Cindy approached stealthily, moving through the crowds like a shadow, watching every move he made. Owen was so engrossed with the young woman that he had no sense of Cindy approaching at all. The young woman was staring at him with adoring eyes, and he was drinking her adoration in. Clearly they knew each other well. When she got closer Cindy stood there a long moment, staring at them. She couldn’t believe that she’d been duped by Owen, like everyone else. First she felt dizzy, then furious.

Cindy plunged to his side and stood there boldly, waiting for him to look her way. When Owen turned suddenly and saw her, he registered a brief moment of surprise.

“Are we going home on the same flight?” he asked then, a bemused look in his eye, as if he’d won a crafty game.

“You’re not going anywhere right now,” Cindy growled, shaken to the core.

“I beg your pardon?” a flash of wild arrogance crossed his face.

“You’re being detained,” Cindy mustered all her authority.

Owen only laughed harshly at her and pulled the young woman closer to him, looking at Cindy with disdain. The young woman looked shaken, however. Obviously, this confrontation was not something she ever expected.

“Who is this?” Cindy took a step closer, pointing to the young woman. “And what is she doing here with you?”

“This is Nina,” Owen replied, casually, “and what’s it to you?”

“Nina,” Cindy spun towards her and looked at her threateningly, “what are you doing here with Owen now?”

“Don’t say a word, it’s none of her business,” Owen flashed a dark look at Cindy.

“It’s completely my business. I’m still on the case,” Cindy said then, trying to shake the awful confidence he exuded.

“Case is over,” he mocked, “nothing more to do.”

“Oh really?” said Cindy, her eyes narrowing at him. “What if I tell you that we now have an eye witness to the accident?”

“Oh yeah,” Owen replied unaffected, “tell me anything you want. It’s over and you’re fired! You’re working for me, like everyone else.”

“I’m working for Tara,” Cindy shot back as Nina shivered, unnerved.

“Lots of things are over,” Owen continued, blocking Cindy’s words out. “My time with Tara is over finally, my time with her crazy family is over, too. Over, over. It’s a new day.”

“Just like that?” Cindy felt contempt for him. “Tara’s barely dead and you’re with a new woman?”

Owen laughed. “Who’s to say it’s just like that? Nina and I have been together a long time, we’ve been waiting for this moment.”

“Owen, please,” Nina tugged on his jacket, looking afraid.

“Please, nothing,” he said to her bruskly. “There’s not a thing in the world they can do to me now. Or to you, either, sweetheart.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” Cindy’s blood was boiling. “Obviously your relationship with Nina went on while you were married to Tara.”

Owen laughed louder. “So what? What are you going to do, wrap me on my knuckles and tell me I’m a bad boy?”

Cindy wanted to slap him across the face and slap Nina as well. She was actually about to do it when thankfully out of the corner of her eye she saw Mattheus approaching with two cops. Thank God, she whispered, turning the other way and waving to them.

By the time Owen spun around to see who Cindy was waving at, both the cops and Mattheus were at his side.

“Get the hell away from me,” Owen tried to grab Nina and make a run for it.

“Hold on,” one cop said, closing in. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh no? Says who?” asked Owen, trapped and furious.

“There’s new evidence,” Cindy spit out at him again. “There’s a witness who saw you driving the boat into your wife, over and over again.”

“Oh God,” Nina whimpered, turning white.

“Tara was alive after the accident,” Owen gained his footing, “it didn’t kill her. I lost control of the boat. There’s no way they can prove I did it on purpose.”

Nina started crying and Cindy stepped fiercely between her and Owen, separating them.

“If you know something that you’re hiding,” Cindy flung out to Nina, “you’re an accessory to a crime. You’ll be arrested and charged with murder, too.”

“Oh no, no,” Nina became terrified.

“If you tell us the truth, you’ll be free,” Cindy said.

“She doesn’t know the truth, she doesn’t know anything,” Owen tried to edge back in beside her.

“I do know things,” Nina kept whimpering.

“Shut your mouth, idiot,” Owen demanded.

Nina’s eyes opened painfully. “What did you call me?” she gasped.

Owen stepped closer threateningly, “I said shut up, idiot,” he thundered at her.

Trembling, Nina crept closer to Cindy.

“It’s alright, Nina,” Cindy said, “tell us the truth and you’ll be protected in every way.”

“It was planned, it was planned,” Nina started sputtering, “Owen did it to be with me. And not only that, he wanted the money, too.”

“From the insurance policy?” Cindy demanded.

“Yes, he said he needed all the money he could get. And he needed Tara gone, and me in his life,” Nina’s body was trembling.

The police yanked Owen’s arms behind him then and locked the cuffs on.

Owen’s face grew red and his eyes started glaring. “You’re a fool now and you’ve always been,” he practically spit at Nina.

“Did Owen put the stuff into Tara’s IV?” Cindy continued grilling Nina. This was a perfect time to get every ounce of truth out of her.

“Yes, he did,” Nina breathed. “But I pushed him to do it. I couldn’t stand waiting so long for Tara to die.”

“You couldn’t stand waiting?” Cindy was horrified.

“Neither of us expected Tara to live after Owen pushed her into the water and rode the boat into her head,” Nina couldn’t stop talking. “Tara had no right to live then, but she did. Then Owen just sat there day after day in that chair by her side. I told him to get out of the chair and finish it off. I couldn’t stand waiting. We had a new life ahead for us.”

Owen glared at Nina as she spoke, then suddenly lurched again as the cops cranked the cuffs tighter.

“Alana was innocent all along?” Cindy breathed painfully.

“She was,” Nina looked at Cindy, alarmed.

“You killed not only Tara, but Alana as well,” Cindy stared at her. “Two beautiful women dead because of both of you.”

“But you said I’d be free, you’d keep me safe if I told you everything,” Nina was quick to cry out. “You need me for a witness, too.”

“Yes, I do,” Cindy acquiesced.

Mattheus stepped over to Cindy then as one policeman carted Owen away and the other came over to Nina.

“I offered her immunity. We need her for a witness,” Cindy muttered.

“Got it,” the other policeman said, taking Nina’s information down, “I’ll advise the courts of that.”

“Well at least they’ve got Owen,” Mattheus replied, as Nina stood there shaking like a ragged leaf in the wind.

Chapter 22

Once again the headlines announced that Cindy was a hero. Because of her unwillingness to leave any stone unturned, Tara’s true killer had been apprehended! At the very last minute Cindy had turned things on their head once again.

Cindy and Mattheus sat close to one another on the small, velvet settee in their hotel suite watching the news on TV.

“The hospital administrator, Konrad has been re-instated in his job,” the reporter continued. “Devastated to have lost Alana, Konrad is setting up a foundation in her name.”

“So many victims of one crime,” breathed Cindy.

“And some who will grow because of it, as well,” said Mattheus, comfortingly.

That was an interesting thought to Cindy. “Who?” she asked.

“I received two calls from Loretta who couldn’t get through to your phone,” Mattheus continued. “She said you’ve saved her life, turned her into another person. One day she wants to be a detective like you.”