by Jaden Skye
“Right,” Mattheus answered, and Cindy soon heard him on the phone, placing their usual order of orange juice, eggs over light, muffins, marmalade, and coffee.
By the time Cindy was dressed and breezed into the main room, Mattheus was still getting ready. Cindy took a moment to open the latticed French doors that led to the outdoor patio and walked outside. The day was balmy with a perfect light breeze and the air smelled fresh and delicious. Cindy thought about the vacation they had planned on and looked out ahead of her at the azure water, rippling softly without a care in the world. How lovely it would have been to spend the day wandering on the island, she thought in passing. Cindy had hoped to go snorkeling with Mattheus at the Anse Chastanet Reef in the southwest of the island. It not only offered some of the best diving in St. Lucia, with a number of shipwrecks to explore, but reef itself wound into a unique coral wall for around 140 feet.
But, whether or not she’d expected the vacation to be suddenly cut short, that’s what happened. And this was where she and Mattheus were needed now. The water that stretched out in front of her now seemed more threatening as Cindy wondered if Kara had drowned in it. Was the search for her just routine with little hope of recovery?
Mattheus suddenly came out behind Cindy on the terrace, put his hands on her shoulders, and gently kissed the back of her neck.
“Breakfast has been delivered,” he said softly. “I know you love your coffee hot first thing in the morning.”
Cindy smiled; she hadn’t heard the bell ring or the food being brought in.
“You’re absolutely right, I do,” she said, turning around and going back inside with Mattheus to get the day going.
*
This was a working breakfast. Mattheus had a pad on his lap as they ate, and made rough notes on it from time to time.
“Let’s brainstorm this,” he started. “Where do we go from here?”
“The family’s coming today. We have to talk to them in depth,” Cindy started, quickly drinking down most of her steaming coffee.
“Agreed,” Mattheus grunted. “I’ll talk to Rod, of course, and his wife. You can spend time talking to Rowley and his family. He seemed to like you.”
“I liked him too,” Cindy agreed. “And we’ve got to meet the Chief of Police, Darrin, and also keep in touch with Abe.”
Mattheus glanced at his watch off-handedly. “The search team’s got to be at it again by now,” he murmured. “Unless, of course, they found something last night.”
Cindy and Mattheus looked at each other for a dreaded second. Cindy saw the fear of finding Kara’s body flash through Mattheus’s eyes. How could he ever tell his friend Rod what happened?
“You don’t think they’re going to find her right away, do you, Mattheus?” Cindy asked.
“Actually, I don’t.” Mattheus sounded glum. “How many missing persons surface in the first twenty-four hours, anyway?”
Cindy nodded. It made a difference though. She knew that time was of the essence in finding a missing person. The longer they were gone, the less the chance of finding them alive.
Mattheus stood up swiftly, clearly uneasy. “I’m going to call Abe, check in and see what turned up last night. It can’t be anything much or Abe would have called and left word.”
“What kind of resources do they have down here for a search?” asked Cindy.
“Let’s find that out right away.” Mattheus reached for his phone quickly, dialed, and perked up as someone picked up right away. Cindy watched him listening intently, saying nothing for a while.
“No, of course I didn’t expect you to find her by now,” Mattheus finally uttered. “How’s the search is going?” Mattheus listened for a while and then nodded somberly. “Good, very good, Abe. I’m impressed.”
“What?” Cindy mouthed, wanting to hear what Abe was saying.
“Okay, I get it,” Mattheus responded. “The guys got the dogs out on the hiking trails sniffing, the Coast Guard have boats searching the water, and helicopters are over the rain forests as we speak. Yes, it’s good that the papers have the news. Plaster her face all over, and let me know when more flyers will be ready. The police are doing a fantastic job, I’m impressed.”
Cindy nodded in agreement as she listened.
“I know, I know,” Mattheus continued into the phone. “Of course something like this is lousy PR for the island, but when people see how you handle it, they’ll feel better about everything. This has nothing to do with St. Lucia, either. Something like this could happen anywhere, and it does.”
Mattheus grew quiet then for a few minutes, listening. “Sure, we’ll be glad to meet Darrin Frank soon and coordinate efforts. That would be great. For now Cindy and I will go on the computer to look into their backgrounds. We’ll work from our room. Have Darrin call us as soon as he gets to the hotel and we’ll go downstairs to meet him right away.”
Cindy ran her hands through her hair, pushing it back from her face. She would have to put the coral reef out of her mind. Rowley and Kara had had plans of their own as well. What happened to those plans now? And how much did the plans even matter in light of what happened to Kara?
Mattheus hung the phone up and placed it on the table. “The guys down here are good,” he remarked, surprised. “Very good. They’re on top of everything.”
“They have to be,” Cindy mused. “This is one of the most expensive, luxurious wedding and honeymoon destinations. They can’t let something like this go unchecked.”
“Even if it just happened to be an accident,” Mattheus murmured. “Even if Kara just went swimming at the wrong time and got in over her head, they’ve got to put a good public face on this and search every nook and cranny.”
“Is that what you think, Mattheus, that it was just an accident?” Cindy wanted to know.
“I’m really not sure,” Mattheus replied. “I will be soon though. Once I speak to Rod and get a feel for Kara’s life, things will begin to become more clear.”
*
Cindy and Mattheus went back out onto the patio with their computers to dig into Kara and Rowley’s background. Who was she, really? Cindy wondered. How had her life gone up until now? Even though she’d seemed on top of the world, was she secretly anxious or depressed back at home? Had she left signs somewhere that deep down she was living on the edge and that something like this could have been lurking in her future? Cindy noticed that no one had mentioned the possibility of suicide, but how could it be ruled out? It was entirely possible that Kara might have gone into the ocean and drowned of her own free will. Every possibility had to be explored. The truth often lay in the most unexpected places, or in an accidental chance encounter. By now Cindy had learned though that there was no such thing as chance. And nothing could be ignored in an investigation of this kind. Nothing at all.
Mattheus started grimacing as he opened his computer, looking into Rowley’s background. Cindy went straight to Kara’s Facebook page. As expected, the page showed a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life, surrounded by friends and family, preparing for a magnificent wedding and honeymoon. Good wishes were posted from every possible corner. Photos of Kara and Rowley portrayed a delightful couple to the world, much as they seemed in person. The couple and their families belonged to the best country club and photos of them all together were splashed over the pages. Cindy wondered briefly about the job that Kara had mentioned that she’d liked so much, but saw nothing about it online. Something about the job had been jarring to Rowley. Cindy had to find out more about that now. She wanted to talk to Mattheus about it, but at the moment he was deep into his search.
“Find anything yet?” Cindy called to him.
“Come on, give this a chance, we’ve just gotten going,” Mattheus called back.
Cindy got up from her chair, suddenly restless, though. She wasn’t going to find anything helpful on Kara’s Facebook page, she felt it in her bones. Everything was too sanitized. The page was just a perfect picture, created for the world to s
ee. Cindy walked over to the edge of the patio and leaned over.
“What are you doing?” Mattheus got up and came over to her.
“Just stretching a little, taking a break,” said Cindy.
“Taking a break? We’ve barely started,” Mattheus said.
“I’m restless, Mattheus,” Cindy remarked. “This isn’t the best way to get going. I’d rather talk to people in person now. How about Rowley?”
Just then, as if hearing her wishes, the phone rang, startling both of them. They jumped, as if shocking news about Kara was waiting on the other end.
“I’ll get that,” said Mattheus, racing to pick the phone up.
For a few moments Mattheus was quiet. Then he spoke. “Yup,” he finally said, his voice deflated. “Sure we’ll come down. We’d love to talk to him.”
“Chief Darrin Frank?” asked Cindy.
“You got it,” said Mattheus. “He’s downstairs waiting for us. Otherwise, nothing yet.”
*
Cindy was extremely relieved to get out of the room and mill around with people. As soon as they walked into the lobby, a large, imposing Caribbean police officer approached them immediately.
“Darrin Frank,” Mattheus exclaimed, extending his hand.
“Good to have you guys on board.” Darrin offered a broad smile.
“Mattheus here and my partner, Cindy,” Mattheus said, warming right up to him.
“We’re searching full out,” Darrin said immediately, “no sight of anything yet.” Then he rubbed his large palm over his face. “If you want to come down to the station you can use whatever we have to do your part.”
“I appreciate that,” said Mattheus.
‘If you asked me, this was an accident. Something happened when she was swimming and she’ll probably never be found.”
That was simplest explanation, thought Cindy, and the easiest for the police.
“They were a terrific couple, no shadows that I can see,” Darrin added for good measure.
“Rowley has no ties with the island?” Mattheus asked just to be sure. “He doesn’t work down here at all?”
“Not that I know,” Darrin answered quickly, “but until you check you never can tell. Look, we got local crime down here, like anywhere else. Robbery usually, or a drug deal gone bad. People get drunk and fights break out all the time. So, there’s plenty of cases of assault. Go up a notch and you’ll find white collar crime. People come down here to do offshore banking and get into trouble.”
Darrin spoke authoritatively with a sense of finality in his voice. Right now it seemed to Cindy that he was going through the motions of the search so things would look good to the world.
“If you ask me what happened, I’d bet dollars that this young woman was either high or drunk when she went for the swim,” Darrin continued. “The tides washed in before she knew what was happening and she couldn’t fight her way out. It’s a lousy story, but it makes sense.”
“Cindy and I are looking into her background carefully,” Mattheus said, unwilling to let it be wrapped up so glibly.
“Why? Any reason to believe the husband did something to her?” Darrin seemed mildly curious.
“No, not at all,” said Mattheus, “I just want to see if someone else possibly had something against them.”
Darrin looked skeptical. “If you want to find out more about that, why not go upstairs to the husband’s room? The wife’s family arrived a little while ago, and his are only a few minutes away.”
“Great suggestion,” said Mattheus, “we’re on the way.”
“Well, it’s nice meeting you both,” said Darrin. “Let me know what turns up on your end and I’ll do the same.”
*
The door was open to Rowley’s room when Cindy and Mattheus arrived. Mattheus, nervous, knocked on the door anyway, just to let them know someone was there.
“Come in,” a dim voice called from inside.
Cindy and Mattheus walked into a room that was dark and dismal with the blinds drawn and shut tight. The fear and tension inside was so thick it was hard to breathe. Two policemen sat on chairs in the far end and Rowley stood there with an older couple.
“Mattheus, my God.” The tall, older man who had been standing with Rowley rushed over to Mattheus He had tousled hair, bleary eyes, and looked as if he hadn’t slept a bit all night.
“Rod,” Mattheus breathed, taking him in and giving him a huge hug.
“Where is she? Where is she?” Rod trembled with pain. “How the hell did this happen?”
“We’re gonna find her, Rod.” Mattheus’s voice grew low and collegial. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll bring Kara home.”
“I heard Kara met you and your partner,” Rod mumbled. “I heard you all had breakfast together. She was so happy to meet you, liked you both a lot.”
“That’s right,” said Mattheus, “we liked her, too.”
“How strange is that?” Rod’s eyes kept shifting back and forth. “Nothing about this makes sense. I feel like my daughter’s two steps away and will walk back in any minute.”
The tall, rather elegant woman who was standing with Rod and looked somewhat like Kara came up close to them then.
“Rod hasn’t slept a bit since we got the call,” she said in a totally controlled voice. This had to be Kara’s mother, thought Cindy, doing everything in her power not to fall apart.
“I’m Cindy, of CM Investigations.” Cindy stepped forward then and extended her hand.
“I’m pleased you’re here,” the woman replied. “I’m Kara’s mother, Alice. Is there a chance she’s alive?” Her sharp eyes focused directly on Cindy.
“Of course there’s a chance,” Cindy replied, disconcerted by her directness.
“But time’s running out, time’s running out,” Rod started mumbling.
“What do you think?” Alice pressed Cindy further. “How much time do we have?”
“Of course time is of the essence,” Cindy replied. “And Mattheus and I need to talk to you and your husband in depth about your daughter. You can help us know more about her and where to look next.”
“Absolutely.” Alice seemed fearless, ready to do whatever was needed.
“You talk to her, I’m talking to my buddy,” Rod burst in. “That’s the only thing I feel like doing right now.”
“Sure thing, sure thing.” Mattheus stepped right in. “We can take a walk and you’ll talk to me, Rod.”
“Good idea,” said Rod, his body heaving. ”And thanks for being here for me, Matt. I could always count on you, and look at this, here you are after all these years.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Mattheus offered. “It’ll be good for you to get some fresh air.”
“What will be good about it?” Rod looked stricken. “Where are you taking me, anyway?”
“We can walk on the hiking trail behind the hotel,” Mattheus suggested. “It’s quiet there, a great place to clear your head.”
“Would you like to go outside as well?” Cindy asked Alice then. Cindy wanted to speak to her in a private place, so Alice could speak freely.
“Where?” Alice seemed almost matter-of-fact about it.
“How about the beach where Kara went for a swim?” Cindy thought Alice might want to visit the last place her daughter was seen at.
“Not yet, not now.” Alice shook her head swiftly. “I’m not ready for anything like that. But there are things on my mind that I want to tell you.”
“How about going to the benches near the walking bridge?” Cindy suggested. “They’re close by and it’s quiet there.”
“That’s fine,” Alice agreed. “But I don’t want to leave Rowley alone.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Rowley looked grim and exhausted. “Go talk to Cindy. I won’t be alone long. My mom and dad’s plane has landed and they’re in a taxi on the way over right now.”
CHAPTER 6
“Please don’t be offended by Rod,” was the first thing Alice said as she and
Cindy left the hotel and walked along the cobblestone path to the walking bridge a few blocks away. The soft warm air washed over them as they walked and felt good on Cindy’s face.
“No, of course I’m not offended,” said Cindy, touched by Alice’s sensitivity. “All bets are off when something like this happens.”
Alice stopped walking a moment and looked at Cindy forcefully. “I don’t know what’s happened,” she said, “but I’ll tell you one thing, Kara did not drown. That idea is ridiculous.”
Cindy realized that the police must have spoken to Alice about it. “The tides are strong on this side of the island this time of year,” Cindy said, not wanting to close any possibility down.
“But Kara’s a marathon swimmer,” Alice continued. “She’s been in the water her whole life long.”
“Really?” Cindy hadn’t heard that before.
“Kara’s gutsy and determined. The tides could never pull her out,” insisted Alice. “When the police mentioned that to Rod, it drove him ballistic.”
“I can imagine,” said Cindy as they got closer to the bridge. Cindy knew it was important to get Alice into a different environment, and she was glad to speak to her alone apart from him. It seemed that Rod was an imposing figure and could easily influence what his wife felt free to say.
“Let’s sit here,” Cindy suggested as they approached the benches on the walking bridges.
Alice quickly agreed, sat down, and put her hands in her lap.
“This has got to be like a dream for you,” Cindy started slowly.
“No, I feel Kara’s alive,” Alice responded quickly. “If she weren’t, I would be the first to know; after all, I am her mother.”
Cindy understood what she was saying, gave it full credence. “I’m glad to hear that,” she replied. “Where do you think Kara is?”
“That I don’t know, but I know she’s not gone.” Alice spoke matter-of-factly, as if she were addressing a committee. “It’s entirely possible she’ll show up by herself in a little while.”
