“Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Alfred,” she said, wanting to make sure he knew how much she appreciated his trust.
“I like you,” said Alfred, tapping his hands on the table.
“I like you, too,” Cindy replied.
“I don’t want to give anything to the police prematurely,” Alfred continued. “I want to see what they do on their own, let them flush the truth out.”
“They’re searching for Kara night and day,” whispered Cindy.
“And for all we know they’re the ones who stashed her away!” Alfred wouldn’t let that idea go.
“Why would they do that? Why, Alfred?” asked Cindy.
“I’m looking into it,” he answered slowly. “Don’t worry, pretty soon, I’ll find out.”
“What did Kara write in the email?” Cindy asked then, flustered, wondering if Kara mentioned that the police were after her.
“Kara just said she was thinking of me, and that I never should forget her,” Alfred replied, his lower lip curling downwards as though he were about to cry.
Cindy shivered. That was definitely a strange email to write to a friend on your honeymoon. What could it possibly mean?
“Do you have a copy of the email, Alfred?” Cindy asked.
“Of course I do.” Alfred was insulted. “Why do you ask? You don’t believe me?”
“No, of course I believe you.” Cindy tried to calm him down. “I definitely believe you, I just wondered why she would write something like that. What could it mean?”
“Exactly,” said Alfred, “now you’re thinking the way I’m thinking. Right away, I knew the email was a warning.”
“What kind of warning?” Despite herself, Cindy felt afraid.
“Kara’s very sensitive,” Alfred continued, “she always has a feeling when something’s coming along. She must have felt something bad was going to happen to her. What else could that email mean?”
Cindy racked her brain quickly to come up with explanations. “It could mean that she might have been afraid that once she was married you might not feel as close,” she offered.
“Impossible,” said Alfred. “We danced at her wedding all night long.”
“It might have been her way of saying she was thinking of you?” Cindy tried again.
“Kara never put it that way before,” he continued. “I know her—she was telling me she was in trouble.”
“So why didn’t she just say it if she wrote the email after she disappeared?” asked Cindy.
“Who knows who took her?” Alfred sat up straight, digging his fists into the table. “They could have checked her emails for all we know. But she’s still alive right now, I’m positive of it. The only explanation is that whoever took her was following her all along. They knew she was here, knew all about her. Then they grabbed her when she was alone on the beach.”
“How did they know she was alone on the beach?” Cindy was all over it.
“They could have had secret security cameras videoing her wherever she went,” said Alfred.
This was beginning to sound too crazy to Cindy. “Who is they?” she asked.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Alfred’s eyes started to gleam.
“Why did they do it, though? What do they want from her?” Now Cindy couldn’t let go either.
“I’m not exactly sure about that yet,” mumbled Alfred, “but I will be soon, believe me. Maybe Rowley is sitting there like a lame duck, waiting for a ransom call, but me, I’m out in the thick of things. I’ve got my tentacles spread everywhere, and I’m the one who’s gonna bring Kara home! Me, not him. You just watch and see!”
CHAPTER 8
After her meeting with Alfred, Cindy returned to the hotel exhausted. She and Alfred
hugged each other and promised to stay in close touch. Cindy couldn’t decide if he was a man
on a mission, or someone living in a fantasy land. Sometimes there wasn’t that much difference between them, Cindy thought. Believing too much in a mission could block out reality in all kinds of ways.
As soon as she got to the hotel, Cindy decided to stop at Rowley’s room one more time to check in. Then she’d go back to her room and unwind. To Cindy’s surprise, when she got there, once again the door was open and Rowley was sitting next to the phone alone.
“Rowley,” said Cindy as she walked in.
“Come in, come in,” he said, relieved to see her there. “Everyone’s stepped out for a few minutes and I don’t like sitting here alone.”
Cindy walked in quickly. This was perfect timing. She’d been hungry for the opportunity to speak to him alone, and now she had it.
“Nothing yet?” she asked, as she sat down on a chair next to him.
“Nothing.” Rowley looked despairing.
“No tips, no calls of any kind?” Cindy was surprised.
“Not that I know of,” said Rowley. “Of course there could be plenty of calls going into
the police station, but no one’s told me about them yet.”