Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (17 page)

Mattheus didn’t know what to
say or think. He stood there numb, staring.

 “Hey, man, you alright?”
asked Tommy, looking at him.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” said
Mattheus, reeling inside. “I need to know the name of the guy Shelly was tight
with, the one she came dancing with here?”

“Sure,”” said Tommy,
triumphantly, “he’s a married guy, named Flan. Owns a shark fishing boat down
at the pier.”

“Got it,” said Mattheus,
“Flan.”

“Remember the name,” Tommy
leaned closer. “He’s the one the cops should be questioning. He’s the one the
slut couldn’t live without.”

Mattheus wanted to raise his
hand to stop him talking about Shelly that way. It was more than he could take,
hearing her called a slut. All the years they were married, she’d turned away
from Mattheus, cold as stone, plenty of nights.  It had become more and more of
an effort getting her to come close at all. Mattheus had just thought it was a
phase that would pass, that all couples went through that sort of thing.

Mattheus stared at Tommy now,
feeling helpless and confused.

“I got to go now, man. Thank
you,” said Mattheus, getting up off the bar stool.

“Hey, wait a minute, you look
woozy,” said Tommy.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,”
Mattheus mumbled as he weaved his way to the door.

Once outside he lurched
against a pole, rocked back and forth, and then threw up all over the ground.

Cindy lay on the lounge at the pool, under an
umbrella, waiting to hear from Mattheus. Where was he? What had he been doing
all afternoon? It was almost evening and he hadn’t answered her call all day
long. Neither had Alex. She finally closed her eyes for a cat nap, when her
phone rang.  Cindy rolled over abruptly, grabbing it, hoping it was finally
Mattheus.

“Cindy,” a sharp voice answered, “We’re here.”

“Here? Who?”It took a few minutes for the voice
to register.

 “Ann and Frank,” her sister’s voice sounded determined.

Cindy’s heart dropped. “What in the world?”

“Come on,” said Ann, “at least act like you’re
glad to hear from me. We’re only staying for the night. We’re at the hotel
across the street.”

Cindy was completely taken off guard. She
clearly remembered telling her sister not to come.

“We came down to get the vibes for one night,”
said Ann.

“You came down to check on me!” said Cindy
flatly.

“And if I did, so what? You’re in a crazy,
dangerous situation with a person you barely know.”

“Ann, I told you not to come.”

“Don’t Ann me,” Ann answered sharply. “You were
pretty happy when I picked you up from the airport in New York.”

“We planned that. It was different. I wasn’t on
a case.”

“Some case!  This is your boyfriend’s wife who turned
up murdered. Both Frank and I are terrified. For all we know you could be best.
We want to meet this guy face to face.”

“It’s not possible” said Cindy.

“Of course it is!” Ann insisted.

 “Mattheus and I are not working together,
anymore,” Cindy declared.  It was comforting to say it, to acknowledge the
reality.

There was a silence on the other end of the
phone.

“Why not?” asked Ann, sounding surprised.

“Things are too unstable between us at the
moment,” said Cindy. “I’m working directly with the police now.”

“Cindy, none of this sounds good.  Do the
police suspect Mattheus had something to do with the death?”

“Definitely not!  Don’t become paranoid,” Cindy
exclaimed.

 “Frank and I want to have dinner with you,” Ann
said emphatically, “please, I need to see you with my own eyes, make sure
you’re alright.”

“Alright,” Cindy relented. There was no way she
could refuse, and to her surprise felt comforted at the thought of her sister
being close by.

“And after this, I want to bring you back home
to Cove Bay,” Ann added.

That was going too far.  “Ann, a woman down
here has been killed brutally,” Cindy said, “and I’m on the trail to finding
out why it happened and by whom! Other lives could be at stake. ”

“Okay, okay, what time are you free for dinner
tonight?” Ann couldn’t stand hearing about Cindy’s work, shut her down
instantly.

“Let’s meet here at the hotel, in the lobby, at
six,” said Cindy.

“Not before that?”

“There are things I have to take care of first.”
 Cindy had to get in touch with the police, and let them know about Katrina and
Flan. If Alex didn’t call soon, she had to go over to the Police Station and put
it on the record directly.

“I won’t push my luck. It’s six o’clock, then.
See you in the lobby,” Ann sounded grateful.

“And one more thing,” said Cindy. “Thank you Ann.
 I really appreciate how much you care.”

“I do care,” Ann was emboldened, “and there’s
no way I’m leaving my little sister in danger.”

“I’m not in danger,” said Cindy, definitively.

“Oh yes, you are,” Ann shot back, “in more
danger than you can ever imagine. I just feel it in my bones.”

*

The rest of the afternoon went surprisingly
quickly. Alex called in about an hour and listened to the information Cindy
had. He took it, acknowledged her, and said he’d put it on the record. Cindy
wanted to know if he would back her up when she went to speak to Katrina and
Flan. He said he’d have to check on that with Rodney and would get back to her
as soon as he heard. Alex didn’t have the authority to make that decision, but
between the two of them, off the record, it sounded like a good idea.

Cindy felt better after speaking to him and
decided to go back up to the room to give herself time to shower and change
before dinner. The idea of seeing Ann and Frank tonight was strange, but Cindy
was pleased about it. She hadn’t heard a word from Mattheus all day long and it
would be good not to have dinner alone.

 As she got ready Cindy couldn’t help but
wonder if Mattheus hadn’t just disappeared like this on Shelly, too? If not
physically, then emotionally? Cindy knew that Mattheus had planned gone to
Rancher’s Bar to speak to Tommy today, but had no idea what happened. He was
definitely excluding her from his part in the investigation. Was it because the
case involved him and he was ashamed? Whatever it was, it left her unguarded.
It was his responsibility to keep in touch.

Cindy put on a lovely orange silk dress,
brushed her hair, and noticed that she had a bit of a sun tan from her time
down at the pool. Despite what she was going through, she looked healthy and
glowing, ready for a night out on the town. So much for appearances, she thought
.

Cindy took a light straw evening bag, put a
lipstick and her keys in it, grabbed a summer sweater and went down to the lobby
to wait for Ann and Frank. In what seemed like no time at all, they walked into
the hotel and right over to where she was waiting.

“Cindy,” Ann was excited and threw her arms
around her.

Frank stood back and watched them from a
distance.

“My God, it’s so good to see you,” Ann exclaimed.

Cindy hugged her back. “Thanks Ann, for
everything.”

“How about me?” asked Frank then, coming over.

Just as Cindy was going to give Frank a hug, to
her shock she looked up and there was Mattheus, standing a few feet away
watching them, intently.

“Oh my God,” said Cindy, “it’s Mattheus.”

Ann and Frank spun around, looking at him, as
if they’d found a cornered animal.

Mattheus walked over to join them then as if it
were the most natural thing in the world.  To Cindy’s surprise, he looked quite
dashing, freshly showered, in dark blue slacks and a summer shirt. Actually, he
seemed completely different from the rumpled guy he’d been since they’d
arrived. She wondered why.

Mattheus, this is my sister Ann and her husband
Frank,” Cindy introduced them.

“Hi,” said Mattheus, looking at Ann and then
Frank. “For a second I thought this guy was a new boyfriend of yours,” Mattheus
joked, motioning to Frank.

That comment didn’t sit well with Ann. She looked
at Mattheus quizzically. “And who exactly was my sister’s
old
boyfriend?”

Mattheus tried to make light of it. “I’m sure a
woman as beautiful as Cindy has many boyfriends,” he said.

Frank didn’t like that either. “She had a hell
of a husband,” Frank answered directly, “wasn’t the kind to run around.”

 “Hey, I’m just making a pleasantry,” Mattheus
said to Frank, reacting to the anger in Frank’s tone.

“We’ve heard a lot about you,” Frank responded.

“What did you hear?” Mattheus was becoming
edgy.

Cindy immediately got between them, wanting to
prevent this from escalating.

 “My sister and brother in law are down for the
day and we’re about to have dinner,” said Cindy.

“Great,” said Mattheus. “How come I didn’t hear
about it?”

Cindy looked at him puzzled. “I called earlier
today and left you a message. Did you receive it?”

“Actually, no,” Mattheus rubbed his forehead. “I
haven’t been focusing on calls today.”

“What have you been focusing on, Mattheus?” Ann
stepped out strongly then.

“I beg your pardon?” Mattheus was put off.

“I mean what’s going on down here with you and
Cindy?” Ann didn’t back down.

Mattheus looked like a deer caught in the
headlights, glancing back and forth between Cindy and Ann.

“My sister is very protective of me,” said
Cindy. “She doesn’t like me working alone.”

“You’re far from alone,” Mattheus grimaced.

“If I don’t hear back from you all day,
Mattheus,” said Cindy, “then I am alone.”

“Is that what you told your sister? That you’re
alone down here, so she came down to check on you?”

“I never said that to her.”

“She didn’t have to say it,” said Ann. “You can
feel when someone you love is in danger, can’t you?”

“Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t,”
said Mattheus, rattled. “But Cindy is not in danger. I would never, ever allow
that to happen.”

“Maybe you have inadvertently?” said Ann.

Mattheus wasn’t taking this laying down.  “Who
are you to make those kinds of judgments?” he threw Ann a fierce look.

It didn’t affect Ann in the slightest. “Is it
appropriate for Cindy to be working on this case? Does she have the support she
needs for it?”

Mattheus seemed startled by her question. “I
don’t know how to answer that,” he said, suddenly shaky.

“But you have to,” said Ann. “It’s your wife
who was just found murdered - you can’t implicate someone else in this
situation, unless you’re ready to give them complete support.”

Ann was going too far, and Cindy didn’t like
it. “Wait a minute, Ann,” Cindy interrupted.

“Let your sister talk,” Frank got into the
fray. “She happens to be right.”

“I’ve always supported Cindy,” Mattheus started,
but Ann interrupted him again.

“We don’t need pretty talk. We need to make
sure that things are straight up here, that Cindy is well cared for. I, for
one, don’t think she is! I want her to go home, leave immediately.” Ann wasn’t
mincing words.

“Leave me?” Mattheus seemed to be reeling.

“Leave you, leave the case, leave Key West.
It’s all the same, isn’t it?”

Mattheus, stunned, listened to her. It was as
if a strong wave had come off the ocean and slapped him hard across the face.

“Cindy already left me,” he said after a long
while.

“Left? She’s right here now,” Ann looked at him
as though he were cagey.

“She only came down here to help with the
case,” Mattheus continued, “I meant she left me in Grenada.”

“I don’t care why she came down,” Ann wouldn’t
give him an inch, “she’s here and that’s what matters! And I want her gone!”
“Whoah,” Mattheus held his arm out now, “that’s going too far.”

Frank came closer as if to stand with Ann.

“This isn’t where Cindy belongs, it’s not her
life,” Ann wouldn’t stop, giving Mattheus one dose after another of electric
shock therapy.

“Only Cindy can say what her life is and where
she belongs,” Mattheus tried to respond.

“Right now, I’m committed to completing this
case,” Cindy announced. “I’m in touch with the police, but I need real backup.
I can’t do it alone.”

“Of course you need back up,” Mattheus was
waking up.

“It’s not what I’m getting,” Cindy repeated, not
meeting his beseeching eyes.

“Cindy,” Mattheus walked closer to her.

Ann immediately wedged herself between them.

“Your wife has been killed,” Ann said to
Mattheus directly, “you’ve called my sister down to help find the killer. Is
that right? Is that fair? The two of you had a romantic relationship. How can
you pretend it’s all just business now?  That’s impossible. It’s not all
business. It’s a mess!”

 Mattheus stood straighter, as if he were
coming to his senses. “You’re right,” he said suddenly, “it is impossible.”

Cindy was amazed.

 “I’m very sorry,” Mattheus went on.  Suddenly
he was upright and tall, fully present, the guy Cindy had always known.

“Sorry doesn’t mean a damn,” Ann didn’t like anything
about him - that was clear as day.

Mattheus paid no attention, just turned to
Cindy.

“If you want to leave, I completely
understand,” he said, looking at her directly.  “I’m a mess, and probably never
should have asked you to come here in the first place. I wasn’t thinking
clearly. I’m still not. But I do know one thing for sure, I don’t want to lose
you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Cindy. “Whether or
not you should have asked me, you did. I said yes, and here I am.  I’m not
running out on anyone.”

Ann’s eyes shot fire at both of them.  “You’re
making a mistake, Cindy,” she uttered and spun around on her heel. “I for one
am getting hungry now and believe we have a dinner reservation!

“We do,” said Cindy, “and I’m hungry, too.”