Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (12 page)

“So you know the rap?” Heidi
went on.

“I understand danger,” said
Cindy carefully. “Tell me more about Shelly. What do you think happened to
her?”

“Frankly, I’m not sure,” said
Heidi. “But I don’t think it was Anthony. No one here does.”

“You all liked Anthony?” Cindy
asked.

“I wouldn’t go that far to say
I
liked
him,” said Heidi, “but he was a decent guy. You know, when
you’ve been beaten by someone a long time, you get an instinct for guys who are
trouble. I never had that instinct about Anthony.”

“Was there someone else here
you had that instinct with?”

“No, not here,” said Heidi.
“If you really want to know what I think, I think Shelly must have had a secret
life.”

Barbara drew a deep breath in
then.

Cindy felt interested.
“Really, why?”

“Something about the way she
acted. She would never talk about herself. If you asked her about her own life,
she got huffy. I always thought she was hiding something.”

“It was her job to focus on
you,” said Barbara. “She was being professional.”

“Nah,” Heidi wasn’t buying it.
“Angie’s professional too. Angie’s a fantastic counselor, but she talks about
herself sometimes, too. That wall isn’t up.”

Cindy listened intently.
“Shelly had a wall up?”

Barbara interrupted, “I never
heard anyone say that about Shelly before.”

“Well, give Heidi a chance to
finish,” said Cindy.

“I don’t want you to get the
wrong impression,” Barbara said.

“Every impression is a good
impression,” said Cindy. “That’s how we find the killer -we put different
pieces together, opposing views, unexpected responses, together they mean a
lot.”

Heidi was empowered. “I always
felt Shelly had a wall that would go up any second. You never knew when. I even
mentioned it to her once, I said who are you, really? I feel strange talking to
you.  Boy, she didn’t like that. That’s why I switched to Angie.”

Barbara scraped her throat,
nervous.

“What did she do when you said
that?” said Cindy.

“Something weird, if you asked
me,” said Heidi. “Shelly got up, shook herself off, and started walking around.
Right then I thought something’s very wrong here.”

“Are you sure this happened?”
Barbara seemed put out.

“Positive,” said Heidi. “She
was hiding something – something bad.”

Cindy was fascinated.  “What
was she hiding?”

“I have no idea. If she’d come
clean, maybe she’d be alive to tell you herself.”

Cindy was grateful to hear this.
The story rang true.

“Is there anything else you want
to say?” asked Cindy.

“That’s it. In my opinion Shelly
had a secret life and it crept up from behind and bit her.  Go find out about
it.”

Heidi scraped the bench back
and got up then, looking victorious.

“Thanks so much Heidi,” Cindy
said, getting up with her, as Heidi turned and walked out the cafeteria door.

“You can’t believe everything
they tell you,” Barbara said the minute Heidi was out of earshot. “Some of them
imagine things, others develop delusions from all their abuse, become
paranoid.”

Cindy was quick on the uptake.
“Are you invalidating Heidi’s experience?”

“Not at all,” said Barbara
emphatically, “I’m just trying to be clear. I’m not saying it’s not
her
experience, but I never heard anyone say anything at all like that about
Shelly. Not once.”

“Well, let’s hear what others
have to tell us now,” said Cindy. Obviously Barbara had an image of Shelly that
she didn’t want interfered with. It wouldn’t look good for the Shelter either
if it came out that one of their counselors had been disturbed.

One woman after another came
to Cindy’s table and told her tidbits about Shelly. Most said she was kind and
thoughtful, that she went out of her way to do whatever she could.  Some said
they could call her whenever they needed to, no matter what time of day or
night. When Cindy asked if they thought that Shelly had a wall up, no one else
said they did.

  Rheba, a tall, overweight
woman, with a pretty face and frizzy hair, came running up to Cindy’s table
when it was her turn. She was convinced that someone from Anthony’s fan club
killed Shelly off.

“It’s pretty obvious to me,”
said Rheba. “I don’t know why it isn’t obvious to everyone else. Anthony’s fan
club was growing and the fans were
crazy
about him. He’s a gorgeous guy who
makes hot, sexy music. Shelly didn’t like these fans one bit. You can’t blame
her for that, can you? They call at all hours, send emails and texts – love,
love, love him! And, he’s
her
man!”

  “That can’t be easy,” said
Cindy.

  “One of them had to have
gotten pissed off, – jealous that Shelly had Anthony all to herself. I even
mentioned that to her once. You know what she did?”

“What?” asked Cindy,
entranced.

“She threw back her head and
laughed. Too hard, if you asked me.”

“You hit the spot?” asked
Cindy.

“Sure did,”Rheba insisted.
“You know, Shelly showed up at all Anthony’s concerts, sat in the front row,
and pulled him away the minute it was over. It didn’t leave much over for the
fans.”

“How do you know that?” asked
Cindy, fascinated.

“Common knowledge,” said
Rheba, “the gals at this place talked about it all the time. They felt badly
for her when another concert was coming.”

“And Anthony would just get up
and leave when the concert was done?”

“Yup,” said Rheba, “that guy
really loved her. She wrapped him around her finger with a string. You should
have seen him sitting here waiting for her to get off work, like a lonely puppy
dog.”

 This was good information. It
gripped Cindy.

“Do you happen know any of his
fans?” she asked immediately. “Was there one in particular? Did Shelly ever
mention anyone’s name?”

“No, nothing like that,” said
Rheba. “But it shouldn’t be too hard to check  it out.”

 “Absolutely. I’m going to
look right into this.”

“Great,” said Rheba, smiling a
huge, toothy smile. “Let me know what you find out. You know, maybe someday
I’ll be a detective, too.”

After she left Cindy took a
moment alone with Barbara.

“I’ve heard that theory
before,” said Barbara. “It’s plausible, not completely off the wall.”

“No, it isn’t,” said Cindy.

“Fans become crazy and
obsessed,” Barbara continued.

“But I heard the story
slightly differently,” said Cindy. “I heard that Anthony and Shelly had started
fighting at the concerts, that he wanted to stay longer and she wouldn’t have
it.”

“Yeah,” said Barbara, “I heard
that, too. In fact, I asked her about it. She just laughed and said, that
Anthony loved it that she wouldn’t let him stay. It made him feel great that
Shelly wanted him all for herself.”

“Then why were they fighting
about it?” asked Cindy.

“That’s for you to find out,”
said Barbara, “you’re the detective, not me.”

The next woman on line, Frieda,
got up and came over before they even motioned to her. She was very tall, thin
and angular with slightly sunken eyes.

“This is Frieda,” Barbara
introduced her immediately as soon as she came to the table.

“I’m so glad you’re here, said
Frieda to Cindy, confidentially. There’s no one with any clout with the law
that I’ve been able to talk to about this.”

“I’m glad to be here too,”
said Cindy.

“I’ve had a theory all along,”
Frieda plunged in then without a moment’s hesitation. “There’s someone else in
the picture. Shelly had another boyfriend  besides Anthony. “

“Oh brother,” said Barbara
under her breath.

“Why did you think that?”
asked Cindy, ruffled. She’d actually had the same feeling herself.

“Just something about the way
she was with Anthony. Let him wait here for her too long, just took him for
granted. I never once saw her excited to see him, either. He was much more
excited to see her.”

“Was Shelly your counselor?”
asked Cindy.

“In the beginning,” said
Frieda. “Then I switched to Angie.”

Again? Cindy took note. “Why?”

“Shelly could get pretty
distracted at times, even distant, like she wasn’t there.”

Barbara scraped her throat.
“Did you put that in the record?” she asked Frieda, looking at Cindy out of the
corner of her eye.

“No, I didn’t,” said Frieda, “just
told the office I’d like someone else. We’re encouraged to change counselors
when we feel we need to, aren’t we?” she defended herself.

“Of course,” said Barbara. “I
was just curious. Did you mention to Angie, that Shelly was distant and
distracted?”

“Never,” said Frieda. “Why
should I get her in trouble? She was fine most of the time, but then, once in a
while, something came over her and it scared me. I wanted to get away.”

“What was it?” asked Cindy, alerted.

“I don’t know.”

“Try to pinpoint it,” Cindy insisted.
Frieda had her finger on the pulse of something important, and Cindy needed to
know more about it.

“I can’t pinpoint it,” said
Frieda, a bit shaky. “I would just get a creepy feeling from time to time. It
was like she wasn’t even in the room, like I was talking to an empty shell.”
Frieda shuddered, “everyone here says to trust your instincts, so I did, and switched
to Angie.”

“I understand,” said Cindy.

“Understand what?” asked
Barbara, alarmed.

“Understand that when you
trust your gut, it’s always the right thing to do,” Cindy said.

Frieda smiled wanly, seemingly
relieved. “I didn’t mean to hurt her or anything,” said Frieda.

“You didn’t do anything to
hurt Shelly,” said Cindy.

Frieda sat up straighter and
stared at Cindy then, “How do you know that?”

“Well, I don’t, of course,”
said Cindy. “

“I may have hurt her by
dumping her and going to someone else” Frieda smiled thinly, displaying a row
of tiny teeth.

“It’s possible that Shelly
felt badly,” said Cindy, “but from what you told me, it’s okay to switch -probably
happens routinely.”

“It does,” Barbara cut in swiftly.
“In fact, we encourage it. We want every resident to be comfortable with their
counselor. Frieda didn’t do anything to hurt Angie. Lots of the women here
think that they’ve done something to hurt someone else, when it’s they
themselves who have been hurt.” Barbara looked sidelong at Frieda.” Frieda is
not only the victim of abuse, she’s also the victim of her own guilt.”

“But I’m doing great with
Angie now,” Frieda perked up. Then she turned back to Cindy. “I’m sorry I can’t
tell you more about Shelly’s life. I wish I could, why don’t you go and talk to
Angie about it yourself?”

“That’s a wonderful
suggestion,” said Cindy.” I definitely will.”

“Do it as soon as you can,
too,” Frieda suddenly looked wan again, and her hands tightened into little
fists. “You’ve got to find the killer! Quick! Or someone else here will turn up
dead.”

As Cindy drove back to the
hotel in the cab, she couldn’t wait to see Mattheus and talk this all over with
him. She needed him to be as he’d always been, strong, clear, a sounding board.
They had to work their way through these details together and decide what to do
next.  Now Cindy wondered what state of mind she’d find Mattheus in. Sometimes
he was more like his old self, at other times, he was reeling under the next
shock wave of revelations he’d received. Despite some lovely moments, things
were definitely different between them now.  She wasn’t ever really sure right
now what he was doing or where he’d be.

Cindy knew Mattheus had been
planning to go to Rancher’s Bar and speak to Tommy.  He’d also mentioned that Tommy
didn’t get in until early evening, so there was a good chance, Mattheus would
be at the hotel now. Cindy hoped so, really needed to see him.  

To her relief, when Cindy got
to the hotel, there was a note waiting for her from him at the front desk. 
I’m
in the cocktail lounge down the hill from the pool, if you get in before five and
want to talk.

That itself was odd. Why was
he spending time in the cocktail lounge, rather than chasing down other
possible leads. Usually, Mattheus would be at the Police Station, going over
reports, checking facts, making calls. Cindy had to step back a moment and
remind herself - this was Mattheus’s wife who’d been found murdered only a
little over a week ago. This was someone he was still in love with, though he
may not have realized it before. Cindy hadn’t realized it either.

She took his note, walked out
of the lobby and turned down the sloping hill towards the cocktail lounge
behind the pool.

*

The cocktail lounge was housed
in a straw hut, with a bamboo roof, and surrounded by potted plants which added
to its charm. Cindy had been there for a few moments a day or so ago. She
walked in now and saw Mattheus, half asleep in a comfortable revolving chair in
the corner with soft, gentle breezes blowing on him.

Cindy sat down in the chair
opposite him quietly, not wanting to wake him roughly.

“I’m completely awake,”
Mattheus surprised her, opening one eye, as she sat down.

“This is a great spot,” said
Cindy, relaxing for a moment herself.

Mattheus opened both eyes then.
“Tough day?” he asked.

“Long day,” said Cindy, “and
fascinating, too.”

He perked up and sat up. “What’s
so fascinating?”

The waiter came over and Cindy
ordered a glass of wine. It was the end of the day and she needed to unwind.

 “The women at the Shelter are
fantastic,” said Cindy.  “They’re strong, gutsy, they knew Shelly well and had
a lot to say about what happened.”

Mattheus pursed his lips
together. “Okay, shoot,” he said. “Any hard evidence?”

“Not yet,” said Cindy, “but
plenty of important observations.”

“Like what? Cut to the chase.”

Cindy hardly knew where to
begin. Anything she said would be painful for him. She decided to start with
the most abstract points first.

“Well, one of the women found
Shelly strange and distant at times. When she spoke to her, it was as if she
weren’t there.”

“That’s a lousy thing to say
about Shelly,” Mattheus muttered. “Ungrateful bitch.”

“What?” Cindy was shocked.

“I mean there’s Shelly working
in a rotten situation, giving her all and this damn fool talks bad about her
right after she died? Who the hell is that lady to call Shelly strange? It
makes my blood boil. There was nothing at all strange about Shelly.”

Whoah, thought Cindy. She had
no idea he’d react like that. She’d hoped he might add something to the
observation, remember times when Shelly had been distant with him as well. It
seemed impossible to get through to him now. He was protecting the image he had
of Shelly with his very life. Why wouldn’t he let himself see other aspects of
her, what was he so scared of?  

If Cindy didn’t break through this
defense, there was no way Mattheus would be able to be of help. And, there was
no way he’d ever be able to put his relationship with Shelly behind him, or go
on in his life with someone else.

“Don’t you think there were things
about Shelly that you were completely unaware of?” Cindy asked him pointedly.

Mattheus let out a long
breath. “Sure,” he said, “I mean who knows everyone completely?”

“This is more intense than
that, Mattheus,” Cindy went on. “I mean, not everyone goes missing.”

“That’s true,” said Mattheus, irritated.
“What’s your point?”

“In order to find the killer, we
have to find out more about who Shelly was. Who were her enemies, what fights
did she have, did she offend someone?”

Mattheus threw his head back
and rubbed his hands over his face.  

“I know,” Mattheus conceded, “even
though it’s crushing me.”

Cindy became silent for a long
moment.

“It would crush any guy,”
Mattheus went on.

“Of course it would,” said
Cindy, as an afternoon breeze blew up. “It’s devastating to be lied to.”

“Shelly didn’t lie to me,”
Mattheus’s face grew red.

“She disappeared and never
told you,” said Cindy.

“That’s not the same as
lying.”

“What is it then?” Cindy
didn’t miss a beat.

“Shelly got sick,” Mattheus proclaimed.
 It seemed as if he’d been dwelling on the situation and had come to that
conclusion. “She must have snapped, it’s happened to others. She came from an
unstable family. Her younger brother Mike was retarded and it could have been
something in the genes.”

“What was the brother like? Was
there trouble between them?” Cindy probed.

“Shelly was always jealous of her
brother for taking her parents away. He needed so much attention, they hardly
bothered with her. I tried to make it up to her.”

Cindy felt sad for him. “You
can’t heal someone else’s wounds,” she said.

“Well, I thought I could,”
said Mattheus.

Cindy sighed. Everyone thought
that they could make up for what happened a long time ago to someone they loved.
But they couldn’t. It didn’t work like that.

 “When the police tried to
reach Shelly’s family to tell them what happened, they couldn’t. The family
moved and left no forwarding address,” he continued.

Cindy was stunned. This was very
strange news.

 “Could the family be involved
with her death?” asked Cindy.

Mattheus shook his head. “Ridiculous.”

 “Are the police trying to
track them down?”

“No, of course not. There’s no
way they would harm Shelly. I’m just pointing out they’re all unstable.”

Cindy made a note to herself
to check this further with the police. It was nerve wracking news and peculiar
timing.

“So, what I was saying,”
Mattheus continued, “is that it makes sense that Shelly snapped.”

“Does it make it easier for
you thinking of it that way?” asked Cindy.

“It does,” said Mattheus. “It
doesn’t completely invalidate me or wipe out our marriage. Seems that lots of
people think I’m to blame - that I should have seen it coming. Or, maybe I did
something to drive her away?

 “Shelly’s death wasn’t your
fault,” said Cindy.

“That’s a hard case to make. Now
even the cops are pointing a finger at me. I feel like I’m one of their
suspects,” Mattheus added glumly.

Cindy felt chilled.

“The cops think you’re
involved in Shelly’s murder?” Cindy had to be sure.

“Nobody’s said that out loud,”
said Mattheus, “but it’s in the air. A few hours ago they called and asked me
where I was when she was killed. Thank God I was in Grenada, or there would be
hell to pay.”

In her wildest dreams Cindy
hadn’t imagined that Mattheus could be considered a suspect.

“Why would they suspect you? Why?”

“Maybe they think I wanted
revenge of some kind,” Mattheus mused. “Maybe they think I found out where Shelly
was, and sent someone else to finish her off? Who knows? It’s normal to suspect
the people she was closest to.”

“You were not one of the people
she was closest to!” Cindy was emphatic.

“Of course I was,” Mattheus insisted.

“What are you talking about? For
the past six years you two weren’t in contact. You thought she was dead. You Isn’t
that true?” Cindy demanded.

“Of course it’s true,” snapped
Mattheus.

“How exactly did the police
find you?”  Cindy continued.

“The authorities in New
Orleans knew where I was,” said Mattheus. “I kept in touch with them in case
something turned up.”

 “Then you’re completely off
the hook,” said Cindy. “There’s no link at all between the two of you.”

“Maybe off the hook legally,”
said Mattheus, “but not in everyone’s eyes.”  “That’s why we have to find out
more about her,” Cindy exclaimed. “To set the record straight!”

“Why do you think I’m going to
Rancher’s Bar to talk to Anthony’s friend Tommy?” Mattheus said.

“That’s a good move,” said
Cindy.

“Why do you think I was
waiting for you here, to find out what they said at the Shelter?”

That was the first time Mattheus
said he’d actually been waiting for her, wanted information.

“You going back to the Shelter
again tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Cindy said. “I
have to. There’s a lot more information waiting there.”

“Good,” said Mattheus,
standing up. 

You want to come along?” asked
Cindy.

“Don’t pressure me,” said Mattheus,
“you’ve turned into ball rolling fire, and  I can’t take it.”

A ball of rolling fire? That
must be how the whole world felt to Mattheus now. Even though he was
investigating Shelly’s murder, he was also in the process of mourning not only his
marriage, but the person he thought he was. That had to be hardest of all.

Cindy desperately wanted to
get through to him. “What Shelly did, doesn’t reflect on you. You said yourself
that she snapped.”

“Yeah, I said that,” said
Mattheus, “but what do I really know? Her murder was brutal. She was not only
strangled, but scratched viciously.  Whoever did it, really hated her guts. And
that’s not all - her whole head was cracked wide open. Why? Tell me that!”