“He died on our honeymoon,” Cindy continued.
All of them fell silent.
“I’m so sorry, Cindy,” Wynn said then, her face flushing. “Really, that’s awful.”
Cindy moved away from them and looked over her shoulder for a moment. To her surprise she saw two of the gendarmes, Marc and Tomas, standing outside the boutique, looking in. They were watching her closely.
Cindy nodded to them in recognition. Neither of them nodded back. Instead, one of them, Marc, came into the shop and walked over to her.
“Hello,” said Cindy.
He did not respond, simply stood close besides her. Cindy started to sweat.
“What’s going on?” Alma whispered, nervous.
“I’m not sure,” Cindy said.
Rori went to the front desk quickly to check out.
Cindy turned and looked directly at Marc, who refused to meet her glance.
“Is something wrong?” she asked finally.
Again he said nothing, just stood there silently.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Wynn.
Alma rushed over to Rori and the moment Rori finished checking out, the two of them went to the door.
Rori waved, “We’re going back to the boat,” she called.
“I’ll meet up with you later,” Wynn called back, staying close beside Cindy.
“Let’s get out of here and get a bite to eat,” Cindy said to Wynn.
The two of them turned away from Marc, went out onto the street, and walked south towards a popular café for lunch.
CHAPTER 11
The café Cindy and Wynn went to for lunch had wicker tables, benches, homemade croissants, finger sandwiches, salads and delicious French gourmet pastries. They sat at a table in the back. Suddenly ravenous, Cindy ordered a big meal and when it arrived, ate every bite of the food that was brought to her. It calmed her down and helped her shake off fear that had gripped her at the sight of Tomas and Marc and all the other unknowns that were piling up.
Wynn sat quietly, sipping a cup of Cappuccino.
After she’d eaten, Cindy took a long look at Wynn. She was extremely different from Rori, much steadier, poised and considerate. Cindy liked Wynn, respected her. It was easy to see how hard Wynn tried to hold her family together, keep things from falling apart. What had happened to Tiffany was way beyond her, though. She needed help and seemed to know it. Wynn seemed to be very grateful to have Cindy at her side.
“You’ve got quite a sister there,” Cindy said, after she finished eating. “Rori’s a handful.”
“Rori means well,” Wynn defended her automatically. “She’s just incredibly self-involved, always got what she wanted when she wanted it.”
“Not nice,” said Cindy. “Must have been hard on Tiffany.”
“Tiffany took it in her stride,” said Wynn. “Rori never got to her, really. Tiffany was our dad’s favorite and that made up for a lot of things. If you ask me, right now, Rori’s in shock. We all are. It’s natural.”
Wynn reached for her Cappuccino.
“Yes, it is,” said Cindy.
“Why were the gendarmes following you?” Wynn asked then, nervous.
“I’m not sure,” said Cindy. “They may not be thrilled to have us here on the island poking around. Private detectives can be a thorn in their sides. And they’re trying to keep things quiet.”
“I know,” said Wynn, “it’s driving my dad nuts.”
“How is he doing?” Cindy asked.
“You never know the answer to that question,” said Wynn. “My dad always puts up a good front. Tries to be strong for his family.”
“He’s close to all of you?”
“His kids are his whole life,” said Wynn, “Believe me, my father won’t rest until the killer’s tracked down. He’s actually made calls to the States about it. Getting more help lined up. The jokers on this island aren’t going to get away with anything.”
Cindy wondered who he was contacting and how much Wynn knew about Petrovich and her father’s relationship with him.
“What do you think about the murder, Wynn?”
Wynn dove down into her Cappuccino again, not saying anything. Cindy felt she was holding something back.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Cindy said quietly.
“It’s killing all of us,” Wynn said finally, “especially our mom.”
“You’re very worried about your mother?” Cindy probed again.
“No, I’m not,” Wynn answered abruptly. “She goes through spells of craziness for less reasons than this. We’re used to it. The whole family.”
“Your father’s used to it, too?”
“Especially him.”
“How does he handle it?” Cindy suddenly wondered if there might be someone else in the Senator’s life, someone who might have resented Tiffany.
“He handles it by working,” said Wynn.
“I mean does he have another woman?”
Wynn teared up for a moment. “That’s a weird thing to ask his daughter,” she said.
“I’m sorry to have to ask it,” said Cindy, “but there’s a web we have to break through here. You never know where the weak link might be.”