Death by Betrayal (Book #10 in the Caribbean Murder series) (6 page)

“Where
are you? Where are you?”Cindy’s mother kept uttering.

“I
just got back to the hotel,” Cindy mustered her strength. “I’m working on the
case, mom.”

“No,
you’re not,” her mother snapped. “Enough, enough, get right up here this minute. 
I’ve got to see you immediately.”

Cindy
was filled with horror for the entire family. “I’m on the way up,” she replied.

As
Cindy stepped into the elevator and pressed the sixth floor, she realized that
she hadn’t seen or spoken to her mother since Clint had died, almost two years
ago. How could so much time have elapsed without either of them being in touch?
But it wasn’t surprising. Even during all the years growing up, Ann had stepped
in and filled in the gap. For as long as Cindy could remember Ann had been both
a big sister and a mother to her.

As
the elevator climbed to her mother’s floor Cindy thought about her. She remembered
how when Clint had died, her mom had been horrified that Cindy wouldn’t return
home to Wisconsin and live in the bosom of the family again. When Cindy had
chosen to become a detective, her mother went crazy. There was no understanding
Cindy, her mother had told Ann, there never was and never would be. Ann hadn’t repeated
that to Cindy, Frank had. Frank always seemed to enjoy telling Cindy the inside
story of what was going on in the family. Frank seemed to enjoy the fact that
Ann was the favorite daughter and Cindy had always been the black sheep.

Cindy
got off at the sixth floor and walked down to the room where her mother was
staying. She stood outside it a moment before ringing the bell. Would her
mother want her to take on Ann’s role now? Was she going to insist that Cindy
move back home again?

Cindy
rang the bell lightly. In a flash of a moment, the door was pulled open and
Cindy’s uncle Ben stood there. He looked flushed and worn to the bone.

“Come
in, come in,” he uttered, waving her in.

The
room was similar to Cindy’s, elegant, well appointed, airy, certainly not a room
to mourn in.

Cindy’s
mom, tall, beautiful and as well groomed as ever, stood up from the round chair
she’d been seated on. For a second Cindy thought her mother would run over, embrace
her, sob with her. But the moment passed. It didn’t happen, never had. Instead,
her mother simply started pacing back and forth. Except for the glassy, crazed
look in her azure eyes, she didn’t look a bit different than she had two years
ago.

“Your
mother’s beside herself,” her uncle Ben half moaned, before going back to sit
down again on the couch. Cindy looked over and saw her other uncle Charlie
seated there as well. Cindy had rarely seen Uncle Charlie all the years growing
up. Charlie was her father’s brother, someone her mother never wanted around. Cindy
was amazed to see him here now.

Charlie
looked over at Cindy, interested to see her, as well.

“Wonderful
of you to come so quickly,” Charlie said, standing up and offering his hand.

Cindy
moved a step closer and took his hand. “Good of you to come, too,” Cindy
replied.

Charlie’s
weather beaten face creased as he smiled in appreciation. “Your Uncle Ben
called me and told me about this as soon as it happened. He asked me to come,
I’m not sure why. But of course I said I’d be here immediately. It’s great that
you’re on the case, Cindy.”

“What’s
great about it?” Cindy’s mother broke in sardonically. “One daughter dead and
another in danger? Not that Cindy has ever actually been a daughter to me!”

Disturbed,
Ben jumped up again and ran to Cindy’s mother. “Your mother can’t stop thinking
the worst,” Ben explained to Cindy. “She hasn’t stopped pacing since we got the
news, either. I told her she’ll get a heart attack herself if she doesn’t calm
down.”

“What
difference does it make if I live or die?” Cindy’s mother’s voice was both
shrill and breathless. “Is it true? Is it possible that Ann is gone?” she
glared at Cindy then, as if Cindy herself was responsible for it.

“We’re
looking into every detail,” Cindy decided to assume a calm, professional tone.

“That’s
not what I asked you? I asked is your sister gone?” Her mother’s eyes flashed
at her. “You never could answer anything directly. It’s a simple question,
isn’t it?”

Simple
and not so simple, thought Cindy. “Yes, Ann has passed away,” she finally
answered her mother plainly, affirming the awful truth for herself as well.

Her
mother’s body shook as she burrowed her head onto Ben’s shoulder.

“Who
knows why, Claudia? Who knows anything?” Ben murmured to her. “You have to be
brave, I need you to be brave.”

“I
never was brave, Ben,” Cindy’s mother responded.

Cindy
took a deep breath as her uncle Charlie came over to her then.

“I’m
sorry for your loss, Cindy,” Charlie was both kind and straightforward.

“Thank
you,” replied Cindy. “Thank you for being here, too.”

“I’m
as shocked by this death as everyone,” he replied.

“You’re
not as shocked as I am,” Cindy’s mother threw her head back. “You barely knew
the family. They barely knew you. Now you’ll never know, Ann – ever!”

Cindy
saw her Uncle Charlie’s eye start to twitch. “It’s okay,” she said to him. “At
a time like this people lash out. They don’t know what else to do. My mother’s
not in her right mind now.”

“Never
was,” Uncle Charlie said to Cindy under his breath. “I always knew what my
brother was up against.”

Cindy
flinched at what he said, though she really liked him. Charlie was honest and
direct and Cindy respected that; nothing at all like the picture her mother had
painted of him. But nothing ever was, thought Cindy. Her mother always occupied
her own reality. Either you joined her in it, or you did not. Ann had chosen to
join their mother, Cindy had refused.

“I
am taking the ashes home and burying them close by,” Cindy’s mother pulled away
from Ben and began pacing again. “But I also want the first memorial service
for Ann to take place as soon as possible, right here in Bermuda, where she
died.”

It
was all too much for Cindy to take in right now.

“We’ll
work it out later on,” Ben tried consoling his sister again.

“And
where’s Frank?” her mother’s voice rose another octave as she faced Cindy
again. “I’ve called his room three times and he hasn’t answered.”

“Probably
busy,” Ben suggested.

Cindy
realized her mother and uncles didn’t know Frank was being held by the police.
She certainly wasn’t going to tell them and agitate them further. There was no
need to. Cindy was in the process of getting him released from jail so he would
be able to join everyone shortly. It could only be a matter of hours.

“Frank’s
busy with the police,” Cindy said then, in an extremely even tone. “He’ll be
available in a little while. Don’t worry yourselves about it.”

 Her
mother let out a little sigh of relief. “At least that’s something,” she
breathed. “I’ll feel better when I see him. After all, he’s part of Ann, isn’t
he?”

“Yes,
he is,” said Cindy.

“And
so is Cindy a part of Ann,” Charlie chimed in. “Personally, I feel better now
that I see her.”

Charlie’s
words flowed through Cindy like warm ambrosia. But Cindy’s mother looked at him
oddly.

“What
do you know about Cindy and Ann’s relationship?” she asked him.

“Doesn’t
take much to see that Ann had a beautiful and devoted sister,” Charlie
responded.

“You
just see the tip of the iceberg, Charlie,” Cindy’s mother scoffed.

To
Cindy’s great delight, Charlie stood up to her mother. “I don’t see any iceberg, 
Claudia,” he replied. “I see a warm, devoted, caring sister.”

“Who
ran away and left the family,” Cindy’s mother burst in. “Who lives and works in
the Caribbean with some kind of crazy, detective partner that none of us have
even met.”

Cindy
knew her mother was referring to Mattheus.

Charlie
looked interested, “Is that right, Cindy?”

“Mattheus
is far from crazy,” Cindy said quietly.

“Where
is he then?” asked her mother. “What kind of partner leaves a woman alone to
deal with something like this?”

Cindy
turned her back to her mother. What went on between her and Mattheus was
absolutely none of her business.

“Have
you told your partner what happened?” Charlie asked warmly.

“When
I’m ready,” Cindy responded to him. “He’s on another case right now.”

Charlie
took a step closer to her. “Everything happens when the time is right,” he comforted
her.

Cindy
was grateful for his comment, but had nothing further to say to anyone then. Thankfully
just at that moment her phone rang. She picked it up immediately, and to her
surprise, Trage was on the other end.

“I’ve
got a piece of news for you,” Trage started, “are you up for it?”

“Definitely,”
Cindy replied. She couldn’t think of anything she’d rather have now that a
piece of news or lead to follow.

“Okay,”
Trage continued, “we just heard that a guy named Alain, who was on the hotel
staff was suddenly fired. No one knows why.”

“Yes?”
Cindy wanted more.

“The
point is,” Trage continued, “Alain personally delivered room service to Ann and
Frank’s room twice since they were here.”

“Why
was he suddenly fired?” Cindy asked interested.

“That’s
for us to find out,” Trage replied. “The guy lives in a shanty home in a local
village about fifteen miles away. We thought you could get more out of him than
if he were visited by police.”

“I’m
on it,” said Cindy, mobilized.

“Great.
I’ll text you his address and directions to get there,” said Trage.

“I’ll
leave immediately,” Cindy replied and hung up the phone.

“Leave
to go where?” Cindy’s mother’s eyes flew open, alarmed.

“There’s
a new lead on the case I have to check out,” Cindy replied methodically.

“They
don’t have a police force who can do it themselves?” her mother grew more
agitated. “They need to put my other daughter in harm’s way?”

Cindy
turned and looked at her mother directly. “This is my work, mom,” she replied.
“I do it all the time, I’m good at it. I’m not in danger, just exploring a
lead.”

Charlie
took a step closer to Cindy then. “Maybe I can go with you?” he asked tenderly.

“Thanks,
Charlie,” Cindy looked at him warmly. “It’s best if I handle this one alone.”

Grateful
for any excuse to get away, Cindy raced out of her mother’s room and down to
the lobby. Then she took the first cab she could get to  Back o’ Town, where
Alain lived. As she got into the cab, Cindy decided not to call and let him know
she was arriving. It would be better to take him by surprise; that would be the
best way to get him to talk.

The
taxi wound its way along the roads, crisscrossing the beautiful Island. The
mist had lifted and the trees, shrubs and local buildings looked pristine in
the afternoon light. Bermuda was manicured, and exquisitely designed without
the least hint of the chaos and disorder you found on other islands in the
Caribbean.

 “Back
o Town is not the best destination,” the driver remarked as they approached. “Not
a good idea for a woman to spend time here alone.”

“Why
not?” Cindy was interested.

“We
got our share of drug dealers hanging around the island, like anywhere else,”
the driver spoke plainly. “This is where most of them live. You get gang on
gang crime here – a few shootings. No one can stop some of this junk from
slipping in. Otherwise, we’re one of the safest places you can find. We’re under
British rule, and the British know what they’re doing.”

This
place wasn’t so safe for Ann though, thought Cindy. “What about random murder
of tourists?” Cindy questioned him quickly.

“Nah,”
the driver shook his head. “Doesn’t happen. We’re civilized here. Nothing goes
that far.”

Cindy
gritted her teeth, glad to be going to a local district, eager to face off with
Alain. She suddenly had a flash of how Mattheus had felt when he was on the
hunt to find his former wife’s killer. It was personal and a streak of revenge
had burned through him the whole time. That streak of revenge burned now
through Cindy as well. The feeling was new to her and terrifying. But Cindy was
relieved that the police let her know about Alain; at least they were letting
her in on the investigation, keeping her informed.

The
taxi drove across narrower roads now, through low hanging trees, and around
small shanty homes crowded together. Debris was scattered on the streets and through
some of the open windows you could hear loud voices and music playing. As they
approached Alain’s address, an odd sense of oppression filled Cindy’s heart.

The
driver slowed down, looking for the exact number Cindy had given him. He
finally stopped in front of a wooden cottage that sloped to the side.

“How
long do you plan to be here? Want me to wait for you?” the driver seemed
slightly apprehensive.

“I’ll
be awhile,” Cindy replied, though she had no sense at all how long it would be,
or whether Alain would even be here.

“For
an extra fifty bucks I’ll wait nearby. You can call me when you’re done and
I’ll be right over.”

It
seemed like a good idea to Cindy. She paid the driver, she ordered the return
trip.

As
Cindy watched the driver pulled away, the low hanging trees overhead rustled. Cindy
suddenly felt forlorn. Her visit with her mother had been unnerving, Ann was
gone and so was Mattheus.  Cindy felt as if she were truly treading the road
alone. For a second Cindy thought of how Ann would feel seeing her like this,
unprotected, roaming about in places she didn’t belong. Ann wouldn’t like it, she’d
tell Cindy to get out of there immediately. Ann never ventured out of familiar
territory, she’d created a life of total safety, and look what had happened to
her now. The memory of her sister stretched out on the slab shot through
Cindy’s heart like an arrow. Try as hard as Ann did to be safe, she couldn’t
escape her destiny, though.

Cindy
walked to the small door of the house and boldly rang the bell. For a few
moments, no one answered. Just as Cindy was going to ring again, she heard
footsteps approaching.

“Deidre?”
a male voice inside called out. Clearly he was expecting someone.

“It’s
Cindy Blaine,” Cindy answered as the footsteps came up close to the door.

The
door opened suddenly and a tall, young, attractive, Caribbean man in jeans
stood at the door. He looked as surprised as Cindy.

“I’m
Cindy Blaine,” Cindy repeated more loudly.

“Who?”
He seemed confused. “I was expecting my sister, Deidre.”

“Alain?”
Cindy asked.

“Yes,
do I know you?” he replied.

“May
I come in a few minutes and talk to you?” Cindy tried to smile.

“Sure,
come in,” he was cordial and curious. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

Cindy
followed him into a small, freshly painted room with slanty windows and a
wicker couch.

“Thanks
so much,” Cindy murmured, as he pointed to a chair.

“Make
yourself comfortable,” he smiled. “Want a drink?”

“No,
thanks so much.” Cindy was grateful for his hospitality. He certain didn’t seem
to be hiding anything, or feel uneasy about her visit.

“My
name is Cindy Blaine,” Cindy repeated, now nervous.

He
sat opposite her on an ottoman. “You told me that already, honey,” he answered,
“now tell me what you’re doing here?”

“My
sister was killed a couple of days ago,” Cindy blurted out, feeling herself
flush.

“Dear
God,” he replied.

“It
happened at the hotel you were working at,” the words tumbled out by
themselves. “You know who she was. You brought room service to her.”

His
eyes opened wide. “Which room?”

“Her
name was Ann, she was here with her husband Frank. Room 323. Do you remember?”
asked Cindy nervously.

Alain
leaned forward.  “That’s a terrible thing that happened to your sister,” he
said quietly. “I didn’t hear about it.”

“Horrible,”
Cindy agreed. “Please try to remember her!”

“Let
me think,” he replied, scanning his memory. “Describe her to me.”

“She
was in her early forties, beautiful, gracious,” Cindy started, her eyes quickly
smarting with tears.

Alain
closed his eyes, seeming to scrutinize his memory. “Yeah, yeah,” he said
suddenly, “was she married to a big, heavy set guy?”

“That’s
right, she was!” Cindy got excited.

Alain
got excited, too. “The guy came down first and then the wife joined him a
couple of days later?”

“That’s
it,” said Cindy, trembling. “You remember her?”

“I
do,” Alain got excited.  “I remember the husband mentioned to me that his wife
was coming down and where could he get yellow tulips?  He said she loved yellow
tulips!”

Cindy’s
heart began beating terrifically. “That’s right, that’s my sister. She loved
yellow tulips, they were her favorite!”

“I
noticed he got them,” Alain spoke quickly.

“He
was excited she was coming?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah,
it seemed that way to me,” Alain said.

Cindy
was thrilled to hear this. It was wonderful to talk to someone who had actually
seen Ann before she died. She leaned over towards Alain now. “Did you see Ann
too?”

“I
saw the wife once,” Alain was doing his best to remember details. “They ordered
breakfast in the room in the morning.”

“Yes,
Ann loved having breakfast in,” Cindy agreed.

“Yeah,
yeah, I definitely remember.”

“How
did she look?” Cindy hung on every detail, “did she seem happy?”

“Honey,
I really hope so. I can’t say, I didn’t look at her so closely. I brought in
the tray and the husband signed the check. I saw her sitting there, though. She
looked okay to me.”

“She
wasn’t okay,” Cindy’s voice started to crack into pieces, “she was in danger
and had no idea about it. She died later that afternoon.”

Alain
stood up disconcerted. “I’m really sorry to hear this. Truly I am.”

“There were horrible scratches
all over her neck,” Cindy went on, “and then she was

smothered.”

“May
God, save us,” Alain muttered.

Cindy
knew she had to plough on with the interview, go deeper, no matter how lovely
Alain seemed.

 “I
heard you were just fired from your job,” Cindy mentioned.

“Yeah,
it’s true,” he said, “damn rotten luck. I’ll get another one though. It’s not
getting to me.”

“Why
were you fired?” Cindy dug deeper.

Alain
started to answer and then fell silent. “Why do you want to know? What’s all
this about, anyway?” he asked swiftly.

“You
were one of the last ones to see my sister alive,” Cindy answered softly.

At
that he spun around in a crazy circle. “You think I did it? It’s me?” he was
totally amazed.

“No,
I don’t think that,” Cindy answered quickly, “I just need to talk to anyone who
saw her and can tell me something.”

“Then
why did you ask if I was fired?” Alain only half bought it.

Cindy
rose to the occasion. “Sometimes distraught employees who get fired take it out
on the hotel guests,” she replied.

“So
you thought I might have killed her?” his eyes opened wide again.

“Just
a possibility we’re checking on,” replied Cindy.

“Who’s
we?” Alain countered.

“I’m
also a detective,” Cindy decided to come clean. She didn’t want to hide
anything from him and he appreciated it.

“This
was your sister killed and you’re a detective?” he wanted to get it straight.

“Right,”
said Cindy. “She was found dead in her room late in the afternoon, the day you
were fired. You were fired a little after noon.”

“Whew,”
Alain looked relieved. “Yeah, I was fired at around twelve thirty and then I
went to a local bar right after and hung out there all afternoon. Lots of
people saw me. I ate, we talked. Random firings of help aren’t so rare on the
Island. I was fired because I had trouble with my boss for the past few weeks.
He was getting on my case every second and I finally told him off. It had
absolutely nothing to do with your sister. Nothing at all. Not a thing. And
believe it or not, I’m sorry to hear about her.”

“I
do believe it, Alain,” Cindy said, upset to have had to put him through this.
“I’m sorry to upset you like this.”

“You
didn’t upset me,” he answered quickly, “and let me tell you something. Bermuda
is a hub of rich folks coming down here to invest. It’s crawling with two
things, money and cover ups of all kinds. If you think people don’t turn up
dead here all the time, take another look. The government hushes it up, but it’s
a known fact.”

“Tell
me more,” Cindy breathed, “please, I need to hear it.”

“There’s
big business here in insurance and re-insurance,” Alain went on defiantly. “People
come from all over the world and make piles of dough. There’s almost no taxes
for businesses either, they make it easy. Get my drift?”

Cindy
got it. “But that had nothing to do with my sister,” said Cindy.“ She’s not in
business and never came here before.”

“How
about the hubby?” Alain was quick on the draw.

Cindy
scanned her memory quickly. Actually Ann had just mentioned that Frank had come
down here a bit on business recently, but that couldn’t have anything to do
with it. Frank did well back in the states but wasn’t a finance guy, ever.
Cindy thought he’d probably just found a new market for his products here.

“My
sister’s husband’s not involved in big business,” said Cindy.

Alain
shook his head. “Look I don’t have any idea how this happened, but I can tell
you one thing. You’re not gonna find the killer, honey. Most murders down here
never get solved. These guys have protection around them like iron rings, including
from the government. Get it? What happens in Bermuda stays in Bermuda. You take
one step too far, and before you know it, you’ll end up like your sister, dead.”

Cindy
shuddered.

“It’s
dangerous for a beautiful woman like you to go digging around alone,” Alain ran
his hands over his face. “Let the police do it. They know what they’re dealing with.”

“But
will they do it?” Cindy asked.

“Probably
not,” Alain grinned. “They’ll do a little and let it go at that. But if you start
digging too much, you’ll make people nervous. Word will get out.  Sooner or
later you’ll ruffle some feathers. People here have got a lot here to hide.”

“Who
will I make nervous?” Cindy was insistent.

“Hell
if I know the people involved,” said Alain. “I do know that this is a high
stakes game, though. When you work in these hotels you see these heartless
beauties coming and going like they owned the world.”

“Maybe
they do,” said Cindy.

“They
can own whatever they want,” said Alain. “They don’t own my house though, or my
life.  They got your sister and I’m sorry about it. But be smart, don’t let
them get you!”