by Jaden Skye
“You’re the boy’s biological father, aren’t you?” Mattheus asked, confused.
“Yes I am,” Lynch replied. “But does that make him my flesh and blood? No, your flesh and blood are people like you -.”
Cindy shuddered deeply at Lynch’s disconnection from his son. What else could he disconnect from like that? Could he perform a heinous deed like murder, and also justify it in his mind? Cindy needed to press the matter further.
“The courts would say that whether or not you feel it, this boy is your son,” she said.
“I realize that,” Lynch looked at her strangely, “and I pay dearly for it. What more do you want from me?”
“It’s not what I want,” Cindy answered, “it’s what Tara wanted.”
“So, let her want, want, want,” Lynch cried out. “I did my best and now she’s gone.”
“Did your mother just find out about these payments?” Mattheus broke in.
“Yes, that’s right,” Lynch mumbled.
“Lynch, do you think Dawl could have killed Tara?” Mattheus suddenly confronted him cold.
“Impossible,” said Lynch, “why would he want to?”
“To keep you away from your son. Dawl feels the boy belongs to him,” said Mattheus.
Lynch couldn’t seem to compute that. “It doesn’t make sense,” he murmured, “I was going to keep away from the kid anyway. My mother said Tara would forget about it after the honeymoon.”
“Is there anyway your mother would have told Dawl about your decision to see the child after the wedding?” Mattheus probed.
Lynch stopped cold and stared at him. “What kind of crazy question is that to ask? My mother wants nothing to do with that family, and absolutely nothing to do with the child.”
“Maybe she wanted you to cut the payments off, or cut them down?” Mattheus continued.
“Never,” Lynch made a strange face. “The money means nothing to my mother, either. There’s plenty more where that comes from. Why would she go and ever talk to Dawl?”
“Just curious,” Mattheus replied.
“She has more important things to do than that,” said Lynch angrily. “Like dealing with the company, taking care of the guests, finding a way to make sense of this nightmare and prevent it from ruining us all.”
“Who else could have done it then?” Mattheus was insistent.
“Why would anyone want to?” Lynch cried out. “There wasn’t even one person who didn’t love Tara. Go speak to others, speak to her friends, they’ll tell you so.*
*
When Cindy and Mattheus left Lynch’s room they both felt wiped out, went down to the bar and ordered a drink, to try to make sense of it all.
“Lynch was definitely not trying to protect himself,” Cindy commented immediately. “He wasn’t throwing the blame onto Dawl.”
“Lynch is an innocent bystander,” Mattheus remarked, “he’s confused, he’s mixed up. He didn’t mean any harm.”
“Being an innocent bystander can be a wonderful disguise, an alibi in itself,” she remarked.
Mattheus lifted his hand and ran it through Cindy’s hair. “Don’t just focus on Lynch, please,” he murmured. “You’re mad at him because of his son, just like you were upset with me about my daughter. This case has hit too close to home. Just give us both a break, Cindy.”
Cindy hadn’t actually thought about Mattheus’s daughter for quite a while and the mention of her, brought a shiver. “We’ll talk about your daughter, later,” she said intently.
“Not later,” Mattheus remarked, “let’s do it now. Don’t hold this over me. You see what a mess it could create.”
“Mattheus,” Cindy insisted, “we have all we can do to focus on this case, I’m not talking about your daughter now.”
CHAPTER 15
Before they went any further, both Cindy and Mattheus knew they had to talk to Tara’s friends. It was entirely possible that Tara had said something to one of them that would hold the key to a new trail. Lea, the maid of honor, would be a good place to start. She and Tara were very close and she would also be privy to whatever any of the other girls had heard.
Even though it was later by now, there was still a little sun left in the day and Cindy and Mattheus found Lea resting in the garden in back of the hotel. She was stretched out on a lounge chair, aimlessly flipping through a magazine. They knew the police had already questioned her, but they needed to hear from her on their own.
“Remember us, Lea?” Cindy asked as they approached.
Lea bolted straight upright and stared at them, her eyes tight with pain and fear. “Have you heard anything? What more can you tell me?” she urgently needed to know more.
Cindy and Mattheus pulled up two chairs beside her. “It’s okay, sit down, relax a minute,” Cindy said.
“How can I ever relax again?” Lea asked staring at her. “I’m completely in shock.”
“So is everyone,” replied Cindy, “it’s going to take a while to absorb everything.”
“What is there to absorb?” Lea looked horrified and completely on edge. “I’ll never come to peace with this, never, ever. Tara was my best friend. Who did this to her?” Lea’s eyes looked both terrified and enraged. “How dare someone harm her?”
“Who do you think could have done it?” Mattheus asked bluntly.
“That’s just it,” Lea backed down a moment. “I have absolutely no idea. There wasn’t one person in the world who didn’t just love her. She never said a bad word about anyone, did her best to make people happy.”
“You’ve known her for a long while?” asked Cindy.
“We’ve been best friends for years,” Lea said, her eyes filling with tears. “Tara was always really strong and happy until her mother died. That was really horrible for her.”
“I can only imagine,” said Cindy.
“But then she met Lynch shortly after and it helped a great deal,” Lea went on. “He was the rock she leaned on. He made her feel good again.”
“She leaned a lot on him?” asked Cindy.
“No,” Lea’s voice rose and her words came more quickly. “She was always an independent person, he just made her feel really loved.”
“Sounds like they had a wonderful relationship,” said Mattheus.
“Yes, they did,” Lea’s voice softened. “There’s no question about it, they loved each other a lot. She even once told me she thought her mother’s spirit had brought him to her.”
Cindy felt a chill go all through her body.
“Do you think Tara’s with her mother now?” Lea turned to Cindy.
“I have no idea,” said Cindy.
“Did you see Tara after she and Lynch came back from their swim?” Mattheus went on.
Lea suddenly seemed quite tired and leaned back again on her chair and closed her eyes. “No, I didn’t,” she said in a low voice, covering her eyes from the sun with her hand. “God, how I only wish I had seen her.”
“Were you supposed to?” asked Cindy. “Had you guys planned to meet later on before the rehearsal dinner?”
“We didn’t actually plan to,” said Lea. “Our rooms were next to each other on the floor, and we just popped in and out naturally. The last time I saw her was earlier in the day when she told me that she and Lynch were going to take a swim in the Cove. I told her I thought it was a good thing to do,” Lea’s voice got tight and it was hard for her to speak. “I regret it now, oh how I regret it.”
“Why do you regret it?” Cindy honed in.
“Look what happened?” Lea took her hand down from her face. “She went to the Cove and I never saw her again.”
“She returned though, didn’t she?” Mattheus zeroed in.
“Of course she returned then,” said Lea. “At least that’s what I thought.”
“Somebody saw her come back with Lynch?” Mattheus went on.
“Raina told the police she saw the two of them after they returned,” Lea said.
“Why didn’t you pop int
o her room and see her?” Cindy asked.
“I should have, I should have,” Lea got upset again. “I was down at the beach, tanning. I thought I’d see her at the dinner.”
“Who else saw her and Lynch come back from the swim?” Mattheus continued.
Lea looked bewildered. “I’m not sure, why?”
“I’m just wondering if she ever returned,” said Mattheus, probing.
“Raina saw them,” Lea repeated, horrified. “Raina said that Lynch and Tara stopped into her room and chatted with her. Lynch and Tara are very close to Raina.”
“What’s Raina like?” Cindy asked then, in an offhanded way.
“She’s fine,” Lea said, “she’s strong, she’s bossy.”
“Tara was close to her?” Cindy continued.
Beads of sweat broke out on Lea’s forehead and she slowly wiped them away. “This is exhausting for me,” she said softly.
“I know it is, and I’m sorry Lea,” said Cindy, “but we need to hear whatever you know about all of this. Tell me more about Tara and Raina’s relationship?”
Lea shrugged lightly again. “A daughter in law and mother in law to be,” she started, “not always milk and honey.”
“Far from it,” Cindy agreed.
“Tara really loved Raina in the beginning. She was a substitute for her own mother. But little by little Raina got more and more power in the relationship and began making all the decisions. Particularly when it came time for the engagement party and wedding. Whatever she wanted, had to go. And more and more Lynch began deferring to her.”
“That couldn’t have been pleasant,” said Cindy.
“It wasn’t,” Lea agreed, “Tara and I talked about it a lot and I told her over and over it was just part of having a mother in law. Everyone went through it.”
“She did buy that?” asked Mattheus.
“Sometimes she did and sometimes not,” Lea said. “I think what upset her as much as Raina, was the fact that Lynch went along with it. She even confronted him about it one time, but he didn’t seem to understand what she was talking about.”
“That wasn’t good,” said Cindy.
“It wasn’t horrible,” Lea retorted. “Lynch was terrific to Tara in every way. He was also very close to his mother. I told Tara to leave it alone, not to make him choose between them.”
“That was good advice,” said Mattheus.
Lea stopped and smiled at Mattheus a moment. “Thank you very much for saying that,” she smiled back. I needed to hear that.”
“You’ve been a good friend, Lea,” Mattheus emphasized.
“Really?” she said, “I keep wondering about that now.”
Cindy could see what a huge strain Lea was under, how she blamed herself for all that had taken place.
“What happened to Tara was nothing to do with you,” Mattheus continued. He obviously liked Lea, felt warmly towards her.
“You can’t know that for sure,” Lea continued. “Sometimes the wrong advice turns a person down a twisted road. I shouldn’t have told her to go swimming with Lynch that afternoon.”
“Why in the world not?” asked Cindy. “How could you have ever imagined that something like this would take place?”
Lea got up then and sat on the very edge of her lounge chair, leaning close to them, speaking softly so no one could ever hear.
“In the last few weeks, I noticed that Tara seemed to be growing afraid of Lynch,” she whispered.
“Afraid?” Cindy was horrified. “He threatened her?”
“No, never, absolutely not,” Lea responded quickly. “It was just that he was listening more and more to his mother, and paying less and less attention to what Tara said or wanted. She almost felt unnecessary.”
Cindy took a deep, painful breath. This was incredibly important information. “How did Tara handle that?” she asked.
“She didn’t know how,” said Lea. “We talked about it a lot. I told her to overlook it for now. After the wedding things would sort themselves out.”
“Good advice,” Mattheus repeated again.
Cindy couldn’t bear his remark. “Things don’t just sort themselves out because people are married,” she countered. “That’s ridiculous. You’ve got to work things through before the wedding takes place. If you get married thinking things will change magically, you’re in for an awful surprise.”
“Oh God,” Lea interjected, “that’s what I’m realizing now.”
“Tara never talked to Lynch about his relationship with Raina?” Cindy asked again.
“Just once or twice,” said Lea. “She brought it up casually and Lynch just said he didn’t know what she was talking about.”
Mattheus turned to Cindy then. “Obviously, Tara needed a way out,” he said. “Her upset and obsession with Lynch’s child could just have been something for her to latch onto. It could have been her only hope of getting away!”
“What child?” Lea broke in, stunned. “What are you talking about?”
Cindy realized that Tara hadn’t said a word to Lea about it, or probably to anyone.
“You’ve got to keep this completely quiet, Lea,” Cindy said immediately.
“Keep what quiet?” Lea started trembling.
“Whatever you hear here,” said Mattheus.
“I don’t know what I’m hearing. What are you talking about?” Lea demanded.
“Can we trust you, Lea?” Cindy asked.
“You have to trust me,” Lea was on the verge of sobbing. “I trusted you. I told you what I knew.”
“Tara found out that Lynch had a child with a woman from the island. She was his old girlfriend.”
“A child?” Lea was profoundly stunned.
“It upset her terribly,” Cindy continued.
“Of course it would upset her, it would tear her whole world apart. Tara never said a word to be about it to me though, not a word,” breathed Lea. “I can’t believe that she didn’t.”
“She just found out a day or two before she died,” Cindy consoled her.
“Oh my God, my God,” Lea covered her face with her hands, as if blocking out a nightmare.
“Think there’s a connection between the child and Tara’s death?” Mattheus asked bluntly.
“I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what to make of it,” said Lea, on the verge of tears.
“This is what I think,” Mattheus said slowly. “I think Tara was getting more and more frightened of the power Lynch’s mother had over him. She didn’t want to get married, but wasn’t strong enough to call the wedding off. So, when she heard about the child, it was a Godsend for her. She grabbed onto the issue for all she was worth, made it bigger and bigger. She insisted she see child and that Lynch include him in the family. Tara wasn’t stupid, she knew it would disturb everyone, that her request was impossible. It was her perfect excuse for getting away.”
“But she didn’t get away! She was going through with the wedding, was looking forward to the rehearsal dinner. She said she was working out tension with Lynch and things were getting better. They were going swimming together to enjoy and get ready. She seemed happy to me when she told me about it,” insisted Lea.
“Lynch said he promised her he would include the child,” Cindy reminded Mattheus. “Tara might have felt more power in the relationship now, as her needs were being respected.”
“But were they, really?” asked Lea, distraught. “Does Tara’s father know about the child? Does her aunt Olivia?”
“They know,” said Cindy. “Was Tara close to Olivia? Could Olivia have helped her?”
“Tara was never close to Olivia,” Lea quickly replied. “Olivia and Aldon are joined at the hip, and Tara’s father was never happy about the engagement.”
“Why not?” asked Mattheus.
“It happened too fast for his taste, and he and Lynch just never clicked,” said Lea. “And, of course, once Tara and Lynch got together, she spent less and less time with her father. That made Aldon irate.”
>
“Because they spent plenty of time with Lynch’s mother,” Cindy remarked.
“Yes,” said Lea, “and that upset Aldon and Olivia even more. I heard that Aldon’s convinced that Lynch killed her.” Lea shuddered then front head to toe.
“What do you think now?” Mattheus zoned in on Lea.
“Why do you ask me?” she looked at him terrified. “I have no idea. None at all.”
But Mattheus wanted an answer from her. “Do you think Lynch killed Tara?”
“No, never, ever. That’s impossible,” Lea cried. “Maybe Lynch is a bit of a mamma’s boy, maybe he kept a big secret, but he loved Tara with his whole heart. He was lonely without her. He texted her night and day. Of that I’m positive.”
Lea seemed so shaken and distraught that Cindy went over and put her arms around her shoulders to soothe her. The day was almost over and Cindy was growing hungry. Lea must be hungry too, she thought. “I know how hard this is for you, Lea,” Cindy said. “Would you like to come to the restaurant for a dinner with Mattheus and me?”
“Thanks very much for asking,” said Lea, looking almost bleary eyed. “But I really need to be alone for now.”
“Thank you for all your help,” Cindy replied. “If you can think of anything else to tell us, here is where we can be reached,” and she gave Lea their cards.
*
“Are you sure she won’t tell anyone?” Mattheus asked as he and Cindy left the back garden and made their way to the restaurant.
“We had no choice but to trust her,” said Cindy.
“There’s always a choice,” Mattheus said.
“Well, and what if she does tell someone?” said Cindy. “You really think the news of Lynch’s child can stay hidden forever?”
“I do,” Mattheus replied oddly, as they came to the restaurant which was situated behind a lattice covered with vines and blossoms.
Cindy took a moment to breathe in the incredible, soothing fragrance as they entered and were seated at a table beside a gentle waterfall. As she sat quietly though, thoughts of Lynch’s child intruded and a deep fear thrust itself upon her.
