“I came down for a reason,” Cindy replied. “Dalia said time was of the essence.”
“You’ve seen the police reports?” Mattheus asked.
“Yes, but I want to hear about it from you.”
Mattheus liked that. “Smart.”
“Show her the island,” Sand chimed in. “Let her see where they found the boat drifting. Give her a feeling of what’s going on. ”
“You plan to talk to other people too?” asked Mattheus.
“After I’ve talked to you,” said Cindy. “I was hoping we’d all work together on this.”
Mattheus smirked. “We’ve done all we can do for now. Of course, if you come up with something fantastic--. ”
Cindy found it tiring being with both of them, as if she were constantly hitting up against a wall. Clearly, they felt irritated by her presence, as if it cast doubt on them. It didn’t look as if they were about to offer information on their own. Cindy felt shut out.
“I’m sure you’ve done everything,” Cindy said calmly.
“We’ve been working on this night and day,” Mattheus said. “Yeah, I’ll take you around, show you the island, let you know what we’re doing and what we’ve come up with. The police chief said to do it. So, I will. ”
“Thank you,” said Cindy, irritated by his imperious attitude.
Mattheus looked up at her then and smiled a tiny smile, “Hey, it’s nothing personal,” he said quietly. “We all just got our jobs to do.”
*
Mattheus and Cindy left the police station together. She got into his car, sat as far away from him as possible, and looked out the window, as he started to drive.
“I’ll take you to the waterfall first,” Mattheus said as he pulled away. “It’s right near the place where Ames’ boat was found.”
“Good,” said Cindy, “I’d like to see it.” Cindy had always loved waterfalls. “The boat was the only piece of evidence?” she went on.
He turned his head and looked at her then, the first time since they’d gotten into the car. “I wouldn’t exactly call it evidence,” he said. “What’s it evidence of? Nothing that would hold up in court. ”
Enough was enough. She took a deep breath. “Listen, I’m not the enemy here,” she said.
Mattheus smiled then, and flipped the radio on. “Sorry.”
A calypso song came on, easing the tension between them. “We’re all frustrated by this. It’s been a hard few weeks,” he said. “And we all knew and loved the guy. He wasn’t a stranger to any of us. ”
“I’m sorry,” said Cindy. “I’m sure it’s been awful.” She remembered the horror of the early days after Clint disappeared.
He turned his attention back to the road that sprawled out in front of them, weaving through trees, around hills, along the water and lagoons.
When they weren’t talking, it was an incredibly peaceful and beautiful drive. Cindy breathed the warm, salty air deeply and closed her eyes for a second to let the soothing air wash over her.
“Ames was a great guy,” Mattheus said then, loosening up a little and breaking the stiffness between them.
“Was a great guy. You’re sure he’s dead? ”
“After twenty one days, it’s hard to think anything else,” said Mattheus, unwinding as he spoke. “Listen, we’re all bummed that we haven’t gotten any more leads. Don’t think we haven’t tried. We’ve busted our chops. ”
“I’m sure of it,” Cindy said warmly, looking over, and seeing the upset on his face.
“I have my theories, of course,” he said, as they pulled up to a huge turn in the road, then down a valley to the edge of a gigantic, magnificent waterfall, surrounded by rocks and wild flowers. But then the sound of the roaring water enveloped them completely. It was hard to hear anything they said.
“This is fantastic,” Cindy called out above the roar.
Mattheus laughed. “Thought you’d like it. Visitors are always awed by this spot. ”
“Come on,” he said, “let’s walk around the edge of the fall. We searched this spot for days on end. Lots of people thought that either his body or his things would float up here. It didn’t happen”.
Cindy and Mattheus got out of the car and walked carefully along the rim of the waterfall. The sound of the falls grew louder and deeper as warm, salty water sprayed their faces. They circled along the edge until they found a wooden landing to sit on. Then Mattheus extended his hand for a second to pull Cindy up. She took his hand to help balance her.
Once on the landing, it was quieter and easier to talk.
“It’s really beautiful here,” breathed Cindy.
Mattheus looked down into the falls. “Ames loved it. He came here all the time, even before his first marriage to Elizabeth. ”
Cindy was interested to hear something new. “You knew him a long time?”
“Yeah, very long,” Mattheus said, “since I moved here about eight years ago.”