta leapt over and hugged Cindy. “It will be worth your while, I know it will. Don’t they say the truth reveals itself if you wait for it?”
Cindy hadn’t heard that saying, but at the moment, it felt right on.
Chapter 21
“Are you ready to go now?” Mattheus called out as soon as Cindy returned to the hotel from her interview with Loretta.
Cindy looked around and saw Mattheus taking in the sun and breeze out on the balcony. “I’m back, Mattheus,” she called out.
“It was great of you to go speak to Loretta,” Mattheus called back, “and hear what she had to say. Ready to go now?”
Cindy replied as she came out and sat on the edge of Mattheus’s chair. “I’m less ready than ever to leave now,” she said.
Mattheus shook his head. “Okay, let’s have it. What did she say?”
“Loretta gave me the number of a woman named Veronica, her mother’s friend. I called and spoke to her right away. Veronica told me that Owen and Tara’s marriage was nothing like he told us. She said that he was on the prowl.”
Mattheus made a sour face. “People say all kinds of things. What good is this information going to do us now?
Owen’s been released, Cindy. It’s over.”
“I want to go back down to the dock and onto the boat they rented one more time,” Cindy went on. “Something tells me to do it.”
“It’s overkill and guilt,” Mattheus replied. “You’re blaming yourself for Alana’s death. It wasn’t your fault. You’ve got to move on.”
“I want to go anyway,” said Cindy.
There’s no point in it,” Mattheus insisted.
“But I’m going,” Cindy replied.
Mattheus seemed irritated. “Go if you want to, I’ll wait for you here. When you’re through give me a call and I’ll book our flight home. Okay?”
“Okay,” Cindy agreed. She knew she had to let go at some point, was just satisfying one last urge.
Mattheus put his arms around Cindy then, and pulled her to him. “Just one thing I have to ask before you go,” he said. “What exactly do you expect to find at the boat? What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” Cindy felt comforted in Mattheus’s arms. “I know it totally doesn’t make sense, but something is drawing me there. I have to trust that.”
“Yes, you do,” Mattheus agreed. “I respect your intuition, Cindy. I’ll be here waiting to hear what you find.”
*
Cindy was actually relieved to be going to the boat alone. She knew that Mattheus was playing along so she could feel better about leaving. He himself was done with the case, trying to accommodate her last wishes.
Cindy arrived at the dock in what seemed like no time and began walking towards the boat. She enjoyed both the breezes and the feel of the afternoon sun gently washing over her. Cindy knew the case was over and she had to let go, but something pulled her to keep going. Perhaps she just had to see the boat one last time to have a sense of closure.
When Cindy arrived she didn’t go on the boat, just stood alongside it looking out into the choppy sea. Deep within Cindy wasn’t at ease with the way the case had turned out. Alana’s suicide didn’t prove a thing about who actually had put an end to Tara’s life. Cindy thought of Loretta’s comment that Tara deserved better than this. Suddenly Cindy felt she might be here not only to say good bye to Tara, but to make her peace with her as well.
Cindy watched a few seagulls fly by, cawing loudly. How can I make this right for you, Tara? Cindy called out to her in her mind. What do you need for justice to be served? Cindy stood there silently then, watching people drifting in and out of other boats anchored at the dock. It was a beautiful, peaceful scene that said to Cindy that life went on no matter whether justice was served or not. As she was dwelling on that, Cindy she saw an older, local fisherman amble up to Tara’s boat and stand there, gazing at it, too. Cindy stepped a bit closer to the fisherman, interested to be sharing the experience with him.
“Beautiful boat, isn’t it?” Cindy murmured.
The fisherman turned his leathery, wrinkled face to her and shook his head slowly.
“Nothing beautiful about it, sister,” he remarked in a croaky tone. “Someone lost her life on it.”
Cindy was stunned at first, but then realized that the accident had been all over the news. He must have read about it in the paper.
“You read about the accident in the news?” Cindy asked.
“Heck no,” he shook his head harder. “Saw it for myself, yes I did. Was right out there fishing when it happened.”
Totally confused, Cindy stared at him. “Saw what for yourself?” she could barely speak.
“Honey, I was there when the guy drove this boat right into the lady. I saw him do it again and again.”
Cindy froze. She couldn’t compute what he was saying. “What are you talking about?”
“You know the case of the lady who died in the coma?” the fisherman needed to talk as well.
“Yes, of course,” said Cindy.
“She didn’t die by accident in some coma,” the fisherman spluttered. “I saw the guy on the boat driving it right into her and keep doing it. Then he pulled her out of the water a limp rag. I thought for sure she was dead right then. How she hung on so long is a mystery to me. Must have wanted to live badly.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?” Cindy asked, stunned, her voice rising.
“What was there to say? She wasn’t dead. She was alive all that time in the coma,” the fisherman spluttered. “Then after she died, they took the husband to jail. What did they need me for, nothing!”
“For something,” Cindy cried out in pain.
“Now that I read in the papers that the husband got out, I’m planning to tell the cops,”
the old guy defended himself.
“When were you planning to do it?” asked Cindy, “when?”
“Today,” the old fisherman looked perturbed.
“It’s too late now,” Cindy yelled.
“Never too late for anything,” he croaked back.
The old guy meant well and Cindy felt badly yelling at him.
“Stop,” Cindy put her hand on his arm. “Don’t go anywhere. Wait right here.” Then she flipped open her phone and immediately called Mattheus.
“Tell the cops to nab Owen immediately,” Cindy shrieked over the phone.
“What the hell’s the matter?” Mattheus voice choked.
Cindy’s heart beat furiously. “I’ve got an eye witness,” Cindy hollered, “he saw Owen driving the boat into Tara, over and over again.”
“Hold on, what are you saying? I just spoke to the cops to tie things up,” Mattheus sounded flustered. “Cops told me Owen’s at the airport right now, on flight 67, United Airways, going back to the States.”
“Oh no, he’s not,” yelled Cindy. “Get there! Stop him!”
“Are you sure?” Mattheus hollered back. “Who is this witness?”
“I’m positive,” Cindy kept yelling, “definite! I’m going to the airport now. I’ll meet you there.”
“Go,” Mattheus yelled back, as Cindy hung up, took the old guy’s name and number and made him swear he’d go to the police immediately.
*
As the taxi flew to the airport, Cindy panted uncontrollably in the back seat. Everything fell into place as the nagging feelings she’d had melted away. She’d been wrong about Owen right from the start. Cindy prayed she’d get to the airport before Owen boarded his flight. Once he returned to the States, she didn’t know if they could get him back to Jamaica so easily.
As soon as Cindy arrived at the airport, she flew to United Airways. Thankfully, there was still half an hour before the plane took off and the travelers hadn’t yet boarded. Cindy dashed to the waiting gate and immediately saw Owen sitting there. To her total shock, he wasn’t alone. Sitting next to him was a beautiful, blonde young woman in her early twenties, holding his hand, smiling up at him. Owen was grinning and laughing with her as well. The two of them seemed overjoyed. Who was the young woman? What was he doing with her now?
Cindy approached stealthily, moving through the crowds like a shadow, watching every move he made. Owen was so engrossed with the young woman that he had no sense of Cindy approaching at all. The young woman was staring at him with adoring eyes, and he was drinking her adoration in. Clearly they knew each other well. When she got closer Cindy stood there a long moment, staring at them. She couldn’t believe that she’d been duped by Owen, like everyone else. First she felt dizzy, then furious.
Cindy plunged to his side and stood there boldly, waiting for him to look her way. When Owen turned suddenly and saw her, he registered a brief moment of surprise.
“Are we going home on the same flight?” he asked then, a bemused look in his eye, as if he’d won a crafty game.
“You’re not going anywhere right now,” Cindy growled, shaken to the core.
“I beg your pardon?” a flash of wild arrogance crossed his face.
“You’re being detained,” Cindy mustered all her authority.
Owen only laughed harshly at her and pulled the young woman closer to him, looking at C
indy with disdain. The young woman looked shaken, however. Obviously, this confrontation was not something she ever expected.
“Who is this?” Cindy took a step closer, pointing to the young woman. “And what is she doing here with you?”
“This is Nina,” Owen replied, casually, “and what’s it to you?”
“Nina,” Cindy spun towards her and looked at her threateningly, “what are you doing here with Owen now?”
“Don’t say a word, it’s none of her business,” Owen flashed a dark look at Cindy.
“It’s completely my business. I’m still on the case,” Cindy said then, trying to shake the awful confidence he exuded.
“Case is over,” he mocked, “nothing more to do.”
“Oh really?” said Cindy, her eyes narrowing at him. “What if I tell you that we now have an eye witness to the accident?”
“Oh yeah,” Owen replied unaffected, “tell me anything you want. It’s over and you’re fired! You’re working for me, like everyone else.”
“I’m working for Tara,” Cindy shot back as Nina shivered, unnerved.
“Lots of things are over,” Owen continued, blocking Cindy’s words out. “My time with Tara is over finally, my time with her crazy family is over, too. Over, over. It’s a new day.”
“Just like that?” Cindy felt contempt for him. “Tara’s barely dead and you’re with a new woman?”
Owen laughed. “Who’s to say it’s just like that? Nina and I have been together a long time, we’ve been waiting for this moment.”
“Owen, please,” Nina tugged on his jacket, looking afraid.
“Please, nothing,” he said to her bruskly. “There’s not a thing in the world they can do to me now. Or to you, either, sweetheart.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Cindy’s blood was boiling. “Obviously your relationship with Nina went on while you were married to Tara.”
Owen laughed louder. “So what? What are you going to do, wrap me on my knuckles and tell me I’m a bad boy?”
Cindy wanted to slap him across the face and slap Nina as well. She was actually about to do it when thankfully out of the corner of her eye she saw Mattheus approaching with two cops. Thank God, she whispered, turning the other way and waving to them.