Death by Obsession by Jaden Skye Page B

that
relaxed both of them.  The water in that cove is amazing, always warm and
soothing.”
    “The perfect thing,” Cindy chimed in, light
heartedly.
    Lea smiled and turned away then to talk to other
friends close by.
    “Everyone’s determined to keep up this cheerful
front,” Cindy half whispered to Mattheus.
    “It’s not a front,” Mattheus corrected Cindy. “No one
knows anything.  Just take a look, all these friends and guests are genuinely
happy.  And Lea’s right - jitters are completely natural and they come in all
kinds of ways.”
    A cocktail waitress stopped in front of them then,
carrying a tray of hor doerves. Cindy and Mattheus took two vegetable fritters
and placed them on a small crystal dish. Just as she was about to eat hers,
Cindy suddenly saw Raina out of the corner of her eye, coming towards them.
Dressed in a cream colored, bouffant, silk dress, she could almost have been
mistaken for the bride.
    “What a delightful surprise to see the two of you
here,” Raina swept by, addressing her comments directly to Mattheus. “I had no
idea the two of you were on the guest list.”
    “I didn’t either,” Mattheus laughed.
    “Tara insisted that we come,” Cindy interrupted their
banter.
    “Really?” said Raina, turning towards Cindy and
raising her eyebrows slightly. “I wonder why. She never said a word about it to
me. It’s wonderful, of course, to have you here,” and she turned back to
Mattheus, smiling flirtatiously.  “Just a bit of a surprise.”
    “Tara’s full of surprises, I suppose,” Mattheus
answered, keeping the conversation going.
    “Yes, indeed,” Raina picked right up on it. “But who
isn’t? Tara’s a good girl though, a wonderful girl. We’re thrilled to have her
become part of our family.”
    “Is her father here?” Cindy asked then.
    “Yes, of course,” said Raina, “Aldon’s over on the
other side of the room, with his friends and family.”
    “And where’s Tara?” asked Mattheus then, looking
around.
    “Should be here any minute,” said Raina, looking
around as well. “I’m not positive where she is at the moment. She has her own
room.  It’s an old custom, the bride and groom spending the last night before
the wedding in separate rooms. Lynch arrived alone a few minutes ago. He’s over
there.”
    Cindy turned towards the side of the room where Raina
motioned and saw Lynch, dressed in an indigo blue, summer suit, his blonde hair
brushed perfectly, looking dashing.
    “Looks magnificent, doesn’t he?” Raina said taking
him in and swept up in the grandeur of the evening. “I’m totally thrilled and
proud of him. Looks just like his father did as a young man. If his father were
here, he’d be delighted as well.”
    Lynch did look magnificent, thought Cindy, and as
though he was having a wonderful time. There was nothing at all to betray any
unease. Cindy wondered if he even noticed that Tara hadn’t arrived yet.
    Raina tapped Mattheus’s shoulder lightly then. “Well,
it’s delightful to have both of you joining us. I must dash and talk to others
now. We’ll all be seated in a little while and it will be harder to chat with
everybody then.”
    “Of course,” said Mattheus as Raina flurried away.
    Cindy and Mattheus looked at each other for a long
moment. There was no apparent reason for the apprehension Cindy began to feel.
    “It’s a beautiful party, but where’s Tara?” Cindy
said under her breath.
    “She’ll be here any minute,” said Mattheus.
    “I certainly hope so,” Cindy replied.
    *
    Guests were seated, happily
chatting with those at their sides. It took a little while before people
realized that Tara had not arrived. Where was she? People began asking, looking
around as a pall began to fall over the room.
    As more and more people started
looking for Tara, Lynch finally got up from his seat, went over to his mother
and whispered something to her.
    Raina, disconcerted, went with
him to the back of the room, took out