Lea got up then and sat on the very edge of her lounge chair, leaning close to them, speaking softly so no one could ever hear.
“In the last few weeks, I noticed that Tara seemed to be growing afraid of Lynch,” she whispered.
“Afraid?” Cindy was horrified. “He threatened her?”
“No, never, absolutely not,” Lea responded quickly. “It was just that he was listening more and more to his mother, and paying less and less attention to what Tara said or wanted. She almost felt unnecessary.”
Cindy took a deep, painful breath. This was incredibly important information. “How did Tara handle that?” she asked.
“She didn’t know how,” said Lea. “We talked about it a lot. I told her to overlook it for now. After the wedding things would sort themselves out.”
“Good advice,” Mattheus repeated again.
Cindy couldn’t bear his remark. “Things don’t just sort themselves out because people are married,” she countered. “That’s ridiculous. You’ve got to work things through before the wedding takes place. If you get married thinking things will change magically, you’re in for an awful surprise.”
“Oh God,” Lea interjected, “that’s what I’m realizing now.”
“Tara never talked to Lynch about his relationship with Raina?” Cindy asked again.
“Just once or twice,” said Lea. “She brought it up casually and Lynch just said he didn’t know what she was talking about.”
Mattheus turned to Cindy then. “Obviously, Tara needed a way out,” he said. “Her upset and obsession with Lynch’s child could just have been something for her to latch onto. It could have been her only hope of getting away!”
“What child?” Lea broke in, stunned. “What are you talking about?”
Cindy realized that Tara hadn’t said a word to Lea about it, or probably to anyone.
“You’ve got to keep this completely quiet, Lea,” Cindy said immediately.
“Keep what quiet?” Lea started trembling.
“Whatever you hear here,” said Mattheus.
“I don’t know what I’m hearing. What are you talking about?” Lea demanded.
“Can we trust you, Lea?” Cindy asked.
“You have to trust me,” Lea was on the verge of sobbing. “I trusted you. I told you what I knew.”
“Tara found out that Lynch had a child with a woman from the island. She was his old girlfriend.”
“A child?” Lea was profoundly stunned.
“It upset her terribly,” Cindy continued.
“Of course it would upset her, it would tear her whole world apart. Tara never said a word to be about it to me though, not a word,” breathed Lea. “I can’t believe that she didn’t.”
“She just found out a day or two before she died,” Cindy consoled her.
“Oh my God, my God,” Lea covered her face with her hands, as if blocking out a nightmare.
“Think there’s a connection between the child and Tara’s death?” Mattheus asked bluntly.
“I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what to make of it,” said Lea, on the verge of tears.
“This is what I think,” Mattheus said slowly. “I think Tara was getting more and more frightened of the power Lynch’s mother had over him. She didn’t want to get married, but wasn’t strong enough to call the wedding off. So, when she heard about the child, it was a Godsend for her. She grabbed onto the issue for all she was worth, made it bigger and bigger. She insisted she see child and that Lynch include him in the family. Tara wasn’t stupid, she knew it would disturb everyone, that her request was impossible. It was her perfect excuse for getting away.”
“But she didn’t get away! She was going through with the wedding, was looking forward to the rehearsal dinner. She said she was working out tension with Lynch and things were getting better. They were going swimming together to enjoy and get ready. She seemed happy to me when she told me about it,” insisted Lea.
“Lynch said he promised her he would include the child,” Cindy reminded Mattheus. “Tara might have felt more power in the relationship now, as her needs were being respected.”
“But were they, really?” asked Lea, distraught. “Does Tara’s father know about the child? Does her aunt Olivia?”
“They know,” said Cindy. “Was Tara close to Olivia? Could Olivia have helped her?”
“Tara was never close to Olivia,” Lea quickly replied. “Olivia and Aldon are joined at the hip, and Tara’s father was never happy about the engagement.”
“Why not?” asked Mattheus.
“It happened too fast for his taste, and he and Lynch just never clicked,” said Lea. “And, of course, once Tara and Lynch got together, she spent less and less time with her father. That made Aldon irate.”
“Because they spent plenty of time with Lynch’s mother,” Cindy remarked.
“Yes,” said Lea, “and that upset Aldon and Olivia even more. I heard that Aldon’s convinced that Lynch killed her.” Lea shuddered then front head to toe.
“What do you think now?” Mattheus zoned in on Lea.