“How do we know it’s true?” he slammed his fist on the railing.
“Let’s go sit down on the bench over there and talk about it,” Cindy’s voice was soothing and steady, the way he remembered it when they’d first met. What a mess he’d made of everything. He’d no idea why she’d come down now to help, and wasn’t even sure he was glad she was here.
Mattheus let Cindy lead him to the bench anyway and sat down beside her. For a long while neither of them said a word. Suddenly, he thought that of Shelly living with someone else and felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. He doubled up in pain.
“Cops said she was living with some guy,” Mattheus repeated in a muted tone.
“Key Lime Pies, Key Lime Pies,” a vendor started to call.
“Shelly loved those damn Key Lime Pies,” Mattheus murmured.
“Seems like the police have done a lot of work. That can help us find whoever did it,” Cindy interrupted.
Mattheus knew Cindy was trying to bring order, calm the raging seas inside of him. But nothing she said could make him feel better. He looked at her as though she were crazy.
“Help us? How?” he said. “How do we even know it’s Shelly? Who identified the body?”
“That’s a good question,” said Cindy softly.
Guitar music was now starting up in the background, and people were singing along. The crowd that came down here was both mellow and quirky. Some seemed to just want to jive on the natural beauty. There were plenty of other kinds too, including streams of tattooed bikers, mixed in with the crowd.
Someone selling coral bracelets passed by, twirling one of them on his finger.
“What a scene, “said Cindy.
“It’s a carnival,” Mattheus said, “Shelly loved it, said it took all the pressure off.”
“Takes off certain pressures, and brings others,” said Cindy, as she suddenly sat bolt upright. “Oh my goodness, here comes Rodney and Alex! What are they doing here?”
Mattheus turned and looked over his shoulder swiftly. Rodney and Alex were walking steadily towards his bench.
“Looks like they’re hot on my trail,” said Mattheus. “Don’t lose any time, do they?
“They’re on Shelly’s trail,” Cindy corrected him.
“What’s the difference?” snapped Mattheus.
“The difference is Shelly’s dead and you’re alive,” Cindy exclaimed.
“Half alive,” said Mattheus.
“And you and Shelly have been apart for six years,” Cindy added.
“Get it,” said Mattheus, “so I should just take this all with a grain of salt?”
Rodney walked over to the bench deliberately and motioned for Mattheus to move over and make room for him.
“Figured we’d find you around here somewhere,” Rodney said.
The guy was being decent about it, but probably didn’t take too well to being run out on, Mattheus thought.
Mattheus got up a minute and made room for them.
Rodney sat down right close up to Mattheus.
“Look, I know this is tough,” Rodney started, “but we still have lots to talk about.”
Mattheus nodded. “Yeah, we do,” he said. “Sorry I just ran out, but the news hit me from out of left field. I was blind sighted.”
“Yeah, I know what a shock this must be,” said Rodney.
Mattheus was incredibly relieved. This was one thoughtful guy, rare to find someone like him these days.
Mattheus took a few deep breaths and pulled himself together. He was actually glad Rodney had come, he would help him put the pieces together. Mattheus decided to jump right in.
“So, my first question is, who identified the body?” Mattheus asked.
“Identifying her wasn’t a problem,” said Rodney. “Your wife had been living down here for several years. She had quite a few friends and also worked part time at the Shelter for abused women in town. Actually, her supervisor there, Victoria, made the identification.”
“She worked at a shelter for abused women?” Mattheus was surprised.
“Yeah, she was good at it,” said Rodney, “people seemed to like her a lot.”
“Shelly never worked in a shelter for abused women before.” Mattheus said. “She was trained as a counselor though, had the skills. She worked other places.”
“Tell me more,” said Rodney.
But Mattheus felt his mind close down. The truth was he had no idea about anything that happened in Shelly’s life these past years. The thought floored him.
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Mattheus froze. “You tell me what else you found. Let me have it, I can take it now.”
“There were signs of a struggle,” Rodney spoke slowly. “Shelly was strangled.”
Mattheus gasped.
“Look, I’m sorry, I know this isn’t easy,” Rodney repeated.
Despite himself, sobs began to rack Mattheus’s body. “Why?” he asked, “why did it happen?”
Rodney put his hand on Mattheus’s shoulder. “Listen, we have someone in custody. The guy she was living with, Anthony.”