“When are you going?” asked Cindy, worried about her.
“Right now,” said Tara.
“Okay,” Cindy made a snap decision, “sure, why not? I’ll go.”
“Thank you so much,” said Tara overjoyed. “I’ll pick you up downstairs in a car in fifteen minutes.”
*
“Where are you going?” asked Mattheus the minute Cindy put down the phone.
“Tara sounds confused and disturbed,” said Cindy. “She said she needs to see Bala and the boy again before the rehearsal dinner. She wants me to go with her.”
“Why in hell does she need that?” asked Mattheus, stunned.
“She can’t stop thinking about them,” Cindy replied.
“Sounds like obsession,” said Mattheus. “Nothing good ever comes out of obsession.”
“She’s going to go forward with the marriage if the boy is part of their life,” Cindy added, glad that she and Mattheus were talking again, particularly about a case.
“Does this make sense to you Cindy?” Mattheus zeroed in.
“It isn’t rational,” Cindy replied, “but in a strange way I get where she’s coming from.”
“Oh brother,” Mattheus commented. “I mean, would it make you feel better if you got to meet my old girlfriend and daughter?”
Cindy paused for a moment and considered it. “Not your girlfriend,” she said, “but your daughter, yes. I would feel a lot better for both of us to meet her together, in fact.”
Mattheus looked totally confused. “Why?”
“She’s your daughter, Mattheus, part of your flesh and blood. You don’t just throw a daughter away.”
CHAPTER 8
Despite Mattheus’s concern about Cindy going on the trip, Cindy went into the bathroom and changed quickly into a lovely, paisley linen dress. Then she brushed her hair long and hard, freshened her makeup and got ready to go downstairs.
“We’re not on the case anymore,” Mattheus knocked on the bathroom door as Cindy prepared. “It’s not our business. Your trip with Tara could be tricky. She’s not well.”
“It will be fine,” Cindy called back through the shut door. “Tara needs some support.”
“We all need something,” Mattheus called back. “I need support, too. I need for us to sit down and talk about my daughter.”
“We will,” said Cindy, “later. Right now I want to go with Tara. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“I’m going on record right now that this is a bad idea,” “Mattheus barked back.
“Okay, you’re on record,” Cindy opened the door, came out and walked past him.
“You look ravishing,” Mattheus said then, taken by surprise.
Cindy felt her heart clench. She desperately wanted to turn around, hold him, assuage his fears, tell him how much she loved him. But she held back. It would never work to pretend that he hadn’t kept a huge piece of his life from her. There had to be ripple effects of his having a daughter that neither of them could barely foresee. Cindy had no idea what this news boded for a life together for the two of them.
Cindy took a small summer bag and flung it over her shoulder as she walked to the door.
“So, are you going to try to convince Tara to forget the wedding?” Mattheus followed closely behind her.
“I have no plans to convince her of anything at all,” Cindy turned and met Mattheus’s eyes. “This is her choice. I’ll just be at her side as she makes it.”
“That’s easier said than done,” Mattheus remarked. “She’s pulling you into a crazy world of her own making. Why is she so obsessed with Lynch’s son? Frankly, it’s unnerving.”
Cindy felt on edge. “Listen, Tara’s father hired us to do a job and Tara’s life has been turned upside down because of what we dug up. It doesn’t feel right to wash our hands of it just because Aldon said good bye. If Tara’s called for help, then he needs us.”
“Tara doesn’t need us, she needs you,” Mattheus corrected her.
“Be that as it may,” said Cindy, “when it comes to working together, there’s no me and you. There’s just us.” Then she shook her long hair over her shoulders and walked to the door.
“You look beautiful, Cindy,” Mattheus remarked softly.
Cindy couldn’t help smiling for a second. “Thanks,” she said, “I like that. Flattery will get you everywhere.”
*
As soon as Cindy got down to the front of the hotel, a long, black car pulled up with Tara seated in the back. The minute she saw Cindy she rolled down the window, leaned out and beckoned her in. Cindy quickly slipped in, and the car rolled away.
“I can’t thank you enough for this,” Tara gave Cindy a quick hug. Her eyes looked dazed and her face drawn. Obviously this had taken a terrible toll. “I kept wondering what to do,” Tara rambled, “I couldn’t tell anybody where I was going and I didn’t want to go alone. Then you came to my mind.”