“That must be very difficult,” Cindy said.
“They’re opposites actually. And of course, they were never really close enough. Not like I’d hoped twin sisters would be.” Meryl took another long sip of her cognac. “Don’t hate me,” she said then. “You’re looking at me as though you hate me.”
“Why would I hate you?” said Cindy.
“What kind of mother lets her daughter die?”
“How did you let her die?”
“I don’t know,” Meryl started sobbing. “I should have stayed with her every minute. They found her at the beach, you know, stabbed.” It was more than Meryl could bear. She started sobbing heavily. “Nobody is supposed to know about the condition of the body,” she managed between sobs. “They’re keeping it secret. It’s all the evidence they have so far.”
Cindy got up and brought her some tissues that were on the small table near her bed.
“There’s only one real link to the crime,” Meryl’s eyes opened wide. “It’s the necklace I gave her when she was sixteen. It was beautiful, amber, with a special design I made just for her, set in the middle in red rubies. They ripped it off her after she was killed. She never took it off. The murderer did it. I’ll show you a picture of it later.”
“Did you show the police?” asked Cindy.
“Yes, I did. They’re searching for it.”
“Did Tiffany have on anything else on that was valuable?”
““It wasn’t because of theft,” Meryl started sobbing again. “The monster stabbed her over and over before she died. What a horrible way to die. Why? And right after her engagement to Tad.”
It was horrible. Cindy shuddered. “They didn’t find any DNA under her fingernails? She didn’t fight back.”
“That’s the most awful part,” Meryl got quiet suddenly. “There was no sign of a struggle at all.”
“How could that be?” asked Cindy.
“You tell me,” Meryl’s eyes flashed. “She let him kill her. She just succumbed.”
Cindy’s mind started spinning. What would cause someone not to fight back? Was Tiffany on drugs, was she in her right mind?
“Do you have any ideas at all about who could have done this?” Cindy had to ask.
To Cindy’s surprise, Meryl perked up.
“Yes, I do,” she answered briskly, her lips pursing closed. “I think it was due to jealousy. Someone got so jealous they couldn’t stand to see Tiffany happy. It could have been someone at the party, even. Otherwise, there was no reason for it. Everyone loved Tiffany. She was funny, thoughtful, generous. Not like Rori. Rori’s spoiled and always has been. And everyone knows it.”
“Who could have been so jealous of your daughter?” Cindy asked.
Meryl leaned closer to Cindy. “Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend, Shane. Tiffany insisted that we invite him to the party, even though they’d broken up. She’d stayed friends with everyone she ever dated. So, Shane came to the party with his new girlfriend, but he didn’t take his eyes off Tiffany, not for one second. A lot of people noticed it. I noticed it, so did Wynn. She commented on it to me.”
“How long were Tiffany and Shane a couple?” Cindy asked her.
“On and off for years, I guess. I’m not really sure. Seems she was always talking to him about something.”
“Have the police interviewed Shane?”
“Who knows?” said Meryl. “The police are fixed on Tad. He was foolish enough to tell them that he saw Tiffany alive about an hour before it happened. That’s all they needed to hear. They’re too lazy to be bothering with others. They just want to latch onto someone and close the case fast. There’s no way in the world that Tad could have done it. It’s impossible. I don’t think anyone even mentioned Shane to them.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Why should I say anything? No one takes me seriously. Richard sees to that. That’s why I wanted to call you down here. I want you to listen to me and to be on my side. I want you to report back and tell me every little thing you find. Together we’ll find the killer. Women know how to do that kind of thing.”
“I also have to report what I find to the police,” Cindy said softly.
“Just as long as you tell me first,” Meryl said. “We’re all in big danger now. I warned my daughters, I said stay on board. Don’t leave my side, I begged them. They refuse to listen to me, especially Rori. Whatever I say, she does the opposite. I say stay close, she goes for a long walk. She says we can’t live in fear, the police are on it. Rori never listened to a thing I said. And Wynn’s trying her to best to soothe everyone. “ Then Meryl laughed strangely. “Where’s Tiffany?” she asked.
Cindy shivered.
“I don’t believe she died,” Meryl whispered. “They’re making it up, hiding something important from me. A mother can always tell when they’re hiding something.”
Cindy took a deep breath. Was the Senator right? Was she completely unstable?
“Do you have any children?” Meryl asked then.