Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (4 page)

 Cindy didn’t spend any time washing up or
getting settled at the hotel. She got the key to her room, went in, and took
just a minute to look out at the perfect sky and rippling blue waters and take
a delicious, deep breath. The place was beautiful and it was strangely
wonderful to be with Mattheus, but she wasn’t going to get lulled into that. They
were back in two separate rooms again, and even though it was entirely fitting,
it also made her sad. Their relationship always seemed to go in circles, back
to square one.

 Cindy went to the bathroom, splashed water on
her face and looked in the mirror briefly. Her face looked fresh and filled
with anticipation. There was always that adrenalin rush at the beginning of a
new case. You had no idea what was coming, who you would run into, what strange
world would surface in front of your eyes. Life became open and full of possibilities;
everyday reality took on a different vantage point.

But this case was different, way too close to home.
Mattheus’s life would never be the same now that they’d found his wife’s body. He
would finally get the closure he’d been craving, but it was also his chance
even to come face to face with one who did it. How would he handle that? Cindy
wondered how much the cops really had. They hadn’t wanted to tell Mattheus
about what they’d discovered until Cindy was with him. Too disturbing, Cindy
guessed. They said they wanted Mattheus to be with someone when he heard what
they found.

Cindy turned quickly now to go down to the
lobby to meet Mattheus and get to the Police Station as soon as possible.

*

The Police Station down in Key West was the
southernmost Police Station in the United States, situated in a new large, pink
stucco building on a large boulevard. There was a long walk leading up to it, a
circular rotunda with pillars in the front and a lone palm tree along the side.

As Cindy and Mattheus walked up the front walk,
Police of Chief Rodney Barren came to the front and held the door open for
them. He was in his late fifties, strong and steady with pepper and salt grey
hair and clear, blue eyes.

“Glad you’re here, Mattheus,” Rodney said
warmly.

Mattheus nodded and held out his hand. Obviously
the two of them had a chance to spend time together and there seemed to be a nice
feeling between them. Cindy was grateful for that.

“Cindy Blaine, my partner,” said Mattheus,
gruffly.

Rodney turned and looked at Cindy appreciatively. 

“Good of you to come down to help with this,”
he said, offering his hand. “Rough case to handle when it’s your own wife.”

“Terrible,” said Cindy, shaking Rodney’s hand. 
She flashed on what it had been like to work on Clint’s murder, how terrified
and alone she’d felt. It seemed like it had happened in another lifetime, hard
to believe it was less than two years ago.

 “The Key West Police Department is a state
accredited organized made up of dedicated and professional men and women,”
Rodney said as he led Cindy and Mattheus along the hallway to his office.
Clearly, he was proud of it. “Our island is home to a diverse community and we
serve a population of 25,000 full-time residents with over two million visitors
each year.”

Cindy appreciated the information and was
impressed. She was also concerned. With that many visitors and transients it
could be hard to track the killer down.

They got to Rodney’s office, went in and sat
down at the large desk in the center. In a few minutes a couple of other cops
came in then, and joined them. An electric energy filled the room and Cindy
suddenly became apprehensive, wondering what they were going to say.Shelly had
gone missing six years ago. What kind of shape could her remains be in? How
much could they actually find out?

Mattheus was anxious, “Okay, shoot,” he said.
“I want to hear everything. What kind of evidence can you still collect from
what’s left after all this time?”

“Mattheus,” Rodney started speaking slowly and
deliberately.

Mattheus looked up at him, “Yeah?”

“From work on the body we have concluded that Shelly’s
death was recent.”

Mattheus didn’t fully grasp what he was saying.
“Recent?”

“Shelly was killed about one week ago,” said
Rodney.

The life drained from Mattheus face. “What?”

Rodney repeated his words even more slowly,
“Your wife was killed one week ago.”

Mattheus could barely speak. “It’s not
possible,” he finally said.

“We checked carefully,” Rodney spoke very
slowly. He knew this was incredible information to give Mattheus.

“I don’t get it. What did you say?” Mattheus
started shaking his head back and forth, as if to wipe the cobwebs away. “She
went missing six years ago, on August 8
^th
.”

Rodney repeated the same words more slowly.

“Your wife was alive and living down here in
Key West. She was killed one week ago.”

“Living in Key West?” Mattheus eyes turned
blurry. His entire world was being turned upside down. “We lived in New
Orleans. She disappeared. We searched for the killer in hundred mile radius.”

“There wasn’t a killer then,” Rodney said to Mattheus
slowly, “your wife left of her own will. She came down here to live.”

One of the cops, Alex, a young guy in his late
thirties, glanced over at Cindy from the corner of his eye. Now Cindy understood
why they didn’t want to talk to Mattheus alone. It could be too much of a shock.
He could have had a heart attack.

“The killing is new, it’s a fresh case,” Alex
said softly to Cindy.

“What do you mean she came of her own will?”
Mattheus was stuck on that thought. “She ran away from me? She pretended to be
killed?”

“She didn’t pretend anything, Mattheus,” Rodney
said more forcefully. “She ran away. Plenty of people who go missing actually
run away. They leave their lives and start over.”

“Why would Shelly leave our life behind?”
Mattheus was dumbfounded.

“There’s a lot of questions like that we have
to ask you,” said Rodney.

The room seemed suddenly warmer, and the whirring
fan that hung from the ceiling circulated the balmy air.

“Ask
me
?” Mattheus was confused.

For a horrible moment Cindy wondered if
Mattheus was a suspect in the case.

“We need information to help us track the
killer, or be sure about the guy we have in custody now,” Rodney explained.

Mattheus stood up like a lightning bolt, his
face filled with rage.

“Who do you have in custody?”

“Whoah, calm down there,” said Rodney,
momentarily alarmed. “The guy’s name is Anthony, he’s a musician in a band down
here.”

Mattheus’s fists clenched and turned white.

“Did you and your wife spend time down in Key
West when you were together?” Rodney took another tack.

“Yeah, we came down for vacations. Shelly liked
it down here. She never said a thing about coming here to live. Who the hell is
this guy, Anthony?”

“Your wife was living with him,” Rodney said.

This was more than Mattheus could bear. “Wait a
minute! Hold on! What the hell are you saying? I don’t believe a word of it.”
Mattheus jumped up and began pacing back and forth. “You’re giving me a line of
crap. You want to upset me - see my reaction! Shelly wasn’t living with
anybody. She loved me.”

Mattheus turned and then ran to the door.

“Get back here. Sit down,” Rodney demanded.

“I can’t. You got to give me time with this,”
Mattheus growled, as he turned and fled out onto the street.

“Mattheus!” Cindy got up, racing after him.

“Hold on a second,” Alex got up to stop her.

“No, let her go,” Rodney said from behind. “He
needs her with him now.”

“I’ll be back in a little while,” Cindy uttered,
as she fled out the doors, chasing Mattheus down the crowded streets

  Mattheus got out of the station and started
running at full speed. He had no idea where he was going, just knew he had to
get out of there fast. The walls were starting to close in in on him and the voice
of the cops was ringing in his ears. This couldn’t be true, just couldn’t. How could
it be possible that Shelly was alive all this time and hadn’t gotten in touch
with him? The thought of it ripped through his heart like a sharpened knife.  Everything
blurred as he passed by, the trolley, cafes, little wooden shacks, the stores
and homes. His breath became jagged as he ran through streets he’d once walked
on with her.

Shelly, he called out in his mind. Did you
leave me? Are you gone? Are they lying about you?

There was no answer and never would be.

Shelly, damn it, answer me! Are you dead or
alive?

Suddenly it came to him. This could be a case
of mistaken identification. How could the police so sure it was her? Who had
actually seen the body? Who knew he was in Grenada and told them to contact him
there? He’d been so stunned, he hadn’t had the presence of mind to ask that -
or one hundred other questions. Mattheus knew he’d run out of the place way too
fast, but he couldn’t stand hearing another word about Shelly or the live she’d
lived without him.  

Mattheus wiped away the perspiration that
poured from his face as he ran. The idea that Shelly didn’t disappear, but had left
on her own and was living with another guy, blew his mind. It hit like a
torpedo, came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense. He’d never had any reason
to believe the two of them hadn’t been completely happy together. He’d never
doubted that for a minute.

As if to absorb the horrible news, he slowed
down a little and looked around, to make sure this was real. Was Shelly still
here, hiding behind a doorway, playing some kind of crazy game? All he saw were
people ambling up and down the streets as if they had nothing better in the
world to do in than take in the sun’s rays.

 Soon the sun would begin going down. Then
everyone would start gathering at the water’s edge for the sunset ceremony. It
happened every night - people played music, sang, danced and ate Key Lime pies.
They were celebrating the end of another gorgeous day. Whenever they came down
here, Shelly loved it, didn’t want to miss even one night. It was the high
point of the vacation for her.

 Mattheus picked up his pace again, on his way
down to the water’s edge. Being there would be like old times with her.  Sure, Shelly
loved being here, but not enough to throw away her whole life for it. Not
enough to move in with another guy. Were the cops telling him all this to drive
him crazy, get him to crack? Was he a suspect? His mind felt like a spider weaving
all kinds of crazy webs.

Suddenly, the boardwalk zoomed in closer.
Mattheus ran to the water’s edge. The water looked cool, calm and inviting.
Maybe the best thing he could do for himself and everyone else would be to jump
in and not come back.

“Mattheus,” a woman’s voice close behind, was
calling him.  “Mattheus, wait.”

He turned swiftly and there was Cindy, her face
hot and flushed. He’d forgotten about her, was surprised to see her.

“Mattheus, I’m here,” she said, “slow down.”

Cindy ran up to the railing he was leaning against,
her hair caught across her face, her breath coming swiftly.

“I’ve been calling for you to slow down,” she
said breathless.

The sight of her startled him.  He remembered
that he’d called her down to help him on the case. He also remembered that they’d
been together and broken up suddenly. She ran out on him. What did she want from
him now?

“That was a pretty good run you led me on.”  Cindy
came closer, sweaty and hot.

Mattheus ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus
Christ,” he muttered, “how long have you been chasing me?”

Cindy put her hand on his arm. He was grateful
she was there. But how long would she stay? Could he even trust it? Yeah he’d
gone back on his word to her, but her reaction was extreme.

“Let’s sit down on a bench over here,” said
Cindy. “It’s a beautiful spot.”

That seemed like a strange, irrelevant comment,
thought Mattheus.

“The sunset ceremony is going to begin soon,” said
Cindy.

 “Shelly never missed one of them,” Mattheus said.

Cindy put her hands on his shoulders, trying to
turn him towards her. He didn’t really want to.

“This has to be a horrible shock for you,
Mattheus,” Cindy said.

He finally turned, looked at her and felt his
eyes blur.

“I’m sorry Mattheus. I really am,” Cindy went
on.

“Sorry about what?”

“The terrible news,” she said slowly.

“How do we know it’s true?” he slammed his fist
on the railing.

“Let’s go sit down on the bench over there and
talk about it,” Cindy’s voice was soothing and steady, the way he remembered it
when they’d first met. What a mess he’d made of everything. He’d no idea why
she’d come down now to help, and wasn’t even sure he was glad she was here.

Mattheus let Cindy lead him to the bench anyway
and sat down beside her. For a long while neither of them said a word.  Suddenly,
he thought that of Shelly living with someone else and felt as if he’d been
punched in the gut. He doubled up in pain.

“Cops said she was living with some guy,” Mattheus
repeated in a muted tone.

“Key Lime Pies, Key Lime Pies,” a vendor started
to call.

“Shelly loved those damn Key Lime Pies,”
Mattheus murmured.

“Seems like the police have done a lot of work.
That can help us find whoever did it,” Cindy interrupted.

Mattheus knew Cindy was trying to bring order,
calm the raging seas inside of him. But nothing she said could make him feel
better. He looked at her as though she were crazy.

“Help us? How?” he said. “How do we even know
it’s Shelly? Who identified the body?”

“That’s a good question,” said Cindy softly.

Guitar music was now starting up in the
background, and people were singing along. The crowd that came down here was
both mellow and quirky. Some seemed to just want to jive on the natural beauty.
There were plenty of other kinds too, including streams of tattooed bikers,
mixed in with the crowd.

Someone selling coral bracelets passed by,
twirling one of them on his finger.

“What a scene, “said Cindy.

“It’s a carnival,” Mattheus said, “Shelly loved
it, said it took all the pressure off.”

“Takes off certain pressures, and brings others,”
said Cindy, as she suddenly sat bolt upright.  “Oh my goodness, here comes
Rodney and Alex! What are they doing here?”

Mattheus turned and looked over his shoulder
swiftly. Rodney and Alex were walking steadily towards his bench.

“Looks like they’re hot on my trail,” said
Mattheus. “Don’t lose any time, do they?

“They’re on Shelly’s trail,” Cindy corrected
him.

“What’s the difference?” snapped Mattheus.

“The difference is Shelly’s dead and you’re
alive,” Cindy exclaimed.

“Half alive,” said Mattheus.

“And you and Shelly have been apart for six
years,” Cindy added.

“Get it,” said Mattheus, “so I should just take
this all with a grain of salt?”

Rodney walked over to the bench deliberately
and motioned for Mattheus to move over and make room for him.

“Figured we’d find you around here somewhere,”
Rodney said.

The guy was being decent about it, but probably
didn’t take too well to being run out on, Mattheus thought.

Mattheus got up a minute and made room for them.

Rodney sat down right close up to Mattheus.

“Look, I know this is tough,” Rodney started,
“but we still have lots to talk about.”

Mattheus nodded. “Yeah, we do,” he said. “Sorry
I just ran out, but the news hit me from out of left field.  I was blind sighted.”

“Yeah, I know what a shock this must be,” said
Rodney.

Mattheus was incredibly relieved. This was one
thoughtful guy, rare to find someone like him these days.

Mattheus took a few deep breaths and pulled
himself together. He was actually glad Rodney had come, he would help him put
the pieces together. Mattheus decided to jump right in.  

“So, my first question is, who identified the
body?” Mattheus asked.

“Identifying her wasn’t a problem,” said Rodney.
“Your wife had been living down here for several years. She had quite a few
friends and also worked part time at the Shelter for abused women in town.
Actually, her supervisor there, Victoria, made the identification.”

“She worked at a shelter for abused women?”
Mattheus was surprised.

“Yeah, she was good at it,” said Rodney,
“people seemed to like her a lot.”

“Shelly never worked in a shelter for abused
women before.” Mattheus said. “She was trained as a counselor though, had the
skills. She worked other places.”

“Tell me more,” said Rodney.

But Mattheus felt his mind close down. The
truth was he had no idea about anything that happened in Shelly’s life these
past years. The thought floored him.

“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Mattheus
froze. “You tell me what else you found. Let me have it, I can take it now.”

“There were signs of a struggle,” Rodney spoke
slowly. “Shelly was strangled.”

Mattheus gasped.

“Look, I’m sorry, I know this isn’t easy,”
Rodney repeated.

Despite himself, sobs began to rack Mattheus’s
body. “Why?” he asked, “why did it happen?”

Rodney put his hand on Mattheus’s shoulder. “Listen,
we have someone in custody. The guy she was living with, Anthony.”

“Go on,” Mattheus felt like he was going to rip
the guy limb from limb.

“He’s a musician down here in a big band. Handsome,
black guy. He and Shelly had been living together the past three years. People
heard them fighting a lot recently, and one night, a week before it happened,
he was seen leaving the house late at night, running through town. “

Mattheus could barely breathe. “Running through
town?”  

“We have enough on him to hold him,” said
Rodney. “And, also, his alibi doesn’t hold up.”

Mattheus jaw was locked and he was trembling.
“I want to talk to him,” he demanded.

“Cool down a minute,” Rodney said.

“Listen, man, I’m a private detective, I have a
right to. She was my lawful wife.”

Rodney threw a quick glance at Cindy.

Cindy nodded slowly. “Mattheus needs to talk to
the guy,” she said.

“Maybe?” Rodney was thinking it over.

“You can’t say no,” said Mattheus. “This was my
wife.”

“Alright,” said Rodney, “I’ll let you interview
him, but first I want you to see the crime scene.”

Mattheus flinched. “Why?”

“Sorry, but I need to do it,” said Rodney. “I
know you and your wife spent time down here together. It may bring something
back to you, jog a memory. We need to know whatever you might remember.”

“Take me there,” said Mattheus, fury suddenly
arising.  “Now.”