by Jaden Skye
“This has got to be a total nightmare for her,” he agreed. “I’ll go see her as soon as we get to the hotel.”
“No,” Cindy suddenly exclaimed, “first I have to talk to you alone.”
“About what?” Frank looked startled.
“About Ann,” Cindy breathed.
“What about her?” he got jittery.
Cindy turned straight to him. “You’ve got to tell me everything, Frank!” Cindy felt frightened by her own intensity.
“I told you everything, we talked in jail,” Frank said.
Cindy’s jaw hardened. “That was just the beginning. Ann didn’t die of natural causes. This is a murder case, someone killed her, I’ve got to find out who.”
“I don’t know,” Frank started trembling, “I have no idea. I told you already.”
The cab pulled up to the hotel. Cindy paid and they got out.
“Before we go to my mother’s room, we’re going to the back gazebo,” Cindy demanded. “There are tables there. We’ll sit down together and you’ll talk to me.”
“About what?” Frank became agitated.
“You’ll tell me every secret you know about Ann,” said Cindy.
“I won’t, that’s disgusting,” Frank muttered.
Cindy got into his face. “This is not a game. I have to know them –they’ll tell me how my sister was killed.”
Suddenly Frank’s eyes opened wide. “What kind of secrets? Ann didn’t have secrets?”
“Everyone has secrets,” Cindy insisted as she yanked him by the elbow and pushed him towards the gazebo in the rear.
*
The gazebo in the back of the hotel was a sanctuary for the flocks of wild birds that made their home in Bermuda. It was hidden under palm trees, and rows of begonias. A few tables were scattered behind the gazebo in the shade. Thankfully, the place was mostly empty now.
“Sit there,” said Cindy, pointing to one of the tables, hidden away under a tree.
Frank reluctantly went over and sat down, looking at Cindy as though she were mad.
“You think Ann would like it if I told you her secrets?” he mumbled glumly as a few birds overhead started to sing.
“I thought you just said Ann didn’t have any secrets,” Cindy shot back.
“I said I didn’t know what Ann’s secrets were. And I never wanted to know. They were her secrets,” he spoke between closed lips.
“Frank, you’re out on bail,” Cindy felt herself turning into a tough cop. “If you want me to find out who killed Ann, you’ve got to talk to me.”
The shock of realizing again that Ann had been killed noticeably registered on him. “Ask me what you want,” he said then. “But I don’t know any secrets.”
“Who did Ann hate?” Cindy sat down opposite him and started. “Who was she holding a grudge against?”
Frank looked flabbergasted. “No one, not one in the world,” his voice got shaky. “All the years we were married, I never heard your sister say anything like that.”
“Who was she in a fight with?” Cindy was relentless.
“No one I know,” he looked confused.
“Everyone is in a fight with someone,” Cindy pressed him.
“Ann had plenty of girlfriends, sometime they had tiffs, but nothing big, nothing special. She had the same friends for years and years. Her friends became a family to her.”
Cindy flinched. She’d always known Ann had a world Cindy was left out of.
“What about my mother? Did Ann fight with her? My mother’s not easy,” Cindy went on.
“What are you talking about? Your mother’s a doll. She’s been good to us all these years. Ann loved her, and so do I.” Frank pulled back. “You think your mother had something to do with Ann’s death?”
“Of course not,” Cindy retorted, “I just have to hear every detail of Ann’s life. One things connects with another, suddenly you get a new idea.”
“Cindy,” Frank extended his hand, “even though you haven’t lived closed by and been part of the family for years, there’s nothing you don’t know that I can tell you. If you want the truth, the biggest thing that upset Ann was you. She worried about you all the time. She spoke to me about it. She wanted you to stop being a detective, to come home, live a normal life and stay away from Mattheus.”
Cindy’s face flushed beet red. “What’s wrong with Mattheus?”
“Ann never trusted the guy, she never trusted the relationship,” Frank’s eyes narrowed and his voice lowered. “She said you never knew the first things about guys, always got the lousy ones.”
Sharp pain twisted in Cindy’s heart as Frank spoke. Cindy knew that was the way the family saw her, as a strange loser who didn’t fit in.
“Your mother agreed with her,” Frank added for good measure. “They were both thrilled when you found Clint, didn’t know how it happened. But that good luck didn’t last long.”
Cindy felt herself going cold. “There was nothing wrong with our relationship. Clint was killed,” she reminded Frank.
“I know, I know,” he muttered. “But wasn’t he involved in something shady too?”
“Just the opposite,” Cindy stood from her seat and then quickly sat down again. “Clint was a whistle blower, told the truth. He was after justice.”
“Oh yeah,” said Frank, rubbing his face.
“It’s not going to do you any good to turn this on me now,” Cindy saw right through Frank. “Ann’s death had nothing to do with me.”
“Did I say it did? Ever? You just asked me what made her upset? She was worried about you, that’s all that I said. In fact, she visited you right before she came down. She met you at the airport, didn’t she?”
“Yes,” said Cindy in a small voice.
“It was more important to her to pick you up at the airport than to have an extra day down here with me,” Frank blurted out.
Cindy ran her hand through her long, wavy hair, trying to take the tangles out of it.
“Maybe if your sister came down a day sooner this wouldn’t have happened?” Frank’s voice suddenly grew loud and unruly.
“Or maybe she would have died a day earlier?” Cindy shot back, feeling a wave of hatred for her brother in law run through every cell of her body.
Frank caught himself then and stopped talking. “Look, I’m sorry, Cindy,” he said finally. “You and I never got along so great. But I’m sorry for what I said. I’m grateful to you, I really am.”
“You were the last one who saw Ann before she died, Frank,” Cindy responded professionally.
“You know something, even though you don’t know you know it. It’s not conscious, you’re not aware. I have to dig in and ask questions like this to bring it to your mind.”
“Go ahead, ask questions,” he said sadly.
“How were things between you and Ann?” Cindy went on.
“They were good, they were fine,” said Frank. “We were married a long time, I took good care of her.”
“Why were you taking this vacation, out of the blue?” Cindy persisted.
“It wasn’t out of the blue. We always talked about getting away together for a few days. I wanted to make her happy, make the time special for her.”
“That’s why you bought her yellow tulips?” asked Cindy.
Frank grew quiet. “Who told you that?” he was surprised.
“I’m investigating the case,” Cindy responded, “details like that catch my eye.”
“What in hell have the yellow tulips got to do with anything?” Frank asked, nervously.
“You tell me!” said Cindy.
“Ann loved yellow tulips, I bought them for her,” his eyes looked glassy. “So what’s the big deal?”
“Who could have wanted her dead, Frank? Think! Tell me!” Cindy’s voice got louder and fiercer.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” his head fell into his hands then and he started to sob again.Cindy watched him sob for a few moments, and decided it was enough for now. “I ne
ed to look through your computer, Frank. Is that okay with you?”
His head shot up like lightening. “What the hell are you talking about? Certainly not!”
“No?” Cindy was shocked.
“Listen, I loved Ann, I had nothing to do with this. You’re insulting me, invading my privacy, even invading Ann’s privacy – asking for her secrets.”
“I need the password to your computer,” Cindy paid no attention to his rant.
“Well, you’re not getting it on principal,” Frank jumped up and stamped his foot on the ground. “I’ve been through enough, shamed, humiliated and questioned enough. Have some respect for me, I’m the one who lost my wife. I lost the most precious person in the world.” Then his head dropped down again and he started sobbing again.
Despite herself Cindy felt sorry for him. Frank didn’t really know what he was saying. He was in a fog, and she knew it. Cindy also felt strongly that he had nothing to do with Ann’s death. She wanted to explain that she only wanted to scan his computer to find details he was not aware of. It wasn’t because she suspected him. But it was clear at the moment that he could not hear anything.
Cindy relented. “We can go upstairs now,” she said to Frank. “And, soon Mattheus is coming down to join the investigation, he’ll be a big help, believe me.”
Frank’s head shot up out of his hands and he stopped sobbing immediately.
“Mattheus? I thought you guys were finished?”
“I never said that,” Cindy objected.
“Ann told me you and Mattheus had broken up and she was as happy about it as could be. She said you were taking a job at a paper in New York.”
“That’s what Ann wanted for me,” Cindy replied. “I never told her Mattheus and I were over, just that we were taking a break.”
“A break, a break,” Frank muttered as the two of them pushed back their chairs and got up to leave. “How many times now have you guys taken a break?”
“What’s it to you, Frank? Cindy turned on him fiercely.
“Nothing, nothing,” he lifted his hands in front of his face. “It’s none of my business, it’s your business – and I’m leaving it that way.”
The minute they got to the front of the hotel, Cindy and Frank parted. Frank went up to join Cindy’s mother and uncles, and Cindy went to get a cab to take her to the airport. Mattheus’s plane would be arriving in a couple of hours and she wanted to get there early and wait. Cindy couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world she’d rather be than getting ready to see Mattheus again.
Chapter 8
Cindy sat alone at the airport, looking out at the gorgeous expanse of evening sky. She had plenty of time before the plane was due, and liked it that way. It was oddly relaxing to watch the silver planes catch the sun’s last rays as they slowly descended over the airport. From her vantage point they looked like huge birds, coming home to nest.
Cindy ran through her hair as she waited and flipped through a magazine. Of course it was impossible to concentrate on anything. What would it be like to see Mattheus again? Would they ever have reunited if Ann hadn’t been killed? From time to time Cindy shivered, thinking of what her sister must have gone through. But she couldn’t let her imagination run wild, it would de-stabilize her even further. Cindy wouldn’t be absolutely certain what had taken place until the medical examiner’s report came in. She would wait for that and focus on what was in front of her now.
As she reviewed what had gone on so far, Cindy felt upset about her talk with Frank, had expected more cooperation. But Frank had always been standoffish and critical of her. He must have taken offense when Cindy asked for Ann’s secrets, thought she was snooping. Frank had never really accepted the fact that Cindy was a professional detective. It would be better to let Mattheus deal with him.
Cindy looked at her watch. There was still about an hour to go before Mattheus’s plane landed. She got up, went to a nearby counter, got a cup of coffee and quick sandwich and ate it standing up. Then she checked the boards to see if his flight was on time. It was not only one time, but scheduled to land a few minutes early.
Cindy tossed the coffee cup into a garbage can, went over to the large windows overlooking the landing field, and pressed her face against the glass. Hurry, Mattheus, hurry, she whispered as she felt his plane drawing closer and closer.
Just as expected, a few minutes before arrival time Mattheus’s plane landed safely. Cindy immediately ran to the gate, scanning the passengers fervently, amazed at how badly she wanted to see him.
When Mattheus finally walked off the plane, in his familiar khakis and jacket, Cindy ran straight to him without a second’s hesitation. Mattheus also spotted her immediately and pushed through the line to reach her. When they got to each other they instantly hugged.
“My God, Cindy, my God,” Mattheus murmured.
“Thank you for coming, thank you,” she whispered, dropping her head onto his shoulder. With Mattheus at her side, Cindy could finally begin to let go.
“Why didn’t you call me instantly?” he pulled away slightly, so he could look at her face.
“I couldn’t,” she whispered.
“That’s awful,” he replied. “I’m horrified.”
“You’re here now though,” Cindy looked up into his beautiful, familiar eyes.
“There’s no other place in the world I could ever be at a time like this,” he replied. “No other place I’d ever want to be.”
Cindy took his face between her hands, and held it close to hers. She wanted to say, I love you, Mattheus, but would not let herself, yet.
“God bless you, Mattheus,” she murmured instead.
“God bless both of us,” he replied.
*
After stopping off to pick up Mattheus’s luggage the two of them headed back to the hotel. To Cindy’s delight there’d been a room available for him down the hall from hers. She sat close to Mattheus in the taxi, but didn’t say a word.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he kept repeating, as the taxi wound its way through the beautiful island. That was all Cindy needed to hear. There would be plenty of time for filling him in later. There was no need to say anything else. Right now all she needed was the comfort of having him close by.
*
Mattheus checked in and the two of them had dinner brought up to his room. Cindy couldn’t bring herself to go into details and Mattheus couldn’t bring himself to ask. They ate slowly, making small talk about the weather and the flight. Mattheus said it was shocking to realize again and again how incredibly beautiful Cindy was. He’d missed her. Cindy smiled a bit then and said she’d forgotten how handsome he was, too.
“Are we the only ones here connected to the case?” Mattheus finally asked as they were sipping their after dinner coffee.
It was a good opening and Cindy decided to take it. “My mother and uncles have rooms on the sixth floor,” she replied, “and, of course, Frank is here as well.”
“Frank and Ann came down here together on vacation?” Mattheus was gently trying to get the background picture.
“Yes,” Cindy replied quietly. “Ann was killed in their room, in the late afternoon.”
“Awful,” Mattheus uttered, taking a long, ragged breath. “Hard to imagine -.”
“Frank has been held by the police for questioning,” Cindy continued, glad to be finally talking about it.
“Because he was the last one to see her alive?” Mattheus probed.
“Right,” said Cindy. “In fact, he was just released on bail into my custody. He doesn’t have a decent alibi. He said he went swimming in the hotel pool at the time or the murder, but no one saw him there.”
“How is that possible?” Mattheus mused. “There are so many people at the hotel, someone had to have seen him.”
“Maybe they did and we just don’t know about it, yet. But, not having an alibi is not a good enough reason to hold him.” Cindy was surprised that she had such a strong urge to defend Frank.
; Mattheus put his hand on Cindy’s arm. “Why are we talking about this now, anyway? How could you have possibly dealt with all this alone?”
“I’ve had support from the police,” said Cindy, especially Trage, the Chief. He knows you’re coming, thought it was a good idea. I’ll introduce you to him.”
“Fine,” said Mattheus , relieved. “I plan to work with the force closely, and also have some connections of my own. I’ve contacted them already. We’ll find the killer, Cindy. Believe me, I promise.”
Cindy felt grateful to hear that. She knew it was true. They would find the killer, it was inevitable.
“You probably need to take a back seat now- rest more,” Mattheus looked at Cindy lovingly. “You don’t even realize what’s hit you yet. Ann was half sister, half mother.”
“I can’t rest,” Cindy replied sharply, irritated by the thought. “There’s only one thing that gives me rest – to get out and search for the killer, hunt them down, get justice fast!”
Mattheus shook his head in agreement. “How well I know,” he responded. “We’re two of a kind.”
Cindy smiled, relieved to be understood.
“Okay, you’ll fill me in on everything in the morning,” said Mattheus. “We’ll get going then. At least for tonight, you can rest.”
“Just having you here, I can rest,” Cindy murmured. “It gives me great ease of heart.”
Mattheus’s eyes teared for a moment. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I was starting to wonder – “, and he paused.”
“If we’d ever see each other again?” Cindy filled in.
“Yeah, something like that,” he said quietly.
“Me, too,” Cindy murmured, moving closer. “I didn’t know -.”
“Well, no more wondering now,” Mattheus murmured, as he got closer and pulled Cindy into his strong arms.
*
First thing the next morning, Trage called and told Cindy they heard that Mattheus had arrived and were looking forward to meeting him. Pleased by that, Mattheus decided to go meet Trage alone.
“Stay at the hotel, have a slow breakfast,” Mattheus said to Cindy. “I’ll go down to the station and he’ll fill me in. Then we can decide what to do next.”
