“Stop a minute!” Mattheus insisted in an authoritative tone. “Talk to me. We’re C and M Investigations, detectives in the Caribbean.”
The cop stopped short. “I heard of you guys,” he muttered, his eyes darting back and forth between Mattheus and Cindy. “My name’s Abe.” He extended a long hand.
Mattheus shook his hand promptly. “Okay, Abe, now tell me what’s going on.”
Abe gazed around the lobby furtively. “Well, in truth, no one’s sure yet. From what we know so far, seems like one of the guests went missing late this afternoon.”
An icy chill ran up Cindy’s arms.
“One of the guests?” Mattheus wanted more.
“Yeah,” Abe continued, “one of the honeymooners. This place is loaded with them.”
“That’s horrible,” breathed Mattheus.
“We’re not jumping to any conclusions yet.” Abe tried to calm him down. “These couples come down here and go crazy and all bets are off. They party all night long, get wasted, and do something stupid. Sometimes they fall asleep where no one can find them and wake up a day later and wander back. Could be this gal who went missing was high as a kite and is wandering around as we speak. I’ve seen it before plenty of times.”
Mattheus suddenly seemed ill at ease. “I want details,” he insisted.
“I told you, we’re not sure,” Abe went on. “The husband says his wife went out for a late afternoon swim at the beach. He didn’t feel like going, decided to do some stuff and wait in the room for her. When she didn’t come back in about an hour and a half, he went out to the beach, looking for her. She wasn’t there, though. There was no sign of her anywhere. Then he went back to the room to wait, but she never returned.”
Tears stung Cindy’s eyes. This was exactly the same scenario that had played out with her and Clint in Barbados. He’d gone out to surf in the late afternoon while Cindy had stayed in the room to nap.
“The husband called the police about eight o’clock. The wife had been gone for about four hours by then,” Abe continued. “We’re putting a search team together, talking to people.”
“You got anyone loose on the island who’s trouble?” Mattheus asked quickly. There could be gang members of all kinds floating around, just waiting to spot a woman alone.
“Nothing like that.” Abe shook his head. “All that’s under control in St. Lucia. Right now we’re talking to everyone at the hotel, putting posters around, scanning the neighborhood from top to bottom. If she didn’t get in trouble when she went swimming in the ocean and the tide didn’t take her out, someone’s got to have seen this young lady. We’re worried about the husband, too. Right now he’s freaking out.”
“Of course he’s freaking out,” Cindy interrupted.
“Yeah.” Abe backtracked. “But this guy’s a surgeon, he’s seen lots of stuff.”
Cindy’s breath caught in her throat.“What did you say? A surgeon?” She could barely speak.
“Yeah, Rowley Flynn, ever heard of him?” asked Abe.
“Rowley Flynn?” Mattheus sounded as horror-struck as Cindy felt.
“It’s not possible,” Cindy barely whispered. “Kara and Rowley?”
“That’s it,” said Abe, “the gal’s name was Kara.”
Cindy felt Mattheus freeze up. “You’re absolutely positive her name was Kara?” Cindy asked Abe.
“You knew her?” Abe was startled.
“Kara Flynn?” Mattheus repeated.
“Yeah, that was her name,” Abe assured him.
“That is her name, not was,” Cindy interjected. “There’s no reason to think she’s dead, is there?”
At that Abe gave Cindy a long, strange glance. “You never know, you just don’t,” he murmured. “She could come walking back into the hotel any minute and tell us that she got lost. Or, for all we know she could have decided this marriage wasn’t for her and took off on her own. Stranger things than that have happened down here. I hear about them all the time.”
“She didn’t take off on her own,” Mattheus corrected him emphatically.
“How do you know?” Abe looked startled again.
“We know the couple.” Mattheus’s voice became ponderous. “Cindy and I spent time with them this morning. They were happy, rejoicing.”
“What?” Abe’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my God. We’re gonna need to talk to you guys more about this.”
“Sure,” Mattheus agreed, “and Cindy and I are gonna have to talk to the cops, too. You’re going to have to let us help out. This isn’t just some woman, it’s personal.”
Abe looked confused. “That’s not up to me. You’ll have to talk to the chief, Darrin Frank.”
“We’ll talk to anyone we have to,” said Mattheus. “Has the family been notified?”
“Not sure,” said Abe.
“Where’s Rowley now?” Mattheus dove right in.
“He’s out on the streets, looking for his wife,” Abe whispered. “We told him to stay put, that we were putting together search teams. But he’s crazed right now, out there searching.”