by Jaden Skye
“My God,” breathed Cindy. “This is a total game changer.”
“Shane loved Kara, thought she was great,” Jenna continued.
Cindy was riveted to the photo. This turned everything upside down. Cindy had been right all along, the cases were intertwined. Was it possible that Rowley knew Shane, too? Had he lied to the police? Jenna was a gold mine of information that had been sent right to Cindy’s door.
“Did you know Kara?” Cindy quickly asked Jenna.
“No, but I heard a lot about her from Shane,” Jenna responded.
“You know that Kara went missing on her honeymoon down here?” Cindy looked at Jenna carefully, wondering how much she really knew.
“Alfred told me what happened to both of them,” said Jenna. “There’s no question the cases are connected. None of at all.”
“How are they connected?” asked Cindy, her breath starting to come quickly.
“There’s a hundred possible ways,” Jenna spoke pointedly. “I know Shane had access to drugs in the shelter. For all you know Shane got drugs for Kara, too.”
“I need proof of that.” Cindy’s heart was beating fast. “I need definite evidence.”
“I don’t have proof,” Jenna replied, “but some things are obvious.”
“Obvious isn’t good enough in a criminal investigation,” Cindy replied. “Do you know for a fact that Kara did drugs?”
“Everyone does drugs sooner or later, don’t they?” Jenna looked at Cindy as though she lived on the moon.
“Is there anyone who would be aware that Shane provided drugs for Kara?” Cindy stayed on point. It was of the utmost importance to nail this down.
“Talk to the woman who runs the shelter, Margaret Day,” said Jenna. “She knows everything that goes on there. Shane hated her, though, said she was as cold as you can get, and slippery. That woman didn’t have any real compassion for anyone there.”
“I spoke to Margaret Day,” Cindy responded. “She said that drugs were absolutely forbidden at the shelter.”
“Of course she said that. It’s the party line.” Jenna bit her lower lip hard. “You can’t possibly believe that none of the women there smuggle some drugs in, can you? Lots of the ladies are serious addicts, they can’t go without drugs for long.”
“Margaret Day won’t give me any specific information,” replied Cindy. “She’s legally bound not to.”
Jenna guffawed. “So what? There are still ways you can find out about how Kara and Rowley got their drugs.”
“Rowley, too?” Cindy was alerted.
“Look, if one partner does drugs are you telling me the other doesn’t?” asked Jenna.
Cindy wanted to keep on solid ground. “But we haven’t definitely determined that Kara did drugs. All we know for sure is that the two women knew each other.”
“Yeah, so what?” said Jenna. “You know what I heard? I heard that Rowley told the police that he and Kara didn’t know Shane. He lied about that. What else is he lying about?”
“Even if Rowley did drugs, it’s entirely possible that he didn’t know Shane.” Cindy stayed focused. “He didn’t personally meet everyone Kara knew or worked with.”
Jenna looked disconcerted. “Whose side are you on?” She became flippant.
“I’m on the side of the truth,” said Cindy. “As a detective I have to lean on the facts.”
Jenna got up, irritated, and walked to the patio door. “Lean on anything you like,” she said sarcastically. “Facts can also be used to hide from the truth. But Alfred’s determined to find out what happened to both Kara and Shane. I really like him. He’s not hiding behind anything.”
“And what about Vinny?” It suddenly struck Cindy that very little had been said about him.
“Vinny’s not the sharpest tack in the shed,” said Jenna. “He just keeps saying he’s gonna kill the guy who killed Shane with his own, bare hands. Alfred’s the brains here and Vinny tags along.”
“What did Shane see in a guy like that?” asked Cindy, curious.
“Who the hell knows?” Jenna shot back. “Shane said he was good-looking and sexy. He didn’t care what she did, was fun at night.”
Cindy shuddered. What did that say about Shane? Who was she really?
“I’ve got to go now,” said Jenna.
Cindy didn’t want her to go. “Before you leave tell me one thing, Jenna. Why was Shane living in the shelter? Who was she hiding from? Where is that person now?”
Jenna suddenly looked glum. “Shane was in love with a guy named Frank. They were living together, about to get engaged,” Jenna said. Then she stopped abruptly.
“Go on,” said Cindy.
“I don’t really want to talk about this now.” Jenna pulled back. “I don’t want to say anything about Shane’s lousy relationships, I don’t want to say anything bad about someone who just died.”
“You’ll be helping her, Jenna.” Cindy put her hand on Jenna’s arm, holding her there.
“Could this guy Frank be involved in Shane’s death?”
Jenna shook her head definitively. “He’s not involved,” she said sadly. “He’s in jail for
assault. He beat Shane regularly.”
Cindy felt upset. “That’s why she was in the shelter?”
“Yeah, she tried to break up with him again and again, but couldn’t,” said Jenna. ”When things got too bad she’d go to the shelter for a while and then she’d miss him and go back. It drove Kara crazy. Kara did everything in her power to help Shane stay away. I always thought if Shane died it would be Frank that did it.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t?” Cindy felt edgy
“I’m positive,” said Jenna. “Before I came down to St. Lucia I got in touch with Frank and told him what happened. He was so shaken he couldn’t stop crying, kept swearing that when he got out of jail he’d find the person and tear them limb from limb.”
“Like Vinny,” said Cindy.
“Yeah,” said Jenna sadly, “I guess Shane always went for the same type of guy.” Jenna was done talking then. She held up her hand as if to say, enough.
“You need to go now, Jenna?” Cindy was thankful that she’d come at all.
“Yes, I have to for now,” said Jenna. “But I’m leaving the photo with you. Now it’s your turn to do your job.”
*
After Jenna left, as Cindy looked at the photo she was holding, her hands trembled. Now everything was up for grabs. Cindy had to let both Mattheus and the police know about this immediately. And there was no way the family could leave the island tonight. For all they knew Shane’s death would now lead them directly to Kara.
Cindy immediately put a call into Mattheus. To her distress, he didn’t answer. Instead his voice mail went on again.
“Mattheus, where are you?” asked Cindy, exasperated. “You said you’d keep in touch. Call me immediately. I have incredible news. And it’s urgent. The family can’t leave the island today.”
Cindy hung up and immediately dialed the police station then. Thankfully, Abe picked up.
“Abe, it’s Cindy,” she blurted out. “Thank God you picked up.”
“We haven’t been able to trace the call,” he said quickly. “It’s camouflaged in lots of ways. Looks like a prank call.”
Cindy was distressed about that, but wanted to move the conversation along. “Thanks for checking it out, Abe,” she went on. “But I called about something else. Are you sitting down?”
“What’s going on?” Abe sounded uneasy.
“All bets are off now. Kara and Shane knew each other,” Cindy spoke fervently. “I have a photo here of the two of them together, smiling.”
There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the phone. “They knew each other?” Abe sounded startled.
“There’s definite proof.” Cindy pushed forwarded.
Abe backtracked though. “So what if they knew each other? That doesn’t prove anything.”
“It proves that Rowley lied to you,�
� said Cindy.
“Not necessarily,” Abe spoke hurriedly. “Rowley’s not in the photo with Shane, is he? So, Kara knew Shane, so what? It doesn’t mean that Rowley did.”
“It means there’s more to this than we thought,” Cindy continued. “The two cases are obviously connected.”
“There’s nothing obvious about it,” Abe interrupted. “You’re jumping to conclusions, Cindy. Shane is dead and Kara is missing. We can’t keep searching for Kara forever. Right now we have to focus on Shane.”
That was an easy way out, thought Cindy. “But are the police focusing on Shane’s murder, Abe, or will it go cold too soon?” Cindy’s voice grew sharper.
“We’re doing all we can,” Abe shot back defensively. “I’m not saying it isn’t interesting that the two women knew each other, but interesting doesn’t amount to much. It’s the facts we need, and you know it. This is purely circumstantial.”
“Okay.” Cindy pulled back abruptly. Obviously the police had their own agendas and weren’t going to be much of a help. “Thanks, Abe, I’ll let you know what else develops.”
“Nothing else is gonna develop.” Abe was adamant. “Kara’s family’s leaving tonight. Let them start the healing process. Kara’s case has gone cold.”
“From where I stand, Abe, both cases just heated up,” Cindy retorted.
“No one’s hired you to look into Shane’s murder.” Abe was getting riled up. “You don’t know how to let go, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” said Cindy. “That’s why the cases I work on get solved. I don’t take no for an answer.”
Cindy hung up abruptly then and decided to go straight to Rowley’s room and show the photograph to him. Let’s see how he reacts to it, thought Cindy. Let’s see what he has to say. And if she was fortunate, Mattheus would be there as well. This was a fantastic development and Cindy wasn’t going to allow anyone to throw cold water over it.
CHAPTER 18
Without waiting another moment, Cindy took the photo and went straight to Rowley’s room. There was no need to let him know she was coming, either. It would be better to take him by surprise. Cindy needed to see his reaction before he had any time to prepare.
Fortunately, when she got to the room, as usual his door was half ajar. This time Cindy pushed it open without knocking and went in. When she entered, Rowley was sitting in a chair in the corner, his back to her, looking out the window.
“Rowley, good morning,” said Cindy in an overly cheerful tone, as if she were here on a casual visit.
Rowley spun around, startled. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d drop in for a moment,” said Cindy, lightheartedly. She had no intention of giving him the slightest indication anything at all was wrong. “I heard you’re all going home tonight.”
Rowley looked glum. “That’s the plan,” he said, finally. “There’s nothing to be gained by waiting here any longer.”
“That has to be hard.” Cindy took a few steps closer to him.
“Not harder than sitting here and waiting day after day for a phone call that doesn’t come,” he murmured, obviously distressed.
“Awful,” Cindy agreed.
“Well, did you come over to say good-bye?” asked Rowley, finally looking at Cindy and wondering what she was doing here.
“Yes,” said Cindy, “and I also wanted to check in with Mattheus.”
“Oh, I see. Well, Mattheus should be back with Rod in a little while. And my mom and dad are in their suite packing as we talk.”
“You have a great dad,” said Cindy.
“Thanks, he likes you a lot, too,” Rowley replied. “Why don’t you sit down here and wait for Mattheus?”
“I will,” said Cindy, “but before Mattheus comes back, I also have something that I want to show you.”
Rowley seemed only moderately interested. “What is it?” he asked, not expecting much.
Without waiting another moment, Cindy dipped into her bag and took out the envelope with the photo in it.
“I was actually shocked when I saw this,” Cindy went on, as she opened the envelope slowly.
Rowley’s interest was slightly piqued. “What is it?”
Cindy quickly pulled out the photo of Kara and Shane and held it in front of him.
Rowley looked at it and became dazed for a second. Then he jolted backwards. “It’s Kara!” he breathed.
“Kara and Shane,” Cindy corrected him.
“Where did you get this?” Rowley threw Cindy a strange look.
“That’s not what matters,” said Cindy, not taking her eyes off him for a second.
“Does this mean Kara’s alive?” Rowley’s eyes opened wider.
“Not necessarily,” Cindy replied. “What’s important here is that obviously Kara and Shane knew each other.”
Rowley didn’t say a word.
“In fact, from the look of this photo, they seem to be friends.” Cindy wanted Rowley to take in the full impact of this.
Rowley reached for the photo, but Cindy wouldn’t let go of it though. She held on tightly as he scanned it.
“Were you aware that Kara and Shane were friends?” Cindy asked as he gazed at the picture.
“How could I know all of Kara’s friends or the people she knew or worked with?” Rowley answered gruffly.
“You told the police that you and Kara did not know Shane,” Cindy said bluntly.
“That’s right.” Rowley threw a cold glance at Cindy. “And I meant what I said. I had no idea that Kara knew Shane. How was I supposed to know that?”
“Kara was your fiancée.” Cindy wouldn’t let go. “This photo is a game changer, Rowley.
You and your family cannot leave the island right now.”
“Why not?” Rowley’s jaw clenched.
“Because now that we know that Kara and Shane knew each other, it is clear that the cases are intertwined. Whatever we find out about one will lead to the other,” Cindy reported methodically.
“Has Mattheus seen this?” Rowley grew pale.
“Not yet,” said Cindy. “I couldn’t reach him on the phone. The minute he comes back, I’ll show the photo to him.”
Rowley seemed suddenly knocked off balance and Cindy wasn’t sure why. Was it painful seeing Kara again? Was it shocking to discover that she knew the woman who’d just been murdered? Cindy couldn’t tell anything from his expression, except that he looked disoriented.
“I’ll put in a call to Rod,” Rowley finally managed. “I’ll tell him and Mattheus to get right up to the room.”
“I would appreciate that,” said Cindy, pleased that Rowley was cooperating.
“Let me tell Rod and Mattheus to meet you downstairs in the lobby,” Rowley continued as he went for his phone. “I’d rather be by myself right now. This has been a hard day for me and that photo makes it even harder.” Then he smiled and nodded at Cindy. “I’m sure you understand.”
Cindy understood that Rowley wanted time alone, but she wasn’t entirely sure why. Did he want to tell his parents about this with no one else present? Was he shaken to see Kara’s photo linked up with Shane?
“Of course,” Cindy answered quietly. “And I appreciate your contacting Mattheus and Rod for me.
*
Cindy left Rowley’s room unsettled and went down to the lobby to wait for Mattheus and Rod. She hadn’t seen Rod in a long while and didn’t particularly look forward to seeing him again. She was also concerned about how Mattheus would react to the photo. Would he agree that this was a game changer? Would he stand by Cindy’s side?
By now it was almost lunch time and the lobby was filled with guests milling around, beautifully dressed, talking and laughing happily. They were mostly beautiful, young honeymooners, celebrating a time in their life that was perfect and would most likely not come again.
As Cindy sat on a plush red sofa near the entrance and waited, she watched the array of couples and thought about the breakfast she and Mattheus had with Rowley and K
ara just a few days ago. It was hard to believe how much had happened since then. Would Rowley ever see Kara again? Was she still alive somewhere on the island? Despite all odds, Cindy couldn’t help but believe that she was close by, waiting to be found.
Cindy was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Mattheus and Rod come into the lobby until they actually stood right in front of her.
“What’s the emergency?” Mattheus started. “We got a call from Rowley.” He sounded distressed.
“Thanks for coming back so quickly,” Cindy said to Mattheus. Then she threw a quick glance at Rod, who stood there obviously irritated.
Cindy stood up quickly and reached into her bag. “Something’s been brought to my attention that you have to be aware of immediately, Mattheus.” Cindy spoke in a completely professional, clipped tone. “It’s a complete game changer in the case.”
Mattheus looked curious as Cindy pulled the envelope out of her bag. Rod looked as though he couldn’t care less, just slung back.
Cindy took out the photo and handed it to Mattheus. “Here, take a look at this,” she said.
Mattheus glanced at the photo quickly. Soon he looked as startled as Cindy felt. “Kara and Shane,” he whispered, “my God!” He stared at the photo, bewildered.
“What did you say?” Rod practically growled, leaning over to take a look.
“It’s Kara and Shane together,” Mattheus mouthed the words slowly.
Rod just stared.
“They knew each other,” Mattheus continued, trying to put the pieces together fast. “Were you aware of this, Rod?”
“What kind of question is that? Hell, no,” Rod replied.
“Rowley told the police that neither he nor Kara knew Shane,” Cindy reminded them.
“So what? Kara’s in the picture, not Rowley.” Rod turned to Cindy condescendingly. “Kara knew Shane. That’s all this picture says.”
Cindy and Mattheus exchanged a quick glance.
“Cindy’s right, this is a game changer, Rod,” Mattheus had to agree. “I would say that the family needs to stay on the island until we find out more about the relationship between the young women.”
