Mattheus looked down at ground, horrified.
Clearly Rodney was trying to rattle him up, get him to spill something that would help close the case. Cindy wanted to go over and put her arms around Mattheus, but knew she couldn’t now.
They all looked down at the spot where Shelly’s body had been found. The place was clear now, water running over it lightly, no sign left that a life had been lost right here. The running water washed everything away.
“Was she killed here, or found here?” Mattheus asked, his voice was garbled.
“That’s still an open question,” said Rodney. “There’s no direct evidence of where it happened. We’re just sure of the time.”
“No DNA, fingerprints, anything?” Mattheus managed.
Cindy could hear him forcing himself to get a grip, turn back into a detective.
“No direct evidence,” Rodney answered, “only circumstantial. That’s why the case isn’t closed. Whoever did it knew what they were doing. It wasn’t impulsive. They prepared carefully. My guess is they were waiting to do this for a long time."
Mattheus’s fist clenched tight. All the years he’d spent hunting down the killer had to be coming back to him now, the hate, the helplessness, the obsession with finding him, with staring him down.
“I want to grill the guy you have in custody, now!” Mattheus’s body was in a knot.
“You will,” said Rodney, “in a little while.”
Rodney sat down on the reef and the rest of them did the same. The sultry evening air drifted around all of them. It felt like a warm blanket, to Cindy, holding them all in its arms.
“Tell me more about your wife,” Rodney said slowly.
“She was a beautiful woman,” Mattheus said mournfully, looking out into the sea. “Smart as hell, graduated first in her class in college, loved to snorkel and dance.” He spoke slowly, savoring each detail.
“You guys went dancing together a lot?” Rodney picked up on that.
In the dim light, Cindy saw Mattheus smile, probably remembering wonderful moments he and Shelly had shared.
“Sometimes,” said Mattheus, “not too much though. I was a busy guy, ran my own company - court reporting. We were growing fast.”
“So I heard,” said Rodney.
“Yeah, I liked it,” said Mattheus. “Had a bunch of people working for me when she disappeared. Times were good. We didn’t have any problems.”
All couples have some problems, thought Cindy. Something had to have been wrong. She wondered if Mattheus really thought that everything was as perfect as he was making it seem.
“We’d just bought a house,” Mattheus went on. “Shelly loved fixing it up.”
“Did she work?” asked Rodney.
“Part time, as a counselor for runaway kids who’d been found and returned home. It was a great job for her. She loved the kids. They loved her.”
“You guys were planning to have a family of your own?” Rodney asked.
“Yeah, of course we were,” said Mattheus. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“Don’t know,” said Rodney, “not sure. Just want to keep looking for something to pop out at me.”
Mattheus made a movement to stand up then. “Nothing’s gonna pop out,” he said. “I haven’t got the faintest idea of why she went missing. There was no reason for it. She could have been drugged and kidnapped and afraid to let me know.”
“That’s a strange theory,” said Rodney.
“What else could it be?” Mattheus sounded forlorn.
“Why would she be afraid to let you know?” Rodney pressed further.
“No reason,” said Mattheus, his voice dipping into gloom. “Shelly always wanted me to think the best of her, was very sensitive about that.”
“And did you?” asked Rodney.
“Of course I did. I told her that over and over. Sometimes she believed me, sometimes she did not.”
“Why didn’t? Were you rough on her?" Rodney wasn’t letting up.
“Never,” said Mattheus, “give me a break! We had a great relationship, you can ask anyone who knew us. It’s all on record. The police up in New Orleans investigated this back and forth. They interviewed everyone we knew. Everyone told them we were the ideal couple. They loved being with us.”
“So, infidelity was never suspected?” Rodney looked Mattheus straight in the eye. “You never thought she played around with anyone else?”
“Never!” Mattheus’s voice got louder.
“It’s not so unusual,” Rodney spoke very calmly.
“I never thought it!” Mattheus refused to even entertain the possibility. “I told you we were happy. She was beautiful, we were satisfied. Why would either of us need anyone else?”
Cindy felt a swift pang in her heart. His feelings for her were still so intense. She could never have filled the place Shelly held for Mattheus. It was good that Cindy had left when she did.
“What did you end up believing about your wife’s disappearance?” Rodney finally asked.