Cindy’s body got cold.
“You’re never going to find the killer if you don’t know what you’re up against,” Rori said defiantly. “I decided someone’s got to tell the truth. If they don’t it’s gonna get pinned on Frances, and I couldn’t stand that. He doesn’t deserve a life in jail! Even though a lot of people might want him there.”
“Who?” asked Cindy, alerted.
Rori’s face had a strange wildness about it. “There are plenty of people who would breathe easier if the case was closed. Then all kinds of dirt won’t get dredged up and this island can still look like a paradise. Tourists will feel safe, money keep flowing, new homes and casinos built. My mother always says let sleeping dogs lie. I say it’s time to wake up all the sleeping dogs and let them howl. One of them killed Tiffany. Let them howl so we can find out who!”
Cindy was inspired by Rori’s spirit.
“Who else knows Tiffany was an addict?” Cindy needed confirmation.
“Probably Frances, I’m not sure. But I saw her sniffing cocaine all the time.”
“That must be pretty common down here,” Cindy said.
“But recently Tiffany graduated to heroine. I’m sick of the whole family thinking she was a goody goody and I was the rotten one. When the truth comes out it will be better for everyone.”
“How recently did Tiffany graduate to heroine?” asked Cindy.
“A couple of months ago,” said Rori. “I told her she was playing with fire. She told me to mind my own damn business. It was her life and she’d do with it what she wanted. It wasn’t her life for long, though.”
“The two of you fought?” Cindy insisted.
“We didn’t fight. We said it like it was.”
“Did Tad know about her addiction?”
“Who the hell knows, or cares?” said Rori. “If you ask me, Tad lives in a world of his own. He never really knew much about Tiffany, just imagined he did. He liked to wear her on his arm, like an expensive Rolex. Believe me, Tad was never important to her.”
“She was important to him though,” said Cindy.
“Who knows?” Rori was growing impatient. “No one ever really got to know Tad. None of our friends much liked him, either. They just put up with him for Tiffany’s sake.”
“Did anyone besides Jimmy Bolton see Tad scuba diving that afternoon?” asked Cindy, “anyone at all?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” said Rori. “I told you Tad’s unimportant. The one you should be really talking to is the pusher who sold Tiffany her drugs. He knew her better than Tad did. He could help you find the killer.”
Rori took out a piece of paper and wrote the name and address of the pusher down.
A huge, bitter wave blew in from the ocean, as a cluster of birds flew out of the trees, cawing loudly and flying together, as they made a zig zag path across the sky.
“Go see the pusher as soon as you can,” Rori repeated. “Then let me know what he says. Get ready, you’ll get a whole lot more from him than you’ve bargained for.”
*
When Cindy got back to the hotel, Mattheus was sitting and waiting in her room. She was momentarily stunned to see him there.
“I see we’re playing a game of cat and mouse,” he said as she walked into the room.
Cindy didn’t realize she’d left the door open.
“Where have you been?” he continued.
“I went to speak to Rori,” Cindy said in the most professional tone she could muster, not looking at him at all.
“On Christmas Day?” he asked.
“Rori called. She wanted to get off the boat and meet with me,” Cindy remarked, incredibly careful not to talk about anything but business. “In fact, Rori told me that Tiffany was a drug addict, and gave me the name of her pusher.”
Mattheus sat up upright in his chair. “You mention this so casually?”
“And, that’s not all,” Cindy was on a mini roll. “When I was waiting for the cab to go home last night, Sanchez Hanuah, a cop from Guadeloupe approached me. He said we’d better get off the case and leave the island as soon as we could. Seems our messing around is causing deeper problems. Law enforcement may be called in now from everywhere.”
Mattheus turned and faced Cindy.
“And how long were you going to wait to tell me this?” he said.
Cindy felt her face go ashen, looking directly at him.
“I planned to tell you today,” she said lightly.
“And you just decided on your own to rush off and see Rori, after a warning like that from Hanuah?”
“Time is of the essence,” Cindy said archly. “We don’t have much time here. I didn’t want to lose a second. I don’t feel that Frances did it. And, we both know the medical examiner isn’t coming up with anything real.”
“They can pin it on him anyway,” said Mattheus. “Things like this happen all the time.”
“Not when I’m on a case,” said Cindy.
“When you’re called?” asked Mattheus. “How about me? You’re doing this alone now?”