Death by Proposal (6 page)

“No
one on their floor still admits to opening their door and taking a look?” asked
Mattheus.

“They
all said they were scared,” said Rod. “Most thought it was personal, a fight
going on between a couple. People like to stay out of that.”

“Doesn’t
surprise me,” said Spike. “People come for a vacation, don’t want to get pulled
into someone else’s mess.”

“I
sure get that,” Mattheus answered. “What else you got?”

“The
girl’s parents and uncle are here,” the police continued.

“Her
father too?” Cindy was curious.

“Yeah,
the father’s in their room, having a breakdown. We can’t get to see him yet.
Seems like the uncle’s the front man.”

“We
met him already,” said Mattheus.

“Good,”
said Rod. “Talk to him yet?”

“Not
yet” Mattheus was taking over. “We just officially got on the case. I don’t
know about Cindy, maybe she has?” He threw a quick, side look at her.

“The
uncle said he was close to his niece growing up,” Cindy filled in. “Said she was
wonderful, happy, a great gal. There was absolutely nothing to indicate
suicide.”

“They
all say that,” Spike muttered. “Doesn’t mean a damn. People don’t see each
other suffering, drugging, drinking, even if they live under the same roof.
Just the way no one bothered to open the door when they heard someone yelling
and banging.”

“You
guys still thinking it’s suicide?” Mattheus asked.

“We’re
waiting for the medical examiner’s report. Unless we have something else
definite, suicide is where we’re headed,” said Rod. “So far the injuries are
consistent with falling out the window, but you never know what the examiner
will find. In the meantime, it would help us a lot if you would do a thorough
investigation of Clay online and Cindy can investigate Kate. We need possible
ghosts in their past, dark spots that haven’t come to light. Look for a reason
why someone would want to kill her. So far, there’s none. Clay’s parents should
be arriving in a little while. We need you guys to talk to them and also spend
more time with Kate’s family.”

Both
Cindy and Mattheus got it. Cindy was eager to start.

“What
about Clay?” Cindy asked quickly. “It’s important to talk to him right away,
too.”

“We’ve
got that covered. Talked to him plenty, but nothing so far. We’re holding him
in his room for another day.”

“We
need to talk to him, too,” Cindy continued. “We always start with the main
person of interest.”

Spike
shrugged, “Good idea. You never know what he’ll spill to a pretty lady.”

“I’ll
go with Cindy for the interview,” Mattheus clarified. “We usually talk to main
suspects together. If one of us misses something, the other picks it up.”

“Fine
with us,” said Rod. “We’ll call the hotel police and let them know you’ll be going
up to Clay’s room right away.”

When
Cindy and Mattheus entered Clay’s room, his back was to them. The morning had
suddenly turned cloudy and he stood, looking out the window at the sky.  Other
than that the room was empty, except for a cop who sat who sat in the corner, guarding
him.

“Hello,
Clay,” Cindy started.

Clay
spun around and stared at both of them without blinking. He looked just as he
had that night in the dining room, tall, statuesque, regal, handsome. Cindy
wondered if he remembered seeing her there?

“More
interviews?” he asked, his face taut with pain.

Cindy
and Mattheus walked closer slowly.

“We’re
here to help you out,” said Cindy. “We’re private detectives, here to help find
out what truly happened.”

It
seemed as though Clay sighed briefly, although his face remained immoveable. As
Cindy took another step closer she could see how swollen his eyes were, that he’d
been crying and distraught.

“I’m
very sorry for your loss,” she offered.

Clay
closed his eyes slightly, looking away.

“It’s
a terrible thing,” Cindy’s voice grew softer.

Suddenly,
Clay seemed to yield. Something about Cindy calmed him.

 “It
is terrible,” he echoed, opening his eyes.

“Do
you happen to remember me?” Cindy asked lightly. “Mattheus and I sat right next
to your table in the dining room the other night?”

Clay
registered nothing about it. He just looked over at a cop who’d been stationed
in the corner of his room and seemed annoyed.

Cindy
immediately understood what he was feeling.

“Would
you like to talk to us privately?” Cindy continued, as if she were talking to a
little child.

“Yes,”
said Clay, suddenly eager to be free of the oppressive presence of the police
officer.

Mattheus
nodded over at the policeman, motioning for him to leave. “We’ll let you know
when we’re finished here,” he said to him.

The
cop got up grudgingly, and walked out of the room.

Clay
seemed to get his strength back as soon as the policeman left.

 “I
can’t bear having him sit here with me,” Clay said. “He’s grim, he’s nasty, he
barely looks at me. When I get upset, he taps his feet on the floor like he’s
telling me to shut up.”

“I’m
so sorry,” said Cindy.

“When
my parents get here, they’ll get him tossed out,” he said.

 “You’re
expecting your parents soon?” asked Cindy.

“Any
minute,” said Clay. “Their flight was delayed twice, for no apparent reason.
But they’re on their way now, they’re horrified.”

Mattheus
nodded. “You’re close to your parents?”

“Very,”
Clay breathed. “My parents are best friends. They’ve always been. They’ll do
anything in the world for me. I work for my father’s firm.”

“How
lovely,” Cindy smiled gently. It wasn’t often that she heard that.

Clay
spoke more forcefully then. “Lovely for them and for me. It tears me up to
think how upset and hurt they are now.”

Mattheus
moved closer and Clay looked at him oddly. “Are you two together?” he asked suddenly.

 “We
work together,” Mattheus informed him.

Clay
looked back and forth between them. Mattheus’s answer didn’t seem to satisfy
him. He wanted more.

“Are
you engaged? Are you married?” Clay wanted the details urgently.

Cindy
wasn’t sure what to make of it and Mattheus took over promptly.

“We’re
not engaged or married,” said Mattheus, “why do you ask?”

Clay
shrugged and motioned for them to sit down at the table that stood near the
window.

“Would
you like some tea?” Clay asked, as though he were suddenly inviting them to his
apartment for refreshment.

“No
thanks,” said Mattheus, sitting down, “not right now.”

Clay
sat down with them and poured himself a cup of tea.

“Why
did you want to know if we were engaged or married?” Mattheus didn’t want to
let it go.

“You
look like you are,” said Clay, casually. “I always like to guess which couples
are married, which are engaged and which are just drifting around. It makes a
difference to me. I prefer to be with couples who are married.”

“We
heard that you just got engaged yourself,” Cindy chimed in, not wanting to
answer any further questions about her personal life.

Clay
put his cup of tea down abruptly. His face flushed and his eyes brightened.

“Yes,
Kate and I had just gotten engaged,” his voice rang out oddly. “She was
thrilled, delirious, couldn’t have been more excited. After the proposal we
went to celebrate with dinner and dancing.”

“I
saw you there,” murmured Cindy softly. “You were sitting at the table besides
ours.”

Clay
didn’t register it. “I don’t remember,” he said, “all I remember is how happy
we were, how beautiful she looked. She wore an amazing, blue silk dress.”

Cindy
remembered it well.

“After
dinner we went back up to our room,” Clay continued, “I had a few more drinks
than usual and fell asleep, but Kate stayed up posting the good news all over
Facebook. You can read it for yourself. You can see how much it meant to her,
how happy she was. Her computer is on the patio.”

Cindy
was eager to see Kate’s Facebook page, read what she’d said. “I’d love to look
at it,” she said.

“Anytime
you want,” said Clay.

“Everything
was perfect between you?” asked Mattheus.

“Yes,”
Clay insisted, “the only strange thing that happened is that while we were at
dinner, an old boyfriend of Kate’s turned up. He and his date happened to be
staying at the hotel. Kate was so surprised to see him, but she was too polite
to tell him to leave. He and his date joined us for a little while.”

“Did
that bother you?” asked Mattheus.

“Not
at all,” said Clay. “What can you do? These things happen. People run into each
other without warning all the time.”

That
was the other couple Cindy had seen. Cindy reviewed the scene once again in her
memory. The guy who was part of the other couple was Kate’s ex-boyfriend. That
was news. He’d seemed upset.

 “Are
you sure he was Kate’s old boyfriend?” Cindy was fascinated.

“Of
course I’m sure,” Clay didn’t like being doubted. “Kate introduced us. What
choice did she have?”

Mattheus
was all over it. “Did you get the guy’s name?”

“His
name was Sean,” Clay continued. “Sean’s date’s name was Riva. Sean and Kate had
gone out for a long time, I heard.”

“Really?”
Mattheus moved in, “how long?”

“I
don’t know exactly,” said Clay. “But Kate didn’t keep it from me. She told me
all about it while we were corresponding. Sean cheated on her with this girl
Riva and he and Kate broke up.” Clay sighed again and ran his hands over his
face. This was becoming too much for him to bear.  “That’s why she went online
looking for someone new. That’s why she and I met. Sean wanted to get back
together again, but Kate wouldn’t hear of it. Kate was beautiful, she was
proud, she was elegant. She was meant for me, not him. The minute we met I knew
it.”

“Exactly
how did you meet?”“ Cindy burst in.

Clay
suddenly perked up. “We met online, a chance encounter, can you believe it?”

“Yes,
I can,” said Cindy.

“The
minute we met we were both so excited. We emailed and texted all day long.
There was so much to say, it never stopped flowing. We filled each other in on
everything. Even though we lived in different cities, I felt as though she were
there beside me all the time.” Clay’s face began to flush, “I waited so long
for the right woman, I couldn’t believe she actually showed up.” Clay looked at
Cindy and Mattheus with desperation. “Do you know what it feels like to meet
the one and only person that is truly meant for you?”

Cindy
and Mattheus stared at him unmoving.

“Do
you know? Tell me!”

“Why
do you care, what difference does it make?” asked Mattheus.

“Because
you can’t understand me unless it’s happened to you. Meeting the one person
meant for you is absolutely different from meeting anyone else. The minute it
happens you know who you are, your loneliness goes, forever!”

Cindy
trembled as Clay spoke. Had that happened to her ever with either Mattheus or
Clint?

Had
it happened to Mattheus? Did he feel that way about Cindy?

Clay
slammed his hands on the table, “And now my loneliness is back again, and will
never leave. Ever.”

“Do
you remember hearing someone banging at your door that night?” Mattheus
interrupted, wanting to get back to the facts.

“I
don’t remember hearing anything,” Clay said, looking around. “I had too much to
drink, I slept like a rock.”

“You
don’t remember hearing anyone yelling, either?” Cindy asked.

“No,
no!” Clay’s face looked anguished. “If I’d heard it I would have woken up and
called the police! I would have protected her. I loved her.”

“I
know you did,” said Cindy softly.

“When
I woke up in the morning she wasn’t there. Where was she?” Clay began reliving the
morning as he spoke. “I thought she was playing with me, hiding for fun. I
looked in the bathroom, I looked around the room. I couldn’t find her. I even
got annoyed.” He started trembling.

“It’s
okay,” Mattheus put his hand on Clay’s arm.

“It’s
not okay,” Clay began yelling. “She’s gone, she’s gone. When I looked down off
the patio, there she was laying on the ground.” Clay covered his eyes as if to
block out the image. “Where is she now? Tell me.”

“We’d
better back off,” Cindy said to Mattheus. “This is too much for him at the
moment. He’s not ready to talk.”

Mattheus
agreed. “I’m so sorry, Clay, “he said softly. We’ll find out more what happened
and help you with this.”

“How
can you help me? Can you bring Kate back?” Clay yelled louder.

“No,
we can’t,” said Mattheus somber.

“We
only knew each other for three months, but those three months meant more than
my whole lifetime. I want my parents, I want my mother,” Clay looked at them
suddenly as if they were strangers.

“Your
parents will be here in a few minutes,” said Cindy.

“Thank
God,” said Clay, as his head fell and his chest heaved in huge sobs.

*

After
the policeman came back in, Cindy and Mattheus left Clay’s room and went down to
the lobby, shaken. They needed a little while to talk before Cindy went back up
and went through Kate’s Facebook page on the computer. She and Mattheus had to
go over their plan of action and also discuss their interview with Clay. Mattheus
was eager to talk about it, too.

“The
guys’s a wreck,” Mattheus started. “Can’t say I blame him. Been there myself.”

“Thank
God his parents are coming,” said Cindy.

“And
what about this ex-boyfriend, Sean, who joined them at their table?” Mattheus
was all over it. “That’s big. The police haven’t said a thing about him. Do
they even know he was here? Is this guy still at the hotel?”

“Good
questions,” said Cindy.

“Sean’s
got to be stopped from leaving and talked to right away,” Mattheus was
emphatic.

“You
tell the police about him when I go back upstairs to look at Kate’s computer,” said
Cindy.

“Absolutely,”
said Mattheus.

“It
actually amazing that the police have been on the case all this while and we
haven’t heard about the ex boyfriend before,” Cindy muttered. “And, there’d
been trouble between him and Kate, too. He cheated and she wouldn’t forgive
him. Who knows if he really met her here by accident? How do we know he didn’t
come down purposely?”

“Don’t
get ahead of yourself,” said Mattheus. “We have to find out more about him and
if he’s still here. We’ll talk to him and research him online.”

“It’s
amazing that the police aren’t onto this,” breathed Cindy.

“Not
amazing,” Mattheus said, “just the way things work down here.”

“They
want to tie it up with a suicide,” Cindy muttered.

“Yeah,
but what they want and what will happen can easily be two different things,”
Mattheus was heated, had become involved.

Cindy
looked at him and smiled. “You’re on it. You care,” she said.

 “Of
course I care, I always cared,” Mattheus muttered. “I just cared about us as
well.”

Cindy
paused and lowered her eyes then, thinking of what Clay had said about Kate.

“Mattheus,”
she looked up quickly, wanting to take it one next step.