by Jaden Skye
“Really?” Cindy was stunned. “Is this something’s she’s done before?”
“No,” said Alice, “but Kara knows how to handle herself in the world. Did you know that she works at a shelter for abused women? It’s a tough job, but she’s great at it. In fact, right before her wedding, she just got a promotion.”
Cindy was amazed. It was hard to imagine that the beautiful, fashionable young woman she’d had breakfast with a short time ago worked at a shelter for abused women. The picture didn’t fit.
Alice smiled. “Everybody reacts that way when they hear about it,” she said. “Rowley never really liked the job, and his mother thinks it’s nuts. But I’ve always been proud of Kara’s choices and I’m very glad she’s doing it.”
Cindy looked at Alice with a newfound respect. “It’s wonderful that you support your daughter unconditionally,” she said.
“Unconditionally is right.” Alice liked that.
“Could her job have something to do with her disappearance?” Cindy pressed forward.
Alice turned swiftly toward Cindy, looking shocked. “How?”
“The women in the shelters are hiding from dangerous husbands or partners,” Cindy spoke slowly, “they’ve been harmed, they’re afraid.”
“So?” Alice seemed indignant. “Kara’s job is absolutely safe. These women are completely hidden. The men have no idea where they are, that’s the whole point of it.”
“Someone could have found out,” Cindy insisted. “Some woman’s husband or boyfriend could be upset with Kara for helping his woman get away?”
“That’s crazy speculation.” Alice seemed to get nervous. “The shelter is supported by the state. Its location is absolutely hidden. No one finds out where it is, ever!”
You know, though, Cindy mused, so does your husband and Rowley. Cindy couldn’t bring herself to tell Alice that nothing was absolutely hidden. Everyone had ways of tracking someone down if they were truly intent on it.
“Has Kara ever been threatened, ever?” asked Cindy.
“Not that I know.” Alice trembled slightly.
“And her relationship with Rowley? Was everything good?” Cindy tried another tack.
“It was wonderful, fine, they seemed happy,” Alice spoke quickly.
“Rowley didn’t approve of Kara’s work, though.” Cindy wanted to find some kind of wedge.
“So what?” Alice remarked. “How many men truly understand what their wives do all day long?”
“Not too many,” Cindy commented.
“Maybe one in a thousand.” Alice looked fitful. “Does yours? Does mine?”
“Does Rod?” asked Cindy, fascinated.
“Rod and I do beautifully together,” Alice continued, “although in many ways we are miles apart. Rod owns ships that are involved in import and export trading. He certainly doesn’t help humanity, the way Kara does.” Alice seemed to have deep feelings about this.
“Do you work, Alice?” Cindy wanted more.
“I do volunteer work,” Alice snapped, “fund raising for third world children.”
“Like mother, like daughter,” Cindy murmured.
“Thank you,” said Alice. “I’m proud of it.”
“And how does your husband feel about his daughter’s work?” Cindy wondered if this could lead somewhere.
“He doesn’t get it,” said Alice. “He doesn’t get lots of things. Rod’s a guy’s guy, always wanted a son and we never had one, just Kara. Rod’s crazy about Rowley, though, was thrilled about the marriage. But this morning Rod was so upset he told Rowley that he always thought Rowley would do anything in the world to protect Kara. Rowley start shaking and said he would—anything.”
Both Alice and Cindy fell silent then at the same moment. Cindy looked at the water rolling under the bridge and felt the morning turn into early afternoon. The day was moving on, time was passing, and with each hour it was less likely that Kara would return.
“What do you really think happened to Kara?” Cindy pressed.
“It’s a mystery to me.” Alice’s voice turned brittle.
“Think hard,” Cindy demanded.
“I don’t know.” Alice became agitated. “I told you, I don’t believe she’s gone, I believe she’s alive and close by.”
“Is it possible somebody took her?” Cindy asked bluntly.
“I can’t imagine why.” Alice now seemed near tears.
“What else could have happened?” Cindy became relentless. “Could it have been something gone wrong between her and Rowley?”
“What are you inferring?” Alice became panicky. “Are you saying Rowley harmed Kara?”
“Not necessarily,” said Cindy. “But they could have had a fight, ran into a problem. Kara could have been fed up.”
“Kara didn’t run away on her own, if that’s what you mean. That isn’t Kara. She’s the kind of woman who stares a problem in the eye and handles it as soon as it surfaces.”
Cindy wouldn’t give up. “Kara and Rowley knew each other for quite a while, didn’t they?”
But Alice had enough. This question was one too much! “They knew each other, they loved each other,” she exclaimed. “I don’t know what you’re implying! I really don’t know, but I know I had enough for this morning.” Then she jumped up off the bench, turned and, like quicksilver, fled away.
Cindy jumped up, eager to catch up with Alice and explain herself. But she stopped herself midstream. Alice obviously needed to get away from her, have time to digest all this alone. Cindy felt bad that she’d pressed so hard, but time was of the essence here. What other choice did she have?
Cindy gave Alice time to get further down the road alone before she herself walked back to the hotel slowly, wondering if Alice was right. Was Kara nearby, still alive, waiting and begging to be found? Was there someone who could hear her begging and track her down to where she was?
*
Once back in the hotel Cindy went straight up to Rowley’s room, hoping Alice would be there and that she’d be able to apologize.
As Cindy approached the door, the two policemen who’d been stationed in the room were walking out. “Anything new?” Cindy asked as they stood opposite one another.
One of the cops shook his head. “Nah, the body hasn’t turned up and the husband’s clean as a whistle.”
“You spoke to Rowley?” Cindy asked.
“We’ve been speaking to him all along,” the cop continued. “There’s nothing to suggest he’s involved in what happened.”
Cindy was relieved and also skeptical that they’d come to the conclusion so fast.
“You’ve done a complete background check on him as well?” Cindy needed more answers.
“I told you, he’s clean as a whistle,” the cop repeated.
Cindy nodded. “Okay, thanks,” she said, not wanting to take it further at the moment. When Cindy glanced into the room she saw it was filled with people. It was more important for her to go inside and talk to them now.
*
As Cindy walked in, not only was Alice standing in the corner, but Rowley’s family had arrived as well.
The minute he saw her Rowley came right over to Cindy. “My family’s here,” he started, “I’d like you to meet them.”
“I’d love to meet them,” Cindy replied, hoping to first catch Alice’s eye and give her a smile. Alice stood with her back toward Cindy, though, staring out the window.
Rowley’s parents, a beautifully groomed, elegant couple, walked straight toward Cindy.
“This is my mom and dad,” Rowley started, “Bea and Pete Flynn.”
They all shook hands quickly.
“Come sit on the sofa with us,” Bea started. “We’re so glad you’re here. And we hear your partner is working on the case, too.” Bea was shorter than her husband, with silky blonde hair tied back from her face.
“Yes, Mattheus is talking to Kara’s father now,” Cindy said as she sat down beside her.
“What have you found
out so far?” Bea was eager to hear.
“There’s nothing to report yet,” said Cindy. ”Mattheus and I have just started investigating. The search teams are out there too, doing their job.”
“I know,” said Bea, “in a few minutes we’re going to join them. The flyers with Kara’s picture on it are ready and many people on the island are passing out flyers to anyone they see. They’ve also been put up all over on public places.”
“Good,” said Cindy, “very good.” It was always important for families to feel they could be of help, not just stand idly by. “Has anyone called in tips yet?” Cindy was curious. She knew Mattheus would want to track down the tips himself.
“I’m not sure.” Bea got shivery.
“Just give it a few hours and there’ll be plenty of tips called in,” Rowley’s father, Pete, joined in abruptly. “Someone out there has to have seen Kara, or seen something that led to this. And right now the police want Rowley close to the phone, in case a ransom call comes in.”
“A ransom call?” This was the first time Bea seemed to have heard it. “Do you think someone kidnapped Kara?” she asked breathlessly.
“No one kidnapped Kara.” Alice turned and took a definitive step toward them all. “Kara’s not the kind of young woman you can just kidnap. She would fight her kidnapper for all she’s worth. She’d leave him bloodied and bruised behind her.”
The fury in Alice’s voice silenced the entire room.
Bea went over to comfort her. “Of course Kara’s a mountain of strength,” Bea murmured, “we all know that. But the police have to look into everything.”
“I know they do.” Alice was pleasant enough toward Bea, if not a bit condescending. “But I think it’s a bad idea for Rowley to sit here on pins and needles, expecting a ransom call which will never come.”
“It could come, Alice,” Bea spoke haltingly.
Cindy tried to catch Alice’s eye and make contact, but Alice looked away.
“I’m sure the police are taping all kinds of calls that are coming into the station. Investigators will be talking to everyone they can.” Cindy wanted to put everything in perspective. “And it’s certainly possible a ransom call will come. That would be good, give us something specific to go on. It would also let us know that Kara is definitely alive. “
“Of course she’s alive.” Alice’s voice grew shrill. “I told you that and I meant it.”
Cindy spoke more softly. “Don’t worry, one way or another we’ll track her down, find out if someone might have wanted to harm either Kara or Rowley.”
“There’s no reason anyone would want to harm them, none at all,” Alice insisted.
“Who knows?” Bea’s voice became strident as she turned to Alice. “Kara works at that crazy place, doesn’t she? Could be somebody there has a vendetta.”
“It’s not a crazy place, it’s a worthy job,” replied Alice icily.
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.” Bea scowled. “But it’s not exactly the kind of place a girl like Kara belongs in. She wasn’t abused and she never will be. I don’t know what her fascination with this kind of work is. I never understood it. I even said that to Rowley.”
“Calm down, Bea,” Pete interjected, but his wife just tossed him away.
Rowley put his head in his hands then. “Bea’s right,” he started moaning. “I told Kara that myself. I said get another job, get the hell out of that shelter.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Cindy interjected. “There’s no evidence yet that anyone has a vendetta against Kara.”
“I’ll tell you who would know more about this!” Bea suddenly got excited. “Kara’s best friend, Alfred, is devastated and has come down to the island to help out.”
“Where did you hear that?” Alice was surprised.
“My sister called from the States and told me,” said Bea.
“Everyone in the family knows Kara’s best friend?” Cindy was interested.
“Yes, of course, especially after the spectacle he made of himself at the wedding,” Bea flared up. “He insisted on dancing with Kara almost half the night. Everyone thought he was one-upping Rowley.”
“Ridiculous,” Alice bristled. “Kara and Alfred have been friends since grade school, he’s practically a brother. He wanted to dance and celebrate with Kara for all he was worth.”
“It was excessive, Alice, face it,” Bea insisted.
“Back off, Bea,” Pete tried again. “Young people dance, they celebrate.”
“Right. There was nothing excessive about it,” Alice rebutted.
“Well, nobody agrees with you about that,” said Bea. “In fact, I even heard some people say they didn’t know why Rowley lets Kara and Alfred stay such close friends.”
All eyes turned to Rowley then who seemed lost in his own thoughts, not paying attention to any of it.
“Rowley, what do you think of Alfred?” Alice interrupted his reveries.
“He’s fine, he’s fine,” Rowley murmured. “He and Kara have been friends since they were kids. He’s not exactly my cup of tea, but I’m happy for her that they’re close.”
“You’re happy?” Bea turned to her son with a chilling tone.
“Of course I’m happy,” Rowley mumbled softly. “Why shouldn’t I be happy? Whatever makes Kara happy makes me happy too.”
CHAPTER 7
When Cindy got back to her hotel room, it was empty. Mattheus was obviously still with Rod. Cindy decided to put in a call to Mattheus and see how it was going and when he’d be back.
“I’m staying where I am and having dinner with Rod tonight,” Mattheus replied.
“Okay, fine,” said Cindy, slightly surprised. Usually she and Mattheus met to go over the day and plan out the next steps at dinner.
“Rod really needs me now, Cindy,” said Mattheus. “You can imagine how upset he is.”
“Yes, of course I can,” said Cindy. It was right for Mattheus to stay beside an old friend who was going through something as awful as this.
“Did it go well with Alice?” Mattheus asked.
“It was all right,” said Cindy. “I found out that Kara worked at a shelter for abused women. Naturally, there’s a concern about that. They’re wondering if it’s connected with her going missing.”
“Rod mentioned that to me,” Mattheus responded. “In my opinion that’s far-fetched.”
“I also met Rowley’s parents,” Cindy continued, “and learned that a close friend of Kara’s, Alfred, came down to the island to help.”
“Good,” said Mattheus, “that’s important information. Contact him right away. See if you can have dinner with him tonight. We’ve got to make use of every moment.”
It was a good idea, made perfect sense.
“I want to spend as much time with Rod as is needed,” Mattheus went on. “He’s my friend, he’s broken, he needs me.”
“Of course,” said Cindy. “I’ll see you later, when you return.”
*
Cindy immediately got Alfred’s phone number from Bea and then quickly put in a call to him.
“This is Cindy Blaine, from CM Investigations,” she said the minute he picked up.
“Who gave you my number?” asked Alfred, nervously.
“Rowley’s mom,” said Cindy.
“How can I help?” Alfred continued, sounding even more jittery than before.
“I’d love to meet with you and talk,” said Cindy. “My partner and I are working on the case and we need all the information we can get.”
“Sure thing,” Alfred answered quickly. “That’s why I came down. I’m here to bring Kara home safely. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Cindy felt the deep concern in his tone and liked him immediately. “You’re a good friend,” she murmured.
“That’s putting it mildly,” said Alfred. “I’ve known Kara my entire life long. We grew up together. I know all of her secrets.”
“She’s like a sister,” Cindy corrected herself.
“
Even closer than that,” Alfred insisted.
Cindy wasn’t exactly sure what he was telling her. “What’s closer than a sister?” she asked.
“I don’t know how to put it,” Alfred mumbled, “but there’s no way I’m not finding Kara and bringing her home.”
Rather than waiting for dinner, Cindy and Alfred decided to meet in an hour. Alfred wanted to go into town with her, walk through the markets and talk.
“While we’re walking we can keep our eyes open for Kara,” he suggested. “It’s better to be where there are lots of people around.”
Cindy smiled. It sounded as though Alfred was a home-grown detective, had all kinds of fantasies about how Kara might turn up.
“Is that okay with you?” Alfred continued.
“It’s fine,” said Cindy, wanting him to feel as comfortable as possible. “See you soon.”
*
Cindy took a cab to the Castries to meet Alfred in front of an open market named Cosa Nana. He said he’d be standing in front wearing khakis and a hand-dyed T-shirt. Cindy would recognize him immediately if she looked for someone with tousled sandy hair and amazing green eyes.
The moment she stepped out of the cab, Cindy saw a young man who looked exactly as Alfred described. She went right over to him.
“Alfred?” Cindy asked.
“Cindy Blaine?” His eyes lit up. As he’d said, Alfred had amazingly green eyes; they were translucent and startling.
“I really appreciate your time,” said Cindy.
“That’s silly,” he answered right away. “My time is totally devoted to finding Kara. Take all of it you want.”
“Thank you,” said Cindy.
“Like it here?” Alfred motioned to the bustling streets with one colorful, duty-free shop after another. “Think it’s a good place to start?”
“To start what?” asked Cindy. “Looking for Kara?”
“Nah, I’ve already started that,” said Alfred.
“I like it here,” Cindy went on then. “Let’s walk a little, I want to talk.”