Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (13 page)

After Mattheus left for
Rancher’s Bar, Cindy went to the piano lounge in the hotel to unwind. Not only
had the day at the Shelter been long and exhausting, her discussion with
Mattheus left her unnerved. It hadn’t occurred to her that the police would
suspect him. She wondered if it were true?  It was easy to become paranoid on a
case, suspecting everyone and end up believing the police were suspecting you,
too. Still, Cindy couldn’t help wondering if the police knew something about
Mattheus she didn’t?  The fervor with which Mattheus clung to his memory of his
relationship with Shelly was alarming. Clearly, he’d blocked a lot out about his
marriage. There might have been something else important that Cindy had no idea
of.

She sat down on a plush sofa
in the lounge, as soft jazz filled the dimly lit room. Cindy put her head back
on the sofa and wondered how she’d gotten herself into all this. Just a couple
of years ago, her life had been simple. She’s been part of the mainstream, had
a regular job, a fiancée, and upbeat circle of friends. Now she lived on the
edge of a world that was dangerous, confusing, dark and could become lethal in
a moment’s flash. It was hard working on this case without a stable partner,
too. At times Mattheus became the person she once knew, but then Cindy would say
something and his mood would suddenly turn. His intense reactions were
understandable, but didn’t leave Cindy feeling supported.  She desperately
needed to bounce her thoughts off someone stable, who knew the ins and outs of
the case.

It suddenly struck Cindy that
she hadn’t personally yet checked in with the police. It was important that she
do that, as soon as possible.  If it was true that Mattheus was suspected in
anyway, it was definitely something she needed to know. When she thought about
it, Cindy was surprised that the police hadn’t taken the initiative to call her
in and talk everything over. Obviously they didn’t think she mattered much, probably
thought of her as a side line on the case.

Cindy decided to dial the
station right now and make an appointment to go in and talk. She called
Rodney’s number, but to her surprise Alex quickly picked up.

“This is Cindy Blaine,” she
started.

“Great to hear from you,” Alex
responded immediately.

Cindy was surprised by his
reaction, and again wondered why he hadn’t contacted her first.

“There’s a lot going on in the
case,” Cindy reported.

  “Something new?” Alex
interrupted eagerly.

“I was actually calling to set
up a time to come over talk in person,” she said.

 “Terrific,” said Alex. “I was
just wondering what you were up to.”

“I’ve been spending most of my
time at the Shelter,” said Cindy. “It’s a gold mine,” She was glad to be
checking in with someone, and also had her own questions that she wanted
answered. Especially about Mattheus.

“Listen,” Alex said, suddenly,
“I know it’s last minute, but I’m going to be near your hotel in about fifteen
minutes for a quick stop. How about having dinner in half an hour?  You can
fill me in on everything then.”

Cindy was delighted. “I’d
really love that, “she said.

Alex caught the urgency.
“Great. Sorry it took so long to get together. Meet you in the lobby in half an
hour.”

Cindy went up to her room to
freshen up. She washed her face quickly, brushed her hair, and slipped on a
rose, silk, sleeveless dress and sandals that always felt comfortable. Mattheus
would be gone for most of the evening at Rancher’s Bar, and she couldn’t have
been more grateful both for the company and support.

*

Alex walked into the lobby in
exactly half an hour, dressed in slacks and a plaid shirt, looking for Cindy. With
his slender, toned body and tousled, dirty blonde hair he looked younger than she’d
remembered. Cindy wondered how long he’d been on the police force.

“Hey,” Alex walked over to Cindy
the moment he saw her. “Thanks for contacting us.”

“It’s my pleasure,” said Cindy,
“you guys must be very busy with all kinds of cases.”

“That’s putting it mildly,”
Alex breathed. “It’s never dull down here, that’s for sure.”

Cindy smiled and wondered if
that was why he chose to work here.

“I made a quick, dinner
reservation,” said Alex. He seemed to know the place like the back of his hand.
“There’s a very good restaurant right in this hotel.”

“I know,” said Cindy as they walked
down a few steps in its direction.

As soon as they were seated
and had ordered dinner, Alex got right to the point.  

“Love to hear whatever you’ve
got,” he said.

To her amazement, Cindy’s eyes
filled with tears.

Alerted, Alex leaned forward, “What’s
wrong?”

“You tell me,” said Cindy.

He was taken aback. “What do
you mean?”

Cindy couldn’t hold back, put
it right out there, “Is Mattheus a suspect or not?” she asked. She hadn’t
realized how disturbed she was by the thought of it.

Alex’s brow crinkled.  It
wasn’t what he’d expected, and he looked confused.

“What makes you say something
like that?” he asked carefully.

“Mattheus said you guys are
pointing the finger at him,” Cindy went on.

 “Really?” Alex took it in.

 Do you believe he’s a suspect?”
Cindy pinned him down.

“Do you?” Alex countered.

“Of course not,” said Cindy.
“The whole idea is preposterous.”

 “Look,” Alex said to Cindy, “Rodney
turns the heat up on everyone. That’s how he gets the information he needs.
He’s good at rattling people, making them think he’s about to throw them into
jail.”

“Mattheus isn’t just people,”
Cindy felt heated, “he’s a fantastic detective who’s just discovered that his
wife was killed. It doesn’t make sense to rattle him anymore than he already
is.”

“I get what you’re saying,” said
Alex slowly.

“He’s not so stable right
now,” said Cindy softly. “How could he be?”

“He couldn’t,” said Alex, “we
get that. And I’m really sorry you guys have to go through something like this.”

Cindy looked at his clear blue
eyes, which had a strange innocence about them for a cop. She wondered again
how he got into this profession, what exactly he was doing here.

“Mattheus was in Grenada when Shelly
was murdered?” Alex asked in the most soothing of tones then, looking at Cindy
closely.

“Of course he was,” answered
Cindy.

“So why would he think he was
a suspect?” Alex was careful. “His alibi cleared. He told us he was with you in
Grenada when Shelly was killed. We have that on the record.”

Cindy bristled a moment. Mattheus
said he was with her in Grenada when Shelly was killed? Was he? Cindy wasn’t
sure.  When exactly was Shelly killed? When had Cindy flown back home?

“I was with Mattheus in
Grenada,” Cindy clarified, “until a little over a week ago. Then I returned to
the States.”

“Did you come back before
Shelly was killed?” Alex looked momentarily alarmed.

“I need to know the exact time
she was killed,” said Cindy. “But whether I was there or not, there were plenty
of other people in Grenada Mattheus were in touch with.”

“That’s right,” Alex mused.
“He told us you left. He said you guys were in the process of moving in
together, then you had a falling out and you decided to leave,” Alex was trying
to get the facts straight.

“Right,” said Cindy.

“He said your departure was
unexpected,” Alex continued.

“True,” said Cindy.

Alex looked straight at her. “He
was actually vague about it. Do you mind if I ask you what happened?”

“We got together too soon,”
Cindy said. “Neither of us was ready.”

“What exactly triggered your
leaving?” Alex was being methodical.

“Mattheus wanted to go out on
another case right after I’d moved in. I needed time to unwind, for us to be
together, build the relationship, be a woman again, not just a cop.”

Alex nodded sweetly, “I completely
understand.”

Cindy was very grateful that
he did.

“This work can really take a
toll, if you’re not careful. We all need time like that,” Alex said.

The waiter brought their
dinner and put it down before them, but Cindy’s appetite suddenly dimmed. She’d
appreciated telling Alex her concerns, but also wanted more information from him.
There were questions she had that hadn’t yet been answered.

“I heard that Shelly’s family
moved and left no forwarding address,” Cindy started.

“That’s right,” said Alex,
looking up at her again.  “It’s a strange touch, if you asked me.”

“Very strange,” Cindy agreed.
“Are you guys looking for them?”

“We did. No luck.” He took a
bite of his food.

“Could Shelly’s brother be
dangerous?” This seemed like an area worth investigating.

“Doubt it,” said Alex, “but you
can never tell. Eat your dinner.”

“I’m not so hungry all of a
sudden,” said Cindy.

“Eat it anyway,” said Alex.
“You’ve got to take care of yourself.”

Cindy smiled. It had been
quite a while since anyone had been concerned with whether or not she ate her
dinner.

“Thanks,” said Cindy, picking
at the food.

“You’re still in love with
Mattheus?” Alex asked. “Is that what’s upsetting you so much?”

Cindy didn’t realize she
seemed so upset.

“The whole case is nerve
wracking,” she side stepped the question about how she felt about Mattheus.
“It’ unnerving spending time at the Shelter, too.”

“Certainly is,” said Alex.
“Everyone there has a story, everyone heard something, rumors float around
there a mile a minute. It’s a web you can really get caught in.”

“Why haven’t you guys gone
there?”

“We don’t have the man power
or the time. Besides, the evidence keeps piling up around Anthony.”

“Like what?” asked Cindy. “The
women in the Shelter all loved Anthony. Not one of them thinks he killed
Shelly.”

Alex cracked his boyish smile.
“I’m sure they all love him,” he said. “Anthony’s got women swooning over him
all over town.”

“Could have been one of the
fans who killed Shelly,” Cindy said, “that’s something worth checking.”

“Nah,” said Alex. “There’s no
one of them that stands out. It’s usually the stalkers who kill. There wasn’t
anybody stalking. From where we stand now, it looks clear that Anthony’s the
one.”

“Mattheus didn’t think Anthony
did it, either,” Cindy pressed on. She felt a great need to contest the point.
How could Alex be so sure?  So far she hadn’t heard of any specific evidence
linking Anthony to the crime.

“Listen,” said Alex, openly, “Anthony
was seen getting more and more threatening with Shelly the last couple of weeks
before she died. People heard him yelling threats at her, said he was going to leave
her flat. And, between you and me, we just found Anthony’s journal, where he
kept notes about all kinds of things.”

Cindy listened, all ears.

“He talked a lot about the
songs he was writing about his relationship with Shelly. One of his songs is
about how rough she was on him, how he prayed to get free, and didn’t know how.
Now, if that’s not damning I don’t know what is.”

“Circumstantial,” said Cindy,
though she had to agree that it didn’t sound good.

“You never met Shelly, right?”
Alex continued.

Cindy was startled. “Never –
when I met Mattheus we both thought she was dead. I met him years after she
went missing.”

“So, why was it too soon for
the two of you to move in?” Alex couldn’t help asking.

“We hadn’t been together long
enough,” said Cindy.

Alex nodded and smiled. “Some
people down here move in together after only a few dates.”

“I’ve recently lost my
husband, too,” said Cindy.

“That’s right, I remember,”
said Alex softly, “I’m really sorry about that.”

It seemed as if he wanted to
reach out for her at that moment, take her hand, do something. Cindy moved away,
though.

“So, how can I help you with
all this?” asked Alex

“I wanted to go over details
with you,” said Cindy, “and I needed to know how you felt about Mattheus.”

 “We think he’s in one hell of
a rough spot, definitely having a hard time keeping it together, too,” said Alex.
“I personally think he’s in shock, and has been for a long time. I don’t think
he ever really knew what went on his marriage. I’ve seen guys like that. They
think everything’s great, then one day wake up and find everything’s fallen
apart.  Most of the time they never get over it. Their women say they’d been
telling these guys how they felt all along, but the guys couldn’t hear them.”