Cindy smiled, relieved to be understood.
“Okay, you’ll fill me in on everything in the morning,” said Mattheus. “We’ll get going then. At least for tonight, you can rest.”
“Just having you here, I can rest,” Cindy murmured. “It gives me great ease of heart.”
Mattheus’s eyes teared for a moment. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I was starting to wonder – “, and he paused.”
“If we’d ever see each other again?” Cindy filled in.
“Yeah, something like that,” he said quietly.
“Me, too,” Cindy murmured, moving closer. “I didn’t know -.”
“Well, no more wondering now,” Mattheus murmured, as he got closer and pulled Cindy into his strong arms.
*
First thing the next morning, Trage called and told Cindy they heard that Mattheus had arrived and were looking forward to meeting him. Pleased by that, Mattheus decided to go meet Trage alone.
“Stay at the hotel, have a slow breakfast,” Mattheus said to Cindy. “I’ll go down to the station and he’ll fill me in. Then we can decide what to do next.”
“Be back by noon, please,” Cindy said in response.
“Why noon?” Mattheus seemed surprised.
“My mom’s planning a memorial for my sister at one o’clock today on the beach.”
“A memorial?” Mattheus looked startled.
“It’s her way of dealing with Ann’s death,” Cindy replied. “I know it sounds crazy.”
“Not crazy, but strange,” Mattheus seemed interested.
“Will you come with me?” Cindy asked quietly, dreading going alone.
“Of course I will,” Mattheus answered promptly. “Why do you even ask? I’ve wanted to meet your family for a long time.”
“But not this way,” Cindy replied.
“No, not like this,” Mattheus agreed, “but I’ll be with you every step of the way. There’s no way you’re going alone.”
*
Cindy tried to spend the morning resting while waiting for Mattheus to return. It was impossible to keep her mind from racing though. Scene upon scene of her life with Ann, played out before her. She knew she had to look at Ann’s email and Facebook pages, though the thought of it was painful to her. Ann had even once told Cindy her email password, and Cindy never forgot it - Sunshine10. Ann had laughed and said she chose it because she loved the sunshine. Cindy had laughed with her and told Ann that her email password was Rainforest.
“Rain and sun, both needed,” Ann had quipped. Those had been happy times, light and breezy.
Before Mattheus arrived, it had been impossible for Cindy to look at Ann’s emails, but she was almost ready to now. The police had probably done it already, but there were so many things they could miss that would strike Cindy, she couldn’t avoid it much longer.
Just as Cindy was about to delve into Ann’s email account, her phone rang. Cindy leaned over and picked up.
“You’re getting ready for the memorial aren’t you?” her mother spoke fitfully. “You’re definitely coming?”
“Of course I’m coming,” Cindy replied. “I’ll meet you down in the lobby at twelve thirty as planned.”
“Make sure you say something important about Ann,” her mother quickly added. “Take time to prepare it.”
It felt like a huge rock just landed on Cindy’s heart. “I thought I’d just say whatever came to mind,” she responded.
“No, that’s not good enough,” her mother replied quickly. “Ann deserves better. She deserves your praise. She loved you, Cindy, think it over carefully.”
“Alright, I will,” Cindy acquiesced. “And, I’ll be down in the lobby as soon as Mattheus returns from the police station. We’ll be there together, ready to go.”
A stony silence greeted Cindy. “Mattheus, your partner?” her mother finally managed to ask.
“Yes, he’s here, I thought I’d told you he was coming, “Cindy replied.
“No, you hadn’t,” her mother exclaimed. “You never gave me the courtesy of telling me you were bringing him to the memorial, either. Did he even know Ann?”
“Yes, they met,” Cindy replied.
“I don’t recall issuing him an invitation,” her mother went on.
“Mom, cut it out,” Cindy’s voice grew rougher.
“I suppose we have no choice but include him too?” her mother relented.
“No choice at all,” said Cindy. “Mattheus has come all the way here to help us out. He needs to be there and you need to meet him.”
*
Mattheus returned from the police station around ten after twelve, looking fortified.
“I like Trage a lot,” he said as he walked into Cindy’s room. “Looks like we’re on the same page. That’s something, at least.”
Cindy was relieved to hear that. “I began to wonder a little about him,” she said, looking over at Mattheus. “When I interviewed one guy, Alain, he said there were all kinds of cover ups going on here.”