A young, tanned, French bellboy, with a shock of dark hair, greeted them as the taxi rolled up to the front door. He welcomed them, took their luggage and led them inside.
As she entered Cindy was enthralled by the wide open space and exquisite furnishings. Despite the fact that the place was full of guests, there seemed plenty of empty space. Cindy looked at the many stunningly beautiful people milling around, and felt she’d landed on a Hollywood set. Wherever you looked, you saw gorgeous, thin women dressed in brightly colored Calypso cover ups, flip flops and small hand bags. It almost seemed like a uniform. The men were dressed in suede loafers with no socks, bright colored shirts that fit their bodies perfectly. They were tanned with their hair perfectly groomed or in buzz cuts. All of the people seemed to come from great privilege and to have spent enormous amounts of time on their bodies and clothes. Parading back and forth proudly, they could have stepped off the pages of the top fashion magazines. Cindy had to struggle not to feel like an outsider among them, less of a woman in some ways. When Cindy noticed Mattheus looking at the women admiringly, to her surprise it made her feel insecure.
A Christmas tree filled with colorful decorations stood in the main lobby, and Christmas wreaths hung on the walls. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation and yet, it was hard for Cindy to feel as though Christmas was coming in this tropical paradise. All her memories of the holiday revolved around cold weather, snow, the family cooking, and opening presents under the tree.
Mattheus stopped a moment to take it all in.
“Merry Christmas,” he leaned over and whispered to Cindy.
“It’s still a few days away,” she said.
“My favorite holiday,” said Mattheus.
“Me, too,” said Cindy. But she also felt squeamish about celebrating when the horror of a hidden murder hung in the air. How could she act as though nothing happened when a young woman had been mangled and tossed away like garbage on a beach a few minute away? The memory of Tiffany’s photo hanging on her mother’s wall flashed before Cindy. She looked young, beautiful, triumphant, preparing for a thrilling life ahead. Cindy was disturbed that the police insisted upon keeping the crime under covers. She wanted everyone on the island to know, to share the sorrow, join in the search. It was surreal to see so many guests dressed to the hilt, parading back and forth in the hotel, wanting to see and be seen when a murderer nearby was on the loose. Who knew if one of them might not be the next victim?
The bellboy led Cindy and Mattheus towards the elevators at the back of the lobby, to take them to their rooms, where their luggage was waiting.
Cindy’s mouth fell open as she walked into her room. It was large, and decorated in pale peach and lavender. A lavender silk bedspread with huge peach flowers was tossed over the bed and porcelain vases on the tables around were filled with fresh lilacs. The huge windows were open, overlooking the patio that stretched out over the sea. Evening was starting to fall, and the setting sun sent a warm glow of orange along the outside deck. Cindy felt it filter in over both of them.
“So beautiful,” Cindy declared.
Mattheus came over and stood beside her, taking it all in. This place had a magical energy that was different from any other she’d ever been to before. She saw that Mattheus felt it too.
“Incredible,” he murmured.
Cindy hoped they would go out on the patio and sit together for a while.
“It’s getting late,” Mattheus said slowly then. “Let’s go to our adjoining patios and do some work while we still have some energy. We can go online, check out the people we met. Then we’ll order dinner up.”
Cindy loved that Mattheus could remain practical and stay focused, even in the face of great beauty like this.
“Good idea,” she said slowly, having a hard time pulling herself away from the glow of the setting sun.
“The Senator wants me to check out a Billionaire Russian Mogul, Sasha Petrovich,” Mattheus reported. “He thinks the guy has it in for him, wants me to find out all I can and nail him. He’s convinced this guy had something to do with the murder.”
Cindy listened with interest. “Really? That’s huge,” she said.
“I’ll tell you all about it when I find out more,” said Mattheus. “It definitely warrants investigation. What did you get from talking to the mother?”
“A lot,” said Cindy. “The mother told me to check out an ex-boyfriend, Shane. Apparently, he and Tiffany were close for years. He was at the engagement party and didn’t take his eyes off her the whole time. The mother thinks he could have been jealous.”
“Jealous enough to kill?” Mattheus said.
“It’s possible,” said Cindy.
Mattheus wasn’t impressed. “Anything else?”
“The mother said Tiffany and her twin sister weren’t close enough.”
Mattheus made a sour face. “Odd comment for a mother to make. Tad said they were very close.”
“Different angles of perception,” Cindy noted.