“No one said this was going to be easy,” Mattheus said and put his hand over Cindy’s for a moment.
It felt good to have his hand there. Cindy wanted him to keep it there.
“The work’s rough, but you see what’s real.”
Cindy felt for the moment that she might rather not see what was real, stay sleeping, dreaming that the world was beautiful. Then she realized that was exactly how Margot had lived.
“I’m glad you came so over so quickly,” Cindy suddenly turned to Mattheus, grateful.
“I’m glad you called,” he said, touched.
Mattheus took his eyes off the road a second and looked at her warmly. They smiled at each other then, and it felt for a moment the way it had in Grenada, easy, warm and secure. Cindy remembered then why she’d decided to work with him. She remembered how good it could feel.
“My guess is that the cops will be taking Kendra in pretty soon,” Mattheus said. “More questioning is on the way. Could be they’re close to locking her up.”
Cindy’s stomach clenched. “It’s all circumstantial,” she said.
“Yeah, but there’s too much of it now,” said Mattheus. “Comes to a point when enough is enough. It’s probably a good idea for you to tell her in person about the second wife and family. Get her ready. See how she reacts. Sniff around the edges. Is it really possible that she had no idea?”
*
Cindy called Kendra and made arrangements to see her immediately, before she could hear the news from anyone else. This could be a terrible shock for her as well, thought Cindy. There was no reason to believe that Kendra had any idea about the second wife. Who knew how she would handle it?
Cindy parked in front of Kendra’s home and came up the front walk, her palms growing sweaty as she got closer. Kendra opened the door, looking upbeat in an off white linen dress with a sparkling, coral necklace around her neck, as if it were a normal afternoon.
“Come in,” said Kendra, glad to see Cindy. “Let’s go sit in the study.”
The study was a large, square room filled with books, plants and comfortable sofas. It felt snug and secluded from the sprawling outdoors. Kendra sat down opposite Cindy with a look of expectancy. It suddenly struck Cindy that she looked too perky and confident for the situation she was in. It was odd for a woman who was the focus of so much suspicion.
“It’s been a while since we’ve spoken,” Kendra started. “I know you’ve been very busy.
Can’t wait to hear what you’ve dug up. Someone out there did it, and they had to leave tracks around.”
It seemed as if Kendra had no doubt at all that Cindy would find the information she needed to get her off. Perhaps the power of her conviction came from being totally innocent, Cindy wondered for a moment. Cindy decided not to jump in and tell Kendra the whole story, but see how much Kendra knew first.
“I met a fascinating woman,” Cindy started. “Her name is Heather May.”
Kendra showed no reaction at all.
“You know her?” Cindy asked.
Kendra shrugged lightly. “No, not really. I’ve heard her name, of course. We all vaguely know each other down here on the island, see each other in passing. But I’ve never spent any time with her. We’ve never actually talked.”
That didn’t completely make sense to Cindy.
“What about her?” Kendra was curious.
“She’s quite a character,” said Cindy.
“So what?” said Kendra. “There are lots of characters down here. That’s why they chose this kind of life.” She spoke as if she were at work, giving a guided tour of the island.
“Was Paul also a character?” asked Cindy.
“What difference does that make now?” asked Kendra, suddenly irritated. “He’s dead. Someone killed him. And it wasn’t me! I’ve been grilled enough. Now, I want you to tell me what you’ve found out.”
“I will,” said Cindy, “but I need to know more from you as well. It will help me put the puzzle together.”
Kendra stood up and walked to the bookshelf. “Okay, what else do you want to know?”
“Whatever you can tell me about your marriage.”
“What about you? Have you ever been married?” Kendra turned the tables on Cindy. “Do you know what it’s like to live with one man, year after year after year?”
Cindy flushed, taken aback. “I’ve been married,” she answered quietly. “But it didn’t last long.”
Kendra threw Cindy a sharp look with a mixture of pity and disdain. “So you get it,” she said, “marriages fall apart. But unlike others, no matter what happened, Paul and I stuck it out. That’s something I’m proud of.”
“What did happen? “asked Cindy quick on the uptake.
“I told you before. He spent time at that bar, travelled for business, liked to gamble, I wondered if there wasn’t another woman filling in the gaps. Can you understand that?”
“Of course I can,” said Cindy.
“Is that what happened to you and your husband too?” Kendra arched her neck back, a dash of spite pouring from her eyes.
“My husband was killed,” Cindy said calmly.