girlfriend.”
Cindy felt punched in the heart. She couldn’t let this go on.
“I am Clint’s wife,” she retorted, “We were married on May 18th, in full view of friends and family. Even if you didn’t like it. And I have the papers to prove it.”
“What is and isn’t legal is a big question regarding marriage these days,” Marge replied.
Cindy began to feel nauseous. “You’re bigger than the law?” Cindy said, “think you can do whatever you like?”
“What do you mean by that?” said his mother.
“Richard knows all about these matters,” Marge continued. “He’s a wonderful husband and wonderful lawyer . We’ve been talking it all over.”
Clint’s mother nodded avidly. She suddenly looked frail and pathetic, clutching a huge, patent leather bag. In that moment, Cindy felt sorry for her. She wanted to bring her tea. After all, she had lost her son.
But his mother continued, on the attack. “I want you to tell me why there wasn’t anyone there to rescue my son? It doesn’t make sense. The time of death listed on the Coroner’s report was just a few minutes before you got down to the beach.”
That odd fact gripped Cindy again. She didn’t know what to make of it, or how the time had been determined. It left her weak in the knees, imagining Clint dying and then her arriving a few moments later.
“You took our son away from the family, and now he’s never coming back.”
Cindy felt the blood drain from her face. “It’s convenient, isn’t it, blaming me?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Marge. “And neither does anyone in the family. We don’t understand you. Never have. Never will.”
Cindy would never think of these people as her family. She had no idea how Clint could have died and left her here with them.
“Where were you this afternoon?” Clint’s mother asked her. “We were calling and calling.”
“What difference does it make?” said Cindy.
“The insurance company has contacted us and the Will has to be probated.”
Why would the insurance company contact them, Cindy wondered?
“My father is very ill,” Marge added. “Big decisions need to be made.”
Clint’s mother spoke up tensely, “Everyone knows that Clint was headstrong and foolish at times in the past. He’d made some poor choices. Now we have to sort those choices out.”
“I always knew Clint to be completely upright in every way,” Cindy said. “Was I wrong? Are there things no one is telling me?”
“That’s the whole point of it, isn’t it?” His mother’s face grew tighter. “You only knew him for a short while. We knew him his entire life long. We knew every little thing about him, his friends, his lovers, his mistakes. What did you really know? Very little.”
They were trying to shake her total confidence - that was their tactic . She wouldn’t allow it.
“We need to discuss what happens with the insurance and the house,” Marge shot in .
Now that Clint was gone, Marge probably wanted to get her fair share.
“What’s to discuss? Cindy said. “The house belongs to me.”
“The house is in my son’s name alone,” Clint’s mother corrected her.
Cindy was shocked. She hadn’t realized that. She thought Clint had put it in both their names.
“We gave him money for the down payment with the agreement that he would put it exclusively in his name.”
Cindy didn’t know that they gave him the down payment. He’d led her to believe that he had plenty of funds on his own.
“Well, I am his wife,” Cindy said, “so the house automatically goes to me.”
“Nothing is automatic,” Marge replied. “It depends on the Will.”
“You want to take the house away from me?” Cindy was shocked.
“It doesn’t rightfully belong to you,” said Marge. “The house belonged to Clint. And he belonged to us.”
Cindy’s faced flushed .
“Clint didn’t rightfully belong to you either,” Clint’s mother spat out. “Who knows how you wrapped him around your little finger? You met and were married in less than a year. That wasn’t like Clint.”
Clearly, the family was building a case.
“It seems as if I need a lawyer,” Cindy said .
“You need more than a lawyer,” Marge continued. “You need to get out of here. Go home. Clear out. This is too painful to all of us, having you so close by. Then we’ll let lawyers decide about who gets the house and how the insurance settlement will be divided up.”
Cindy couldn’t leave the house, even if she wanted to. Clint was there. He belonged to her .
“I suppose you’re claiming that you gave Clint money for the insurance policy as well?” she said.
“Not claiming. We have evidence of it. Signed checks and receipts. Compensation is due us. Fair is fair.”
Cindy couldn’t take another second of this. “I’ll tell you what’s fair,” she finally burst out, livid. “It’s fair for me to have in-laws who care about me! It’s fair for you to realize that your precious son got married and didn’t belong to you! Who knows how he really died? Did it enrage you so much to actually lose him, that you arranged it yourself?”
Marge gasped. “You’re evil and insane.”
Cindy went on, only half in control. “I’m checking it all out. Including you!”
“Why would we kill our own child?” Clint’s mother began to heave. “We came to make you an offer. The law is completely on our side. Instead of leaving you with nothing, we’re offering you money if you just get out of town. It’s too painful for us to see you here. It keeps reminding us of what happened to him.”
Cindy fell back, silent on the couch. “You want to pay me to leave?”
“Please,” his mother said. “We’ll make it worth your while.”
“Aren’t there easier ways to get rid of me?” Cindy looked right at her.
She seemed confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cindy realized that she didn’t. When she looked over at Marge, she saw her gnawing on her lower lip.
At that moment, seeing how pathetic and helpless they were, she suddenly realized. She realized, without a doubt, that, however sick these people were, they were ultimately powerless, incapable of having Clint killed.
The realization struck Cindy hard. She had been barking up the wrong tree all this time. His family had nothing to do with it after all. Which meant that whoever had done it was still out there, still after her. And whoever that was, she’d better figure it out quick.
Chapter 13
When Clint’s family left, Cindy stood staring out of the window, wishing she could speak to Clint. He’d always shown her the bigger picture, helped her know what to do. If something had bothered her, he’d just put his arms around her and they’d thrash it out. After that, they’d spent the rest of the time in each other’s arms. It had made the whole world right.
Now, she was alone with everything. There were important decisions to be made. Leaving was out of the question. It wasn’t the house itself she was attached to—it was the feeling of Clint in it, everywhere. Where else could she go to be close to him now?
The visit with his family this afternoon had turned things around, though. Cindy knew Clint’s family was wealthy, but up to now, she didn’t know Clint took anything from them. He told her he’d paid for the wedding and the down payment on the house . She’d believed it, believed everything he’d said. She’d felt she’d found a soul mate, after years of rough times with guys.
She needed answers. Even though she was exhausted, Cindy went back into Clint’s study. She turned on a light and looked at the huge mess of papers. It would be a long night.
