Death by Obsession (11 page)

“So?” asked Cindy.

“So, all kind of things happen
that have nothing to do with this wedding. People go missing for a thousand
different reasons. We have to stay on focus. Remember, Tara isn’t working for
the company, just marrying into it.”

“Was marrying into it,” Cindy
corrected him, both relieved for Tara and concerned about her.

“Don’t jump to the conclusion
that it’s such a bad family,” Mattheus responded. “We don’t have evidence of
that at all.”

Cindy wondered, once again, why
Mattheus was being so protective of Lynch’s family. It had to be because he was
identified with Lynch, and his secret son. Cindy hadn’t even given a moment’s
thought to Mattheus’s own daughter since Tara disappeared. There would be
plenty of time for exploring that when things settled down here.

“You just want to protect Lynch
and his mother,” said Cindy. “But let’s keep our minds open to everything.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” said
Mattheus, “let’s take a deep breath. We’re acting as if Tara’s in big trouble.
There’s no evidence of that yet, either, so let’s take it slow.”

Of course Mattheus was right.
There was just as much of a chance that Tara was fine, had made up her mind to
get out of the marriage and taken off to an unknown location. For the moment
Cindy had to ignore the persistent nagging feeling inside that told her
otherwise.

“We get so used to expecting the
worst,” Cindy murmured, “at the least little thing, we smell disaster.”

“Precisely my point,” said
Mattheus softly. “It’s a danger of the trade we’re in. And, it doesn’t only
apply to cases,” Mattheus looked at Cindy directly then. “It pertains to our
relationship, too.”

Cindy swallowed hard.

“You’re also thinking the worst
and imagining disaster just because I didn’t tell you about my daughter,”
Mattheus went on.

Cindy had to acknowledge that he
was right. “It’s true,” she said quietly.

 “My daughter was born when I was
a kid. It was years and years before I ever met you. What could it possibly
have to do with us now?”

“You never told me about her, though,”
Cindy had no choice but launch into the discussion. “We’ve been talking about
getting married and building a family these past few weeks, and she never once came
up.”

“So?” Mattheus truly didn’t get
it.

“So what does that say about you?”
Cindy said. “It says that you’re hiding important parts of your life from me.
It makes me say how can I trust you?”

“Just trust me,” Mattheus
replied. “Just trust that I love you. I do. This happened before I ever knew
you.”

“And what else happened then?”
Cindy asked blatantly.

“Thousands of things happened,” Mattheus
replied. “Do you want me to make a complete record of them all? Do you want to
take a microscope and peer into every inch of my life?”

Mattheus was making Cindy feel
foolish, but she refused to take the bait. She had a right to know about his
daughter, just the way Tara had a right to call off her marriage to Lynch when
she found out the very same thing. The strange conversion of events between
them struck Cindy once again, as she grew more uneasy about Tara. Cindy needed to
know that she was alright.

“I have to know how Tara is doing
right now,” Cindy got up from her seat and paced back and forth along the
veranda. “We can talk about ourselves later. There’s no time for focusing on
our relationship now.”

Mattheus got up and began walking
beside Cindy. “It’s going to take a while until we find out about Tara,” he
said softly. “Who knows when it will be? These things take time; you know that.
And, plenty of cases go cold.”

“This case won’t go cold,
Mattheus, I feel it,” said Cindy, as his telephone suddenly rang.

Mattheus picked up quickly. “Yeah,”
he said, as his face grew stony. “Yeah, yeah,” his voice dropped an octave
then.

“What is it? What is it?” Cindy
tugged on his arm.

“Okay,” said Mattheus, shut his
phone and turned to her slowly. “You’re right, as usual,” he said slowly.

“Right about what? Tell me!”

              “They found Tara at
Ryder’s Cove,” Mattheus voice was dark and stilted.

“Oh thank heavens,” said Cindy, “that’s
where she went swimming.”

“No,” said Mattheus, “not thank
heavens. Tara was found tangled under the branches. She’s dead.”

The horrible and shocking news hit the island like a
tsunami.
Socialite found dead the night before her wedding,
the
headlines screamed. More police swarmed the hotel. Guests at the wedding were
detained from leaving.  Aldon collapsed in his hotel suite. His sister Olivia took
a room in his hotel to care for him during the ordeal.

“The case of the socialite bride who came down to St.
Martin for her wedding has quickly developed from a missing person’s case to a
homicide,” the TV news announced. “C and M Investigations have been brought on
board. These are two of the best, most widely known private detectives in the
Caribbean, Cindy and Mattheus.”

After the story broke Cindy and Mattheus received
endless calls from reporters for interviews.

“Nothing yet, Mattheus repeated over and over.  “As
soon as we have news, we’ll let you know.”         

The shock of the news mobilized them . Cindy and
Mattheus immediately established a center of operations in their hotel room.
First step was to create an overview of all that had to be done.

“We have to meet with police on the island as soon as
possible,” said Cindy.

“I’ve already set up an appointment,” Mattheus agreed.

“Good,” said Cindy. “I can check that off the list.”

“You’re going to have to tell me every single detail
of your visit with Tara to see Bala’s child,” Mattheus added.

“Absolutely,” Cindy agreed. The visit had oddly
slipped her mind. The memory of it now made her freeze, as her thoughts
naturally drifted to Bala’s brother Dawl.  Oh God, why had she taken that visit
so casually?  Dawl had been rude and unruly, even made a definite threat that
Cindy had overlooked. It never occurred to her that Tara was in danger, though.
 Cindy had truly believed that Tara would call off the wedding and leave on her
own. Her relationship with Bala and Dawl would then have ended naturally.

Mattheus sat quietly, pondering the items on their
list.  “I think it’s best for me to interview Raina alone first,” he said.  “You’re
a bit threatening to her. She’s comfortable with me.”

“Agreed,” said Cindy, “and how about Lynch?”

“We should speak to him together,” said Mattheus. “But
I hear he’s in no condition to talk to anyone at the moment. He’s still running
around on the beaches calling for Tara.”

“Gone off the deep end?” asked Cindy.

“In shock,” Mattheus replied. “They’re reining him in
now though, as we speak.”

“What a nightmare,” said Cindy.

Mattheus looked up at Cindy and rubbed his eyes. “You
knew there’d be trouble right away,” he commented. “I made light of it. I was
wrong.”

Cindy found Mattheus’s comment unsettling. It was not
like him.

“Not at all,” she replied, “there’s totally no reason
to blame yourself. I had no idea Tara would end up dead.”  Cindy’s voice
clenched in her throat as she said it. The shock of Tara’s death hit her in
waves and actually saying it out loud, suddenly made it real.

“I should have paid more attention to what you said,”
Mattheus was ruminating.

 “Mattheus, stop it,” Cindy wanted to snap him out of
it right away. Once they went down the road of self blame it was hard coming
back from it. It shook their confidence and clouded their perception of what
was going on right now. “There’s nothing to be gained from blaming yourself,”
Cindy added.

“Maybe I do though?” Mattheus answered, oddly.

“For what?” Cindy asked sharply.

“A young woman ended up dead,” Mattheus echoed, “who
could have foreseen it?”

“But, I was the one who said we should tell Tara’s
father what we found out,” Cindy insisted. “You didn’t want to. If we’d
listened to you -.”

“Nah, I was wrong. We had to,” said Mattheus.

“You can’t look back with what ifs?” Cindy insisted.

“Tara didn’t deserve to die,” Mattheus said sounding
heartbroken.

 “No one deserves to die,” said Cindy sadly. “That’s
why we do what we do, remember?”

*

It was definitely time to spring into action. Mattheus
called Raina then, put her on speaker phone, and asked if he could come by to
speak to her. To both Cindy and Mattheus’s surprise, Raina insisted upon Cindy
coming as well.

“I have nothing to hide,” Raina said, “you’re both on
the case so bring Cindy along.”

“You’re sure?” said Mattheus.

“Of course I’m sure,” said Raina. “Both of you come
and let’s get it over with.”

“Get it over with?” Cindy said to Mattheus, after he
hung up and they were getting ready to go speak to her. “That’s an odd way to
put it. Tara’s life is already over with. You’d think Raina would be focusing
on finding the killer, not getting an interview over with.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions, or the interview won’t go
anywhere,” said Mattheus, “Raina has plenty to tell us. Let’s keep an open mind
and give her a chance.”

As they walked out of their room, down the hall to
the elevator, Cindy realized that she had no desire to speak to Raina, or give
her a chance. “I don’t like Raina,”Cindy said as they stepped into the elevator
to leave the hotel.

“Whether you love her or hate her doesn’t matter a
damn,” Mattheus replied. “All that matters is that you keep your ears and eyes
open and hear everything she’s telling you.  That’s what you’re being paid to
do.”

Of course Cindy realized she was on a case and she
had every intention of doing her best. She always did and was proud of that
fact. She was also proud to be going to the interview with Mattheus, and able
to share the findings with him. In times of difficulty, Mattheus was
unshakeable, able to stand like a tree with roots that plunged hundreds of
miles into the earth. She loved that about him and she needed it.

*

When Cindy and Mattheus came to the door of Raina’s
suite, it was slightly ajar, so they could walk in right in without Raina
having to open the door for them.  Before they entered though, Mattheus knocked
 loudly, so as not to make an unannounced appearance.

““I’m here in the main room,” Raina called out. “Just
come in.”

They walked in and looked around. As Cindy might have
imagined Raina’s suite was on the top floor of the hotel, incredibly lavish,
with every amenity one could dream of. They walked into the main room and there
was Raina, on an opulent, blue velvet sofa, looking like a queen, about to
receive her subjects. She was dressed in a long skirt and lavender, silk kimono
blouse.

“Sit down,” Raina commanded as they entered, as if
she were holding court.

Cindy and Mattheus did as she requested and sat on
two velvet chairs, directly facing her.

“We are terribly sorry for your loss,” Cindy started,
taking Raina by surprise.

“Lynch’s loss,” Raina corrected her. “It’s a horrible
shock for him, he’s a mess.”

“And you too, of course,” Mattheus interjected. “This
can’t be easy for anyone.”

Raina looked over at Mattheus gratefully, and smiled.
“It’s lovely of you to think of me at a terrible time like this,” she remarked.
“Naturally, everyone’s totally only concerned with how this tragedy is affecting
Lynch.”

Again Cindy noted in passing how odd it seemed that
Raina didn’t seem concerned at all about Tara, only how her death affected
others.

Raina picked up the thread of the conversation then. “Needless
to say,” she started, “Tara was not a completely balanced young woman.”

Cindy took exception to that. “What exactly do you
mean?” To Cindy Tara seemed well balanced, centered and thoughtful. She wanted
to say that to Raina, but paused. It was important to find out what Raina
thought of her daughter in law to be.

“Well,” Raina threw her head back, “it’s common
knowledge that Tara drank too much, especially after her mother passed away.”

“Common knowledge to who?” asked Mattheus.

Raina frowned slightly. She didn’t like being confronted
by Mattheus. In her mind he was her ally.  “Ask any of Tara’s friends,” Raina quipped.
“Common knowledge is common knowledge.”

“Go on please,” said Cindy then, encouragingly.

“Well,” Raina crossed her legs, and continued. “Obviously,
Tara had been drinking down here more than she should have. She was nervous
about the upcoming wedding.”

“I’d heard Tara was delighted about marrying Lynch,”
said Cindy, trying to egg her on.

“Delighted, but also terribly nervous,” Raina
responded without hesitation. “These things go together, don’t they?”

“Of course they do,” said Mattheus.

Raina smiled again at him, pleased. “Well, “she went
on, “most likely Tara went for a swim alone right before the rehearsal dinner. The
tides were ferocious that night and she must have been slightly drunk. So she
was pushed up against the rocks, tossed about and drowned. The idea that
someone killed her is ridiculous. Of course the police love to jump to the
worst scenario. Makes for good headlines at least!”

“We heard that she and Lynch went swimming at Ryder’s
Cove together late that afternoon,” Cindy quickly interjected.  “Why would she
go back and swim alone?”

Raina briefly shivered. “I heard that too,” said
Raina, “but it doesn’t make a difference. Tara often did things over and over.
She loved to swim, it was a favorite pastime. Obviously, she was nervous and
before she got dressed for the dinner, went back to unwind again. She’s done
that before.”

“Done what?” asked Cindy.

“She’s gone back to swim very soon after she’s
already been in the water,” Raina replied. “In fact, I’d even asked her about
it. She said she enjoyed it, it calmed her down.”

This was news to Cindy and she made note of it. The
information would certainly be a support to Lynch.

“I’m sure that she drowned! Positive!” Raina
repeated.

“The body is with the medical examiner,” said Mattheus
softly. “We’ll see what he finds.”

Raina tossed it off. “What can he possibly find?” The
body was tossed in the ocean and smashed into rocks.”

“There’s a lot a body can tell,” Mattheus continued.

“She brought it on herself,” Raina continued,
undaunted. “How dare she go back and forth every minute about whether to go
through with the wedding? She was playing roulette with the lives and hearts of
many people involved. I told Lynch that earlier, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“She must have been in a lot of conflict,” Cindy suggested.

 “You can say that again,” Raina’s lips curled
together. “And I’m positive that her conflict started way before she learned
about Lynch’s son. It was convenient for her to blame it on the boy. It was an
easy way out, wasn’t it?”

Mattheus sat back in his chair and listened then,
while Cindy took the lead.

“Tara wanted to get out of the marriage before she
heard about Lynch’s son?” Cindy asked, jarred by the comment. This was the
first she’d heard anything of this.

“It had become a tug of war between Lynch and Tara
for a while,” Raina replied. “It got worse in the last few weeks and I noticed Lynch
looked worn around the edges. When I asked him about it he brushed it off, but
a mother knows these things. I just assumed Tara was making things hard on him,”
Raina’s lips pursed together.

“Why would she do that?” asked Cindy.

“You can’t ask why someone does something when they’re
unbalanced, can you? Little things get blown up out of all proportion and make
unbalanced people unstrung,” Raina flung back, “Any little thing even drives
them to drugs or drink.”

This was a dark and gloomy picture Raina was painting
of Tara that didn’t jibe with Cindy’s impressions at all. “I never saw her that
way,” Cindy remarked, hoping to prompt Raina on.

“Well, that doesn’t mean a thing, does it?” said
Raina. “You barely knew her at all. Clearly, she went for a swim alone down
near the Cove right before the dinner, got upset, and the rest is history. It’s
absurd that the police dare to call it a homicide before they’re absolutely
positive. In fact, I’m having lots of things investigated about Tara, right
now, as we speak. Someone in her past could even be involved in this, for all
we know.”

It seemed like Raina’s only concern was to keep up the
good name of the family and take Lynch off the hook, Cindy thought. What better
way to do it than by blaming the victim?

“How is Lynch doing?” Cindy asked then, trying to get
at things from a different angle.

Raina stopped talking and stared at Cindy hard. “How
do you expect him to be doing? He’s a wreck - still think she’s somewhere,
alive.”

Cindy wanted to tell Raina that was natural, that it
took time for a shock like this to sink in, but she stopped herself. She found
Raina’s defensiveness off putting, was still waiting to hear one word of
sympathy from her for Tara or her family.

“Lynch will calm down and come to his senses,” Raina
picked up the thread where she’d left off.  “But there’s going to be all kinds
of fall out.” Then she paused and straightened her back, as if to make a grand
announcement.  “Okay, this is why I wanted both of you here,” she paused
grandly. “I do not want a word about Lynch’s son leaked to the press. That
would be disaster for us all.” Suddenly she stood up and smoothed her skirt. “I’m
sure I can trust both of you in that, can I not?” Raina stopped and stared
directly at Cindy.

“Trust us in not letting the press know about Lynch’s
son?” Cindy asked carefully.

“Exactly,” said Raina firmly. “Not only the press. I
don’t want you telling anyone.”

Mattheus stood up then and went over to Raina. “We
certainly won’t give the information to the press,” he said quietly. “But, one
way or another, the police are going to find out about it.

It’s impossible for them not to.”

Raina’s bristled. “Why is it impossible? Who is going
to tell them?”