Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Cindy slept lightly, waking early. She wanted to get a walk on the beach before the guests started arriving. She always felt balanced and centered when she was near water, as though she knew where she was, and what was coming next.

Cindy dressed quickly in sweat pants and a sweat shirt and took along a rain slicker, as the day was becoming cloudy and overcast. Then she jumped into her old car which was parked in the garage and drove to the town beach, just a few minutes away.

Cindy loved this beach, a little inlet on the Long Island Sound, which was almost always empty. It had both wonderful rock jutties to sit on and soft white sand. She parked the car under a tree nearby and then made her way there on foot.

As soon as she arrived at the water, Cindy lifted her face into the cool air and broke into a slow run along the water’s edge. As she jogged along the coastline, images of both Mattheus and Sean drifted across her mind. Cindy shook her head to brush the pictures away, as if dissolving cobwebs. There was no point in thinking about Mattheus. He was with Petra and Andrea now in St. Croix. It was obvious that Petra wanted to resume a relationship with him. She was a beautiful woman and could easily use their daughter as bait to do so. Would she weave a web around Mattheus that he couldn’t break away from? Cindy realized it was entirely possible.

Cindy picked up her speed and ran faster to break into the chain of memories that tried to bind her. Images of Sean arose as well. He was interesting to Cindy, both a cop and lawyer that she’d just met in Anguilla. Sean had wanted so badly to return to New York with her to help. Not only was it unnecessary, Cindy had no true idea about who Sean was, or her real feelings towards him. He’d been a wonderful support on the last case, someone she’d truly needed at the time. But, one’s needs became skewed when hunting for a murderer. Strong feelings developed that had little to do with normal times. And, what about now? Cindy was about to enter a new world. If she took the job at the paper, she would have different needs and there would be different kinds of people to interact with. Sean was essentially a wanderer, life in the States could feel confining to him. In the same way, life here would certainly be confining to Mattheus, Cindy thought.

Cindy ran faster, trying to wipe away these relentless thoughts. She couldn’t though. Being a detective was wonderful but also unsettling. As soon as one case was over, the next was right over the hill. These cases had a way of drawing you in, too. It was hard to think of anything else while tracking down a killer. It became an obsession until justice had been served. Being on the hunt like that snatched away both your time and personal concerns. Cindy thought of Mattheus now absorbed in protecting his daughter and her mother from danger. In a situation like that, how could he possibly have time to think about her?

Cindy realized it was time to take a new direction. It was time for her to develop new skills, become a voice to be contended with, a person of influence. Cindy had never seen herself that way, but somehow she felt ready for it now. If she took the job at the paper and settled down, she could easily find someone stable to remarry and build the family she’d always wanted so much. Then she could also spend more time with her family, and build friendships she could count upon. It seemed a smart direction to go in.

Cindy reached the end of the coastline, turned around and began to run back. An older man with a lame dog was walking towards her along the water’s edge. Cindy jogged past him, not meeting his