Death by Temptation (8 page)

“I certainly do,” Frank responded. “And I’m asking
you, please, please, don’t forget that. Stay in touch. You deserve the best,
Cindy, only the best.”

*

The call from Frank unsettled Cindy even more than
she’d been before. And his words rang in her ears: she deserved the best. But
what was truly the best for her? That wasn’t a question that could be so easily
answered. Whether or not she’d expected it, after Clint was killed and she’d
become a detective, her life had taken a completely different turn.

Cindy stood up and began pacing restlessly in the
room. Where was Mattheus? Why was he taking so long? Cindy needed to see him
and talk things over. She picked up her phone and called him right away.

“What’s
going on? Where are you?” Cindy exclaimed when he answered.

“I’m still here with Rod,” Mattheus answered softly.
“He needs me badly. Nothing about this looks good, Cindy.”

I need you, too, Mattheus, Cindy wanted to say, but
held back just in time. Rod was Mattheus’s old friend whose daughter had just
gone missing. Of course Mattheus was doing the right thing staying at his side.

”What doesn’t look good?” Cindy asked, eager for
more information.

“Nothing?” Mattheus answered. “There’s absolutely no
sign of Kara, no tips coming in, and the police are getting ready to call the
search off.”

“Already?” Cindy was upset.

“They’re tapering it down anyway,” said Mattheus.
“Rod’s furious, he’s beside himself.”

“I see,” said Cindy, feeling distraught.

“We’ll talk more when I get back,” Mattheus added,
seemingly eager to get off the phone now.

“When will that be?” asked Cindy, feeling at loose
ends suddenly.

“I can’t say when,” Mattheus answered quickly.
“Whenever I’m through here. Do what you have to tonight. Don’t wait up for me,
I’ll see you in the morning.”

Cindy felt punched in the stomach as she hung up the
phone. She felt dismissed, unnecessary. That was not Mattheus’s intent though,
she quickly reminded herself. They weren’t down here on a vacation any longer,
they were on a case, and solving it had to be the first priority. Cindy
couldn’t allow personal feelings to confuse the situation. Normally Cindy

enjoyed time alone, but right now she was on edge
and restless, unsure about what steps to take next. She had no intention of
spending the evening alone in the room, either. Instead, Cindy decided to get
out and take a long walk in town, alone.

Cindy felt she could walk off the anxiety that had
suddenly taken grip of her. She put on a pair of jeans, loose shirt, and
sneakers and left the hotel. There were many directions she could go in.
Evening was falling though and soon it would be dark. Cindy decided to stay
along the edge of town, but also give herself time in nature. There was a
well-known trail called Angola that she’d always been curious about. Although you
could see the lights of the town from the trail, it also wound through deep
trees and underbrush, around waterfalls and natural alcoves created by tree
branches.

Cindy arrived at the edge of the trail, took a deep
breath which was filled with the moisture of earth and leaves. It felt
wonderful and refreshing already to be here. She would walk and walk, think of
nothing, just let the natural rhythms of life guide her along her way.

As Cindy began to walk she couldn’t help wonder
about Kara. Were they searching for a ghost? Had she long left this world? Who
among the people Cindy’d met so far could really help her? Suddenly Cindy heard
a long, low whistle behind her and moved quickly to the side, into the shadow
of a tree.

“Cindy,” someone called out softly behind her.

Cindy jumped, alarmed. Someone knows I’m here, I’ve
been followed. Cindy trembled and thought of darting away through the shadows
to the other side of the trail. But she had no idea where she was going and it
was dark out.

“Cindy,” the voice called again.

Horrified, Cindy realized she had no choice but to
stay where she was, face the person directly.

“Yes?” she answered calmly, though her entire body
was shaking by now.

“It’s Alfred.” The voice got closer.

Cindy turned around slowly and could make out his
figure walking toward her methodically.

“Alfred?” Cindy was astonished. “Did you follow me
here?”

“Yes, I did.” He was close up to her now.

“You followed me? Why?” Cindy was appalled.

“I wanted to make sure about you,” Alfred said
slowly. “I’ve been checking on you and everyone carefully.”

“And what did you find?” asked Cindy, mesmerized by
him.

“I like what I found out you.” Alfred’s voice grew
clearer. “I’m sorry about the death of your husband, Clint.”

“Thank you,” said Cindy, taken aback.

“You’re a noble person, Cindy,” Alfred continued.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for anyone else.”

Cindy didn’t want Alfred putting her on a pedestal
or developing fantasies about her. “We’re all a mixture of everything, Alfred,”
she said. “We all have noble moments, and lesser times, too.”

“You’ve passed my test,” Alfred continued,
unwaveringly. “So now I’m going to tell you more.”

Cindy shivered. “More about Kara?”

“Yes,” Alfred whispered as the moon shone down upon
them from between the leaves.

“Is it something you found out recently?” asked
Cindy, fascinated.

“Not at all,” Alfred declared. “After everyone said
Kara disappeared, she sent me two emails, not one!”

“Two emails?” Cindy couldn’t believe it. “Show them
to me. I have to see them with my own eyes,” she demanded.

“I knew you’d say that so I brought them here for
you,” Alfred went on quickly.

“How did you know I’d be here on the trail? I didn’t
know myself,” Cindy spoke quickly.

“I didn’t know you’d be on the trail,” Alfred
continued. “I just waited to see where you’d go tonight. I knew Mattheus wasn’t
with you. I found out that he was having a long dinner with Kara’s father,
Rod.”

“How did you find that out?” asked Cindy, agitated.

“Because late today I called Rod and told him I was
down at St. Lucia. I asked to see him and he said no. He told me he was having
dinner with Mattheus tonight.”

“Rod doesn’t like you?” asked Cindy, startled.

“There are very few people Rod likes,” Alfred
grumbled. “So what? He’s a jerk who doesn’t like anyone who doesn’t fit into
his little world.”

“Why don’t you fit in?” asked Cindy, breathless.

“Because I’m too interesting and smart,” Alfred
replied. “I don’t follow all Rod’s little rules. I follow myself, I follow my
own mind.”

Cindy was speechless. In his way Alfred was a
tremendously impressive young man.

 “Rod likes Rowley though, doesn’t he?” Cindy
followed up quickly.

“Yeah, he likes him well enough. So what?” said
Alfred.

“Does Rod love his daughter, Kara?” Cindy couldn’t
help asking.

“Sure he does. Kara’s his whole world. Rod only
stays with his wife for one reason, because of their daughter, Kara.”

“Rod and Alice have problems?” asked Cindy.

“Like everyone else, but it doesn’t matter.” Alfred
pouted, annoyed with the line of questioning.

“Everything matters,” Cindy answered, “every little
thing. You never know when you’ll suddenly hear one detail that puts the whole
picture together.”

“I know,” said Alfred, his eyes gleaming again.
“That’s why I wanted to show the second email to you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” said Cindy, holding her
hands out to take a look.

The email was hard to read in the darkness. Cindy
and Alfred moved away from the trees into a patch of open ground beneath the
moon.

Did I make a mistake, Alfred
? the email
started.
So far, everything’s okay
,
but I keep wondering if I did
something wrong. Are things going to stay like this always? Before the wedding
a few things happened that shook me up. I didn’t have time to pay attention to
them then. But I’m thinking about them now a lot. Love, Kara.

“What things?” asked Cindy, alarmed, handing the
email back to Alfred.

“I don’t know,” said Alfred, pleased with Cindy’s
reaction. “Kara didn’t tell me about them, but I’m looking into it now.”

“But I thought she told you everything,” Cindy
exclaimed.

“She did,” said Alfred, “so this must have been
something she didn’t want to face in the middle of the wedding preparations.
She had enough on her mind.”

“My God,” Cindy breathed. “You haven’t told anybody
about this email, either?” She wanted to be completely sure.

“You’re the only one who’s passed the test,” Alfred
murmured.

Cindy didn’t know what to do next.

“Let’s keep walking on the trail,” Alfred suggested,
seeing Cindy’s confusion. “Mattheus isn’t coming home until really late
tonight, anyway.”

“How do you know that?” Cindy asked, unnerved.

“Because Rod likes long nights out with the boys,”
Alfred replied. “Kara used to tell me about it. It bothered her mother a lot.
So many nights Rod told her mother not to wait up for him, that he’d see her in
the morning. It upset Kara, too.”

Cindy trembled under the brightly shining moon.
Those were the exact words Mattheus had said to Cindy. For a second Cindy felt
as though Mattheus was bonding deeply with Rod and that she could easily lose
him. She also felt that somehow Kara had sent Alfred to her, to help Cindy see
the truth, and stay strong.

*

When Cindy awoke early the next morning, Mattheus
was sleeping soundly beside her. The first thing she thought was how badly she
wanted to tell him about the emails, even though Alfred said not to tell anyone
who didn’t pass the test. Did Mattheus pass the test? What did that even mean?
Of course Mattheus did, Cindy swiftly realized. It was crazy to think anything
else. These emails were vitally important and Cindy couldn’t allow them to
remain hidden. They threw a whole new light on whether or not Kara might still
be alive. She would show them to Mattheus first thing, as soon as he awoke and
dressed.

*

As soon as Mattheus awoke Cindy ordered breakfast up
into the room. It was important that they have time together alone to go over
everything now.

Mattheus seemed somber at breakfast and tired. He’d
stayed out much later than usual and Cindy even wondered if he might have had
too much to drink.

“Long day yesterday,” she remarked casually as they
both poured themselves hot cups of coffee.

“It was a good day, though,” Mattheus spoke evenly.
“It’s been a long while since I’ve taken time to really catch up with an old
friend.”

Cindy drank her coffee slowly and said nothing.

“Why are you so quiet this morning? Does it bother
you that I hung out with Rod last night?” asked Mattheus.

Cindy didn’t even know where to begin. To say it
bothered her was off the point. Rod’s behavior toward Cindy, plus everything
Alfred had said about him, made her deeply uneasy.

“You have every right to spend as much time with a
friend as you like,” Cindy responded.

“So why do you look so glum?” asked Mattheus. “Your
words and your actions aren’t matching up.”

“I was disturbed by the way Rod behaved toward me,”
Cindy answered, upset that she had to spell it all out.

“It’s not a big deal, it wasn’t personal,” Mattheus
interrupted. “For God’s sake, his only daughter’s just gone missing.”

Cindy had never seen Mattheus quite like this
before. Obviously Rod had sparked off something inside him.

“I would have thought you’d say something to Rod
about me on the spot,” Cindy went on. “It would have felt good to have gotten
some back-up then.”

“I had to back up Rod,” answered Mattheus abruptly.
“He’s the one who needs it now. Why bring in your personal feelings at a time
like this?”

Cindy was completely taken off guard. This wasn’t
like Mattheus at all.

“It’s all part of the job,” Mattheus continued.
“Rod’s devastated that the police will be calling off the search completely
today. Soon he and his wife will have to go home without their daughter,
without anything.”

“Completely calling off the search? It’s too soon
for that,” exclaimed Cindy. ”How can they? There’s a definite possibility that
Kara’s still alive.”

“Based on what?” asked Mattheus, looking at Cindy
oddly. “Right now everything points to an accident, a drowning. There’s nothing
in her background to suggest anything else was going on.”

Cindy was about to bring up Alfred’s emails then
when the phone abruptly rang.

“I’ll get it,” said Mattheus wearily, reaching for
it. “Yeah, it’s Mattheus,” he started slowly and became quiet. “What are you
telling me?” Mattheus bolted up suddenly, electrified. “Okay, okay, I got it.
Where’s the body, exactly?”

Cindy gasped. “The body? They’ve found Kara dead?”

“We’ll be down at the beach in a few seconds,”
Mattheus uttered, flashing a desperate glance at Cindy.

“Oh no!” Cindy exclaimed, breathing hard. It was
over, they’d found her, hope was gone. Oddly enough, Cindy felt worse for
Alfred than for Rowley. She couldn’t imagine how Alfred would be able to go on
without his best friend.

“The body washed up on the sand, just where Kara
went swimming!” Mattheus could hardly get the words out. “This has got to be
her. Come on, let’s go.”

“Oh God,” Cindy breathed, devastated, as she flew to
join him.

 “Poor Rod, poor Rod,” Mattheus mumbled as the two
of them raced to the door.

*

A crowd had already gathered down at the beach by
the time Cindy and Mattheus got there. The police had roped off the space near
the water so curiosity seekers could not get through. When Cindy and Mattheus
came to the border of the roped off area, Abe was there, immediately
recognizing them.

“You got her? She’s here?” asked Mattheus
frantically.

“When exactly did Kara’s body’s wash up?” asked
Cindy.

“We’ve got a body here,” Abe replied slowly.

“Let us in,” Mattheus demanded as Abe parted the
ropes for them to get through.

Cindy, Abe, and Mattheus walked down toward the edge
of the shore, pushed forward by a wind that was blowing in strongly from the
east.

“Who discovered the body? When?” Mattheus was
rambling. “What shape is it in? How long has it been here?”

“You sure have a lot of questions,” said Abe.

“Of course I do,” said Mattheus. “This is my
friend’s daughter.”

“I recognize that,” said Abe. “The body was spotted
by a guest at the hotel, about an hour ago. No one knows exactly the condition
or how long it’s been in the water by now. It’ll be taken to the medical
examiner immediately.” Abe spoke quietly, trying to calm their ruffled nerves.

“Has she been definitely identified?” asked
Mattheus.

“Of course not.” Abe put his arm on Mattheus to
quiet him down. “How can it be? She just turned up.”