Cindy was stopped. “Just tell me how you know either Kara or Rowley. How you heard of them.”
“And where does that get me, Cindy?” Santos smiled.
“I’ll be forever grateful,” Cindy replied. “So will her family.”
“Grateful,” Santos laughed. “When people are grateful to Santos for a favor, there’s a big price to pay for it.”
“What kind of price?” Cindy stood up and looked at him directly.
Santos was mesmerized, seemed to love Cindy’s spirit. “If I had a daughter like you, I would be a proud man, Cindy,” he replied.
Cindy felt touched by his comment. “Thank you,” she said, “please tell me more.”
“Well, for one thing, whatever I tell you is personal,” Santos continued. “You swear to me that you won’t tell the police.”
Cindy wasn’t sure she could swear that.
“Because if anybody goes behind Santos’s back, it just takes a minute and they end up dead on the beach. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you, Cindy. Never.”
Cindy shuddered. “Is that what happened to Shane? Did she go behind your back, Santos?”
“That’s not what we’re talking about, is it?” Santos replied. “You asked me how I heard of Kara or Rowley.”
“How?” asked Cindy.
Santos’s eyes began to squint. “The husband is a surgeon back in the States,” he started. “The bride works for a shelter for abused, crazy women, who could turn on anyone in a second flat.”
That news was public; it didn’t prove that Santos knew them personally.
“Everybody knows that,” said Cindy, irritated. “It doesn’t mean you know them.”
“I like you, Cindy,” Santos blurted out then, “and I’m gonna help. Your partner isn’t with you, so I’ll be your partner for now. How about that?”
Cindy had no idea what he meant exactly, but she was willing to find out. “Good,” she said.
“Just be a little patient,” Santos continued, “I have to talk to someone.”
“Then what?” asked Cindy hurriedly.
“Then you’ll see what will happen all by yourself,” Santos mumbled. He got up and went back to the seat he’d been sitting on, indicating that the interview was over for now .
Cindy turned to go.
“And come back in a little while,” Santos called out after her. “And don’t think I don’t feel bad about what happened to Shane either, because I do.”
*
Cindy drove back to the hotel feeling elated. She liked Santos and he liked her. Their connection was totally unexpected but somehow she felt he was good for his word. He was going to help.
As the cab got closer to their destination, her phone suddenly rang. Once again Cindy hoped it would be Mattheus, longing to share the exciting news. Instead, Alfred was on the other end.
“We just got a call from a woman named Holly.” Alfred sounded fitful. “She said that you were at the casino, sniffing around the drug ring.”
Cindy was totally stunned. How could Alfred have heard the news so quickly?
“Holly and I are good friends,” Alfred went on quickly. “When anyone goes to see Santos, she calls me right away. When she described you, I knew who it was.”
“That’s right, Alfred,” Cindy said, actually glad to be talking to someone about it.
“You should have checked with me first.” Alfred sounded indignant.
“Excuse me,” said Cindy, “but I happen to be the detective on the case.”
“This wasn’t a good idea, Cindy,” Alfred continued. “You could be creating more trouble, sniffing around. We’re getting close to something, very close.”
“Who’s we?” asked Cindy. “You and Vinny?”
“Right,” Alfred quipped. “No one else is doing a damn about things, so we’ve taken
it in our own hands.”
Cindy felt half terrified by that and half relieved. “What have you found? Is there anything you can tell me?”
“If there was I would have told you already,” Alfred breathed. “But we’ve got to keep things quiet now. I can tell you one thing, though.”
“What?” asked Cindy, on edge.
“Check Shane’s Facebook page right away. No one’s bothered to do that thoroughly yet.”
“That’s it?” asked Cindy.
“That’s a lot,” Alfred said. “Just do it, you’ll be happy.”
CHAPTER 16