“No, I’m not back with him. We’re working a case.”
“That’s back with him,” Ann breathed. “Now I see why you didn’t take my calls. Don’t lie to yourself! When you picked up the phone you thought I was Mattheus, right?”
“Yes, I did think it was Mattheus,” said Cindy, unabashedly.
“How could you disrespect yourself this way?” Ann’s voice rose an octave. “How could you let someone treat you poorly, then run back the minute he calls?”
“It’s not like you think, “Cindy insisted. “It’s pure business. I had no choice, I had to come down here and help him.”
“There’s always a choice,” Ann proclaimed.
“Ann,” Cindy blurted out loudly, “it was Mattheus’s wife who found dead!”
Ann gasped, “His wife? Found dead?”
A terrible silence hung between them.
Cindy caught her breath and continued to talk, “His former wife. She disappeared from their home in New Orleans six years ago. He searched for her for years. The body finally turned up last week.”
Ann could barely speak, “his wife, missing? Now dead in Key West?”
“Yes, she was killed down here a week ago.”
“Cindy, Cindy,” Ann screamed, “none of this adds up! You’re telling me this woman disappeared six years ago and was just killed? He lied to you! He was married all along. They split up and she went to Key West. It’s a story he made up that she disappeared.”
Chills ran throughout Cindy’s entire body. “The disappearance was a matter of record,” she said between gritted teeth.
“Step back, face it,” Ann was on a roll. “You never had any luck with guys. Before you met Clint you always attracted weird types, losers, you couldn’t sort anything out.”
Cindy shuddered. That was a long time ago, she felt quite different now.
“Mattheus’s case has nothing to do with you,” Ann was emphatic. “You don’t really know the man, you have no idea what his life was like. You don’t know why she ran away from him, if she did. For all you know he was involved with her death now.”
“That’s horrible, Ann,” Cindy uttered.
“You could be some kind of cover for him -walking into a living hell. This isn’t just a business relationship. Face reality, Cindy, the two of you were about to move in together in Grenada.”
“I am facing reality,” Cindy shot back. “That’s exactly what I’m doing down here, facing reality, searching for truth, finding it, helping others. My relationship with Mattheus is a professional one.”
“And you said you were taking time to unwind, start your life all over again,” Ann lamented.
Cindy had said that, but it was also true that she was happy being back down here with Mattheus again. She liked working cases, was good at it too! And, like it or not, there was a powerful connection between them. Not so easy to let go.
“Can I trust your word?” Ann said, her voice brittle.
“Of course you can,” said Cindy. “But you’re jumping to conclusions. I never gave you my word that I’d never see Mattheus again, or give up being a detective. I just said I needed time to unwind and get perspective.”
Ann breathed heavily. “Do you want me to come down and join you? I can be a great support when things get rocky.”
Ann meant the best, but it was out of the question. “Of course not,” Cindy said. “There’s no reason for it. I’m down here on a case.”
“Right,” said Ann. “I get the picture. “So, just give me a call when you have nothing else better to do!” Then she slammed down the phone.
Cindy felt agitated and misunderstood. Ann could jump to conclusions and when she did, it always hurt. Cindy thought for a moment about calling her back, but decided against it. Right now time was passing and she was due at the Shelter in a little while to learn all she could about Shelly and who might have been responsible for her awful death.
CHAPTER 11
The Shelter for Abused Women was about a mile down a long road that wound through the edge of town. It had no address and was hard to find, so as to keep the residents safe. Their abusers couldn’t find them here, and neither could anyone else. Cindy took a cab that wound along a highway that stretched alone the water’s edge. They got off the highway and then turned through narrow streets that were bordered by huge, overgrown trees.
When the taxi finally found the place, Cindy stepped out of the cab and looked around. The Shelter was housed in a modern, open building, with a low, slanting roof, big courtyard and lovely garden in the back. To her surprise the atmosphere was completely normal, as if there weren’t women and children, living together, hiding from danger inside.