“You didn’t ask her?”
“Never,” said Wendell, “I just saw her there, desperate. Believe me, I can feel it when someone is desperate. I lived with it all my life. Kate was desperate.”
“Did you know that she’d actually met a new guy, Clay?” Cindy asked, frightened for Kate now.
“No, I didn’t,” said Wendell, tapping his fingers together. “I was even more horrified to learn that she’d taken a trip like this with a stranger. Of course as soon as I heard that, I knew trouble was coming. She barely knew this young man; the trip had to be doomed. I knew the loneliness would hit her again. And most likely it did.”
“You seem so sure of it,” mused Cindy.
“I am,” said Wendell. “And do you want the real truth?” He leaned closer to Cindy.
“Yes,” said Cindy, “I do.”
“When I heard that Kate had died, it didn’t really surprise me. There was something inevitable about it. I saw it coming, it had to happen. She must have jumped off the patio in desperation, at the very same age and same time of year that my dear sister Flora killed herself.”
“That’s awful,” said Cindy, “just awful.”
“Yes,” Wendell agreed, trembling again, “but awful or not, what can you do when something is written in the stars?”
*
After the interview, Cindy felt deeply shaken. Her talk with Wendell had unnerved her completely. She wasn’t sure whether or not Kate’s father was insane, or just reacting wildly to the horrible events he’d gone through in his life. Wendell’s strange certainty about Kate’s death was disturbing, though. In his mind Kate had simply joined his mother and sister in a similar fate. He’d been preparing for it since Kate had been born. Was that why he never got close to her and she’d felt such terrible loneliness? Naturally Wendell had to find some way to make sense of all the suicides, so he’d decided it was all written in the stars. Was there truth in what he’d concluded? Was there a larger destiny that was in control of how long and in what way we lived and died? These questions tossed around and around in Cindy’s mind, though she knew there was no definite answer to any of them.
Cindy felt relieved then that she and Mattheus were planning to leave the hotel and go hiking together. She definitely needed time away to clear her mind. As the case progressed, Cindy felt more and more troubled. Was there even a way to know for sure, whether or not Kate had taken her own life? Could they find solid evidence that would point to Sean?
Cindy stepped out onto the patio for a moment and looked into the ocean below. She wondered why had this breakup had been so different from the others for Sean? Was it because Kate was with someone else now? It would be easy to say that Sean’s jealous rage had taken him over the edge and caused him to kill Kate. But that wasn’t a leap Cindy wasn’t ready to make.
As the waves tumbled over each other, it suddenly struck Cindy that no one had focused much on Kate’s relationship with Clay. Cindy wanted to look over their email correspondence, as soon as she and Mattheus returned from the hike. Not only would she learn more about Kate and Clay’s relationship, but significant clues about Sean could be waiting in the emails as well. It made sense that Kate might have talked to Clay about him.
Cindy left the room, went down the elevator and stepped out to the front of the hotel now, where she was to meet Mattheus. It was good to smell the fresh salt air and feel the breezes blowing on her. As she waited, images of Kate and her family came up in Cindy’s mind. Despite Wendell’s grim predictions, Cindy didn’t feel as though Kate had taken her own life. In fact, Cindy could almost feel Kate’s presence around her now, still here, wandering around. It was as if Kate were urging Cindy to keep going, find out more, let the whole truth be told.
Just then Mattheus drove up to the front of the hotel in a red convertible car he’d rented, and waved at Cindy to jump in. It was perfect. Cindy ran to the curb and popped in beside him. Then she threw her head back on the seat, her face up to the blustery sky.
“I love this, it’s great,” said Cindy, thrilled to be taking a drive.
Mattheus laughed. “I thought you’d like it,” he said. “And you’ll like the National Park even better. It’s famous for owls, land crabs and rattlesnakes.”
Cindy shivered.
“Don’t worry, it’s safe, it’s beautiful,” he smiled. “And besides, what can go wrong? We’ll be together every step of the way.”
CHAPTER 14
Mattheus was in a light hearted move as the car left the hotel and began its way to one of the most famous spots to visit in Aruba.