68
She ordered a salad and a skillet stew at a small restaurant. She decided on water instead of wine this time. Even though it was still very light outside, the restaurant was subdued into a kind of twilight by shrouded lighting. The lampshade above her table was covered with a rustic piece of material, closely resembling a red bandanna. It was still early, so it wasn’t crowded yet. Everyone was seated outside; she was the only one who had picked a table inside.
As she ate, Dominique let the events of the day pass through her head. The talk with Pepe. Bumping into Jeroen and Rudy on the same day she had read Lilian’s secret diary and found out she had been pregnant. Was there any way it was Jeroen’s? What kind of crazy coincidence would that be? How in the world was it possible that those two were here in Aruba at the same time? There had to be a connection to Lilian’s disappearance. That meant that Fernandes was right—she should look for a Dutch man. Jeroen seemed particularly interested in the ransom, but she had no proof. She couldn’t go to the police with this story; it would only complicate matters even more.
Thoughts continued to swirl through her mind, while she slowly ate her stew. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Since Lilian’s disappearance she felt like she was getting to know things about her friend that she’d never known before. Hard to imagine, since she had been her best friend ever since they were both children!
She thought about Lilian’s parents, who were at the police station, far from home, going insane with worry about their missing daughter. Her own parents, who did everything they could to stay as far away from each other as possible. About Leroy, who may very well not have kidnapped Lilian, but had certainly been incredibly stupid. About her nights with Todd. And Dave, of course.
In broken English and with a fake French accent, the waiter asked her if everything was to her liking.
She assured him everything was great and to prove her point she picked up a potato with her fork and put it in her mouth, following the action with an appreciative smile.
When he left, she sank back into her deep state of contemplation. She felt guilty because she had not informed Lilian’s parents about what she’d read in the dairy. She felt guilty toward both her parents for making such a mess of this vacation. She felt guilty toward Todd because of Dave, and the other way around. She felt guilty toward Marc, because she wasn’t convinced either way about his innocence or his guilt. She felt guilty toward Angie for flaunting her wealth in front of her. She felt guilty toward Thomas, who had to stay here in Aruba because of her, while he was far too busy for that. But most of all, she felt guilty toward Lilian.
She closed her eyes and mumbled out loud, “Oh, Lil, where are you?”
Immediately, the waiter came to her because he thought she was speaking to him. Dominique made an apologetic gesture, after which he left her alone.
Dominique felt confused and alone. What should she do now? She wished she could call Lilian, just to talk for fifteen minutes. Now that it was impossible, she had no idea who else she could talk to. Lilian may as well have nicknamed her AA: All Alone. She shuddered at the thought.
After she paid the bill, she walked down the street. It was still early in the evening. Most of the tourists hadn’t eaten dinner yet. All the terraces were jam-packed.
Dominique felt lost as she wandered through the city. She checked her phone, but there were no new messages or missed calls. She didn’t feel like picking up her scooter at the police station just yet, so she kept on walking. Even though she felt she had been walking around aimlessly, somehow she ended up at the Enlightenment Hotel again. She went inside and looked around the large lobby to see if she could spot Dave or Chuck or one of the others she knew. When she didn’t, she chose a seat that looked out into the lobby.
After about fifteen minutes she saw Jerome come out of the elevator with an elderly couple. He had their suitcases on his cart and brought them to the exit for the vacationers. As soon as they had checked out, he called them a taxi and helped them load up their bags.
When he came back in, Dominique ran up to him.
“Can you ask Dave to come see me? I’ll be right here in the lobby.”
“Sure, I’ll do that. But it’s very busy at the moment.”
“No problem; I’m in no hurry.”
She sat back down and waited.
Never thought I’d become so good at waiting during this vacation, she thought cynically.
It seemed to take forever before Dave finally came to see her.
“Sorry,” he said, looking around. “It’s ridiculously busy. What’s up?”
“I have so much to tell you. So much has happened.”
“Did Lilian come back?”
“No.”
Dave looked over his shoulder. “If my supervisor catches me, he’s going to kill me. I really need to get back to work. Can we catch up later?”
“Okay.”
He gave her a hurried kiss and raced toward the elevators.
Dominique sighed. She would have given anything for him to have sat down at her table and simply listen to all her doubts and worries.
“He seems like a nice guy,” said a voice next to her.
Startled, she looked up.
It was Thomas.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said, smiling. “So, is that your boyfriend?”
“Sort of.”
She got up.
“What are you doing here anyway?”
Grinning, he pointed up. “Let’s see, what do I do here? Sleep. Work. This is the hotel I’m staying at. Didn’t you know that?”
“No.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I guess I never really thought about where you were staying. Sorry, I’m a little preoccupied these days, I suppose.”
“I understand. But you can’t blame me for staying here: the Enlightenment Hotel is by far the most beautiful hotel in Aruba. Shall I order you something?”
“No, thanks, I just had dinner. But can I talk to you for a moment? Or are you too busy?”
He stretched. “Excuse me,” he apologized. “I’ve been behind my computer and on the phone all day. I’m wiped out. Of course I have a moment to talk to you. But do you mind if we go outside? After all, we are on a tropical island; we better make use of it.”
“You’re right. It’s far too beautiful here to sit inside. Shall we go look for the flamingos?”
They walked out into the Enlightenment Hotel’s large garden.
Dominique began to talk, about everything that had happened and all the things that were bothering and upsetting her, and once she began, she couldn’t seem to stop. Thomas walked beside her and quietly let her barrage of words come over him. She talked and talked. About her parents. About the vacation to Aruba. About Todd and Marc. About Lilian’s disappearance. About the days after the disappearance and her doubts about what she should do. About Lilian’s parents. About Dave. As she went on, she slowly began to feel a sense of relief. Everything she had kept inside during the past few disastrous days came out all at once.
Thomas only listened and nodded every once in a while. He simply offered her the opportunity to get everything off her chest.
Looking back, she wasn’t sure how long they had walked around that way, but she did have the feeling that a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders.
As she talked, they strolled to the docks on the peninsula behind the hotel.
While they were waiting for the water taxi, Dominique said, “You’ll probably think I’m crazy, but this afternoon I bumped into two guys I know from high school here in Oranjestad. Not bad guys really, but more the party types, who deal drugs, also to students. I know that one of them has seen and spoken to Lilian during the past few months.”
“Lilian uses drugs?” Thomas asked. His eyes locked on the fast-approaching boat.
“No, she doesn’t. That’s not what I meant. I just thought that maybe it’s not a coincidence that he is also here in Aruba. That maybe he has something to do w
ith Lilian’s disappearance.”
He waited until after they had both boarded the water taxi. His golden wristband gave him instant access.
Then they found a spot along the railing, and he asked, “Why do you think so?”
Dominique looked at him from the side. “Because I found Lilian’s diary. In it, I read that after her last round of final exams, she found out she was pregnant by a Dutch guy.”
“What?” he asked, bewildered.
A few people nearby looked at them.
She nodded and continued quietly, “Lilian used all kinds of codes when referring to people, so I do not know who got her pregnant. But when I bumped into Jeroen today, I thought, maybe it was him. I mean, he admitted that he saw her at a few parties and he asked right away if Lilian’s parents were going to pay the ransom.”
Thomas turned around and stared at the island, which they were approaching quickly. “I’m sure her parents weren’t happy to hear that,” he said.
“They didn’t know. And they still don’t know. They have the diary, but Lilian’s mother has only read bits and pieces of it and can’t decipher the codes.”
“But you can?
Dominique also turned around to face the fast-approaching Enlightenment Island. Her shoulder touched Thomas’s upper arm.
“Most of them, yes.”
“So why didn’t you tell them then? Or did you already know?”
Dominique swallowed. She couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t know anything about it. That she’d had no idea that her best friend was having a fling with a drug dealer during the summer.
“Well, you know Lil,” she said, smiling. “She’s not always easy to gauge.”
“You know her a lot better than I do.”
After the boat docked, they walked along the terraces together, toward the beaches.
“Jeez, Do. How long have I known you?” he asked.
“A very long time. Since I was a kid.”
He smiled and ran his hand through the gray hair by his temple. “Yes, I can remember. When you guys still lived in Haarlem, and your father had just started his own company. Those were the good old days. Regina and I even joined you and your family on vacations then.”
Dominique nodded. She had known Uncle Thomas and Aunt Regina for as long as she could remember. The couple was a few years younger than her parents were but had never had any children. They always had so much fun together during all those vacations and outings, and sometimes Lilian and her parents had also joined them. Uncle Thomas had always been especially fun; he always had an exuberant amount of energy and was never afraid to try something new.
She stopped at the Spa Cove, gazed across Flamingo Beach at the sunset, and let out a deep sigh.
“I miss her so much, you know? Maybe it sounds strange to say so, because obviously she is gone now and this whole thing is about her, but I wish I could talk to her about all of it. That’s what is so great about Lil: I can always talk to her. She knows me like no one else does. We’ve been through so much together.” She smiled. “But you know that. You’ve known us for so long.”
“You’ve become family,” he agreed. “That’s why, at the time, I didn’t have any doubts when Regina asked me who we should get to do the catering for our fiftieth birthday party.”
Dominique laughed as she remembered the party. Thomas and Regina had rented out the country club in Bloemendaal to honor the fact that with their ages combined they were a century old. There had been live music, a huge garden with torches and fire pits, and hundreds of guests.
Lilian and Do had walked around with trays full of glasses and snacks, dressed in tight tuxedos and with their hair untied. It was hard work, but they had been paid well. At the end of the night, they had a lot of fun with “Aunt” Thomas and “Uncle” Regina, which is how Lilian jokingly kept referring to them.
They paused at the bend of the horseshoe-shaped beach, where Lilian, Marc, Todd, and Dominique had spent the night at the campfire in the sand.
Looking at the ditch in the sand, Dominique stopped and pointed. “Look, that’s where she was lying with Marc the last time I saw her.”
When he didn’t respond, she quickly looked at his face. And then she looked again, because of his eyes.
Suddenly, she saw it.
“Good God,” she stammered. “But you already knew that. How …”
She took a step back. Instantly, it all became clear to her. Why had she not seen it sooner? Jeroen had nothing to do with this at all. How stupid of her!
“AT. Aunt Thomas! Of course! You were here, too. …”
“I came to Aruba to speak to Lil,” he admitted. “I went totally ballistic when I received her email. Abortion? To kill a baby! I can’t even imagine it!”
She was startled by his sudden rage.
“Shall I tell you something very strange?” he asked. “I was very excited when she told me she was having my baby. I always thought it was a real shame that Regina couldn’t have children, but I never considered trying to have them with someone else. So, in a very strange way, the idea of having a child with Lilian was very appealing to me.”
“But … But how …”
He sighed deeply. “That night, at that birthday party, there was a spark between us, I realized later. But, I never pursued it. Lil was still so young.”
“Yeah, we both were. We were just freshmen.”
She suddenly saw him in a whole new way. Could this man …
“I think it was almost exactly two years to the date when I saw her again.” He smiled. “By chance, in the street in the Leidseplein. I’d had a late meeting at the American, and you had stood her up or something. Whatever had happened, she was angry about it. We found a bar and talked there for a very long time. After closing time, we walked in the street together. It all felt so natural, so real. That’s when I kissed her.”
“Jesus!”
He bent down, grabbed a shell, and threw it far into the ocean.
“Do, if you think I’m going to apologize for it, you’re wrong. It was just that one kiss that evening. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her afterward. Apparently, the feeling was mutual, because when I sent her a text message later that week …”
Dominique couldn’t believe her ears.
“So you guys had an affair?”
“If that’s what you want to call it, yes.” He smiled blissfully. “I never thought I could fall in love like that again, Do. Really, I love Regina and I always will, but this was so … so … as if it was meant to be. I know what you probably think about an older man having a relationship with a girl your age, but …”
“I’m not thinking anything at all; I’m simply dumbfounded.”
“We decided not to tell anybody about it. That was our deal.”
She looked at him in silence. She tried to imagine Lilian and him together. But she just couldn’t do it. Memories kept surfacing about Uncle Thomas spending time with them when they were little. She began to feel nauseous. All this time, he’d been here on the island and had never said a thing! It did explain why he was so genuinely concerned about her kidnapping. He wanted her back, but for his own reasons.
“We were seeing each other a few nights a week, for well over a month, when she told me she was pregnant with my baby.” He closed his eyes. “I can’t even begin to tell you what went through my mind during that moment. I wasn’t even shocked. I could only be happy. A child!”
“Jesus. Well, then her next announcement must have been quite a disappointment to you.”
“It really was.” He looked out across the water and sighed. “Especially because she waited so long before telling me.”
“What?”
“It turned out that she’d already had the abortion when she called me. But because I had reacted to the news of her pregnancy with so much enthusiasm, she was afraid to tell me then. She told me the truth much later, right before you guys left. About ten days ago. By email.”
Dominique looked at him
with empathy.
“By email? That’s harsh.”
“Yes, I thought so, too.”
He had tears in his eyes.
“How long did you think you … ?”
“That I was going to be a dad? Almost a week. I even considered leaving Reggie for her.”
“Holy shit.”
Do felt so bad for him then. All she wanted to do was hold him close to her and rub his gray hair while he had a good cry on her shoulder.
But Thomas kept walking.
“The shitty thing is,” he said, cringing, “I couldn’t tell from that email whether she had done it or not. It said she had decided to have an abortion. That’s why I thought that she … that you guys …”
“That maybe we would have it done during our vacation,” Dominique understood and stared at him. “So, did you speak to her here in Aruba then?”
Thomas looked at the beach. Only a few sun worshippers were left over, and a few others were busy starting campfires and barbecues. He put his arm around Dominique’s shoulders and guided her with him, away from the ocean and inward.
“I had no idea where you guys were staying,” he explained while they walked. “I just went and stayed at the Enlightenment Hotel and kept an eye out for you.”
She asked him again, “Did you speak to her?”
Thomas was silent while they passed between the palm trees, heading toward the other side of the island.
“Thomas?” she persisted.
They came to a small narrow beach, where a few boats and pedal boats were docked and where scuba equipment was stored. There was an elderly man loading things into a small sailboat, but there was no one else in sight.
“Yes, I spoke with her.”
“When?”
“That night.”
Dominique swallowed with some difficulty.
“The night she disappeared?”
He nodded and walked farther down the beach, toward the far end of the island.
“You know how these things go sometimes—I saw you guys when I wasn’t really looking for you. I was kicking back and reading my newspaper on the terrace at the hotel when I saw you pass by. Lilian, you, and those two guys. I saw you take the boat to the island, so I followed you.”
Bon Bini Beach: A Thriller Page 22