“Did rotten Elizabeth say something nasty about me or Nina? It’s par for the course. Don’t believe it. She jealous of everything about me, has to take everything down. ”
They went into the living room and Cindy sat across from Dalia on the lovely, printed upholstered loveseats that were in a corner, under trellised windows.
There was no way she could let her Dalia down, especially after the doubt that had been planted in her mind about Ames. How awful it would be if it were true. The idea of mentioning it to Dalia was painful to Cindy.
Cindy sipped her coffee slowly. “Do you really love living here?” she said.
“Of course I love it,” said Dalia, “I told you that. From the minute I got here. Have you ever been to a more beautiful place? ”
Cindy had to admit that she hadn’t.
“Once you get used to living here, no other place in the world will do.”
“You’re right, it’s beautiful,” Cindy repeated. “More beautiful than I could have ever imagined.” But deep down, she was beginning to sense the other side of the island, the shadiness of the people and the lives they lived. There was heartlessness about it.
“Don’t let that bitch sour you on the island,” Dalia said. “Tell me what she told you.” And she crossed her arms and leaned back, focusing intently on what Cindy said.
Cindy knew it was part of the arrangement that she would report to Dalia whatever she learned from each interview. But right now, she didn’t want to. There was no reason to stir the flames and upset Dalia even more. There was no way she was going to tell her what Elizabeth had said about Ames.
“She talked about what a good father Ames is,” Cindy started, “and about her marriage to him.”
“What did she say?” Elizabeth grew more nervous.
“She said it was good, that they’d been happy.”
“Of course she would say that. What do you expect? She covers her trail wherever she goes. ” Dalia’s lips were pressed together. “Tell me more.”
Cindy took a deep breath. “She’s dating.”
Dalia made an odd sound. “That’s no news,” she said, “except I’m not exactly sure I would call it dating: She’s a nympho, everyone in town knows that.”
Cindy was taken aback. “Really?”
“It’s popular knowledge. Tries to get her hands on every guy in town. ”
That would explain what she’d said about Mattheus, Cindy thought.
“Yes,” Cindy said, “she mentioned Mattheus wasn’t available.”
At that Dalia grinned. “She probably tried to get him to bed, too. He’s got better sense than that. He’s a decent guy. People here respect him. He keeps to himself. He has character. ”
Cindy was glad to finally hear that someone was decent.
“Tell me more,” Dalia probed.
Cindy wondered exactly what she was digging for.
“Did she talk about her finances now?” Dalia finally asked.
“She said Ames left her well set,” said Cindy. “There’s no financial motive there. And she also said that you were quite rich, that you’d given Ames quite a bit of money yourself. ”
Dalia turned pale at that. “How did she know that?”
“Seems like Ames told her?” Cindy said.
Dalia stood up abruptly, upset. Obviously, she had not known that Ames told Elizabeth that.
“That was private,” Dalia said then, in a piercing voice, her back to Cindy. “I had no idea Ames told her that.”
“Maybe someone else did?” said Cindy.
“No, Ames was the only one who knew.” Then she stomped her foot on the floor. “How dare he tell her that?”
Cindy swallowed hard. That was the least of it, she thought. How would Dalia handle the rest of the stuff Elizabeth had said about him? It would crush her.
Cindy suddenly remembered back to the days in high school when Dalia would go over her situation with guys, devastated, asking Cindy over and over why things had gone wrong? What happened? Cindy never had an answer then, and wondered if she’d be able to have one now.
“I’d love to see your gallery now,” Cindy said then, wanting to cheer Dalia up. She knew Dalia had been excited to show it to her, and it would also serve Cindy’s purpose of getting to see Nina.
“Did Elizabeth say something nasty about that, also?” Dalia asked, turning around.
“No, she didn’t,” said Cindy. “Remember you said you’d take me there and show it to me, after I met her?”
“Of course I remember,” Dalia said then, a surge or pride returning to her at the thought of it. “Come on, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 8
The art gallery was located on one of the main streets in town, down the road from a large hotel. There was a totally different feeling here than Cindy had experienced elsewhere on the island. It was bustling. The street was colorful, filled with people, local shops, the smell of delicious food wafting from street side cafes, music and the sounds of people having a good time.
As the afternoon had grown later, the heat of the sun had begun to fade and a refreshing breeze drifted over Cindy and Dalia.