“Did you know her at all? Did you speak to her before she died?” Carl was on the alert.
“No, I didn’t know her or speak to her,” said Cindy, “but Kate and her fiancée sat next to our table in the dining room the night she died. I noticed her. We exchanged glances and smiles.”
“Oh God, oh God,” Tyra was wringing her hands now.
“Kate was incredible,” Carl interjected.
Cindy leaned closer to him. “You’ll tell me all about her. There’s a lot I have to learn.”
Carl stood up suddenly and reached out his arms. “God bless you, young lady,” he said, “Come here, let me give you a thank you hug.”
Cindy stood up a Carl reached his strong arms around her, filled with gratitude, in a bear hug.
“Oh my, oh my,” Tyra said then.
Cindy turned around in Carl’s arms to see Mattheus quickly approaching.
“What’s going on here?” Mattheus asked, as Carl opened his arms to let Cindy free.
“It’s a thank you hug,” said Tyra, nervously.
“Thank you? For what?” Mattheus seemed to be growing increasingly agitated.
“Cindy just informed us that she’s on the case,” Carl said unflinchingly. “We’re incredibly grateful. I’m thanking her.”
“With a hug?” asked Mattheus.
“And plenty of cash,” Carl added vehemently.
“Stop it, Mattheus,” Cindy was annoyed. This was no time for him to indulge his old suspiciousness again. “I got up early, came downstairs and found Carl and Tyra back here in the restaurant.”
“That’s obvious,” said Mattheus. “When I woke up and you were gone, I came down to find you and the clerk at the desk told me where all of you were.”
“I came here to give Kate’s family solace,” said Cindy, feeling as though she were defending herself.
“She’s taking the case,” Carl added swiftly.
Mattheus paused, startled. “You came down here to tell them that on your own, without consulting me about it? You’re taking the case? Am I in on it, too?”
“Do you want to be?” Carl zeroed in.
“This is between me and Cindy,” Mattheus bristled, turning his back to Carl.
“Of course you’re in on it,” Cindy stepped closer to Mattheus. “And I did tell you about it, last night.”
“You told me how you were feeling, not that you were going downstairs in the morning and make it official.”
Cindy took a step back. “Mattheus, time is passing. We’ve let too much time go as it is. For all we know the police are about to finish up interviewing the guests. Then people can leave. Valuable evidence goes with them. This isn’t a game.”
“The police do plan to finish up interviewing guests this afternoon,” Carl added swiftly.
Cindy looked at Mattheus with alarm. “There’s no way the police can do this thoroughly and finish up today,” she insisted. “We should have been on it from the start.”
Tyra stood up, swaying a bit, holding her face in her hands, “Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she began murmuring. “I never wanted to cause any harm, never, ever.”
Carl walked over to her swiftly. “You didn’t cause any harm, Tyra. This is not your fault.”
“But he’s so angry with us,” Tyra pointed to Mattheus.
Mattheus shook his head and took a step closer. “I’m not at all angry with you,” he said in a softer tone, “I’m just upset with the way all this has gone down.”
“He’s upset with me,” Cindy said to Tyra.
“That’s not good either, is it?” Tyra turned to Carl.
“That’s what happens in cases,” Mattheus spoke slowly, trying to calm the waters. “Pain erupts, suspicion, horror, one misunderstanding after another. Everyone involved becomes upset.”
“Then misunderstandings turn into understanding. Flashes of insight come. Truth prevails,” Cindy spoke strongly.
“But he’s mad at you,” Tyra kept looking back and forth from Cindy to Mattheus.
“I don’t take it personally,” said Cindy, as Carl stared protectively at her.
“Neither did Kate,” Tyra went on, “she never, ever took anything personally. When someone was mad at her, she made excuses. Carl always begged her to do something, but she never would. She also used to say she didn’t take it personally. But, look where it got her. Look.”
Mattheus and Cindy sighed deeply together at the same moment.
“Cindy’s right,” Mattheus said softly. “I am not angry with her, it’s not personal. I’m just upset at the turn of events. I was hoping for something else. I was looking forward to it.”
“Us, too,” said Carl, between gritted teeth. “We were hoping to see Kate come home, happy and refreshed. We were hoping to see her live a life, get married, have kids.”
Cindy’s head spun as Carl spoke. She knew she’d done the right thing. Was it suicide? That had to be proven as well. It would be too easy to tie the case up quickly and throw away the value of this young woman’s life. Cindy knew how important it was to find out what truly happened and give Kate’s family some measure of peace.