Cindy was fascinated by Tara’s page. Photos of Lynch were all over it along with wedding announcements and congratulations from far and wide. Tara had a full array of friends with their photos and lives all posted. A young woman, Lea, Tara’s maid of honor’s photos were all over the page, along with her many messages of encouragement and sayings about love. Lea was a brunette with a strong, determined look about her, as if nothing could shake her resolve. She was obviously Tara’s closest friend and seemed to have taken over the role of caretaker during wedding preparations.
Cindy read all the messages quickly. There was nothing out of order in any of them. This was a time of celebration, Tara seemed to be focusing on the present fully, filling her life and page with pictures of her and Lynch together. They did truly seem inseparable. From the looks of it, everything boded well.
Mattheus scraped his chair back along the deck and moved it closer to Cindy, wanting to show her Lynch’s Facebook page too. Unlike Tara, Lynch’s page was filled with photos of his family, including his late father who looked like a strong, stalwart guy with salt and pepper hair. Cindy looked at the father closely, wondering how come he died so young? He seemed to be in the peak of health in the photos.
“Quite a crew,” said Mattheus.
“Powerful,” Cindy agreed. “They all looked beautiful, successful, on top of the world. Lynch’s mother’s photo was there too, over and over again, her bright eyes glittering, her head held high.
“That’s Lynch’s mother Raina,” Mattheus said, pointing to her picture. “A big personality, for sure.”
Cindy looked at her more closely. She did seem to dominate the page. In the family photos, Tara actually looked more fragile beside her, almost as if she’d been pushed into the background.
“The mother and Lynch run the family business,” Mattheus commented. “She’s got all the contacts in the world and doesn’t hesitate to use them. I read a few articles about her. She’s also out there dating. A real dynamo.”
Cindy made a sour face.
“What’s wrong?” asked Mattheus.
“Dating so soon?” said Cindy.
Mattheus laughed. “Come on, are you judging her? It takes guts to get out there at her age and get a new life.”
Cindy realized that what Mattheus said was true, but she also recoiled at the idea of Lynch’s mother tearing up the town only a couple of years after her husband died. She couldn’t imagine herself doing that. In the beginning, soon after Cindy’s husband Clint was killed, she and Mattheus only got together to work on cases. Their relationship had grown organically and slowly into everything it was today.
“Wonder how Lynch feels about his mother’s behavior?” Cindy asked.
“What are you talking about?” said Mattheus. “His mother’s picture is all over his page. It must be a great relief to him to see her happy. Looks like he’s very proud of her.”
“Could be,” said Cindy, reluctantly. “I’d like to find out more.”
Of course there were lots of things it would be nice to find out, thought Cindy, but time was of the essence. They had to stay on laser like focus, didn’t have the luxury of letting their trail wind here and there.
“We need to stay on focus,” Mattheus said himself. “It’s a good idea find out if there’s anything the natives know about Lynch, something that would naturally stay hidden down on the island. That’s the only hope we’ve got.”
“Only hope?” asked Cindy.
Mattheus cocked his head and grinned. “Of course the whole thing is lousy,” he said. “The real hope is that Lynch comes up clean and fine. You got it right. You’re well trained, Cindy.”
Cindy smiled, “Well, I’ve been trained by the best,” she answered, grinning back.
“I guess I did a good job,” Mattheus murmured.
Cindy pushed her computer back and pulled her chair over to him. “You did more than a good job, Mattheus,” she whispered. “You’ve helped me find out who I am and given me a whole new life.”
CHAPTER 3
As the day rolled on and Cindy and Mattheus finished checking both the computer and text messages and it was time to hit the clubs and casinos.
“We can grab a quick lunch there, poke around, find out who to talk to,” said Mattheus. “I saw a couple of articles that mentioned seeing Tara and Lynch at The Dream Casino. It’s as good a place as any to start.
It was an incredibly beautiful, sunny afternoon and Cindy knew the island would be hopping. Tourists would be filling the busy streets, sightseeing, shopping for souvenirs and taking photos of each other suntanned and smiling. The last place in the world Cindy felt like spending the day was in a dark, sultry casino with fluorescent lighting, crowded with people betting on their luck. But what Cindy wanted at the moment didn’t matter. Something larger was at stake.
“First stop is the Dream Casino,” she said.
*