“Why would there be a struggle if she opened the door?” said Mattheus. “Clay was obviously sleeping and Kate brought Sean went out onto the patio. He must have begged her to leave Clay. She must have said no, and in the heat of jealous rage, Sean must have pushed her over.”
“It’s a theory,” said Cindy, her heart beating fast.
“More than a theory, we have all kinds of circumstantial evidence lining up.”
“There’s no physical proof though,” Cindy continued. “There’s no evidence he was in her room at all. The police would have found fingerprints, something. Especially if he pushed her.”
“That would have been nice,” said Mattheus, “but it doesn’t necessarily happen that way. Besides, how carefully do you think the cops down here scoured the room? The crime scene was compromised very early on, with all kinds of people walking through it.”
“If Sean came in, they fought and he pushed her, Clay would have heard something,” Cindy insisted.
“Not if he was in a drunken sleep,” said Mattheus.
Cindy scanned her memory. Clay hadn’t seemed so drunk the night she’d seen him and Kate at dinner. In fact, he’d seemed quite calm and clear.
Cindy stood up from the Ottoman, stretched and walked to the patio of their room. It was dark out by now and she found comfort standing under the canopy of sparkling stars that stretched out over the night sky.
“Why are you fighting me like this?” asked Mattheus. “Everything I say makes perfect sense.”
“I just don’t buy it, though,” said Cindy.
“There’s a reason you’re hanging onto the stubborn possibility that Sean isn’t the one. Why? What does it do for you to keep the case open?”
Cindy was deeply insulted. “It’s not about me, Mattheus,” she retorted.
“Well, I don’t buy that,” Mattheus stood up as well and walked closer to her.
“Do you think it was a suicide?” he kept probing as they stood out staring into the night.
“Not necessarily,” Cindy answered.
Mattheus put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to him abruptly. “Then what?”
*
The first thing the next morning, right after breakfast, Cindy and Mattheus left for their Kite boarding lesson. The class was being held at the edge of the water and a few other tourists were waiting there to learn about Kite boarding as well.
The instructor, Andy, a tanned, a blonde haired young man, in his early twenties, led the class naturally, as if he’d done it hundreds of times. He seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.
“The first step we will learn is steering, turning and flying of the kite. Then we’ll learn about the power window,” he said. Andy seemed terrifically at home here near the water, as if he were just where he belonged. Cindy wished for a moment that her life could be uncomplicated like his, planted in a place she adored, focusing on something simple.
“It’s awesome when you get up in the air,” Andy went on with passion, “the closest thing to flying free you’ll ever feel.”
Mattheus took a deep breath. Cindy could see how much he loved being here, how much he longed for the freedom of flying.
“We won’t get up to flying today,” Andy continued, “but we’re going to get a great foundation. We’re also going to learn the use of the kite harness to hold the kite power. You’ll also learn line management and then preparation for the body drag lesson.”
“Fantastic,” said Mattheus.
“Actually, if you want to go further, this afternoon we have the body drag lesson, which takes from two to two and a half hours,” Andy continued, looking right at Mattheus. “Then after that, we do the board lesson, almost two to two and a half hours more, and then you’re ready to fly.”
“Let’s do it all,” said Mattheus, raring to go.
“One lesson is good for starters,” said Cindy.
“Of course, it’s great,” said Mattheus, grabbing her hands. “Thanks for joining me with this.”
“Thank you,” said Cindy, as the instruction went on and they all followed along.
The class was basic, practical and useful. Cindy mostly enjoyed being out near the water, hearing the waves flapping on shore and feeling the sun grow stronger, soothing her.
“The weather’s been crazy these past couple of weeks,” Andy commented as he spoke about the winds. “It’s unusual to get storms down here in Aruba, but could be one or two are coming our way. You get to know when they’re coming when you work so closely with the wind.”
The other tourists in the class grumbled a little about how windy it even was now.
“No,” Andy corrected them, “wind is good for what we are doing. It keeps our kite’s flying, it keeps us happy in the sky.”
After the basic lesson, everyone went to the edge of the pier where there was an outdoor stand that sold coffee, sandwiches and pastry. Cindy and Mattheus followed along.
“Want to do the next class this afternoon?” asked Mattheus.
“Not quite sure,” said Cindy. “Let’s get some coffee first and see.”