As soon as they got up in the morning, Mattheus ordered breakfast up in the room.
“The family’s booked on a five p.m. flight back to the States,” Mattheus told Cindy as they ate. “This is their last day here. Rod’s incredibly jittery. After that, I’m all yours.”
Cindy drank down what was left of her coffee. “It’s completely fine,” she said and meant it. She wanted to spend time with Alfred that day and also check further into Shane’s background. “Just keep in touch as the day goes by,” she added. “That would mean a lot to me.”
“I definitely will,” said Mattheus, “and it means a lot to me as well. And promise me you won’t go back down to the drug ring alone. I’ll go with you next time. I want to meet Santos anyway.”
“You want to meet Santos, or you’re doing it to look after me?” Cindy wanted to be sure.
“Both,” said Mattheus. “Once the family leaves my head will be clearer and I’ll be able to help you come to peace with everything.”
That was a tall order, thought Cindy. She didn’t need to come to peace with everything either. She just wanted to find out as much as she could about Shane’s untimely death. That would give her peace enough, for now.
Mattheus gave her another hug then, promised they’d talk soon, and walked out the door. “The minute I hear from the police about the call they’ve traced, I’ll let you know,” he promised. “Don’t worry about it, though. Chances are mostly it’s some kind of a prank.”
Cindy didn’t think it was a prank, and was eager to hear more. “Thanks, Mattheus,” she said. “I’ll be waiting to hear.”
After he left, Cindy planned to go back to her computer to dig deeper into Shane’s life. First she went to the bathroom to wash up, put on makeup, and slip into an easy summer lime green print dress that always lifted her spirits.
Once freshened up, Cindy went to get the computer to take out on the patio when a stiff knock on her door stopped her cold. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Probably housekeeping, she thought, and debated about whether or not to answer.
The person knocked again swiftly, this time harder than before.
“Yes?” Cindy called out, initially reluctant to open up and be disturbed.
“I’m here, open up,” a woman’s voice answered on the other side. “Let me in.”
The voice was not familiar, but the urgency in it made Cindy go straight to the door and open it.
To Cindy’s shock, Jenna stood there. Cindy immediately recognized her from Shane’s Facebook page. She was petite and pretty with a fierce energy about her.
“You messaged me yesterday,” Jenna announced, nervous to be standing there.
“Please come in,” said Cindy.
Jenna nodded abruptly, entered the room, and took a second to look around. “Incredible suite!” she exclaimed.
“Thanks,” said Cindy, “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Are you really?” Jenna looked relieved. “I was totally freaked out about coming. Alfred said you were great and it would be okay, but I was still totally freaked.”
“Why?” asked Cindy, surprised.
“I’m totally freaked out in general by what happened to Shane.” Jenna spoke rapid fire. “She’s been my best friend for years.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Cindy.
“Yeah, that’s what Alfred said, that you would make it easy for me to talk to you,” Jenna continued.
Cindy greatly appreciated Alfred’s encouragement.
“I came down right away when Alfred told me what happened.” Jenna spoke rapidly. “He found me on Shane’s Facebook page and I’ve been here for a couple of days. The minute I heard the horrible news I flew down to help. Can we go outside and talk on the patio? I’m totally claustrophobic inside.”
“Of course,” said Cindy, leading her out into the beautiful sunny day, where puffy, white clouds were streaming across the sky, making it feel as though everything was well with the world and always would be.
“Oh God, is this true? Am I dreaming?” Jenna kept muttering, as she tossed her large pocketbook onto the patio table.
“Sit down on the lounge chair, Jenna,” Cindy suggested.
“Do you want to hear the craziest part of it, though? I always knew something awful would happen to Shane,” Jenna said as she sat down on the edge of the lounge.
“Why?” asked Cindy, fascinated.
“Because Shane loved trouble, she lived off danger. There are women like that, you know.” Jenna threw a long look at Cindy.
“Yes, I know,” Cindy answered as calmly as she could.
“I tried to warn Shane over and over,” Jenna continued.
“I know you did,” said Cindy. “I saw messages from you on her Facebook page.”
“But what good did it do?” Jenna asked, staring at Cindy painfully. “Shane couldn’t hear a thing I said.”
“It sounds as if you were a wonderful friend to her while she was alive.” Cindy wanted to say something helpful.