Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“Stop,” Mattheus urged, as she got up. “Slow down, take it easy, tomorrow’s another day.”


Cindy walked out onto the balcony and let the dark night surround her. Something didn’t fit, and she wasn’t sure what it was. She mulled about it and realized that she didn’t know much about Tara yet, or Owen either, for that matter. Had Tara and Owen had a sudden fight that pushed her over the edge? How could Cindy be sure that Tara didn’t jump off the boat and swim into the front of it herself? Was she sick of life? Could it have been suicide? Did Tara want to die?”

Mattheus came out and stood at the edge of the balcony. “Come back to bed,” he said quietly.

“We don’t know much of anything about Tara yet, or Owen either,” Cindy replied.

“We have time to find out more about them later,” he said.

“Who knows how much time we really have?” Cindy responded. “Time is crazy, you think you have tons of it, and suddenly it disappears, no time left at all.”

“Cindy,” Mattheus walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “This isn’t about Tara, you’re reacting to your sister’s death now.”

“Well, if I am that’s not a bad thing, is it?” said Cindy, startled by Mattheus’s reply. “Maybe Ann’s death had made me more vigilant.”

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Mattheus, “but for now, it makes sense to rest. Pacing on the balcony isn’t going to give you more time. You can research Tara tomorrow.”

But Cindy couldn’t rest even if she wanted to. “I need to find out more about her tonight. I feel restless.”

“I see that,” said Mattheus.

“All of a sudden I started to wonder if Tara didn’t take her own life?” Cindy continued.

Mattheus was silent a moment. “Where did that thought come from?” he responded. “There’s no evidence of it.”

“But there’s also no evidence that she didn’t kill herself,” Cindy replied. She felt the pulse in her wrists pounding.

“If Tara committed suicide or even threatened to, Owen would have mentioned it,” Mattheus replied quickly. “It would have been a perfect out for him.”

“Not necessarily,” said Cindy. “Maybe Owen was horrified by it, maybe he was ashamed. He wants everyone to think he had the perfect marriage.”

“Or someone in Tara’s family would have mentioned that she was depressed,” Mattheus continued.

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Cindy retorted. “Did you see how depressed her brother Hank was? He didn’t seem normal.”

“That has nothing to do with Tara’s state of mind,” Mattheus was becoming uneasy.

“It could be that mental illness runs in the family,” said Cindy.

“Cindy, what’s going on? You’re all over the place,” Mattheus exclaimed. “This isn’t like you. You usually stick to the facts, stay on focus.”

“But I’m feeling there’s much more to this than we realize,” Cindy cried out.

Okay,” Mattheus’s voice grew low and soothing. “Sit down here on the balcony. I’ll bring out your computer and you can start researching. It will calm you down.”

*

Cindy was relieved to be out there alone with the computer, digging into the details of Tara’s life. First she turned to Tara’s Facebook page, which was open to the public. Tara stared out at Cindy from her page, almost as if she were there with her right now. Cindy stared back at her. Tara was a beautiful woman, in her early forties with smooth skin, long sand colored hair and large, hazel eyes. Her page was filled with friends, who seemed to resemble her in many ways. Obviously, she ran in a circle of solid companions. There were also pictures of her and Owen on the page, looking happy and well suited. To Cindy’s surprise, there were no pictures of Tara’s family to be found anywhere. There were some photos of volunteer work Tara did with orphans, though. Seems like she and Owen supported an orphanage and there were pictures of her with the children.

Cindy read the messages that lined her pages. Most were about plans for lunches, dinners, parties and sailing.

Tara, you’re a hidden angel, one of her friends commented on her page. Nobody knows the truly amazing work you do. No one appreciates it either.

No one appreciates it? Cindy took note. What about Owen? What did that message imply? Cindy kept scrolling and scanning. She also checked other sites looking for more information about Tara.