Her mind flew forwards to the woman on St. Thomas whose husband had been killed and dumped in a back alley. Cindy could only imagine the pain she had to be going through - the loss, confusion, and the police grilling her daily. A sense of outrage and strength flushed through Cindy’s veins. She’d been there. She knew how urgently the woman needed someone she could trust. Cindy also knew that somehow she was the one to do it. She was able to navigate her way through this kind of maze, sense what was brewing beneath the surface, cut through the lies and find justice. Cindy never realized before how important justice was to her. Life wasn’t worth living without it, she realized, as the water rushed up between her toes.
She took a long moment, then to breathe deeply, enjoying the moment. There was no need to linger any longer. Clint’s death had propelled her into a new place. She couldn’t go back home and rest when another person was going through the same torture she had. Clint would have made the same choice that she did, to fight for justice, find the culprit, stop the killer from striking again.
She had no choice. She had to say yes.
CHAPTER 2
Cindy braced herself as the sea plane dove in low for a landing. The vast stretch of shimmering blue green water beneath them stretched out forever, calm, reassuring and beautiful. Cindy spotted a small boat, in the distance, waiting to take them to shore.
Mattheus had spent the plane ride going over his notes on the case. Cindy had spent it looking down at the water below.
“Her name is Kendra,” Mattheus reminded Cindy as the plane flew closer to shore. “The wife. She’s greeting us herself. A little unusual, but interesting. She must be extremely eager to meet you.”
Cindy turned and looked at him. His beautiful eyes were focused on her. But Cindy merely nodded all business at the moment.
It was a little awkward between them now, flying off into this business partnership, knowing so little about one another. It was one thing, Cindy thought, to do fabulously together on one case--but another to sustain their connection. Mattheus had left his job on the police force without hesitation. He’d been thinking about it for a while. He told Cindy he was ready to take on his own cases. And, he thought it was a great idea to have a male and female detective agency; each would bring a different point of view and relate better with different people.
Cindy’s stomach suddenly fell as the plane began to descend without warning. She’d never landed on the water before, or felt the movement of the plane so intimately. It reminded her of the water rides she used to go on as a kid in the amusement park.
As they landed, and floated on water, Cindy felt as if she were back in the amusement park, or in a dream. The plane bobbed gently for a few minutes until the small boat rode up to the plane.
Cindy and Mattheus got up and went to the exit, then slipped out of the plane onto the boat. Mattheus got out first and reached his hand out for Cindy who held it tight for a few seconds. Once safely on the boat, she let go.
Mattheus laughed. “We did it. We’re here.” He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying both the landing and having Cindy beside him. It was a short boat ride to the shore and felt good to be on water, in the strong heat of the day. As they got closer Cindy could see a small group of people clustered together, waiting for them to arrive.
As the boat pulled up, Mattheus and Cindy got out and a tall woman, with long chestnut brown hair, rushed over. She was in her fifties, slender, with large blue eyes, dressed in a paisley sun dress, with several colored bracelets on her wrist.
“Finally, you’re here,” the woman breathed.
“Kendra Johnson?” Matthew stepped forward.
She looked at him briefly and then turned and put the full force of her attention onto Cindy.
“I read about the amazing work you did on Grenada –and also in Barbados,” she said. “I’m so thrilled you chose to come down here and help me.”
“Glad to meet you,” Cindy said. She was eager to get to know Kendra, but also wanted to keep things simple, not foster unrealistic expectations.
Kendra looked quickly back and forth between Cindy and Mattheus then, confused for a moment.
“We’re a team,” Cindy said. “C and M Investigations.”
“Well,” Kendra said, “there’s plenty to investigate.”
Cindy was glad Mattheus was with her. She could feel how they balanced each other, kept Kendra’s aggression at bay.
Kendra seemed uneasy. “But I’m glad you’re here. It’s urgent.”
“It must have been a terrible time for you,” Cindy said.
“Must be? It still is,” Kendra replied, rattled.
“These things have a way of going on and on,” said Mattheus.
Kendra looked at him briefly with appreciation, but turned once again to Cindy.
“I’d like to take you home with me now,” she said. “We can talk better there. I have a car waiting.”
“Great,” said Cindy.
“There’s a lot to do before hurricane season,” Kendra went on hurriedly, as she led them to the car. “We only have a couple of weeks to go. Once the storms come, everything is impossible, things get put on the back burner, buildings are boarded up and evidence gets washed away. Criminals get away with everything then. I’ve seen it happen.”