Mattheus looked surprised. “Okay,” he agreed, “let’s sit down.”
They sat close together as Cindy pulled her legs up under her and, all at once, wanted to cry. “I messed up,” she said then in a small voice that was drowned out by the surf.
Mattheus took her hand. “Speak louder, I can’t hear you,” he said.
“I feel horrible about this,” said Cindy.
“Why?” Mattheus grew nervous, “what happened?”
Cindy launched into a description of the visit, describing Bala and her brother Dawl.
“Tara was so excited to see the child again,” said Cindy. “Bala was there, waiting for Tara and so was her brother, Dawl.”
“Who’s that, the uncle?” asked Mattheus.
“Yes, Dawl raised the boy with his sister as his son,” said Cindy. “He was threatened by Tara, big time. He thought Tara came to take the boy away.”
“My God,” said Mattheus. “Did she?”
“I thought she came to include the boy in her life with Lynch,” Cindy said.
“That’s the same thing as taking him away,” said Mattheus.
“Of course not,” Cindy defended Tara. “She just wanted the boy to know his father and not to be abandoned by him!”
“The boy’s relationship with his father was none of her business,” Mattheus retorted, beginning to get upset again.
“Whether or not it was is not the point now,” Cindy grew stronger. “The point is that Tara wanted to see the boy and Dawl wouldn’t let her.”
“Wouldn’t let her?” Mattheus was amazed.
“Dawl actually warned Tara to stay away,” Cindy continued. “He said he was the boy’s father now, had help raise him since birth, and that somebody would only take him away over his dead body.”
Mattheus dug his feet back and forth into the sand. “That’s a point blank threat,” he said.
“You could call it that,” Cindy replied.
“Call it that? What else is it? A point blank threat,” said Mattheus, turning and looking at Cindy.
“Yes, it was a point blank threat,” Cindy started having trouble breathing. “And I let it pass right by. Tara and I left the boy’s home quickly after he said it. He threw us out. She never even got to see the child.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this right after it happened?” Mattheus was horrified.
“I don’t know,” Cindy called out, her voice echoing into the sea. “I didn’t take it all to heart. I didn’t think she would actually go through with the wedding, so none of this would mean much.”
“Whether or not she went through with the wedding, it means a great deal,” said Mattheus. “Threats like that mean something. People act on them sooner or later.”
“Why would he?” Cindy whimpered. “If Tara left Lynch, she wouldn’t have had any more connection with his son. She said over and over she wanted to leave, but was just trying to see if she could work things out. Bringing Lynch’s son into the family was a big piece of it for her. Since she couldn’t work that out, I really thought she’d leave.”
Mattheus’s face became covered with perspiration. “The brother was obviously threatened by Tara, but also the news of the child was now public. Whether or not Tara married Lynch, he had to keep the kid for his own. Who knows what he else he could have done?”
“To who?” asked Cindy. “Nobody wanted the child.”
“Dawl didn’t know that, though did he?” Mattheus cried out.
“That’s what happens when a father abandons his child,” Cindy said frantically. “Unsavory people come in and take over.”
“Are you referring to me, abandoning a child?” Mattheus suddenly asked horrified.
“No I’m not,” Cindy wailed. “Is Tara’s death my fault? Am I directly responsible?”
The two of them grew silent then. They stopped talking and listened to the sound of the waves pulled in and out by the heartless tide that took whatever it wanted from the shore, never to be seen again.
“I’m so sorry, really I am,” Cindy put her head in her hands.
Mattheus put his arm around her then. “No, it’s okay,” he said, “you can’t blame yourself. You did your best. You stood by Tara, you tried to help. You just never imagined she was in danger -.”
Cindy looked up at him gratefully. “No, I didn’t,” she breathed. “This case has been strange, right from the start. I wasn’t thinking of it that way. We weren’t called down here to solve a murder.”
“No we weren’t,” said Mattheus grimly. “At least we didn’t know it at first.”
After sitting silently awhile together, Mattheus stood up and stretched. “Let’s get up and move forward,” he said softly. “We have to continue on to the cove.”
Cindy was reluctant. “What are we going to do about Bala and Dawl?” she asked, staying planted in the sand.
“I don’t know,” said Mattheus, “we have to find out more about the brother. Obviously, we’ll have to tell the police about this, and see what they come up with.”
“I don’t want to tell them,” Cindy flinched.