“I wanted to tell your sister that Tara had been killed and ask if she had any ideas about who could have done it,” said Cindy plainly.
“Well, thanks for your honesty,” Dawl replied, pleased and surprised. “I appreciate it.”
“Thanks for yours,” said Cindy.
Dawl zeroed in on Cindy and she suddenly felt as if no one else were in the room, just the two of them, desperate for truth and desperate for answers.
“Did you wonder if I killed her?” Dawl asked intently.
“I didn’t really think so,” said Cindy emphatically. “But my mind is open, I’m looking into everything.”
“Who are you, really?” Dawl demanded.
“I’m a private detective,” said Cindy, “and this is my partner, Mattheus.”
Dawl’s eyes opened a bit, though he didn’t seem that surprised. “I thought something like that,” he murmured. “What’s this crap about being Tara’s friend?”
“I am a detective and I was Tara’s friend,” Cindy insisted. “We liked each other and even after we were off the case, she asked me to stay at her side.”
“She made a mistake,” Dawl muttered softly then.
“What exactly was her mistake?” Cindy took a step closer to him, feeling as if she were walking directly into a fire.
“She didn’t know who she was dealing with,” Dawl smiled.
“You mean you?” Cindy asked.
“No, not me,” Dawl spoke more softly then. “With me, what you see is what you get. You know where you stand. But the rest of the people in her life, snakes and vipers dressed up as friends,” he grinned.
At that Mattheus stood up and walked over to them. “Where were you at the time that Tara was killed?” he asked Dawl directly.
“Hell, man, I was with a bunch of guys at the Creaton Bar, along the strip. I’m there every night about that time, dancing, drinking. Work hard all day, get the boy to sleep and go out for a little fun. Maybe ten or twenty people saw me.”
Mattheus took a step back. “How do you know Tara was killed in the evening?” he asked.
“That’s what papers said,” Dawl replied.
“That’s when they found her,” Mattheus corrected him.
“Well, if she was killed during the day, and dropped there later, I was working at my job down at the dock all day long. Hell, my time lines are rock solid.”
Cindy sighed, feeling relieved. She liked Dawl, respected him.
“Okay, thanks. I appreciate that,” Mattheus said. “We’ll check your alibis.”
“Check it all you like. There’s no problem when you’re telling the truth,” Dawl continued. “And listen, if you need my help, I’m right here. I know this island like the back of my hand, and I know the people in it.”
Cindy was surprised and grateful. She looked over at Bala then, who also seemed to relax a bit now.
“Thanks for letting us in,” Cindy said to Bala. “Thanks for talking to us.”
“Did Tara kill herself, maybe?” Bala asked then haltingly. “Was it too much for her, that whole family?”
Cindy shook her head. “Not likely,” she said.
“She seemed unstable to me,” Bala got up from her seat and spoke more loudly. “She was obsessed with my son, wanted to take him from me.”
“She didn’t want to take him, she wanted to share him,” said Cindy.
“That’s ridiculous,” Bala’s eyes opened wide. “Once my boy spent time with that family and their life style, do you think he’d ever belong to us again?”
Cindy hadn’t thought of it that way.
“Are you relieved that she’s gone?” Mattheus entered the conversation abruptly.
“Of course not, I’m sorry that she’s dead,” Bala answered sadly. “I cried all night long. But she had no right to come after my boy, either.”
“No, she didn’t,” Mattheus jumped in. “I agree with you, there.”
“Bala,” Cindy interrupted their line of conversation, “you know Lynch well -.”
“Of course I do,” said Bala. “We loved each other for years.”
“Years?” Cindy hadn’t realized the relationship had gone on that long.
“What about it?” Dawl barged in then, not wanting to see his sister pulled in.
“I was wondering what Bala thought about Lynch,” Cindy continued. “Bala, do you think Lynch could have killed Tara?”
Bala hung her head then and started sobbing. “Never,” she gasped, never. Lynch is a wonderful guy, he’s kind, he’s gentle.”
To Cindy’s dismay, she saw how much Bala still loved him.
“It wasn’t Lynch,” Bala continued, murmuring, “that much I’m absolutely sure of.”
CHAPTER 14
As soon as Cindy and Mattheus left the house and got into the car, Mattheus called Rodney to ask him to check out Dawl’s alibi.
“Dawl Lemmings,” Rodney echoed on the phone. “Yeah, the cops have already called and told me he’s back in the picture. Wherever you find that guy, there’s trouble.”
Mattheus gave Rodney Dawl’s alibi and Rodney said he’d check it right out.
“Looks like the next step is a visit to Lynch,” Cindy said when Mattheus hung up the phone. “It’s important to get his version directly.”