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moments Mattheus was quiet. Then he spoke. “Yup,” he finally said, his
voice deflated. “Sure we’ll come down. We’d love to talk to him.”
    “Chief
Darrin Frank?” asked Cindy.
    “You
got it,” said Mattheus. “He’s downstairs waiting for us. Otherwise, nothing
yet.”
     
    *
     
    Cindy
was extremely relieved to get out of the room and mill around with people. As
soon as they walked into the lobby, a large, imposing Caribbean police officer
approached them immediately.
    “Darrin
Frank,” Mattheus exclaimed, extending his hand.
    “Good
to have you guys on board.” Darrin offered a broad smile.
    “Mattheus
here and my partner, Cindy,” Mattheus said, warming right up to him.
    “We’re
searching full out,” Darrin said immediately, “no sight of anything yet.” Then
he rubbed his large palm over his face. “If you want to come down to the
station you can use whatever we have to do your part.”
    “I
appreciate that,” said Mattheus.
    ‘If
you asked me, this was an accident. Something happened when she was swimming
and she’ll probably never be found.”
    That
was simplest explanation, thought Cindy, and the easiest for the police.
    “They
were a terrific couple, no shadows that I can see,” Darrin added for good
measure.
    “Rowley
has no ties with the island?” Mattheus asked just to be sure. “He doesn’t work
down here at all?”
    “Not
that I know,” Darrin answered quickly, “but until you check you never can tell.
Look, we got local crime down here, like anywhere else. Robbery usually, or a
drug deal gone bad. People get drunk and fights break out all the time. So,
there’s plenty of cases of assault. Go up a notch and you’ll find white collar
crime. People come down here to do offshore banking and get into trouble.”
    Darrin
spoke authoritatively with a sense of finality in his voice. Right now it
seemed to Cindy that he was going through the motions of the search so things
would look good to the world.
    “If
you ask me what happened, I’d bet dollars that this young woman was either high
or drunk when she went for the swim,” Darrin continued. “The tides washed in
before she knew what was happening and she couldn’t fight her way out. It’s a
lousy story, but it makes sense.”
    “Cindy
and I are looking into her background carefully,” Mattheus said, unwilling to
let it be wrapped up so glibly.
    “Why?
Any reason to believe the husband did something to her?” Darrin seemed mildly
curious.
    “No,
not at all,” said Mattheus, “I just want to see if someone else possibly had
something against them.”
    Darrin
looked skeptical. “If you want to find out more about that, why not go upstairs
to the husband’s room? The wife’s family arrived a little while ago, and his
are only a few minutes away.”
    “Great
suggestion,” said Mattheus, “we’re on the way.”
    “Well,
it’s nice meeting you both,” said Darrin. “Let me know what turns up on your
end and I’ll do the same.”
     
    *
     
    The
door was open to Rowley’s room when Cindy and Mattheus arrived. Mattheus,
nervous, knocked on the door anyway, just to let them know someone was there.
    “Come
in,” a dim voice called from inside.
    Cindy
and Mattheus walked into a room that was dark and dismal with the blinds drawn
and shut tight. The fear and tension inside was so thick it was hard to
breathe. Two policemen sat on chairs in the far end and Rowley stood there with
an older couple.
    “Mattheus,
my God.” The tall, older man who had been standing with Rowley rushed over to
Mattheus He had tousled hair, bleary eyes, and looked as if he hadn’t slept a
bit all night.
    “Rod,”
Mattheus breathed, taking him in and giving him a huge hug.
    “Where
is she? Where is she?” Rod trembled with pain. “How the hell did this happen?”
    “We’re
gonna find her, Rod.” Mattheus’s voice grew low and collegial. “If it’s the
last thing I do, I’ll bring Kara home.”
    “I
heard Kara met you and