Cindy suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion flood over her. There seemed to be no end to the twists and turns, people, and human affairs that called out for help and resolution. She stopped for a moment and stood still, taking it all in. How did she get here with Mattheus, almost a stranger, on what could actually be a dangerous expedition? she wondered. Mattheus seemed confident, happy and on high alert though, as he walked beside her, full of curiosity. When Cindy stopped in her tracks, he looked surprised.
“I need to take a moment,” she said.
“For what?”
“It’s a lot to absorb all at once.”
“Of course it is,” he said, and unexpectedly, put his arm around her and gave her a quick hug. “You’ve been catapulted from one world into another.” Then he took his arm away.
Catapulted was a good word for it. Cindy appreciated Mattheus’ understanding and also the quick show of support.
“Things will start to fall into place,” he said. “They always do. The beginning can be confusing. A whirl of events, conflicting ideas. That’s the fun part too,” and he grinned.
Cindy saw how much he enjoyed what he was doing. It excited him, stimulated him -- he was made for this life.
“This place is very different from Grenada,” Cindy said, looking around. She was used to long, quiet afternoons, surrounded by sun and sea, driving from one lead to another, interviewing people privately, dwelling on what they’d said. Here she was thrust in the middle of a throbbing, noisy, crowded city, where life moved quickly to its own beat.
“Different is good,” said Mattheus. “Too much of the same thing puts you to sleep.”
Cindy laughed. She enjoyed the fact that Mattheus often surprised her with his unexpected insights which went way beyond the simple facts they were dealing with. In that way, he reminded her of Clint. She remembered the wonderful conversations she and Clint used to have. They’d talk all night and into the morning. Clint had also loved taking the largest perspective possible on whatever was going on. Cindy took a moment to wonder how Clint would react to what she was doing, and whether in some way he was with her now?
“Let’s move on,” Mattheus urged her. “We’ll have time to dwell on things later. We’ve got to get to the crime scene while there’s still light. And before the storms come in.”
Cindy wondered how much could possibly be left? “It’s an open street now,” she remarked. “People walk through it every day.”
“True,” said Mattheus, smiling. Cindy saw that he was pleased by her comment. “But the kind of thing we’re looking for won’t be brushed away so easily. The police checked the scene carefully in the beginning for that kind of evidence.”
“What exactly are we looking for?” Cindy asked him.
“We’ll know when we get there,” said Mattheus. “The place will speak to us. When you get to a crime scene, especially one that’s been gone over, the best way is to get real quiet, and let your eyes scan the place. Don’t focus on every little thing you’re seeing, just let your mind take it all in. It can take a few days sometimes before you realize what you saw. Then, someone says something, you make a connection and suddenly it pops into your mind.
Cindy liked that. She loved it when Mattheus showed layer of sensitivity that she didn’t normally see. She also loved learning the trade from him. He was a generous mentor.
They picked up their pace and walked briskly on towards the end of that street and then turned right into a narrow lane, behind a shopping stall. The two of them stopped at the entrance, automatically, at the same moment, and peered in.
The lane was narrow, shaded and curved slightly as it led to the back of the street. Filled with a strong aroma of smoke and meat cooking, Cindy could see a few lizards skittering by and hear the call of birds. She shuddered. This was a perfect place to dump a body, she thought.
“I’m not surprised,” Mattheus said.
“At what?” asked Cindy.
“This is a natural spot to dump a body,” he said. “But it’s also a spot where you’d know it would be found. Whoever dumped the guy here, didn’t want him hidden. They wanted him to be found. They probably want to be found as well.”
Cindy remembered reading years ago that all criminals had a secret yearning to be discovered, to pay for their crimes, make atonement. That was why jailhouse confessions were so common. She thought about that for a long time. She’d always been fascinated by the workings of justice and how, deep down, each person craved it, no matter what they had done.
Now, she and Mattheus approached the actual spot where the body had been found and Mattheus stopped and bent over. Stains of blood could still be seen soaked into some of the stones.
“Can’t ever get all the blood up,” Mattheus said. “They left a lot here. Surprised they didn’t find fingerprints or DNA that could link them to the killer.”