“What kind of resources do they have down here for a search?” asked Cindy.
“Let’s find that out right away.” Mattheus reached for his phone quickly, dialed, and perked up as someone picked up right away. Cindy watched him listening intently, saying nothing for a while.
“No, of course I didn’t expect you to find her by now,” Mattheus finally uttered. “How’s the search is going?” Mattheus listened for a while and then nodded somberly. “Good, very good, Abe. I’m impressed.”
“What?” Cindy mouthed, wanting to hear what Abe was saying.
“Okay, I get it,” Mattheus responded. “The guys got the dogs out on the hiking trails sniffing, the Coast Guard have boats searching the water, and helicopters are over the rain forests as we speak. Yes, it’s good that the papers have the news. Plaster her face all over, and let me know when more flyers will be ready. The police are doing a fantastic job, I’m impressed.”
Cindy nodded in agreement as she listened.
“I know, I know,” Mattheus continued into the phone. “Of course something like this is lousy PR for the island, but when people see how you handle it, they’ll feel better about everything. This has nothing to do with St. Lucia, either. Something like this could happen anywhere, and it does.”
Mattheus grew quiet then for a few minutes, listening. “Sure, we’ll be glad to meet Darrin Frank soon and coordinate efforts. That would be great. For now Cindy and I will go on the computer to look into their backgrounds. We’ll work from our room. Have Darrin call us as soon as he gets to the hotel and we’ll go downstairs to meet him right away.”
Cindy ran her hands through her hair, pushing it back from her face. She would have to put the coral reef out of her mind. Rowley and Kara had had plans of their own as well. What happened to those plans now? And how much did the plans even matter in light of what happened to Kara?
Mattheus hung the phone up and placed it on the table. “The guys down here are good,” he remarked, surprised. “Very good. They’re on top of everything.”
“They have to be,” Cindy mused. “This is one of the most expensive, luxurious wedding and honeymoon destinations. They can’t let something like this go unchecked.”
“Even if it just happened to be an accident,” Mattheus murmured. “Even if Kara just went swimming at the wrong time and got in over her head, they’ve got to put a good public face on this and search every nook and cranny.”
“Is that what you think, Mattheus, that it was just an accident?” Cindy wanted to know.
“I’m really not sure,” Mattheus replied. “I will be soon though. Once I speak to Rod and get a feel for Kara’s life, things will begin to become more clear.”
*
Cindy and Mattheus went back out onto the patio with their computers to dig into Kara and Rowley’s background. Who was she, really? Cindy wondered. How had her life gone up until now? Even though she’d seemed on top of the world, was she secretly anxious or depressed back at home? Had she left signs somewhere that deep down she was living on the edge and that something like this could have been lurking in her future? Cindy noticed that no one had mentioned the possibility of suicide, but how could it be ruled out? It was entirely possible that Kara might have gone into the ocean and drowned of her own free will. Every possibility had to be explored. The truth often lay in the most unexpected places, or in an accidental chance encounter. By now Cindy had learned though that there was no such thing as chance. And nothing could be ignored in an investigation of this kind. Nothing at all.
Mattheus started grimacing as he opened his computer, looking into Rowley’s background. Cindy went straight to Kara’s Facebook page. As expected, the page showed a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life, surrounded by friends and family, preparing for a magnificent wedding and honeymoon. Good wishes were posted from every possible corner. Photos of Kara and Rowley portrayed a delightful couple to the world, much as they seemed in person. The couple and their families belonged to the best country club and photos of them all together were splashed over the pages. Cindy wondered briefly about the job that Kara had mentioned that she’d liked so much, but saw nothing about it online. Something about the job had been jarring to Rowley. Cindy had to find out more about that now. She wanted to talk to Mattheus about it, but at the moment he was deep into his search.
“Find anything yet?” Cindy called to him.
“Come on, give this a chance, we’ve just gotten going,” Mattheus called back.
Cindy got up from her chair, suddenly restless, though. She wasn’t going to find anything helpful on Kara’s Facebook page, she felt it in her bones. Everything was too sanitized. The page was just a perfect picture, created for the world to see. Cindy walked over to the edge of the patio and leaned over.
“What are you doing?” Mattheus got up and came over to her.