“Why do you have doubts now?” Mattheus was interested. “We haven’t even begun to meet most of the players involved.”
“I don’t know,” Cindy wondered herself. She was put off by Eric Holder, the Chief of Police, didn’t like the fact that he’d described Owen as a con man, had been brooding about that. Cindy also had a strange feeling about the hospital, which was unlike any other hospital she’d ever been in. “It seems like we’ve landed in a strange territory here, with layer upon layer of camouflage.”
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” Mattheus remarked.
“I don’t feel grounded yet,” Cindy continued.
“Could that have anything to do with what you’ve just been through?” Mattheus seemed concerned. “Could it be too soon for you to be taking on another case?”
“You mean right after losing Ann?” asked Cindy.
“You haven’t had any time to absorb your sister’s death yet,” Mattheus continued. “You haven’t even spoken to me about her, either. You can’t just shut it all out. I’ve been concerned about it.”
“I know,” said Cindy sadly. “But maybe the best way for me to absorb Ann’s death, is to go back to work, deal with what’s in front of me now. What good will it do to dwell on the horror Ann went through, or painful memories?”
“Not dwelling on them won’t make the memories go away,” Mattheus replied. “They’ll keep living right under the surface until you face them one day.”
“Maybe they will and maybe not,” Cindy remarked. “Maybe Ann is with me right now, guiding me along. Maybe she’ll always be with me, and I can just rest in that.”
Mattheus ran his hand over Cindy’s hair gently. “Does it comfort you to think that way?” he asked.
Mattheus’s comment made Cindy uneasy. “It’s not just a matter of whether it comforts me,” she replied. “It’s a matter of whether or not it’s true.”
“How will you ever know if it’s true?” Mattheus asked.
“I’ll know it,” Cindy smiled slightly then. “I’ll know it the same way I know it when I suddenly realize who the killer really is in a case. The truth becomes clear all by itself. It will be that way with Ann, too. I’ll know and won’t have any doubts. It will free me from all the pain.”
Mattheus looked startled. “Wait a minute,” he said, “what do you mean the truth becomes clear all by itself? It becomes clear after we do hours of leg work, interviews, research. We look at the facts and then we come to a conclusion.”
Cindy saw the worried look in Mattheus’s eyes. Clearly, he cared deeply about her, didn’t want her getting lost in a fantasy or going off on a tangent. But this wasn’t a fantasy and Cindy knew it.
“Don’t worry about me, Mattheus,” she said. “Everything is not always a matter of gathering facts. I’ll know for sure if Ann is here with me.”
“Cindy,” Mattheus was becoming alarmed, “Ann is gone, she was killed. It’s a tragedy for you, a horrible loss, but you have to face that.”
Once again Cindy looked into Mattheus’s beautiful eyes. “But how is it possible that Ann could be gone forever? It doesn’t make sense,” Cindy replied.
Mattheus put his arm around Cindy gently as the taxi pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel.
“Things don’t always make sense,” he said softly, “but one thing does. I love you Cindy and always will, that’s for sure. You can always count on that.”
*
The cab stopped and Cindy and Mattheus got out. Instead of going up to their room, they wandered slowly hand in hand along the beautiful grounds of the hotel. There were winding paths, pools, tennis courts, and a sprawling golf course far behind. Two world class restaurants were situated on each side of the hotel. There was also an open café near the water for light dining.
Cindy and Mattheus chose the open café near the water, took seats at a table in front, ordered salads and fried salmon. Then they finally put their heads together to work on the case. Once they made a plan of attack, then they could think about going for the moonlight swim.
“I’d say we have to take everything Owen tells us with a grain of salt,” Mattheus started, surprising Cindy.
“Really?” Cindy replied. “I like him very much. I believed everything he said.”
“Like him or not is not the issue. We’ve got to look further into his background,” said Mattheus. “I’ll take that on.”
“We can both do it,” said Cindy, eager to learn more about Owen as well.
“There’s plenty of other things to look into,” Mattheus replied. “Eric Holder was right. Owen is charismatic, weaves a spell. In fact, I think he actually swayed you. It’s a better idea for you to focus on other leads.”
Mattheus picked up that Owen had touched Cindy. She’d left the interview completely prepared to fight for his innocence. Obviously, Mattheus didn’t feel that way.
“Owen doesn’t have the flavor of a guilty man,” Cindy went on. “I can see why it’s convenient for Eric Holder to position him that way, though.”
“What flavor does a guilty man have?” Mattheus looked at Cindy, irked.
“I believe Owen completely,” Cindy repeated.
“I know you do,” said Mattheus. “But the fact that you’ve jumped to that conclusion so quickly isn’t good, it bothers me. We have to check him out further.”
Cindy grimaced.
“We also have to speak to Alana, Tara’s nurse, look into Tara’s family, “Mattheus went on. “Let’s find out more about Tara and Owen’s marriage, too. He could say they were happy, but how many couples are as happy as he claims after twenty years? That struck me as odd.”
Cindy didn’t like that. “I hope to be as happy as that someday after twenty years of marriage,” she retorted.
“I’m speaking in generalities,” Mattheus defended himself. “Of course you’ll be that happy. You’re different.”
“What’s so different about me?” Cindy looked at Mattheus. Was it actually possible for a love like Owen described to go on for twenty years, she wondered. Did Mattheus believe it was possible?
Mattheus needed to change the topic, though. “I also want to check Owen’s general background and investigate the hospital and its administration,” he went on.
Cindy wasn’t going to make a battle out of this. As usual, Mattheus was just being incredibly thorough, wouldn’t come to a conclusion without considering every possibility that stretched out before him.
“Okay, let’s make a list of who does what when,” Cindy was back to her old self. “At least you’re not claiming Owen’s some kind of con man.”
“Of course, I’m not,” said Mattheus. “But I am wondering why you feel so called upon to defend him?”
“A gut instinct,” said Cindy quickly. “I don’t think he killed his wife.”
“Maybe it’s because both of you so recently sustained a loss and you identify with what he’s going through?” Mattheus commented.
That comment stung Cindy. Mattheus was sharp and to the point. He had an uncanny ability to understand the deeper motives behind a person’s actions.
“Maybe so,” Cindy murmured, “but that still doesn’t mean he’s guilty, does it?”
“Of course not,” said Mattheus.
“Look how everyone suspected Ann’s husband of killing her, and it wasn’t him at all,” Cindy flashed on the odd connection between Ann’s death and the case she was working on now.
“Right,” said Mattheus softly. “And, you’re blending the two cases in your mind. This is a new case we’re on now, Cindy. Ann’s husband was innocent and has been freed. We’re not yet sure about Owen.”
Cindy felt a huge wave of sadness overwhelm her then. Frank was free, Ann was gone, and here she was now in a totally different island, working on a completely new case. But the similarities between the two cases still struck her deeply. Not only between these two cases, but all cases she worked on. There was always the search for truth and justice that couldn’t let either her or Mattheus rest until they found real answers. Was it going to go on like this forever? Would the search ever end?