Cindy nodded. “Yes, of course,” she said.
“I believe you. I see that you’ve suffered,” Heather said. “Actually, you can’t believe a person or trust them unless they’ve suffered, terribly.”
Her voice grew louder, like music, thought Cindy.
“If we hadn’t been together when we were, Paul could not have gone on,” Heather said.
“Our relationship filled a deep need of his that nothing else ever could.”
Cindy wondered for a moment how true that was. She resisted the impulse to look around the place Heather lived in and wonder why Paul hadn’t fixed it up for her.
Heather laughed then, as if reading Cindy’s mind. “I like my place just as it is. I’m different from the others. I didn’t want his money. That’s why he needed me.”
Cindy smiled then. “I understand,” she said.
“Paul was an incredibly hungry man,” Heather said softly, leaning towards Cindy. She seemed to get pleasure talking about him. “I’m not saying I was all he needed, but I was an important part. Very important.”
“Were you in a relationship when he was killed?” Cindy asked softly.
“Are you a detective or something?” Heather asked then.
Cindy nodded slowly.
“Really?” said Heather, giggling with delight. “It becomes you. This is your right work. You’re soft and gentle. People sense it. You’ll find out everything you need this way. Don’t give it up.”
“I don’t plan to give it up,” said Cindy.
“You might though,” said Heather. “You’re tangling with a vicious world. It might not look that way at first, but under the smiles and flowers, this place is a terrifying jungle.”
Cindy breathed deeply.
“The human heart is a jungle,” Heather went on. “You don’t know how much yet, but you’ll soon find out.” Then she finished the rest of her lemonade.
Cindy drank along with her and they both put their glasses down at the same moment.
“I believe you’ve been sent to me to encourage you. Do you do this work alone?” Heather asked, curious.
“I have a partner,” said Cindy.
“A guy?”
“Yes, another detective.”
Heather smiled. “He’s probably madly in love with you, pretending to be all business.”
“Not at all,” said Cindy flinching. It wasn’t like that and she didn’t want it to be.
“Of course he is, that’s how guys are.”
Cindy smiled and felt a pang of pain. “Not in this case. We’re both involved in the work,” she said. “That’s it.”
“That’s what they all say,” said Heather.
“My husband was killed just a few months ago,” Cindy couldn’t help saying. “On our honeymoon.”
Heather’s mouth dropped open. “That’s horrible.”
Cindy wasn’t exactly sure why she’d told her that. Maybe she just wanted to preserve Clint’s memory and give him respect.
“You loved him tremendously, you adored him,” Heather May breathed softly.
“I did,” said Cindy.
“That’s why you’re here now, tracking down crimes. Oh my dear, I’m honored to meet you.”
Cindy was surprised by her reaction. “Thank you.”
“Ask me anything you want. I’ll be happy to tell you.”
“Well, I need to know where you were the day Paul was killed?
Heather smiled. She was too smart not to realize what Cindy was asking. “You’re wondering about my alibi?” she said. “I gave it to the police already. It checked out, thank God, because I’m often here alone. That particular afternoon there was a design show down at the museum. I was part of the planning committee, so I went. A lot of people from town were there, furniture designers, painters, architects. We have it once a year. It attracts lots of tourists. In fact, Kendra usually came as well. She woke up that morning, feeling ill.”
Cindy enjoyed speaking with Heather, but realized that there was still an important question she hadn’t answered. “Were you and Paul still a couple when he was killed?” Cindy asked again softly.
“No, we weren’t,” said Heather, resigned to being questioned. “It was over for a couple of years by then.”
“How come?”
Heather looked away, out into the woods that surrounded her small home. It was clear she hadn’t come to terms with it, yet.
“Lots of reasons?” Cindy prodded her.
“No,” said Heather, “just one. One reason that ended it suddenly.”
The sound of a lone Mackay pierced the afternoon.
“Those birds always act up before the hurricanes come. We have a week or two to get ready,” Heather said. “Not long now. You can feel the winds stirring in your veins in the early morning down here.”
“Are you with someone else now?” Cindy couldn’t let go.
“I’ll never be with someone else again,” Heather said, suddenly stern, staring at Cindy, her eyes full of pain.
“I’m sorry,” said Cindy.