Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry(10)
“Did you speak to the person who rented her the Jet Ski?”
“No. I’ll admit to feeling shell-shocked when I was down there. It’s a terrible feeling to open drawers and move your sister’s personal items into her suitcase. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to the people who provided the ski.”
“I can certainly understand that. I’m sorry to be asking you all these questions.”
“It’s okay. Let’s keep going.”
“Did anybody examine the ski after the accident?”
“I didn’t think to ask about that. I don’t know if any experts looked at it.”
“Did the police report reach any conclusions regarding what happened?”
“It attributed the accident to operator error. It said Cathy probably panicked after inadvertently putting the ski on full throttle. Her panic likely was made worse because she had consumed a large amount of alcohol in a short time before the accident.”
“Were you given a copy of the police report?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Would you be willing to share that with me?”
“Of course. I had it scanned. I’m calling you on my cell. Text me your email address and I’ll send the report.”
“If you can get me some recent pictures of Cathy, that would be helpful.”
“I’ll see what I can find and send them along with the police report. Do you really think that Cathy’s death was not an accident?”
“I’m not sure what to think. But there’s one thing I can say. I don’t like coincidences. A powerful corporation was negotiating with, maybe pressuring somebody to accept a settlement. That person may have been reluctant. And all of a sudden that person dies in an accident. In my opinion, that’s too much of a coincidence.”
“My God, to think anyone would have deliberately killed my sister! They’re calling my group number to board. I’m sure we will speak again.”
“We will. Have a nice flight.”
The connection ended.
10
After showering and getting dressed, Gina, laptop under her arm, walked to the corner and ordered a vanilla latte from Starbucks. When she was writing her articles, she preferred the solitude and quiet of her apartment. But when she was answering emails and doing research, she enjoyed the background noise the coffeehouse never failed to provide.
Settling at a table near the center of the store, she woke up her computer and started to educate herself about Aruba. The little knowledge she had was the result of reading and watching reports of the Natalee Holloway murder.
Her first stop was Wikipedia. As she read, she jotted notes.
18 miles north of Venezuela. In what’s often referred to as “Dutch Caribbean.” Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Sandy white beaches. Population 100,000. Popular with tourists because very little rainfall.
A fact caught the attention of the history buff in her.
Peter Stuyvesant in 1642 was appointed governor before being sent to his new post in New Amsterdam which would later be renamed New York City.
Switching over to a travel site, she found direct flights from JFK to Aruba. She could go round trip for $666. And the hotels were very reasonable. She definitely wanted to book the hotel Cathy Ryan stayed in. She wrote herself a reminder to get that information from Andrew.
Gina took a long sip of her coffee, savoring the sensation of the hot liquid passing downward from her throat. She thought to herself, I’m pretty sure I have enough to convince ER to send me down to Aruba. But I’d love to be able to tell them how, if at all, Meg Williamson fits into the story.
With a little luck, Gina thought, she would get Meg’s number later in the day from Mrs. Ryan. She wanted to be completely thought out on what she would say to Meg before she made contact. Did Meg work at REL News for all or a portion of the three years Cathy Ryan was there? How close are/were Cathy and Meg? Did Meg even know that Cathy died two weeks ago? Did Meg also have a “terrible experience” at REL News? If no, did Cathy share anything about her experience with Meg? Or if Meg had accepted a settlement, would she even speak to Gina?
She opened her email and hit NEW. After a few keystrokes, Geoff’s name appeared. Hi Geoff, I have some updates on the REL News situation I want to share with you. Are you free for a meet?
Thirty seconds later his response chimed in. Tied up until 4. Can you come then?
Okay. See you at 4.
11
Back in the apartment, on the chance that Geoff would give her an immediate okay, Gina pulled a few warm-weather clothes from her closet and laid them on her bed. She knew that if she ended up going, she would be there for two or three overnights, so it was not hard to put together everything she would need. She made a mental note to pick up some sunblock.
While Gina waited, she went online and reread news accounts of the Natalee Holloway murder. For all I know, she thought, I might be interacting with some of the same locals who worked on Natalee’s case. What struck her was that Natalee’s parents had had to wait so long to find out what happened to their daughter and for an arrest to be made. Any doubt about the role of Joran van der Sloot, a resident she had met down there, played in her murder was erased when, a few years later, he killed another young woman.