The idea was certainly tempting to Cindy, but she couldn’t leave now even if she wanted to.
“We’ll definitely go there, but not now,” she said.
“What’s left to do here? There’s nothing to investigate,” Mattheus sounded exasperated.
Just then, thankfully, Cindy’s phone rang. She picked it up and it was Loretta.
“You guys planning to leave?” Loretta asked, frantically.
“In a little while, Loretta,” Cindy breathed.
“Don’t go yet, please. Wait for me, I have to talk to you,” Loretta pleaded.
“I’ll definitely wait,” Cindy answered promptly. “When can we meet?”
“How about in an hour at the park down the road from your hotel?” Loretta said before she hung up the phone.
“It was Loretta, she wants to talk to me,” Cindy was excited.
“Okay,” said Mattheus gathering his patience. “You go talk to Loretta in the park, when you come back I’ll order the airplane tickets. Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes, it does,” breathed Cindy.
“You’re teaching me how to be a patient man, Cindy,” Mattheus exclaimed. “If I didn’t love you so much, it would drive me crazy.”
“Don’t let it drive you crazy,” smiled Cindy. “Just become more and more patient and keep loving me.”
“That’s a deal,” said Mattheus, “I definitely will.”
Then he pulled Cindy close to him and they kissed deeply.
“You’re a wonderful detective, Cindy,” Mattheus murmured when they pulled apart, “and a better woman than you’ll ever know. You’re worth waiting for, really worth it. I’ll stay here as long as you want.”
*
Cindy arrived at the little park down the block from the hotel, where huge hibiscus flowers bloomed and birds sung their hearts out. She got there before Loretta and waited on a wooden slatted bench. Cindy was relieved to have one more person to talk to about the case. No matter what anyone said, Cindy knew she wasn’t finished investigating, but had no idea why.
As soon as Loretta arrived she pranced over to Cindy brightly, excited to see her there.
“You’re a good person, Cindy,” Loretta said as she sat down close to her. “There aren’t too many good persons left in this world anymore, but you’re definitely one of them. We need you here. I need you.”
“Why, thank you very much,” said Cindy, deeply touched. “Why do you say that?”
“You care about my mother,” Loretta replied.
“Yes, I do,” said Cindy sadly, feeling Loretta’s huge loss, “and you care about her, too.”
Loretta winced. “I always did but no one realized it. They were all awful to me, got in the way. I’ll never get over it.”
“Yes, you will,” said Cindy, turning her full gaze upon the frail young woman. “Time will show you how to get over it, Loretta. One day you’ll learn how to forgive them all.”
“Forgive them?” Loretta gritted her teeth. “How could you even suggest something like that?”
“Because you’ll do it not only for them, but for your own sake too,” said Cindy. “I know you can, you’re a good person, too.”
Tears filled Loretta’s eyes and her face suddenly softened. For the first time Cindy saw under her stony exterior how pretty she really could be.
“No one ever said to me that I was a good person,” Loretta suddenly whimpered.
“Well, I’m saying it now,” Cindy insisted. “You’re a good person Loretta, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I won’t,” Loretta’s voice was barely audible.
Cindy wanted to hear what else Loretta had to tell her. “Tell me what you have on your mind,” Cindy asked.
Loretta was happy to plunge in. “I don’t believe Alana did it for a minute,” she started, eager to finally be speaking her mind. “There’s stuff you don’t know about everyone,” Loretta spoke fitfully.
Loretta’s moods shifted so quickly, Cindy wondered if she could trust anything Loretta said. She wanted to give it a try, anyway. “What don’t I know?” Cindy asked.
“I want you to call my mother’s friend Veronica and find out,” Loretta’s eyes darted back and forth. “Let Veronica tell you about my mother’s so called wonderful marriage to Owen.”
Cindy immediately remembered that Veronica was the woman Tara mentioned in her diary who kept warning her about her relationship with Owen.
“Are you in touch with your mother’s friend Veronica?” Cindy was surprised.
“Not really,” said Loretta, “but I saw some of the things she posted on my mom’s Facebook page and decided to contact her and get her phone number. First thing I told her my mom had been murdered. I thought she’d faint on the spot. Then we had a good talk. Veronica’s a straight shooter, like you. I know you’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will,” said Cindy fascinated, as Loretta handed her a crumpled piece of paper with Veronica’s number sprawled on it.
“Call her now,” urged Loretta, “don’t waste a minute.”
Cindy uncrumpled the paper, took out her phone and dialed. In less than a moment a harsh voice on the other end answered, “Who’s this?”
“Veronica, this is Cindy Blaine of C and M Investigations,” Cindy replied.
“A detective?” Veronica sounded ruffled.
“I’m investigating your friend Tara’s death,” Cindy quickly put her at ease.
“Oh God, oh God, I should have seen it coming,” Veronica exclaimed. “Tara lived in a fool’s paradise. I warned her, she wouldn’t listen, and now she’s dead.”
“Warned her about what?” Cindy quickly jumped on it.
“I warned Tara over and over that Owen had something going on,” Veronica insisted. “She refused to believe me. She said I was crazy, that I liked making trouble in everyone’s marriage.”
“Was that true?” asked Cindy straightforwardly.
“Sure, I like pointing out bullshit, if that’s what you mean,” Veronica answered directly. “If you don’t point it out up front, if you don’t give people warnings, stuff like this can happen later on. You know how many women get killed by creepy husbands?”
“What made you think Owen had something going on?” Cindy continued, shaken.
“Nothing definite,” Veronica continued boldly. “But Owen’s a sexy, rich, charming guy, and Tara became more and more boring every year. She was stupid too, took him completely for granted, didn’t even dress up much anymore. A few times we were all out together, I saw Owen looking at other women, big time.”
“Most men look, don’t they?” asked Cindy. “What’s the big deal about that?”
“Yeah, they look,” agreed Veronica, “but Owen felt like he was on the prowl. This was one, hungry man.”
“Did you want Owen for yourself?” Cindy wanted to test and unnerve her.
Veronica guffawed. “Not really,” she said, “though it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing. I could have made him happier than Tara, for sure.”
“Owen says they were happy, had a great marriage,” Cindy insisted.
“Yeah, yeah,” Veronica tossed it off, “guys say everything to cover up, don’t they? But where was the fire between them? Where was the spark? Completely gone, if you asked me.”
They talked a while longer and Cindy hung up from the conversation feeling more out of sorts than before.
“Veronica’s a smart woman,” Loretta jumped in as Cindy put her phone away. “She’s got it going on.”
“Thanks for telling me about her, Loretta,” said Cindy.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Loretta wasn’t letting it go. “She told you about my mother and Owen?”
“She told me what she thought,” said Cindy.
“Owen was released from jail too quickly, it’s not right,” pouted Loretta.
Cindy knew that Loretta had it in for Owen, and had to take all this with a grain of salt.
“Don’t leave the island so fast, please,” Loretta pleaded. “My mother deserved better, her whole life long.”
“Alright,” Cindy capitulated. “I’ll stay in Jamaica a little while longer and see what else comes up.”
“Thank you,” Loretta leapt over and hugged Cindy. “It will be worth your while, I know it will. Don’t they say the truth reveals itself if you wait for it?”