Raina picked up the thread of the conversation then. “Needless to say,” she started, “Tara was not a completely balanced young woman.”
Cindy took exception to that. “What exactly do you mean?” To Cindy Tara seemed well balanced, centered and thoughtful. She wanted to say that to Raina, but paused. It was important to find out what Raina thought of her daughter in law to be.
“Well,” Raina threw her head back, “it’s common knowledge that Tara drank too much, especially after her mother passed away.”
“Common knowledge to who?” asked Mattheus.
Raina frowned slightly. She didn’t like being confronted by Mattheus. In her mind he was her ally. “Ask any of Tara’s friends,” Raina quipped. “Common knowledge is common knowledge.”
“Go on please,” said Cindy then, encouragingly.
“Well,” Raina crossed her legs, and continued. “Obviously, Tara had been drinking down here more than she should have. She was nervous about the upcoming wedding.”
“I’d heard Tara was delighted about marrying Lynch,” said Cindy, trying to egg her on.
“Delighted, but also terribly nervous,” Raina responded without hesitation. “These things go together, don’t they?”
“Of course they do,” said Mattheus.
Raina smiled again at him, pleased. “Well, “she went on, “most likely Tara went for a swim alone right before the rehearsal dinner. The tides were ferocious that night and she must have been slightly drunk. So she was pushed up against the rocks, tossed about and drowned. The idea that someone killed her is ridiculous. Of course the police love to jump to the worst scenario. Makes for good headlines at least!”
“We heard that she and Lynch went swimming at Ryder’s Cove together late that afternoon,” Cindy quickly interjected. “Why would she go back and swim alone?”
Raina briefly shivered. “I heard that too,” said Raina, “but it doesn’t make a difference. Tara often did things over and over. She loved to swim, it was a favorite pastime. Obviously, she was nervous and before she got dressed for the dinner, went back to unwind again. She’s done that before.”
“Done what?” asked Cindy.
“She’s gone back to swim very soon after she’s already been in the water,” Raina replied. “In fact, I’d even asked her about it. She said she enjoyed it, it calmed her down.”
This was news to Cindy and she made note of it. The information would certainly be a support to Lynch.
“I’m sure that she drowned! Positive!” Raina repeated.
“The body is with the medical examiner,” said Mattheus softly. “We’ll see what he finds.”
Raina tossed it off. “What can he possibly find?” The body was tossed in the ocean and smashed into rocks.”
“There’s a lot a body can tell,” Mattheus continued.
“She brought it on herself,” Raina continued, undaunted. “How dare she go back and forth every minute about whether to go through with the wedding? She was playing roulette with the lives and hearts of many people involved. I told Lynch that earlier, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“She must have been in a lot of conflict,” Cindy suggested.
“You can say that again,” Raina’s lips curled together. “And I’m positive that her conflict started way before she learned about Lynch’s son. It was convenient for her to blame it on the boy. It was an easy way out, wasn’t it?”
Mattheus sat back in his chair and listened then, while Cindy took the lead.
“Tara wanted to get out of the marriage before she heard about Lynch’s son?” Cindy asked, jarred by the comment. This was the first she’d heard anything of this.
“It had become a tug of war between Lynch and Tara for a while,” Raina replied. “It got worse in the last few weeks and I noticed Lynch looked worn around the edges. When I asked him about it he brushed it off, but a mother knows these things. I just assumed Tara was making things hard on him,” Raina’s lips pursed together.
“Why would she do that?” asked Cindy.
“You can’t ask why someone does something when they’re unbalanced, can you? Little things get blown up out of all proportion and make unbalanced people unstrung,” Raina flung back, “Any little thing even drives them to drugs or drink.”
This was a dark and gloomy picture Raina was painting of Tara that didn’t jibe with Cindy’s impressions at all. “I never saw her that way,” Cindy remarked, hoping to prompt Raina on.
“Well, that doesn’t mean a thing, does it?” said Raina. “You barely knew her at all. Clearly, she went for a swim alone down near the Cove right before the dinner, got upset, and the rest is history. It’s absurd that the police dare to call it a homicide before they’re absolutely positive. In fact, I’m having lots of things investigated about Tara, right now, as we speak. Someone in her past could even be involved in this, for all we know.”