by Jaden Skye
“No, of course you weren’t,” said Mattheus. “But you’re here with me now, aren’t you? That’s what Rod says, anyhow.”
*
Cindy and Mattheus drove home in the taxi silently. There was nothing further she wanted to say.
“I didn’t mean to offend or upset you,” Mattheus repeated several times. “You asked me a direct questions and I wanted to give you an honest reply. Is that a crime?”
“It’s not a crime,” Cindy finally answered, “but it doesn’t matter, I’m hurt.”
“I never meant to hurt you, Cindy.” Mattheus seemed on edge.
Cindy wanted to ask Mattheus why he didn’t tell Rod that he loved her and that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It wasn’t something she should have to ask him. That should have come naturally. Did Mattheus really love her? Did he want to spend his life with her? Right now Cindy wasn’t sure.
“Take some time to unwind,” Mattheus repeated again, as if Cindy was just overwrought and there was no reason for Cindy to be reacting this way.
The taxi arrived and let them out at the hotel. “I’m going straight to Rod’s room,” Mattheus said as they walked to the elevator. “You go take a swim in the pool or go to the spa for a while. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be around at dinner time,” Cindy answered briskly. “I’m meeting with Alfred in a little while and I don’t know how long the meeting will last.”
“You’re not only wasting your time with that guy, but he’s driving you crazy,” Mattheus retorted, as the elevator stopped at their floor and Cindy got out alone.
CHAPTER 12
The minute she got into her room, Cindy called Alfred immediately. Thankfully, he picked right up.
“Finally, I’ve been waiting for you,” he said instantly. “Go downstairs to the narrow walking path behind the back garden. There’s a trellis there under a group of palm trees. I’ll be waiting for you there, in the shade.”
“Why all the secrecy?” Cindy asked, feeling as though Alfred were acting as though he were being secretly followed by a band of thieves.
“When you get there, I’ll tell you,” he said in a hushed tone.
“I’ll be right there,” Cindy agreed, partially annoyed to be going along with this. They could just as easily have met right out front, in full sight of everybody. Was Mattheus right? Was Alfred over the edge or truly onto something? Was she completely wasting her time?
*
It was actually difficult to get to the path behind the garden and took more time than Cindy expected. She had to follow a winding road that passed over a curved bridge that crossed a stream. Then she saw the trellis under the palms that Alfred mentioned. When she got closer Cindy saw Alfred there, his arms around himself, rocking back and forth.
“Here I am, Alfred,” Cindy called to him.
“You sure took your time.” He was agitated.
“I left immediately,” quipped Cindy. “This place is hard to find.”
“Precisely.” Alfred suddenly smiled. “That’s why I wanted to come here. It’s not a good idea for anybody to see us together. Certainly not at a time like this.”
Cindy sighed. She didn’t want to go around in circles with all kinds of hidden innuendos.
“Okay, we’re here now, we’re safe, we’re hidden,” she said. “What did you find?”
“I found out more than your sweet Mattheus did, that’s for sure,” Alfred burst out. “Mattheus is taking the easy way out, isn’t he? Just hanging around with Kara’s family, avoiding the meat of the case.”
That wasn’t at all like Mattheus, but Cindy couldn’t help but agree.
“Tell me why Mattheus is acting this way,” Alfred continued. “Is he involved with Kara’s disappearance somehow?”
That was more than Cindy could tolerate. She was appalled. “Are you crazy?”
“Well, if Mattheus is not directly involved, how about his buddy, Rod?” Alfred continued. “Guilt by association?”
“You’re going off the deep end, Alfred,” Cindy insisted. “Rod is Kara’s father. Are you suggesting he harmed his daughter?”
“No, I’m not.” Alfred backed down. “I have no reason to believe that, yet.”
“Yet?” Cindy didn’t know if she should just turn around and walk away.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Alfred reached out for her. “I’m sorry for going too far. I can’t stand Rod and he can’t stand me, but that’s not what I’m here for. That’s not what I have to tell you.”
“What do you have to tell me?” Cindy faced him bluntly.
“I’ve been spending hours and hours online,” Alfred started. “I began with Kara’s Facebook page, then switched to Rowley’s.”
“Okay?” said Cindy. This was more interesting now.
“I found a woman on Rowley’s Facebook page named Diane.” Alfred’s voice grew gravelly. “She’d messaged Kara recently on her Facebook page telling her what a great job Rowley did on her surgery.”
“So?” asked Cindy, impatient.
“Give me a minute,” Alfred went on. “Diane wrote in big letters that Rowley said she was now the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Wait a minute, where did you find this?” asked Cindy, quickly going over Kara’s Facebook page in her mind. Cindy’d also scanned the page and didn’t recall seeing anything like that.
“I found it on Rowley’s page first,” Alfred continued
“I’m sure Rowley has lots of posts and photos from women like that on his page,” said Cindy. “He’s a plastic surgeon after all. That has to be good for business. He readily admits it.”
“Very good,” said Alfred, “but wait a minute, there’s more. Kara didn’t answer Diane’s message and obviously Diane got pissed. She started messaging Kara every day, saying how wonderful Rowley was and how beautiful he’d made her.”
“So, Diane’s an egomaniac,” said Cindy.
“Worse than that,” Alfred interrupted. “When Kara didn’t answer her, Diane put more and more messages on Rowley’s page as well. She said that his fiancée was rude, and obviously jealous of her. I dug it all out, it took time.”
“It’s interesting,” Cindy conceded, “but why didn’t I see those messages on Kara’s page? I looked at it. There was nothing like that there.”
“That’s just it.” Alfred whistled loudly. “Someone obviously deleted it!”
“Probably Kara,” said Cindy, slowly putting the pieces together. “Something like that could be embarrassing.”
“More than embarrassing.” Alfred was snarling. “And we don’t know for sure who deleted it, either. Was it Kara, Rowley, or was it Rod?”
“Let’s walk while we talk. It’s getting late and cool. I’m feeling shivery.”
Cindy and Alfred began walking on the little path that wove between the palm trees, as Cindy tried to make sense of it all.
“Kara could have deleted it.” Alfred continued talking. “But she would have told me if she did. When something bothered her that much she usually mentioned it to me.”
That was a good point. It struck Cindy. “And you said Kara felt absolutely confident about Rowley, too,” Cindy reminded him.
“Yes, she did,” Alfred continued, “but something like that could definitely be irritating. I mean who wants her fiancé telling another woman she’s the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“No one,” agreed Cindy. “How about Rowley or Rod? Why would they delete it?” Cindy wanted to hear more of what Alfred thought.
“Rowley could have deleted it because it made him look bad to have this spread all over Kara’s page,” Alfred continued. “Having it on his own page was different. And Rod could have deleted it because he was obsessed with his daughter’s reputation. He always wanted her to put on the best face for the world.”
“How could Rod have gotten onto Kara’s page?” asked Cindy.
“He’s a technical genius,” Alfred whispered. “And he knows everything about Kara’s life, never gives her a second of privacy.”
“Okay, okay.” Cindy didn’t know where all this was leading. “Are you suggesting Diane was angry with Kara and jealous, that she somehow arranged to have her disappear on her honeymoon?”
“Not exactly,” murmured Alfred, “but you’re good. I was thinking the same thing and so I gave Diane a call. I wanted to see where she landed. When I told Diane that Kara had gone missing, she was in total shock. I scared her a little too, told her the messages she put up didn’t look good for her. Then she became terrified. She said no one back home knew anything about this and she’d check all over town to see if anyone’d heard anything. She swore up and down she had nothing to do with it and said she’d do all she could to help. That lady was shaking in her boots, I’ll tell you.”
Cindy was suddenly impressed and grateful for the work Alfred had done. “You’ve done good work, Alfred,” Cindy said. “Excellent.”
“And that’s not even all of it, yet.” Alfred was pleased. “Right after I called Diane, a few hours later, this other lady, Shane, turned up dead. Just a few hours later. I couldn’t believe it. There has to be a connection.”
Cindy took it in deeply. She could see why Alfred had been so distressed. “It’s interesting,” she said, “but it’s general. It doesn’t prove the cases are connected.”
“More,” Alfred said, practically frothing at the mouth, “more to come.”
“What?” Cindy asked, growing alarmed. There seemed no depths to which Alfred wouldn’t go to find out what happened to his friend.
“Diane called me back. She said she heard from someone at the shelter that Kara’s still alive. Diane thinks they’re hiding Kara there,” Alfred went on.
Cindy gasped. “That’s a huge claim! Who did she hear it from? How does the person know? We need evidence and we need it immediately.”
“Everything is secret at the shelter,” Alfred breathed. “They’re not allowed to talk. They have to protect the women who live there. That’s their first responsibility.”
“But we need evidence,” Cindy exclaimed.
“It’ll come out, it’ll come out,” Alfred mumbled.
Cindy couldn’t wrap her mind around this. “Are you suggesting that Kara went back home? Why did she? How did she get there?”
“Or someone kidnapped her and brought her home,” Alfred burst out. “Do you know there’s a huge drug ring on this island with tentacles all over the States?” His eyes opened wide. “Diane found out and told me.”
“I’d heard about the ring,” Cindy conceded. “But Rowley testified to the police that neither he nor Kara did drugs.”
Alfred guffawed. “Give me a break, everybody does drugs. Some more, some less.”
“Did Kara do drugs?” Cindy asked Alfred directly. “Did Rowley?” If anyone would know, Alfred would.
“Kara and Rowley did some recreational drugs once in a while at a party,” Alfred continued. “I never heard it was anything more than that. After Kara did it she said she was sorry, just couldn’t resist the temptation to have fun.”
“If it was just some drugs, once in a while at a party, why bring up the drug ring?” asked Cindy.
“Lots of the women at the shelter did drugs,” Alfred continued. “Lots of them had dealers or addicts for husbands.”
“So, Kara had access to dealers and drugs?” asked Cindy.
“No, of course not,” Alfred answered. “Once the women are in the shelter they’re forbidden to use. That’s part of the agreement. The shelter hides them and protects their identity. But if they bring in any drugs, they’re out.”
“Makes sense,” said Cindy. “So, what’s the connection?”
“Kara was around women who’d been around drugs,” Alfred continued. “One of those women, or one of their husbands or partners, could be connected to the ring down here. And the women don’t stay at the shelter forever. Plenty go back to their abusive guys.”
“What does all this have to do with Kara?” Cindy didn’t feel on solid footing.
Alfred took a step closer to Cindy. “Diane got me the personal phone number for you. It’s the woman who runs the shelter, Margaret Day. This was hard to get, believe me. Give Margaret a call and find out for yourself.”
The cool evening breezes blew up strongly as Cindy and Alfred continued to walk.
“How about you? Why don’t you call her?” asked Cindy.
“Not a good idea,” said Alfred. “I’m sure she’d talk more easily to a woman than a man. From the point of view of women who run shelters, all men have to be enemies, just waiting to pounce.”
*
The meeting with Alfred had created a treasure trove of possibilities and Cindy wanted to explore each one of them. The moment she returned to her room she put in a call to Margaret Day and left a message.
“This is Cindy Blaine of C and M Investigations, calling from St. Lucia right now,” Cindy said. “I need to talk to you as soon as possible about the disappearance of Kara Flynn. Thank you.” Then she left her number.
Was it truly possible that they were hiding Kara? If they were, Cindy would probably never get a return call. She wanted to call Mattheus immediately and tell him about what Alfred had said, sort out viable leads from fantasies. But she refrained. Mattheus obviously didn’t like Alfred, and from his point of view, most of what Alfred had to say would be considered fantasy. But even though there was scanty evidence to back up what he said, Cindy found Alfred fascinating, She couldn’t help but wonder, though, why Mattheus himself wasn’t investigating more aggressively. Cindy finally decided that he was truly convinced that Kara had drowned, didn’t see any indication of foul play. That was probably because Mattheus was too close to Rod, had lost objectivity on the case without realizing it.
As Cindy sat there musing, her phone rang. She reached for it immediately.
“Cindy, this is Margaret Day,” a woman said on the other end.
“Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly,” said Cindy. “I appreciate it.”
“We’re absolutely stunned to hear about Kara’s disappearance,” Margaret replied.
Cindy was relieved that Margaret acknowledged that Kara was gone. “When did you hear the news?” she asked.
“Very recently,” said Margaret. “The story’s going around town like wildfire now.”
Cindy decided to jump right in. “We heard that there was some possibility that Kara may be at the shelter,” she started.
“I beg your pardon?” Margaret Day sounded truly startled.
“Are these rumors only?” asked Cindy.
“As far as we know Kara was on her honeymoon in St. Lucia,” Margaret responded icily. “Who told you she was here?”
“A private source,” said Cindy.
“That’s ridiculous,” Margaret emphasized, “though I definitely do wish it were true.”
“You realize that hiding her when the police are searching would be considered obstructing an investigation?” Cindy said.
Margaret’s stony silence deepened. “Of course I realize that,” she said. Despite her coldness Cindy felt Margaret’s worry.
“Did Kara ever say anything that made you suspicious about her life or relationships? Did she ever give you any hint that she might be in danger?” Cindy wanted as much information as this woman was able to give her.
“Nothing at all, not ever,” breathed Margaret. “Kara seemed completely happy and well adjusted. And I never heard one negative thing about her fiancé.”
“Have you met Rowley?” Cindy wanted to push it.
“No, I have not. Our place is kept under cover. We don’t welcome family or friends of our employees. There’s top security everywhere.”
“Kara did a good job? You were pleased with her?” Cindy continued.
“Kara’s a model counselor here. Everyone loves her, she goes to any length she can to help. Kara’
s always very careful about everything she does, never wants to make a mistake.”
“Did she make some mistakes that bothered her?” Cindy picked up on it immediately.
“We all make mistakes.” Margaret seemed nervous. “But nothing out of the ordinary. She did fine.”
“These are just routine questions, but they must be asked,” Cindy continued.
“Certainly, I understand,” said Margaret, settling down a bit.
“What kind of mistakes did Kara make?” Cindy felt interested.
“Nothing much,” Margaret repeated. “Once in a while she got too close to a resident, spent too much time with her. That is not advisable and we warned her about it.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Cindy was surprised.
“It is of the utmost importance to keep clear boundaries,” Margaret continued. “These women who live here have suffered horribly. Some of them grab onto anyone who helps them and then have trouble letting go. This is not a permanent residence. Women are hidden here, protected, trained, and hopefully helped to build a new, safe life after a while back in the world.”
“That’s a noble calling,” said Cindy.
“We do our best.” Margaret sounded pleased. “Some make it, some don’t. Some rebuild their lives and go forward, some go back to their abusers and to their old ways.”
Cindy found that fascinating.“Do the women who go back to their old ways sometimes smuggle drugs into the shelter even though it’s forbidden?” she asked.
Margaret seemed to stiffen. “Not that I know of specifically, though I imagine it’s possible. Why?”
“Was there a woman living there recently who had ties to the drug ring down in St. Lucia? Or perhaps her husband did?” Cindy was determined to see if she could find some kind of connection between the shelter and the drug ring operating down here.
“There are women here whose partners have ties to all kinds of crime everywhere,” said Margaret. “That’s why they’re here. There was a woman I recall who was here recently whose husband had been put in jail for drugs. That’s all I know, believe me.”
