He looked at her intensely. “My sources tell me that your friend probably never left the island. Not that night anyway, and not on the hotel’s boat.”
Dominique had to process that news for a second. She swallowed, thought for a moment, and handed Fernandes a hundred-dollar bill from her wallet.
“Make sure I get my money’s worth,” she said hoarsely.
He nodded, put the money in his inside coat pocket, and signaled to Pepe that they were leaving.
Dominique watched the men leave. Just before they turned the corner, she yelled, “Fernandes!”
The fat man turned around.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
He tapped his fingers on his imaginary hat and grinned, showing he had a few gold teeth.
“My pleasure, miss. Later!”
44
As soon as the men were gone, Dominique went inside the house. Ignoring how tired she was, she headed for Lilian’s bedroom first, but nothing there had changed.
After she double-checked that all the outside doors were locked properly, she took a fast shower in order to clean off the worst of the dirt on her body and to rinse out her hair. After that, she filled up the only tub in the house with lots of bubbles. She checked her phone one more time, though she knew that Lilian couldn’t have called or texted without having her own phone, and slowly sank into the hot bathwater.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the soothing warm water. All the pain and fatigue seemed to evaporate. She leaned her head on the edge of the bath and let the healing water envelop her body. She thought about what happened in the alley and what could have happened if Niels hadn’t come to her rescue.
Randomly, she thought of Todd: Would she ever see him again? His concept of a careless and free, no-strings-attached holiday love affair had seemed really appealing at first. But now he was gone, and she was still here on this island, and suddenly things had gotten a lot less careless and free. Not only because Todd had left, but mostly because Lilian had disappeared. Where could she be? If she had met someone, she would have let her know by now. Even without her phone. Unless, for some reason, she couldn’t.
Despite the warm water, she shivered at the thought that someone was keeping Lilian against her will. Kept isolated from the outside world, at someone else’s mercy. But who would do that? And how would they have taken her with them? Dominique was afraid to think of the other and far worse possibility: Something had happened to Lilian. She might not even be alive. Suddenly, she sat up straight and wide-eyed. While she was dozing off, she had suddenly seen a flash of Lilian’s naked body, covered in blood on the rocks. She had been so pale, so intensely pale, that the color of her skin seemed almost translucent. She decided right then and there that she had to call Lilian’s parents. She couldn’t and shouldn’t wait a moment longer for the police or for Fernandes and his men.
She climbed out of the bathtub then wrapped a large towel around her body and a smaller one around her hair.
Out loud, she said to herself, “You’re so stupid, Do—you should have alerted them sooner. This is so unfair to Lilian’s parents and the other people who love her. You’re such a selfish bitch!”
While she walked into the living room, she left wet footprints behind. She reached for her phone, plopped down into the easy chair, and pulled her legs in close to her body. Then she took a few deep breaths before pressing the speed dial button.
It took a while before someone picked up and she heard an all-too-familiar but sleepy voice.
Still scared and insecure, but also a little relieved she said, “Hi, Dad, it’s Do. I need to tell you something.”
“Hey, Do. I just got back to Holland—you woke me up. But that’s okay, I’m glad to hear your voice. You’re probably calling me about those two guys.”
“Those two guys?” She thought about Fernandes and Pepe. Had Harry called him?
“Yeah, those two Americans that came to your door. You called Stephanie about them, and she was supposed to get back to you about it.”
His voice sounded a little impatient, the way he usually spoke to her when she didn’t understand him fast enough. Normally that would get under her skin, but now it didn’t even faze her.
“No, that’s not why I’m calling. It’s about Lilian.”
It was quiet for a moment. “What’s the matter? Did you have a fight?”
“No, no. She’s gone, Daddy. I can’t find her anywhere.”
“Come on now, gone? That can’t be, sweetie. Lilian is a grown woman; she’s not just going to up and leave you!”
“No, really, Dad, she’s gone. I haven’t seen or heard from her in two days.”
“Two days? Have you lost your mind, Dominique? And you’re only calling me now?”
“Yes, Dad, but I went to the police this morning.”
“Well, at least that’s something. So are they investigating the case?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “They found her cell phone, Dad. Nothing else.”
“Good God.” He was silent for a moment. “What about her parents? Don’t tell me that you haven’t informed her parents yet, Do!”
She started crying quietly. “Don’t yell at me, Dad. This is bad enough already.”
On the other end of the phone a tirade of cursing sounded. “This is truly unbelievable, Do! And there is no way for me to come to you at the moment; I’m stuck here. I will arrange for Lilian’s parents to fly out there—Stephanie is probably still sleeping. It’s five o’clock in the morning here for God sake! But, fine, I will book a flight for them myself. Are you calling Lilian’s parents, or do I need to?”
“I will call them,” she answered softly.
Her father cursed again. “Those poor people. They’re going to have heart attacks. I don’t even want think about it, what if … In any case, just let them know I will pay for them for them to fly to Aruba, business class. I will pay for their entire stay. I will inform Stephanie later and let her know to make the rest of the arrangements.”
“Okay, Dad.”
“It’s terrible that I don’t have the time to be there myself. I can find out if Van Dorp is able to come and support you during the next few days. Do you want me to do that?”
Thomas Van Dorp was an old school friend and colleague of her father’s. He and his wife, Regina, were regulars at their house. They’d even gone on vacation with them a few times, when her parents were still married. The fact that both men had become very successful over the years had never stood in the way of their friendship.
“Is Uncle Thomas here?”
“I don’t know, but he is in that area quite often. One of his people is even in this time-share thing with me. I would find it comforting if he could help you out there. I will give him a call. Another reason why it’s so important to have a good network of people around you that you can trust.
“Okay, I’m hanging up now, Do. I will ask Thomas to come and help. But you have to keep me informed, you hear me? I want to know everything. Oh, and Dominique?”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?”
“No, Dad. Bye.”
“Talk to you again as soon as possible.”
He hung up immediately.
Slightly sedated, Dominique sat there for a while. It was a big relief to have finally informed her dad. At least now she was no longer facing this all alone.
But now she did have to place one of the most difficult phone calls of her entire life.
She waited until it was seven in the morning in Holland before she called.
45
The following morning she woke up exhausted. It took a while before everything that had happened to her sank in completely. She shivered at the recollection of the phone conversation with Lilian’s parents. They had taken turns speaking to her. Just as with her father the initial disbelief quickly turned into anger, followed by sheer panic. Henk de Groot still managed to ask some direct questions, but his wife began crying an
d screaming at Dominique almost immediately. It had taken all of her self-control not to burst out in tears herself, during the conversation. After they finally hung up, with the promise that her father would contact them that same morning and that he would make all the arrangements for their trip, the tears came.
Only after she’d showered and gotten dressed did she begin to feel a little bit better. To her surprise, she was hungry, so she made a few sandwiches for herself. While she ate her breakfast, she checked her phone. There were a slew of messages waiting or her. Two from her father: one to say that he had booked a flight for Lilian’s parents and that their tickets were waiting for them at the airport and a second message to warn her that she should wait for Thomas. There was also a message from Uncle Thomas himself to let her know he would come to see her in the afternoon.
If he was going to visit her that afternoon, she had better start cleaning up, she thought right away. Of course, she should also send Leroy to the airport.
Before calling Leroy, she looked at the rest of the messages. Stephanie wrote that she had booked a hotel for Lilian’s parents. There was also an angry message from Lilian’s mother, where she emphasized once more how unbelievably stupid and irresponsible it was to have waited so long to inform them.
Dominique felt a deep sense of shame while reading the message. Of course the poor woman is right, she thought. Why had she waited so long to tell Lilian’s parents? Well, she knew why. She didn’t want to jeopardize the rest of the vacation. She had assumed the whole time that Lilian would just come back. But, because of that assumption, she had let two whole days pass by …
To distract her worrying mind, she began to work on all her tasks. First she called Leroy, who assured her he would pick up Lilian’s parents on time.
She then went on to clean up. In all of her overzealous glory, she even began to clean the cooking island and kitchen counter.
Until she heard a soft voice behind her, which said: “But miss, you know you don’t need to do that? That’s my job!”
Dominique turned around. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. Don’t want to put you out of a job, but my uncle is visiting today. Maybe you could set up one of the bedrooms for him, just in case he decides to spend the night?”
“Yes, miss. I’ll do that.”
Angie disappeared into the house.
Robbed of her duties, Dominique looked at the clock. It was a quarter to twelve. It would be at least two hours before Thomas would get there.
She walked up to the sliding doors and leaned her head against the doorframe. The pool and the lounge chairs looked abandoned. When she saw Lilian’s bottle of sunscreen next to one of the chairs she had to swallow her tears. Her daydream was quickly disturbed by the sound of her phone ringing. She hurried to pick it up. Maybe it’s Lilian after all, she thought, hopeful. Or her father. Or Leroy. Or Todd.
But the voice she heard was Dave’s.
“Do, how are you?” he asked, clearly worried.
For a moment she thought he knew what had happened to her the night before. Because of everything else that had happened since she returned home, she had banished the assault from her mind. Only now did she feel the bruises, the scratches on her legs, and the ache in her stomach.
“Oh, I’m fine. Niels got there just in time.”
“Who?”
Then she realized he had no idea what she was talking about.
“Sorry, never mind. Everything is all messed up. Lilian is still missing.”
“Yes, I got that. The police came by the hotel and asked everyone questions. They knew my name and Chuck’s, and asked us a million questions. Tomorrow we have to go down to the station to answer more questions.”
“Oh, I should have warned you about that. Yes, I gave them your names. As witnesses.”
“No problem. I hope they find her soon. Shall I come to you? I don’t have to work till later this afternoon.”
“No, you better not,” she answered quickly. “It’s not a good time now. But I will call you, Dave.”
“Do, wait a minute, I …”
But she had already hung up. When he tried calling back a second and third time, she did not answer.
Dominique had watched how Angie cleaned the living room quickly and efficiently and then went through the kitchen like a cleaning tornado. After she’d left, Do remained slumped down in one of the easy chairs.
She must have fallen asleep, because she woke up startled by a figure standing at the window and casting a shadow on her face.
For a moment she thought Thomas had arrived, but when she took a closer look, she saw it was Pepe. She ran to the sliding doors quickly and opened them, but not all the way. He reached out his arm to her and handed her something, saying, “Fernandes says it’s taken care of.” He turned around and left.
Surprised, she looked at what he had given her: a hat. It wasn’t hers or Lilian’s, but it did seem familiar to her. Then she recognized it. Felix, the man who had assaulted her the night before, had worn it. Only now it had blood on it. Was that her blood, or his?
It was probably better if no one else saw this hat. She placed it in a plastic bag at the bottom of the garbage can.
46
When the tall figure, belonging to a middle-aged man with perfect teeth and graying hair, stepped out of the taxi, Dominique ran outside.
“Uncle Thomas!”
He answered her greeting with a warm embrace. “Hey, little girl. It’s been a long time.”
She invited him in, but he refused.
“I already know this place. I’ve been here before with your father. Regardless, we need to go to the police first. Let’s see if we can speed things up there. You coming? The taxi is still here.”
On their way, Thomas paid no mind to the beautiful scenery outside. He handled a few phone calls, all conducted at a very high pace. Only after that did he focus all his attention on Dominique, who was seated next to him in the back of the cab.
“Okay, so tell me everything you’ve done so far, Do, since Lilian disappeared.”
“The next day I went to the hotel and to the island, the place where I last saw her. Of course I searched for her everywhere. Yesterday, I went to the police in the morning. For the rest of the day I had as much information gathered up about her as possible.”
“You had information gathered up?”
His voice sounded so surprised that she considered telling him about Fernandes for a moment. But that didn’t seem very smart. Instead, she said, “The first night after her disappearance I checked with the police department, to see if maybe she’d been admitted to a hospital or something like that.”
“Why didn’t you report as missing right then and there?”
“That’s only possible after twenty-four hours!”
He saw the tears in her eyes and sighed. “Well, in any case, Lilian’s parents will arrive later tonight. Charles told me that Stephanie booked them a room at the Marriott—that’s always good.”
Dominique nodded and stared blankly straight ahead.
Thomas put his arm around her. “You look terrible, Do, so tired and pale. How do you feel?”
More than anything she wanted to tell him about Lilian and Todd and Marc and Dave and Chuck and Fernandes and Pepe, and everything that had happened to her during the past few days. But she simply didn’t even know where to begin; her thoughts were continually going around in the same circles. While the tears streamed down her face, she said, “Oh this is all so terrible! I am beside myself with worry about Lil!”
He pressed her against his chest and held his cheek against her head.
“Shush, little girl, it’s all going to work out. We will find her.” After he had let her sob quietly for a while, he asked her with a soft but slightly reproachful tone, “But why did you wait so long to tell us all about it?”
She began to cry again, and that was her only answer.
The cab driver looked at them through his rearview mirror. When he saw that Tho
mas had noticed, he quickly focused his eyes back on the road.
“Is it still far?” Thomas asked.
“The head office is in the middle of the city, sir. But we’re almost there.”
The taxi dropped them off at the main entrance. In the lobby Thomas put his business card on the counter and told the receptionist that he needed to speak to Lead Inspector Snellen right away.
“It’s Sergeant Snellen, sir,” the young woman answered, not at all impressed. “I will call him for you.”
It wasn’t long before Snellen came to them. He shook hands with Thomas and Dominique and escorted them to the same room where he had spoken with Dominique the previous day.
“We would like full disclosure,” Thomas announced, when he sat down. “Where are you right now with your investigation?”
Snellen looked at Dominique, noticed her bruises and scrapes, and asked, “Did you fall?”
“Something like that,” she answered quickly.
“Can we please proceed?” Thomas asked impatiently. “We would really like to know how the investigation is going.”
Snellen calmly looked him in the eye. “My apologies, your name was … ?”
Thomas placed his business card on the table again and slid it toward the policeman.
“Van Dorp, I am a colleague of Dominique’s father, and I’m representing him here at his request.”
“And the parents of the missing girl?”
“They will arrive late tonight.”
Snellen nodded. “Then I would like to speak with them first thing in the morning.”
“Of course. I will arrange it for you. But what have you found out so far about Lilian?”
Snellen looked at them individually first before he answered. “As I have told Miss Werner before, my men found the missing girl’s cell phone on Enlightenment Island. We sealed off that part of the island and forensics did a thorough investigation, but without any result.”
“You sealed off all of Flamingo Beach?” Dominique asked, surprised.
“No, the other side of the island.”
Bon Bini Beach: A Thriller Page 14