by Jaden Skye
As Carl read his face first grew numb, then fierce.
“Complete lies,” he growled emphatically. “Crazy stories. She never said that.”
Clay pulled the computer away. “Every word is true.”
“Kate never wrote this. I’m sure of it,” Carl was beside himself, “I have no idea who wrote this.”
Cindy’s heart started beating terrifically. “This doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard about Kate,” she added.
Carl was on a tear, moving in closer and closer to Clay. “When were those emails written?” he demanded.
Clay hugged the computer to himself though, and smiled.
Margaret came up to Carl. “Forget about it, leave it alone. It’s over now.”
“It’s not over, it’s just beginning,” Carl flung back at her.
“Clay is emotional about things,” Margaret spoke more softly. “A correspondence like this confused his mind. He wanted to come to Kate’s rescue, and so he proposed. None of it makes sense, I agree with you.”
Carl wasn’t having her story, though. “Kate did not write that email. I am certain of it,” he repeated, incensed.
“You two have to go now,” Dan grew more agitated. “It’s enough for everyone.”
“It’s not enough,” Carl glared at him.
Dan strongly motioned Cindy and Carl to the door. As they were being sheparded out of the room, something suddenly caught Cindy’s eye. Laying out on the top of a bureau, in full view, was the amber bracelet Kate had worn.
“Wait a minute, what’s this?” Cindy’s voice grew high as she ran over to it.
“It’s Kate’s bracelet,” Clay ran over too, and grabbed it. “It belonged to her.”
“We have to see this bracelet,” Cindy said intensely. “It’s part of the evidence in the case.”
“How in hell can this be evidence?” Dan was growing furious. “It was her bracelet and it’s right here.”
“I have to take it into the police station,” Cindy said breathlessly.
“Why?” yelled Dan.
“Because another bracelet, just like this has turned up, and we have to figure out what’s going on.”
“So take it, take it,” Margaret started to yell.
“No,” Clay uttered. “It was Kate’s and it belongs with me. She may want it someday.”
“Let her uncle have it, Clay,” Margaret whispered to him. “Kate won’t need it anymore. Her uncle does though, he needs something of hers.”
“He doesn’t deserve it though,” Clay’s eyes grew heavy.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Margaret started soothing Clay again. “We all deserve something, and you don’t need her bracelet anymore.”
*
Cindy clutched the bracelet tight in her hand. It spoke volumes, could be the evidence needed that Sean hadn’t been in the room, hadn’t taken the necklace, that he was not their man.
“We’ve got to go see Riva immediately and get her bracelet,” Cindy said to Carl. “They’re holding Sean because they think he took Kate’s bracelet and gave it to Riva.”
“Let’s go,” said Carl, mobilized.
Fortunately, Riva was in her room when Cindy and Carl knocked on her door.
“We need to see the amber bracelet you were wearing,” Cindy said the moment they walked in.
“Why?” Riva got scared again, “and where’s Mattheus?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cindy reassured her. “This has nothing to do with you. We found the bracelet that belonged to Kate in her room. Sean never took her bracelet. Yours is different.”
“What do you mean?” Riva seemed offended.
“Let’s just see it,” said Carl emphatically.
Riva brought her bracelet out of a drawer and gave it to Carl, hesitantly.
Immediately, Carl turned it over in his hand. “This one’s a cheap copy,” he proclaimed.
“What the hell do you mean?” Riva practically screeched. “Sean told me it was the real thing.”
“It’s a copy of the original one that belonged to Kate,” Carl added.
“Screw Sean,” Riva’s face curled up tight.
“No, be happy for Sean,” Cindy said. “The police thought he took Kate’s bracelet. That put him with her the night she died. But Kate’s bracelet was still in her room. Yours is different. When exactly did he give it to you?”
Riva rolled her eyes back in her head. “I don’t remember exactly,” she whimpered, confused.
“A day or two before we came down here.”
“Then it couldn’t be Kate’s, could it?” Cindy was completely stunned. “Sean gave you this copy before Kate died.”
“He didn’t say it was hers, but he said it was the real thing,” shouted Riva.
“Nothing about Sean is the real thing,” Carl yelled back.
“Neither is the evidence they’re holding against him,” Cindy interjected. “In fact, it means nothing.”
“The hell with Sean,” Riva’s wailing got louder.
“Why are you so mad at him?” asked Cindy, breathless.
“He lied to me about everything. He said he loved me, but he still loved her. He gave me a piece of junk and said it was a real jewel.”
“Is that why you’re emailing Clay?” asked Cindy.
Riva became silent and very sad. “No, I was just emailing him because I was sorry he lost someone he loved so much. I know how it feels.”
“What did he say in return to you?” Carl pounced on it.
“He said he was grateful for my kindness, that it was very rare these days.”
“That’s all?” asked Carl.
“No, he suggested that we keep in touch. He said it was rare to have someone who understood you. He felt that I did and really valued that. I said I would keep in touch and he said it made him feel much better. Isn’t there anything so terrible about that?”
CHAPTER 19
“Okay, so Mattheus’s case is falling apart under our eyes,” said Carl when they left Riva’s room.
“Not entirely,” said Cindy, “but we’ve got big piece of evidence doesn’t hold. Sean didn’t give Riva Kate’s bracelet. There’s no proof now that Sean was with Kate in her room before she died.”
“So what now?” Carl was agitated, “will the cops return to the verdict of suicide?”
“Unless we find something else pretty fast,” said Cindy.
Carl and Cindy looked at each other then, practically reading each other’s thoughts. Cindy knew that, barring further evidence, the police would call Kate’s death suicide. Nothing else made sense. Cindy ran the possibility of that over in her mind. Kate’s father was convinced it was suicide. Maybe he was right? She decided to run it by Carl once again.
“Wendell is convinced it was suicide,” said Cindy quietly, floating the idea to see if Carl could go along with it now.
“Kate did not die by her own hand,” Carl retorted, “I’m positive of it. Something else is going on here.”
“What have you got on your mind?” asked Cindy.
“Clay’s mean spirited, I never realized that before,” said Carl.
Cindy felt that Carl was desperately fishing for something to keep the case open, and probe more and more. It was way too devastating for him to think that Kate had died by her own hand.
“If you asked me, it seems like Clay’s got a vendetta against us,” Carl continued fervently.
“No, he’s just a private person,” said Cindy. “He’s not the kind to enjoy sharing intimate details of his life.”
“It’s not just his life, it’s mine, too,” Carl objected. “It’s my niece who died. This impacts me as well as him. He’s self absorbed. Doesn’t give a hoot for anyone else’s feelings.”
“Clay’s probably lived a private, shut up life for a long time,” said Cindy.
“Hiding behind his computer,” Carl snarled.
Carl’s nastiness surprised Cindy. What did he really have against Carl, except that he couldn’t get to see
the correspondence? Cindy wondered if Carl reacted this way to all the guys Kate had been involved with.
“Did you feel this way about all of Kate’s boyfriends?” asked Cindy.
Carl was taken aback. “Of course not,” he said briskly. “In fact, I was the one who encouraged Kate to keep the relationship with Clay going. I knew they were meeting down here in Aruba and I was happy about it. Anything to get her away from Sean.”
“Seems it was pretty quick for Kate and Clay to come down here for a romantic week-end,” said Cindy. “How long did she know him? How many times did they actually meet?”
“None of it mattered,” said Carl, “Kate needed a jolt to break her connection with Sean. “I thought this could do it. I hoped she and Clay would fall in love.”
“Looks like they did,” said Cindy.
Carl seemed skeptical now, “Who knows?”
“They got engaged. It’s all over the web,” Cindy insisted. “There are pictures of them together, she said she was thrilled. “
“So why wouldn’t Clay share their correspondence with me?” Carl’s face clenched. “Why would Kate say nasty things about me to him? I was on her side all the time and she knew it. She came to me for everything. I don’t believe that Kate ever said that I didn’t understand her and Clay did. That’s just crazy. Something’s really off here.”
None of this computed for Cindy, either.
“You’ve got to look into Clay further,” Carl insisted.
“We researched him a lot up front. Couldn’t find one thing on except that he was the last to see Kate alive and was the one to find her. Everything in his background came up gold,” said Cindy.
“Even gold becomes tarnished,” said Carl. “Did he have lots of girlfriends? Was he engaged before?”
“No, he actually had very few relationships, seemed quiet and shy with women.”
“Quiet and shy, and he lured Kate in? Carl said. “It doesn’t figure. When you looked at his correspondence with Kate did you actually see the nasty things he said she wrote about me?”
“Not really, but I didn’t look at every single email, just a bunch of them,” said Cindy. Time was of the essence. I figured I’d go back and go over the rest carefully later on.”
“Now he won’t let you,” Carl growled.
“We’ll see,” said Cindy, calming him down. “Right now he won’t, but there are ways to get the information.”
“What was your impression of the emails you read?” Carl seemed to feel slightly better about the possibility of getting the chance to read them all.
“There was nothing so off about it,” said Cindy, “except that I thought Clay assumed a lot based on a little that Kate said. She’d say a few words and he went with it, decided that she was the One.”
“This is one creepy guy,” said Carl, “I don’t know why I ever encouraged her to meet him. I could kick myself over and over.”
“There are lots of them out there online like that, browsing around, looking for love. It’s easy to develop a fantasy relationship,” said Cindy.
“Yeah, it’s easy to develop a fantasy relationship when you’re together in person, too,” Carl quipped. “How many people really know each other?”
Cindy smiled. How well she knew that. “Relationships take time and patience,” she said softly.
“Tell me about it. I’ve been married three times,” said Carl, “loved each one of them tremendously, when I did. I thought each one was forever. But nothing lasted, nothing really worked.”
“It worked while it worked,” said Cindy, “why beat yourself up about it? Who’s to say something is supposed to last forever?”
Carl looked at Cindy oddly then, and she felt strange hearing those words from herself as well. Was her view of relationships radically changing? She’d always felt confident that she and Clint would be together forever. Everything had seemed so stable between them. And Mattheus, too, in the beginning.
“Sounds like you’ve had a rough time yourself,” his voice softened.
“I’ve been through changes,” said Cindy. “Who hasn’t?”
“I know,” Carl whispered.
“But at least you’ve been able to love again,” Cindy quipped. “That’s a good thing. You could look at having three wives as a failure, or you say that you were always ready to try again.”
Carl laughed and so did Cindy.
“I wish better than that for you, Cindy,” Carl said softly.
“I appreciate it,” Cindy replied, “we all dream of that person to go through life with.”
Carl took a step closer to her then.
Cindy backed away. “So, let’s talk more about Clay,” she said. “Clearly, he upset you.”
“Yeah, he made me begin to think that what happened to Kate was my fault,” Carl put his hands up to his head.
“Go easy on yourself, Carl,” Cindy put her arm on his and there was a moment of lovely connection between them. Both stopped to enjoy it.
“What now?” said Carl, as he composed himself. “Where do we go next?”
“Now I’ve got to meet with Mattheus and show him Kate’s bracelet,” said Cindy. “It’s going to change everything.”
“Lucky Mattheus, to be able to have time with you,” said Carl softly.
“Thanks,” said Cindy, “and I’m lucky, too.”
*
Cindy had no idea how Mattheus would respond to the shocking news about Riva’s bracelet. She called up to the room and fortunately, he was still there, researching on the computer. The roads had been flooded due to the storm and it was difficult to get anywhere right now. The light of the day was quickly fading, too. By tomorrow things would be getting back to normal. And in another day after that the airports would open and Clay and his family could leave.
“Yes,” said Mattheus when he picked up the phone, “what’s going on?”
“How about coming down and meeting me in the bar at the hotel?” Cindy asked.
“Good timing,” said Mattheus curtly. “I’ve just tying up the last chunk of research on Sean.”
Mattheus was like a dog with a bone, thought Cindy. She didn’t know why he refused to open his mind to other possibilities. There was obviously something about Sean that stirred him up, as if there were a battle of male energy between them. It upset Cindy, wondered if Mattheus had the objectivity needed to handle all kinds of cases. Of course then she also had to also wonder if she had that objectivity herself? Did anyone? Probably not. That’s why it was so good to tackle cases with a partner, someone who balanced you and brought another perspective.
Cindy went right to the bar and ordered a glass of wine. She was definitely confused about what had happened. It was late in the case to feel the way she did, she thought, and feared it might never be settled.
Mattheus walked into the bar, looking fresh, confident and handsome as ever, with an air of defiance about him. He pulled out the seat next to Cindy, and motioned for the bartender. Clearly, he was still upset about having found Cindy and Carl having a bite together.
“Scotch and soda,” said Mattheus, gruffly.
Cindy suddenly realized that Mattheus would never be trusting of her. It wasn’t personal, either. That’s just who he was, the way it would be. Either she could accept it or she couldn’t.
“There’s a very important development,” Cindy started, professionally, overriding the personal emotions that stirred below the surface.
Cindy’s strength and no nonsense demeanor caught Mattheus’s attention immediately. “What?”
“The bracelet that Sean gave Riva didn’t belong to Kate. It was a cheap imitation of it. Not only that, Sean gave it to Riva a few days before Kate died.”
Mattheus’s jaw dropped for a second. “You’re sure?”
“Positive,” Cindy said promptly. “I saw Kate’s original bracelet in her room when I was speaking to Clay.”
“Both bracelets have to be carefully examined,” said Mattheus.
“No problem,
” said Cindy, “but Kate’s bracelet was there. After I found it, we went to Riva’s room and talked to her about her bracelet.”
“We?” asked Mattheus.
“Kate’s uncle Carl and I,” Cindy continued, totally by passing Mattheus’s insinuations, which had no place in the investigation and would only distract matters. “You don’t have any solid evidence against Sean anymore,” Cindy concluded.
“Wrong,” Mattheus bit his bottom lip. “There’s plenty of circumstantial evidence here, enough to sink a boat.”
“You want to sink Sean?” asked Cindy, irritated.
“I want the truth to prevail,” Mattheus said. “How about you?”
Cindy was quieter. “Yes, of course, I do.”
“I’d say you’ve taken a liking to Sean and can’t really be objective,” said Mattheus. “It’s a danger in cases.”
“Just what I was thinking,” said Cindy. “A big danger, a big distraction.”
“Right,” said Mattheus. “So, now please listen to what I’ve come up with. “Not only does Sean have a history of impulsive action, I found a friend of theirs back home who said she heard Sean threatening Kate from time to time. And, she knows a few people who can confirm it. Sean would yell at Kate, tell her she was a misfit and to get the hell away from him.”
“A misfit?” Cindy was horrified. “Kate was a beautiful, elegant, lovely young woman.”
“On the surface of it,” said Mattheus. “But there had to be lots more going on. Why did she hang onto a guy like Sean all these years? He was someone always in trouble, up to no good.”
“Maybe because she loved him?” said Cindy.
“That’s an easy answer that means nothing,” Mattheus said.
“It means something to me,” said Cindy.
“What was there in Kate that made her love someone like that?” Mattheus clarified.
“Exactly how was Kate a misfit?” Cindy was stuck on that point.
“The person didn’t say,” said Mattheus, “but she said that Sean got off on embarrassing Kate publicly, putting her down, being rotten and nasty. People heard it. Kate would run away crying.”
