Down at the end of the main gallery were other large rooms. Some had more paintings on the walls, others had shelves with pottery, a big section for sculpture, and another section for handmade objects the locals produced. It was an incredible experience being here, filled with the fullness of life and its expression.
Dalia then took her to the back of gallery.
“The kitchen’s back here. We serve tea regularly, and at openings, cheese, crackers, fruit, cookies. This room next to the kitchen is a bedroom. Sometimes Nina sleeps here at night. She works such long hours at times, it’s convenient. ”
Just then, a young, beautiful, curvy woman, dressed in a tight dress, with creamy sand colored skin, giant eyes and full lips, stepped over to her and extended her hand.
“Cindy, this is Nina,” said Dalia.
“Hi, Nina,” Cindy said brightly. She was doing her best not to think of what Elizabeth had told her about her and Ames. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Dalia. ”
Nina smiled brightly, showing a set of pearl white teeth. She was beautiful and she knew it. She had no trouble claiming it either, or being who she was.
“Thank you so much,” said Nina. “Dalia is the best. She always says wonderful things about me. ”
Dalia smiled graciously. “Let’s make some tea for my friend,” she said to Nina.
The three of them walked to the kitchen and sat on little stools, while Nina brewed tea.
“So, do you spend very long hours here? “Cindy asked Nina lightly.
“Very Nina smiled. “But I love every one of them. The work here is beautiful and I meet amazing people. ”
“Nina is originally from another island, close,” Dalia said. “This has been a fantastic opportunity for her. And for me, as well. ”
“How fortunate for you both,” Cindy smiled.
“Do you have your own place as well?” Cindy asked.
“Of course I do,” said Nina, “about fifteen minutes away. And, sometimes I stay here, too. If it’s very late and I’m tired. ”
“The place stays open very late?” Cindy asked.
“No,” said Nina. “I stay late sometimes when there’s lots of paperwork to do.”
Dalia looked at Nina proudly, as if she were a daughter. “Nina’s such a hard worker,” Dalia said.
The tea in the pot boiled lightly and Nina got up and served them.
As Cindy sipped the tea there were endless questions she wanted to ask her. It didn’t seem hard to talk to her either; Nina seemed like an open book.
“I’ll leave you here to talk for a bit.” Dalia said, “I have a few things to do in town.”
Then she got up and went to the door.
“Tell my friend everything you can think of, Nina,” Dalia said over her shoulder, as she was leaving.
When Dalia left, Nina ran her hands through her hair, her bright smile fading.
“It’s a terrible time for all of us. I try to be cheerful for her. She’s a wonderful person, gives me everything -- work, money, a business. She treats me like a daughter. ”
“I noticed that,” said Cindy. “Can you tell me more about what’s been going on down here? Anything you can think of. ”
Nina seemed happy and relieved to talk.
“Dalia’s better now that you’re here,” she started. “But right after it happened, it was terrible. She was so depressed the first few weeks after Mr. Ames disappeared, I thought she would kill herself. ”
That frightened Cindy. “Why? What did she say? ”
“It’s not what she said,” said Nina. “She couldn’t get up out of bed, didn’t come into the gallery. When she finally did, she’d wander around like a ghost. I told her things would get better, but it didn’t look like she believed me. I never saw her so helpless before. ”
Cindy remembered those early days, how helpless she felt in the face of such a shock.
“Did she actually say she wanted to kill herself?” Cindy probed. She could understand having feelings like that, when everything seemed so desolate.
“She told me your husband went missing too.”
A pang of memory hit her hard again, then. Cindy remembered the long trip home on the plane without Clint. Even though they brought the body back, Cindy felt his spirit was still on the island. .
“Did it take a long time for him to come home?” Nina asked unsuspectingly.
“He didn’t come home,” Cindy said slowly.
“Oh I’m so sorry.”
“He was murdered down on the island.”
“My God,” Nina said.
“That’s always a possibility here, too,” said Cindy.
Nina shivered. “I can’t let myself think that way,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. I wouldn’t be able to work during the day. ”
“Were you and Ames close?” It was hard for Cindy getting the words out.
“Of course,” said Nina, innocently, “very good friends. I do my best to be friends with everyone. ”
“Nina,” Cindy put her hand out then, stopping her banter. This was important and she needed to impress that upon Nina. “Listen, carefully.”
“What?” Nina asked, her eyes growing large.
Cindy decided to jump right in. “I’ve heard that you and Ames were more than friends.”
Nina didn’t blink. “You mean that he spent time with me in the bedroom?” she pointed to the back room.
“Yes,” said Cindy. “Did he?”
“Once in a while,” said Nina, unflinchingly. “It wasn’t such a big deal, just part of the job.”
Cindy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Does Dalia know about it?”
“Of course not,” Nina said, quickly. “Mr. Ames said not to say a thing to anyone. He said he still loved Miss Dalia, but he liked to be with me, too. It didn’t hurt anything between him and her. He told me to think of it as part of the job. ”Nina suddenly looked at Cindy, nervous. “I’m telling you this because he’s gone now, and nobody knows where he is. I want to tell everything to somebody. Maybe it will help. ”
“Where do you think he is, Nina?”
“I have no idea,” she said, suddenly looking very sad. “But I miss him very much.”
She seemed like a very young girl then, who had fallen into a situation way over her head. Cindy felt sad for her as she sat there, looking around, probably wondering what had become of him.
“I’m praying he comes back soon,” Nina said.
“He may not,” said Cindy.
“But I’m praying he does. And there’s a place I can go on the island, where prayers are answered. ”
Cindy was touched by her sincerity, but had to stay with the facts.
“He may never return, Nina.”
After a moment of silence, Nina’s eyes filled with tears. “Do you think somebody killed him?” She suddenly seemed very, very sad.
“It’s possible,” said Cindy softly. “Do you have any idea who it could be?”
Nina hung her head for a long moment. Then she looked up. “I can’t even imagine such a thing. There’s no reason anyone would want to harm him. He was a good man, so good. He gave so many beautiful presents to me, made me feel like his beautiful princess. ”
Cindy sighed deeply. Nina had no sense at all of having done wrong. What happened between her and Ames was just natural to her, all part of the way life flowed down here.
“I’m sure he loved you,” said Cindy.
That took Nina back. “Yes,” she said downhearted. The she looked up swiftly, as if something just occurred to her.
“Have you spoken to the Captain of his ships?” Nina whispered. “He knew everything that went on in Mr. Ames’s life. Everything and more. He didn’t like Miss Dalia, but that doesn’t matter. He was jealous of everyone around Mr. Ames, wanted him all to himself. I always heard Mr. Ames and the Captain on the phone together. They were hardly ever out of touch. If there was trouble brewing, the Captain would know it. ”
Cindy’s mind reeled. She wondered just how many people were involved in his life, and just how deep this web would spin.
Cindy had to remember she was down here for a purpose. She couldn’t allow her ever-changing feelings about what was happening to get in the way of what had to be done. These interviews had to be sorted out. She had to uncover conflicts, contradictions, fantasies, lies, and that one hidden detail which would break it all open. It was hidden there, waiting for her, she felt it.
As she heard more and more about him, her impression of Ames kept changing. Clearly, he was a man with many sides, including a strong taste for women. Had he left of his own will? Was he swept away by someone new? Had he decided to run off and be with her? Had the two of them had packed up and disappeared?
Cindy wouldn’t put it past him. He seemed to feel entitled to have anyone he wanted. And he was great at keeping it all from his wife.
Cindy wasn’t ruling anything out. Perhaps somebody was holding him? Or he died accidentally? It was also possible that he was the victim of a murderer. Anything could have happened, and Cindy couldn’t help shaking the feeling that Ames’s fate had been much darker than anyone thought. There was no specific reason she felt that way, either. Just something she sensed that wouldn’t go away.
Before Cindy took the next step and met the Captain, she had a desire to check in with the police again. She wanted to bounce her findings off them, see if they could confirm the information, or had anything to add. It would be grounding to hear their responses to what she’d discovered.
Cindy knew that she’d agreed to tell Dalia about each appointment she set up and what came of it. That was becoming harder and harder, though, as she learned more about Ames’s behavior. Fortunately, after Cindy’s meeting with Nina, Dalia hadn’t asked much.
Cindy didn’t want to mention to Dalia that she planned to speak to the police again now.
She made arrangements on her own for Mattheus to pick her up from Dalia’s house.
In a short while Mattheus drove up to the house in a police car.
Cindy rushed out the door to greet him in a bright yellow sundress, sandals with her hair loose and blowing in the wind. She was glad he was coming to pick her up and forgot about changing into a professional outfit.
Mattheus’s eyes opened wide when he saw her. He quickly got out of the car and opened the door on the other side.
Cindy got in and as they drove away from the house, into town, she felt her body relaxing.
“I’m taking you to La Conch,” he said, “an outdoor café. From the looks of you, seems like it’s awhile since you’ve had a relaxing meal. ”
Cindy lifted her hand to her hair, as if she might seem in disarray.
Mattheus laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you look,” he said. “In fact, you look wonderful, like a different person in a simple dress. Much better than before, dressed for business, with your hair all tied up. ”
Cindy blushed. She didn’t like him crossing the line, but wasn’t going to say anything about it. From what she was discovering, this entire island said and did whatever they felt like.
“Sorry if I offended you,” Mattheus said, looking at her and half grinning. “It’s been a long while since I’ve seen a lady blush.”
Cindy blushed more deeply then, and he broke into a winning smile. She just turned her head and looked out the window until they arrived at La Conch.
*
He parked and led her into a lovely small, street side café. A warm, heavy, smiling man came over to greet him with a big grin.
“What can I do for you this beautiful morning?” she said.
“A table for two in a quiet spot,” said Mattheus.
The man looked over at Cindy approvingly and grinned.
Cindy and Mattheus were given a lovely table near a big palm plant.
“Okay, shoot,” Mattheus said then, “what can I do for you?”
Cindy decided to plunge right in and let him know what she’d found out.
“I spoke to Elizabeth first,” she started.
“Good. You interviewed her in the spa? ”
Cindy laughed and so did Mattheus. It was a relief to make light of it, if only for a moment.
“We talked about her marriage to Ames,” Cindy continued, “she said it was good and that he’d been fair to her.”
“Their divorce settlement was sealed,” said Mattheus, “but from everything we discovered, things were amicable between them. He took good care of both her and the son. ”
“She also told me that Ames was a women’s man, and that he’d been having an affair with Nina,” Cindy went on.
“Wouldn’t exactly call it an affair,” said Mattheus. “He was sleeping with her on and off.”
Cindy listened intently. “Is there a difference between that and an affair?” she asked.
“A very big difference,” said Mattheus. “When they’re having an affair, there’s emotional involvement, obligation. When they’re just sleeping with someone, it’s not such a big deal. Doesn’t usually have such an impact on the case, in general. They don’t leave their wives when they’re sleeping with someone. They do when it’s an affair. ”
Cindy was fascinated. There was a lot she needed to learn. “Okay,” she said.
“You’re not so experienced with this kind of thing?” Mattheus said, half inquiringly, half amused.
In fact, Cindy wasn’t. “This is my first case,” she reminded him. “Besides the case of my husband.”
“I wouldn’t call that a case,” Mattheus said, “that was a wife trying to rescue a husband, -- bringing the guy who killed him to justice. That’s something completely different. ”
Cindy fell silent for a moment. This guy was smart. He knew what he was doing, had probably been in the business for a while.
“It’s okay,” Mattheus interrupted her thoughts. “I’m not saying you can’t do a good job. I actually think you can. I’m just trying to help you sort things out. ”
“I appreciate that,” said Cindy.
“What else did you find?” Mattheus seemed fascinated, sitting here with her.
“Elizabeth also said that Dalia had a lot of money, and gave plenty to Ames for his needs.”
“Obvious,” Mattheus went on. “Ames made a lot, but he also needed a lot. A rich wife is an asset that no one wants to pass by. ”
“Is that why he married her?” Cindy asked quickly, hoping it was not.
“Damned l if I know why people marry,” said Mattheus. “Could be a case of momentary madness, mixed with fleeting loneliness - and a dash of hope thrown in.”