Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (2 page)

“Why not?” said Cindy, amazing herself, “let’s
give it a try.”  

Mattheus grinned and grasped her hands tight in
his.

“Fantastic! That’s what I love about you—you’re
gutsy and daring,” he said. “I never know what to expect. Do whatever you need
to really feel comfortable here. Make this your home, too.”

As the first step in making this her home, Cindy
had to do some decorating, take old things down, bring in new touches.

“Just go slow,” Mattheus pleaded. “This is my
life you’re re-arranging.”

“What about my life?” Cindy joked. “I’m moving
in with you. My life’s not only being re-arranged, it’s being pulled apart at
the seams.”

“And put back together in a way that’s far
better for both of us,” Mattheus reassured her.

Cindy always loved the way Mattheus took a
sensitive moment and put it in a larger context.  It made her feel safe and
understood.

“I’m going out to work in the shed in the back
now,” he said. “Just remember, I love you, Cindy.”

She took a deep, swift breath. It was startling
and wonderful to hear him say it so casually and naturally in the middle of an
ordinary afternoon.

“I love you, too, Mattheus,” Cindy replied.

Mattheus went outside and Cindy browsed through
the rooms. She loved the new rhythm that was forming between them, easy,
relaxed, homey. She hadn’t realized how much she craved this unstructured time together.
It was creating a new foundation for their relationship, one they could both
depend on.

Cindy went into the bedroom. It was clear that
the first changes had to be made there. The photos of Mattheus and Shelly were
everywhere, with hardly any space between them. There were pictures of them in
all kinds of settings - at home, in parks, boats, parties, smoky night clubs.
It was as if Mattheus had captured every moment of their lives, not willing to
forget anything.

At first Cindy couldn’t look at the photos closely,
it was painful to see someone else in Mattheus’s arms. But she had to clear
them away, decide which ones to pack, and which to leave around.  She went over
to the end table first, took the framed photograph of them and looked at it
closely.

Shelly and Mattheus seemed enormously happy
together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing. It seemed as if neither
of them had a care in the world. Life must have been good to them, then. They
looked as if they were riding a wave that seemed to be going in one direction
only. The idea that the wave would crash at the shore and low tide come in
seemed to be the furthest thing from their minds. 

Cindy remembered Mattheus telling her that he
and Shelly met soon after college, and from the first day they got together
were hardly ever apart. When they married he was working in his own business as
a court reporter in New Orleans, and she was studying to become a counselor.

 Cindy looked at Shelly more closely. Even
though they resembled each other superficially, their eyes were different.  Shelly’s
were huge and green with changing expressions. In some photos she looked
charming and intelligent, in others like a stray cat, wily and confusing. In
all the photographs Mattheus looked strong and vibrant beside her, as if he had
everything he’d ever wanted.

Shelly was dressed in many different outfits, except
that she always had the same unusual shell necklace on. Cindy noticed it
immediately. No two shells were alike; the necklace seemed to be individually
strung. In several photos Shelly’s hands touched the necklace, as if it meant
the world to her.

Cindy stared at Shelly for a long moment. It
was hard to imagine that such a beautiful, young woman had been taken down in
the prime of life. Same as Clint, thought Cindy. For a moment, she ached for
Mattheus, losing someone so precious to him.

It was strange dipping into the details of
Mattheus’s past life. Cindy put the photo on the bed. There were so many of
them, she couldn’t leave them all around and make this bedroom their own. She
also couldn’t just take them all away, wipe out his memories. It was a delicate
balance and Cindy wanted to be sensitive about it.

As she stood there, scanning the photos and
taking some down, the bedroom door opened.  

“Just popped in to see how you were doing,”
said Mattheus.

Cindy turned to him slowly. “Shelly was very
beautiful,” Cindy said softly, picking up a photograph again.

“Yes, she was,” Mattheus echoed, glancing at
the photo in Cindy’s hand.  “I like having these photos around. I like thinking
of her still alive – the way she was, as if nothing ever happened.”

Cindy put the photo down, suddenly feeling
flushed. The day had grown humid and rain was predicted for later on.

“You don’t have a problem with the photos, do
you?” Mattheus asked, coming closer, looking at them strewn on the bed.

“Not a problem, there’s just too many of them,”
Cindy tried to be playful. “We need to make room for pictures of us.”

Mattheus put his hands on her shoulders. “I get
it,” he said. “Down with the old, up with the new.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way,” said Cindy.

Little raindrops started tapping the window.

“Starting to rain earlier than we expected,”
Mattheus said, a feeling of gloom coming over him.

“Let’s take a walk in the rain,” said Cindy. “We
can go over to the café near the Waterfalls and have lunch.”

“I’ve got a lot to do here, though,” Mattheus
said, as the phone rang sharply, interrupting their conversation.

This was the first call they’d received in the
house. Cindy had hoped no one would call for a long while, give them time to
settle in.

Mattheus picked up the phone, a little
surprised. Cindy watched his jaw clench as he listened.

“Yes, got it,” he said, his eyes focusing
sharply at a point on the floor.

“When did it happen?”

Cindy wondered if it were Sand, Mattheus’s old partner
down here on the police force.  Sand had never liked Cindy, right from the
start. He felt it was his job to look after Mattheus and didn’t want any woman
taking it away. Cindy was sure he wouldn’t be thrilled to hear that she was
back with Mattheus in Grenada now. She wondered if Mattheus had told him?

“That’s really something,” Mattheus said on the
phone in a semi garbled tone.

Cindy waited for him to make eye contact with
her, to clue her in on what was going on.

“Yes, she’s here,” Mattheus continued. “I’m
sure she’ll be fascinated.”

Cindy took a step closer. It didn’t sound as if
it were Sand.  The rain began hitting the window early than expected. Cindy
hoped it wouldn’t rule out their outing.

“Yes, of course, we’ll talk it over and get
back to you as soon as we can.”Mattheus hung the phone up and shook his head.

“Who was it?” asked Cindy, “Sand?”

“No, it was a woman calling from St. Thomas.
She tracked us down here through Sand.”

“You told him he could give out our personal
number?” Cindy was irritated.

“This lady’s daughter just turned up murdered
in her own backyard,” Mattheus spoke quickly. “She sounds like a mess over the
phone - desperate for help. Someone down at the police station in St. Thomas
told her about us.”

Cindy was stunned. This was the last thing she
expected. She and Mattheus had specifically agreed to take time down here alone
together. This was the first vacation she’d had in over a year.

“Bad timing,” said Cindy, shaking her head.

Mattheus rubbed his foot on the floor, uneasy.  “There’s
no good timing for a murder,” he said.

“No, there isn’t,” Cindy agreed.

“This woman needs us badly now.”

Cindy looked at him directly. “I need us badly
now, too,” she said.

Mattheus looked startled. “I don’t get it.”

“What’s there not to get? This is our time to
be together, set up house, see where we’re headed.”

“Headed?”

“This is our time,” Mattheus.

“Time doesn’t belong to anyone,” he said. “The
girl who was killed in St. Thomas thought it was her time to live, too.”

Cindy felt her body trembling. “You want to pick
up now and take the case?” 

“Yes, of course,” said Mattheus. “Why not?” He
seemed confused by Cindy’s reluctance.

“I told you I needed down time,” said Cindy.
“We’ve been on one case after the next.”

“And we do fabulously on them. We’re an
incredible team.”

“Yes, we are. But I need more than being a
detective, Mattheus.”

“What?” None of it seemed to be computing for
him.

“I need a life, I need to unwind, I need a man
to be close to,” said Cindy.

“You’re close to me. We have a life. A
fantastic life, with adventure and also helping others. What could be better?”

“Really knowing each other could be better -
bonding, starting a life.”

Mattheus’s jaw clenched and his lips pursed
tightly.  “You plan to stay here in some romantic fantasy and never leave the
place?”

Cindy was stung.  “I never said that. I never
implied it.”

“This isn’t the Cindy I knew,” he went on. “You
were always thrilled to take on new cases. It excited you. You jumped to the
bit. What happened? What changed?”

“Nothing changed. I just need a break now. I
told you that.”

“Life doesn’t give us breaks just when we want
it.”

“My life does,” said Cindy. “I need to sort out
who I am and where I’m headed.”

Sheets of rain began falling then, coming in
through the open windows.

“Jesus, this storm is going to flood the
house,” said Mattheus as he ran to the windows. “I feel like you just pulled
the rug right out from under me,” he went on, shutting one window after the
next.

“What?” Cindy was confused.

“Like you pulled a switch – a one two punch,”
said Mattheus.

Cindy felt hot anger rise within her. Mattheus hadn’t
heard a thing she said. He was back to where they’d started, aching to stare
down the next killer.

“Do you actually expect me to call back this
woman and say we’re not coming?” Mattheus asked.

“Tell her what you want. I just can’t do it now!
I’m worn thin.”

Mattheus spun towards her then.

“I don’t know what in hell you’re thinking,
Cindy. You want to give up work, become a housewife, spend your days dusting,
shopping for food and taking pictures down?”

Cindy felt punched in the gut. Where was this
hatred coming from? He was the one who’d begged her to move in, said he didn’t
want to be here without her. Had he behaved this way with Shelly as well?

“The last thing in the world I want to do is
dust and shop for food for you,” Cindy shot back. “And keep all your pictures
up on the wall.”

Then she turned and flew out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Mattheus called loudly.

“I have no idea,” Cindy flung back.  “But one
thing’s for sure. I’m not staying here with you.

“You’re turning the tables on me,” said
Mattheus.

 Cindy felt afraid. Her gut told her to get on
the next plane back to the States.

Mattheus came rushing after her. “You’re running
out on me? Are you crazy?”

Cindy spun around, “No, Mattheus. It’s not me
running out on you. Take a good look. You’re running out on yourself.”

Cindy saw still shaking inside as she walked
off the plane back in New York, and she was reassured to look up and see her
sister, Ann. It had been a long while since they’d been together and the minute
they saw one another, they ran to each other and embraced. Just as soon as she
booked her flight home, Cindy’d called Ann and told her she was returning. 
Overjoyed, Ann immediately booked her own flight from Wisconsin to New York to
meet her sister at the gate.

“God, Ann, it’s so wonderful to see you,” Cindy
breathed, unable to believe that her sister had actually come all the way here
to greet her. It had been over a year since they’d seen each other.

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” said Ann,
hugging her. “So has Frank. It’s about time you came home.”  Then she stepped
back and looked Cindy over. “My God, you’ve lost weight. You look pretty
though, different too.”

Cindy was dressed casually, in jeans and a navy
shirt. Her long auburn hair had been tied back through the flight, but she let
it loose as soon as she got off the plane. Cindy’d lost about ten pounds over
the past year of running around with Mattheus, working on cases, not taking
much time to eat regularly.  

“What a year it’s been for you Cindy!” Ann
grabbed both of her arms and held them. “But it’s over now. You’re home.“

Cindy looked more closely at her sister. Ann
hadn’t changed one bit, she never did.  Ann was a bulwark of stability and that
was comforting, Ann was dressed in her familiar linen slacks, with a matching
blazer and bag.  Her dark brown eyes were steady and strong. Cindy hadn’t
realized how much she’d missed he sister and how wonderful it would be to see
her again.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Ann started
to move them along.

The airport wasn’t overly crowded as Cindy’s
plane had landed mid-afternoon. People were drifting around casually. Cindy took
a moment to take it all in, to realize where she was. Her sudden decision to
leave Grenada and Mattheus had been shocking, but it still felt right. She
wasn’t going to stay there with him and have him talk to her like that. Who was
he anyway? This was a side of him she’d never seen. The flight had been quick
and easy and it was good to be back in the States, too, for now anyway.  

“You look like you’re a bit in shock,” Ann
laughed as Cindy gazed about.

Cindy didn’t want to tell her sister that at
this time yesterday she’d been in the process of moving in with Mattheus and
that her trip home was unexpected. Ann would definitely not take that well.

“We’ll get your bags and then hail a taxi,” said
Ann, taking the big sister role, as usual, organizing details, guiding Cindy along.
 

Cindy smiled. She didn’t really need to be led
around anymore, had navigated much more dangerous terrains this past year and
half, than a local airport. But how could Ann possibly realize how much Cindy
had changed? She hadn’t met Mattheus either, though Cindy had told Ann about
him from time to time.

“You’ll have to fill me in on everything,” said
Ann, as she put her hand on Cindy’s arm, steering her towards baggage claim. “To
what do I owe this wonderful pleasure of seeing so my sister again so suddenly?”

 Cindy let Ann do what was natural for her,
take control, and followed along at her side for now. As they wound their way
through the airport to get the bags Cindy wondered how she would tell her
sister what had gone on with Mattheus. She hadn’t made sense of it herself.

“Thank God, you still have the house you bought
with Clint,” Ann went on in a chirping tone. “You were right not to put it on
the market.  Everyone needs a home to return to.”

Cindy had never thought of Cove Bay as a home
for her to return to. It had been Clint’s home town, his family and friends
were still living there, and it had been Clint’s dream to raise his own
children right there. But, the starter house they bought and lived in so
briefly had been difficult for her to let go of.

“I’m so relieved you’re back, I can hardly tell
you,” Ann went on.

Cindy squeezed her hand. Despite the
differences between them, Ann had always been a wonderful sister. It had been painful
to realize how upset Ann had been about Cindy’s decision to team up with
Mattheus as private detectives.  Ann had never come to peace with it, and the
bond between her and Cindy had suffered because of it.

Cindy’s bags came quickly and Ann grabbed the
large one, and started wheeling it towards the exit. Cindy lifted the smaller
bag and wheeled it, a few steps behind. She felt momentarily disoriented.  A
few hours ago she and Mattheus were together in his home, happy, nesting,
planning a life together. Then it was as if a hurricane had hit, and a huge
wave had rolled in from shore tearing them apart suddenly.  Not so different
from what with her and Clint.

Ann stepped outside onto the curb and hailed a
taxi quickly.  Once inside Cindy put her head back on the seat to rest. As they
drove along the familiar highway Cindy looked out of the window. It was early
autumn, with crisp air and bright skies. She watched the trees roll by as the
cab wound its way back to Cove Bay.  It was almost as if she’d never left, as
if this year and half had never happened.

“I called the local deli, and had them deliver
food,” said Ann, as Cindy was about to close her eyes. “It’s probably waiting
outside the door right now.”

Ann had become familiar with the neighborhood
and stores during the time she’d stayed with Cindy after Clint had died. Cindy
thought back to those days briefly. She wouldn’t have survived them without her
sister at her side. There was never a detail that Ann overlooked.  

“Rest now, if you need to,” said Ann. “Later
you’ll tell me what happened with you and Mattheus, why you decided to return
so suddenly.”

Cindy’s stomach clenched. This was definitely
not something she could discuss with Ann.

“And we’ll have fun, too,” Ann continued. “It’s
high time you went on a shopping spree and got new clothes for this amazing new
chapter that’s coming up in your life.”

“What new chapter?” asked Cindy.

“You’re home now,” Ann continued in her balanced
tone. “You’ve come back to your senses, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised
if your old job on the paper isn’t right there, waiting for you. They told you
it would be available whenever you were ready. Didn’t they?”

Cindy had forgotten about that.

“I’m sure they miss you,” Ann went on. “Everyone
misses you.”

“Clint’s family does not miss me,” said Cindy,
hastily, “they were tremendously relieved when I got out of town.”

“Forget about them, they’re sick people,” Ann
said, sharply. “Besides, they didn’t know what they were saying or doing,
they’d just suffered a huge loss.”

The taxi hit a bump in the rode then, that tossing
Cindy and Ann up in the air, interrupting the conversation. Then, in a little
while the taxi made a sharp turn and drove down the long, familiar, deserted
road, right up to the end. Cindy’s clapboard beach house sat right there, where
it had always been.

They got out, paid the driver, took their
luggage and went to the door. As Ann had predicted, the deli had left several
bags of food in front.  Ann, laughing, picking up the bags cheerfully, as if
she were moving back into her own home.

“Everything we need is right here,” said Ann,
opening the front door.

Once inside the house, Cindy felt momentarily
overcome.  Just being there brought everything back, the marriage, the murder,
the nightmare that followed.

 Cindy walked into the living room. The
photographs of her and Clint together were still hanging on the walls. They
were smiling, laughing, holding hands. It was as if nothing had ever happened,
as if time stood still.

“I thought you’d taken these photos down,” Ann
said, looking around, distressed.

“I couldn’t,” replied Cindy.

Ann went inside the kitchen to unpack the
groceries, as she had done so many times. Before long, Cindy smelled the
familiar odor of freshly brewed coffee that Ann loved to make.

“Come on, in. Sit down,” Ann called from the
kitchen.

Cindy walked into the kitchen and sat at the
table that was still placed near the window, in the sun. It was still covered with
her favorite red checkered tablecloth. Cindy ran her fingers over it. She and
Clint had picked it out together.

Ann poured fresh coffee for them in two
hand-painted mugs. Those mugs had been engagement presents from Cindy’s old
friends. Somehow she hadn’t returned them. She’d returned almost all the other
gifts though.

“This feels like a trip backwards through
memory lane,” said Cindy softly.

“But it isn’t,” Ann bristled. “It’s a trip into
a brand new era.  There’s a reason you’re home now, Cindy, and I want to hear
it.”

Ann always felt there was a reason for
everything. But life wasn’t as black and white as Ann made it out to be. It
wasn’t always possible to pinpoint the cause for whatever happened, although Cindy
also used to believe that it was. She’d been a research assistant at a top
newspaper in the city, loved tracking down little known facts. Now that she’d
been working as a private detective, solving real life crimes, Cindy knew the
facts didn’t always add up to anything that mattered. You had to go deeper,
trust your intuition, tune into a gut feeling that couldn’t be explained. Whenever
Cindy did that, something important happened.  That’s why she had trusted her
instincts so deeply yesterday, when Mattheus had spoken to her the way he did.
Something inside insisted that she get out.

“Okay, Cindy,” Ann said then, eager to hear
more. “Let’s have it. What happened in Grenada?  Why the sudden flight home?”

Cindy wasn’t used to being questioned about her
own life. These days she was the one questioning others, looking into dark
corners.

“I needed a break,” Cindy started.

Ann grimaced and shook her head. She wasn’t
buying it.

“Just like that? If you just needed a break,
you would have let me know in plenty of time that you were coming home. You didn’t.
It was the last minute. Your voice sounded troubled.”

Cindy smiled. “You’re in the wrong profession,
Ann. You’re a better detective than me.”

Ann wasn’t budging, or smiling. “It’s common
sense. You got into some kind of trouble? Something weird happened with that
guy? I never had a good feeling when you talked about him. There were always
too many unanswered questions, too many holes in his life.”

Cindy didn’t like hearing Ann call Mattheus
that guy.

“I didn’t get into any kind of trouble,” Cindy
said.  “Actually, I was about to move in with Mattheus - and then I thought
better of it.”

“What?” Ann gasped. “Move in with him? In
Grenada? That’s where you two met, right?”

“Yes, we worked together on the first case I
ever had. He was on the police force at the time.”

Ann’s face turned white. “You’re not actually
telling me that you were planning to live with him permanently in the Caribbean?”

“It’s not all that far away, Ann,” Cindy became
defensive. “Planes go back and forth all the time. It’s only a couple of hours
longer than visiting you in Wisconsin.”

“That’s not the point,” said Ann.

“What is the point?”

“People who move to the Caribbean are always running
away from something.”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Cindy.

“Or they’re types that just want to hang out on
the beach all day long.”

Cindy felt insulted. “We didn’t hang around on
the beach all day.  We were detectives Ann, we solved crimes together.”

 Ann didn’t absorb a word Cindy said.

“Okay, when you met Mattheus you’d just been
through a trauma, your judgment was off, Clint’s family was horrible to you. I
could understand why you wanted to get away.”

“That’s a damning evaluation,” Cindy bristled.
“I went down to Grenada for a reason – I was called there to help. And I did.”

Ann’s face soured. “I know, I read all the
articles you sent me about what you achieved. I’m not making light of it.”

“You are.”

“No,” said Ann. ““I’m not taking anything away
from your accomplishments, but this guy you got involved with, none of us has
ever met him. We wondered why you were afraid to introduce him to us?”

“I wasn’t afraid, it just hadn’t happened yet.
The time wasn’t right.”

“And, from what you told us,” Ann continued,
single mindedly, “it sounded like he was running away from something, too. You
have a history of bad judgment with guys, Cindy. You have to face that, now.”

Cindy felt maligned. She wondered for a moment
if she should have allowed Ann to come and greet her at all.

Cindy,” Ann sat up straighter. “I don’t want to
hurt you. I want you to have what you truly deserve. Is this the life you truly
want? Chasing after murderers with an ex-cop at your side? What about family
and children?”