Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (8 page)

 “What does?” Mattheus snapped.

“Bravery,” said Rodney, “being willing to face
the whole rotten truth.”

*

Mattheus walked home from the police station
slowly after the interview.  Rodney’s words really stuck with him, like the
wind in his face, returning and hitting him. Be willing to face the whole
truth. Mattheus had probably said those very same words to Cindy, when they
were working on cases together. Face the truth bravely, keep an open mind,
don’t jump to conclusions, give everyone a fair shake. Every one. It was what
made this work so endlessly fascinating, being able to look at a person or
situation through all kinds of different lenses, wading through false
personalities, sorting out truth from lies.

 It was one thing to face the truth about
someone else’s life though, not so easy when the mirror was turned around, and
you were looking at yourself in it.

Mattheus rubbed his face with his hands. It was
getting warm and sticky out now. The city had already awakened and cars were
driving, horns tooting, motor scooters rolling by. He knew he needed to call
Cindy from the lobby and talk things over with her. She was probably waiting to
hear any developments so they could decide what next steps to take next.

Mattheus got to the hotel and walked into the
lobby slowly. It was a great hotel, a bit out of the way, but he liked it here.
It had only three floors, was spacious but intimate, filled with people, and
still you had a sense of privacy. There was a big veranda in the back, with
wicker tables, palm trees and a great view of the water, where they served
delicious food and great drinks. Even though it was early, he wanted to order a
white Russian, kick up his legs and just chill awhile. Working on this was
harder than he’d expected.  

He knew he should call Cindy and
have her come down and join him, but the thought of seeing her now, didn’t
thrill him. It felt more like a task than something he really wanted to do. The
guys had been right about that, it was rough working on this case together. It
was rough even seeing her. Things had taken a turn for the worse so quickly in
Grenada, he hadn’t had a chance to come to terms with it. It reminded him in a
way of what happened with Shelly. Here one minute, gone the next. Women
couldn’t really be trusted, Mattheus thought, they were creatures of moods and
odd habits. Just when he thought things were great, they’d turn, and he’d be left
alone again.

Suddenly Mattheus felt someone
standing behind him and turned around swiftly.

Cindy stood there, dressed in
a lemon, linen dress, her hair pulled back off her face, looking younger than
he remembered.

“Forgot you had a partner on
the case?” she asked, walking around him and sitting down at his table.

“I just got here a few minutes
ago,” he said.

Cindy lifted her hand to her
eyes to shade them from the sun which was growing stronger as midday
approached. “You haven’t checked in with me hardly at all since we got here,”
Cindy said.

“Want something to eat?” asked
Mattheus.The last thing Mattheus

wanted was to be scolded at
the moment. “We were all at Green Pebble Beach together last night,” he said.

“But we never talked about
it,” said Cindy. “In fact, we haven’t discussed the case at all.”

Mattheus nodded glumly.

“Look,” she went on, “I know
what a nightmare this is for you. That’s why I’m down here with you.”

“That’s the only reason?”
Mattheus looked up at her directly.

“I care about you, Mattheus. I
want to help.”

“I appreciate that,” said
Mattheus.

“But you can’t shut me out.”

“I’m not shutting you out.” This
was not a conversation he was up for at the moment.

“You are. You’re still upset
about my leaving Grenada,” Cindy went on, as the waiter came and stopped by
their table.

“We’ll have two bowls of
spaghetti and a house salad,” Mattheus broke in, ordering for both of them,
taking control. Cindy was right, he was shutting her out and it felt good to do
it, too. The last thing he wanted now was to need her. It was routine business,
having lunch together, they didn’t have to complicate things. He’d stay
professional about everything. Then he’d go back up to his room and think
things over alone.

Cindy took a glass of water
that was on the table and drank it quickly.

“I’ve got to leave right after
lunch,” she said, “I’ve made appointments to talk to some people about Shelly.”

“Who?” Mattheus was startled.
Cindy had arranged it herself, without mentioning a word of it to him.

“First stop, I’m going to the shelter
for abused women where Shelly worked,” said Cindy. “They’re giving me a tour of
the place tomorrow and I’m going to an orientation lecture this afternoon. That
place has got to be a hotbed of information, Shelly worked there for years.”

“Good thinking,” said
Mattheus, impressed once again at how sharp Cindy was, right on track. His old
admiration and feelings for her welled up for a moment, as he gazed at her. She
was beautiful, smart, everything he wanted, and somehow he’d blown it again. He
leaned across the table then, wishing he could reach out and give her a hug.

Even though he said nothing,
she must have felt it, as she softened and smiled.

“Maybe we can catch up at dinner,”
said Cindy, “and have time to review our finds?”

“Good idea,” said Mattheus, as
the waiter brought large plates with steaming pasta. “You’ll let me know
everything you found. And one more thing,” Cindy –.“ Mattheus couldn’t let her
go without saying it.

“What?” she asked, curious.

“I appreciate that you’re here.
I really do. You’re wonderful.” he said.

Cindy was surprised how amazing it felt to hear
Mattheus say those words again, how much she’d been missing them. She wanted to
say you’re wonderful, too, but held back. She had to – had to keep everything
clear.

It was hard being down here with him like this.
She understood why he was acting so strange though, she’d been pretty off base
herself when she’d found out about Clint. It had taken a long while to get her
head straight. And to top it all off, she and Mattheus had just broken up.
Things couldn’t get any more confusing than they were right now.

Lunch passed quickly. Mostly of the time
Mattheus seemed sad and remote, just commenting on the pasta, which he ate
every bite of, hungrily.

 After lunch, Cindy went up to her room for a
few minutes to freshen up before she went to the Shelter for the orientation. She
slipped into a dark blue, sleeveless cotton dress, which felt cool and
refreshing, brushed her hair once again quickly, and tied it back off her face.

When she looked in the mirror, it surprised her
to see how alive her face looked. This work agrees with me, Cindy thought, takes
my mind off everything, makes me look younger and more like myself.

 Just as she put finishing touches on her makeup,
the phone rang. Probably Mattheus, she hoped, changing his mind and deciding to
go to the orientation with her. That would be good, she was happy about it.  

“Are you coming along?” asked Cindy lightly, as
she picked up the phone. “I haven’t left yet.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Then to Cindy’s surprise,her sister Ann’s voice.

“Haven’t left to go where?” Ann was taken
aback.
“Oh my goodness, Ann!” said Cindy, realizing with a start that she hadn’t
returned her calls the past few days.

“Remember me?” Ann was miffed. “I’m your sister
-the one who met you at the airport. We just had a long, wonderful, visit at
your house.”

“I’m so sorry, Ann,” Cindy breathed.

“What’s going on?” Ann continued. “I haven’t
heard a word for days.”

Cindy hesitated. She purposely didn’t tell Ann
that she was going down to Key West, but didn’t want to lie to her now.

“I’m down in Key West,” Cindy said slowly.

“Where?” Ann sounded startled. “Key West? Last
I knew you were starting a new life in Cove Bay.”

Cindy couldn’t just shut Ann out of her life, but
she also knew that she’d never be able to make her sister understand why she’d
come down. “It’s complicated,” said Cindy.

“You’re back on a damn case!”  Ann exclaimed,
quickly. “I recognize all the signs. You don’t answer calls, keep things to
yourself, no one else matters to you then! Everything gets shut out.”

Cindy felt stung to the core.  “That’s not
fair, you always matter to me.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you tell me you were
down in Key West? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

Cindy had never heard her sister so irate. “I
answered now,” said Cindy lamely.

“But you’re back on a case, aren’t you?” Ann
was emphatic.

“Yes, I am,” said Cindy.

“Without saying a word about it to me? After
all we talked about?”

Cindy bristled. She didn’t need Ann’s
permission to make choices or to decide where to go. They were two, grown,
independent women, and Ann was still acting as if Cindy were her baby sister.
She was living in a time warp, as ifAnn had to still stand in for the mother Cindy
once needed long ago.

“Things are different now,” Cindy said to Ann
firmly, “I can make my own decisions.”

“Did I ever say you couldn’t?” Ann sounded hurt.
“No one is even suggesting that. You might just have given me the courtesy of
letting me know where you were. Plain courtesy, Cindy.”

On one level, Ann was right. On another, doing
this kind of work, Cindy had to make quick decisions. They were the kind you
often had to keep private, couldn’t check in with a big sister about.

“You’re back with Mattheus, aren’t you?” Ann’s
voice had a ring of horror about it now.

“No, I’m not
back
with him. We’re
working a case.”

“That’s back with him,” Ann breathed. “Now I
see why you didn’t take my calls. Don’t lie to yourself!  When you picked up
the phone you thought I was Mattheus, right?”

“Yes, I did think it was Mattheus,” said Cindy,
unabashedly.

“How could you disrespect yourself this way?”
Ann’s voice rose an octave. “How could you let someone treat you poorly, then
run back the minute he calls?”

“It’s not like you think, “Cindy insisted. “It’s
pure business. I had no choice, I had to come down here and help him.”

“There’s always a choice,” Ann proclaimed.

“Ann,” Cindy blurted out loudly, “it was Mattheus’s
wife who found dead!”

Ann gasped, “His wife? Found dead?”

A terrible silence hung between them.

Cindy caught her breath and continued to talk, “His
former
wife. She disappeared from their home in New Orleans six years
ago. He searched for her for years. The body finally turned up last week.”

Ann could barely speak, “his wife, missing? Now
dead in Key West?”

“Yes, she was killed down here a week ago.”

“Cindy, Cindy,” Ann screamed, “none of this
adds up! You’re telling me this woman disappeared six years ago and was just
killed? He lied to you! He was married all along. They split up and she went to
Key West.  It’s a story he made up that she disappeared.”

Chills ran throughout Cindy’s entire body. “The
disappearance was a matter of record,” she said between gritted teeth.

“Step back, face it,” Ann was on a roll. “You
never had any luck with guys. Before you met Clint you always attracted weird
types, losers, you couldn’t sort anything out.”

Cindy shuddered. That was a long time ago, she
felt quite different now.

“Mattheus’s case has nothing to do with you,”
Ann was emphatic. “You don’t really know the man, you have no idea what his
life was like. You don’t know why she ran away from him, if she did. For all
you know he was involved with her death now.”

“That’s horrible, Ann,” Cindy uttered.

“You could be some kind of cover for him -walking
into a living hell. This isn’t just a business relationship. Face reality,
Cindy, the two of you were about to move in together in Grenada.”

“I am facing reality,” Cindy shot back. “That’s
exactly what I’m doing down here, facing reality, searching for truth, finding
it, helping others.  My relationship with Mattheus is a professional one.”

“And you said you were taking time to unwind,
start your life all over again,” Ann lamented.

Cindy had said that, but it was also true that
she was happy being back down here with Mattheus again. She liked working
cases, was good at it too! And, like it or not, there was a powerful connection
between them. Not so easy to let go.

“Can I trust your word?” Ann said, her voice
brittle.

“Of course you can,” said Cindy. “But you’re
jumping to conclusions. I never gave you my word that I’d never see Mattheus
again, or give up being a detective. I just said I needed time to unwind and
get perspective.”

Ann breathed heavily. “Do you want me to come
down and join you? I can be a great support when things get rocky.”

 Ann meant the best, but it was out of the
question.  “Of course not,” Cindy said. “There’s no reason for it.  I’m down
here on a case.”

“Right,” said Ann. “I get the picture. “So, just
give me a call when you have nothing else better to do!”  Then she slammed down
the phone.

Cindy felt agitated and misunderstood. Ann
could jump to conclusions and when she did, it always hurt. Cindy thought for a
moment about calling her back, but decided against it. Right now time was
passing and she was due at the Shelter in a little while to learn all she could
about Shelly and who might have been responsible for her awful death.