Rowley seemed suddenly knocked off balance and Cindy wasn’t sure why. Was it painful seeing Kara again? Was it shocking to discover that she knew the woman who’d just been murdered? Cindy couldn’t tell anything from his expression, except that he looked disoriented.
“I’ll put in a call to Rod,” Rowley finally managed. “I’ll tell him and Mattheus to get right up to the room.”
“I would appreciate that,” said Cindy, pleased that Rowley was cooperating.
“Let me tell Rod and Mattheus to meet you downstairs in the lobby,” Rowley continued as he went for his phone. “I’d rather be by myself right now. This has been a hard day for me and that photo makes it even harder.” Then he smiled and nodded at Cindy. “I’m sure you understand.”
Cindy understood that Rowley wanted time alone, but she wasn’t entirely sure why. Did he want to tell his parents about this with no one else present? Was he shaken to see Kara’s photo linked up with Shane?
“Of course,” Cindy answered quietly. “And I appreciate your contacting Mattheus and Rod for me.
*
Cindy left Rowley’s room unsettled and went down to the lobby to wait for Mattheus and Rod. She hadn’t seen Rod in a long while and didn’t particularly look forward to seeing him again. She was also concerned about how Mattheus would react to the photo. Would he agree that this was a game changer? Would he stand by Cindy’s side?
By now it was almost lunch time and the lobby was filled with guests milling around, beautifully dressed, talking and laughing happily. They were mostly beautiful, young honeymooners, celebrating a time in their life that was perfect and would most likely not come again.
As Cindy sat on a plush red sofa near the entrance and waited, she watched the array of couples and thought about the breakfast she and Mattheus had with Rowley and Kara just a few days ago. It was hard to believe how much had happened since then. Would Rowley ever see Kara again? Was she still alive somewhere on the island? Despite all odds, Cindy couldn’t help but believe that she was close by, waiting to be found.
Cindy was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Mattheus and Rod come into the lobby until they actually stood right in front of her.
“What’s the emergency?” Mattheus started. “We got a call from Rowley.” He sounded distressed.
“Thanks for coming back so quickly,” Cindy said to Mattheus. Then she threw a quick glance at Rod, who stood there obviously irritated.
Cindy stood up quickly and reached into her bag. “Something’s been brought to my attention that you have to be aware of immediately, Mattheus.” Cindy spoke in a completely professional, clipped tone. “It’s a complete game changer in the case.”
Mattheus looked curious as Cindy pulled the envelope out of her bag. Rod looked as though he couldn’t care less, just slung back.
Cindy took out the photo and handed it to Mattheus. “Here, take a look at this,” she said.
Mattheus glanced at the photo quickly. Soon he looked as startled as Cindy felt. “Kara and Shane,” he whispered, “my God!” He stared at the photo, bewildered.
“What did you say?” Rod practically growled, leaning over to take a look.
“It’s Kara and Shane together,” Mattheus mouthed the words slowly.
Rod just stared.
“They knew each other,” Mattheus continued, trying to put the pieces together fast. “Were you aware of this, Rod?”
“What kind of question is that? Hell, no,” Rod replied.
“Rowley told the police that neither he nor Kara knew Shane,” Cindy reminded them.
“So what? Kara’s in the picture, not Rowley.” Rod turned to Cindy condescendingly. “Kara knew Shane. That’s all this picture says.”
Cindy and Mattheus exchanged a quick glance.
“Cindy’s right, this is a game changer, Rod,” Mattheus had to agree. “I would say that the family needs to stay on the island until we find out more about the relationship between the young women.”
“What’s the connection? I don’t get it.” Rod was obviously ill at ease now. “Kara knew lots of people.”
But they didn’t turn up dead on the same beach she disappeared from a few days before, thought Cindy. She didn’t want to say it out loud though, for fear of upsetting Rod even further.
“Is this going to lead us to Kara?” Rod asked Mattheus bluntly. “Is that why you want us to stay?”
“It could lead anywhere.” Mattheus was obviously as affected by the photo as Cindy had been.
“Did you show this to Rowley?” Rod turned to Cindy directly. “Is that why he called us?”
“Yes,” said Cindy. “I asked Rowley if he also knew Shane. He said he didn’t.”
“Of course he didn’t,” Rod broke in, wanting to turn the heat down. “Give the guy a break, won’t you? He’s been through hell as it is. Why show him stuff like this and torture him more?”
“Because it could lead us straight to your daughter,” said Cindy.
Rod’s face took on a desperate hue. “Nothing’s going to lead us to my daughter again. Why raise false hopes? You think that’s right? You think that’s fair?” He obviously couldn’t stand Cindy.