Death by Desire (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 4) (5 page)

“You actually think it’s possible that one of
Rori’s friends would kill Tiffany?” Mattheus tried to pin Tad down.

“I don’t think any of this is possible,” said
Tad. “I have no idea who did it.  For all we know there’s a psychopathic, serial
killer loose on the island, about to let loose and slash all the beautiful, privileged
women down here.”

Cindy shuddered. “That’s a horrible image.”

“Why would you think something like that?”
Mattheus focused in.

Tad started sobbing again.

 “How do I know? All kinds of crazy thoughts go
through your mind when someone you love is murdered. You don’t know what to
think.”

And, at that very moment, the waves below
splashed against the rocks with such ferocity, it sounded as if they were
echoing Tad’s immense confusion and pain.

The Senator had reserved two adjoining rooms
for Cindy and Mattheus at the Ile De Joie, the most exclusive hotel on St. Bart’s,
perched on a hill, overlooking the ocean. Cindy had taken extra care packing
her suitcase, realizing she had to bring the most fashionable, trendy clothes
she had, to fit in with this crowd. At the last minute, Cindy had thrown in a
slinky, silver, satin gown her sister had bought it for her. The only time
Cindy had ever worn it was for her engagement party to Clint. It would come in
handy down here.

The taxi to the hotel
wound uphill along a paved, winding road, lined with perfectly coiffed shrubbery
and flowers. The windows were rolled down and an intensely sweet scent pervaded
the air,

as if they were driving to paradise. As they
got closer, Cindy saw the hotel, low and sprawling, nestled over the hills and
rocks as if it grew out of the landscape, was an organic part of the
environment, enhancing the natural beauty around.

 A young, tanned, French bellboy, with a shock
of dark hair, greeted them as the taxi rolled up to the front door. He welcomed
them, took their luggage and led them inside.

As she entered Cindy was enthralled by the wide
open space and exquisite furnishings. Despite the fact that the place was full
of guests, there seemed plenty of empty space. Cindy looked at the many
stunningly beautiful people milling around, and felt she’d landed on a
Hollywood set. Wherever you looked, you saw gorgeous, thin women dressed in
brightly colored Calypso cover ups, flip flops and small hand bags. It almost
seemed like a uniform. The men were dressed in suede loafers with no socks,
bright colored shirts that fit their bodies perfectly. They were tanned with
their hair perfectly groomed or in buzz cuts. All of the people seemed to come
from great privilege and to have spent enormous amounts of time on their bodies
and clothes. Parading back and forth proudly, they could have stepped off the
pages of the top fashion magazines. Cindy had to struggle not to feel like an
outsider among them, less of a woman in some ways. When Cindy noticed Mattheus
looking at the women admiringly, to her surprise it made her feel insecure.

A Christmas tree filled with colorful
decorations stood in the main lobby, and Christmas wreaths hung on the walls.
There was a sense of excitement and anticipation and yet, it was hard for Cindy
to feel as though Christmas was coming in this tropical paradise. All her memories
of the holiday revolved around cold weather, snow, the family cooking, and
opening presents under the tree.

Mattheus stopped a moment to take it all in.

“Merry Christmas,” he leaned over and whispered
to Cindy.

“It’s still a few days away,” she said.

“My favorite holiday,” said Mattheus.

“Me, too,” said Cindy. But she also felt squeamish
about celebrating when the horror of a hidden murder hung in the air. How could
she act as though nothing happened when a young woman had been mangled and
tossed away like garbage on a beach a few minute away? The memory of Tiffany’s photo
hanging on her mother’s wall flashed before Cindy. She looked young, beautiful,
triumphant, preparing for a thrilling life ahead. Cindy was disturbed that the police
insisted upon keeping the crime under covers.  She wanted everyone on the
island to know, to share the sorrow, join in the search. It was surreal to see so
many guests dressed to the hilt, parading back and forth in the hotel, wanting
to see and be seen when a murderer nearby was on the loose. Who knew if one of
them might not be the next victim?

The bellboy led Cindy and Mattheus towards the
elevators at the back of the lobby, to take them to their rooms, where their
luggage was waiting.

Cindy’s mouth fell open as she walked into her
room. It was large, and decorated in pale peach and lavender. A lavender silk
bedspread with huge peach flowers was tossed over the bed and porcelain vases
on the tables around were filled with fresh lilacs. The huge windows were open,
overlooking the patio that stretched out over the sea. Evening was starting to
fall, and the setting sun sent a warm glow of orange along the outside deck.
Cindy felt it filter in over both of them.

“So beautiful,” Cindy declared.

Mattheus came over and stood beside her, taking
it all in. This place had a magical energy that was different from any other
she’d ever been to before. She saw that Mattheus felt it too.

“Incredible,” he murmured.

Cindy hoped they would go out on the patio and
sit together for a while.

“It’s getting late,” Mattheus said slowly then.
“Let’s go to our adjoining patios and do some work while we still have some
energy. We can go online, check out the people we met. Then we’ll order dinner
up.”

Cindy loved that Mattheus could remain
practical and stay focused, even in the face of great beauty like this.

“Good idea,” she said slowly, having a hard
time pulling herself away from the glow of the setting sun.

“The Senator wants me to check out a Billionaire
Russian Mogul, Sasha Petrovich,” Mattheus reported. “He thinks the guy has it
in for him, wants me to find out all I can and nail him. He’s convinced this
guy had something to do with the murder.”

Cindy listened with interest. “Really? That’s
huge,” she said.

“I’ll tell you all about it when I find out
more,” said Mattheus. “It definitely warrants investigation. What did you get
from talking to the mother?”

“A lot,” said Cindy. “The mother told me to
check out an ex-boyfriend, Shane. Apparently, he and Tiffany were close for
years. He was at the engagement party and didn’t take his eyes off her the
whole time. The mother thinks he could have been jealous.”

“Jealous enough to kill?” Mattheus said.

“It’s possible,” said Cindy.

Mattheus wasn’t impressed. “Anything else?”

“The mother said Tiffany and her twin sister
weren’t close enough.”

Mattheus made a sour face. “Odd comment for a
mother to make. Tad said they were very close.”

“Different angles of perception,” Cindy noted.

“The Senator warned us not to take his wife’s
remarks seriously,” Mattheus remarked.

Cindy bristled. “I guess he has his reasons for
invalidating his wife,” she said. “But I don’t like it.”

Mattheus turned and looked at Cindy. “Why?”

“I don’t like the way he treats her,” said
Cindy.

“You don’t know enough about their relationship,”
said Mattheus.

“There’s disrespect there,” said Cindy.

“Bitterness,” Mattheus replied. “Lots of older
guys get bitter about their lives. It’s par for the course.”

Cindy wondered if Mattheus expected that to
happen to him, too.

“Who knows how the Senator’s relationship to
his wife connects to what happened to Tiffany?” Cindy said.

Mattheus put his hand on her arm. It felt warm
and comforting suddenly.

“We have to stay focused,” said Mattheus. “There
are lots of people involved in this gang, all kinds of interactions. If we go
off on a whim, or in a wrong direction, we’ll lose valuable time.”

Cindy agreed. But it was difficult in the
beginning to know what was a whim or misdirection and what would lead to where
they needed to be. Things that seemed most innocent could have hideous
tentacles propping them up. Things that seemed frightening on the face of it,
often added up to nothing. It was what fascinated her about investigating, discovering
what hunch to follow and what to let go of immediately.

Mattheus took his arm away.

“I’m going to my room now to get going,” he
said. “When you’re done with your work, let me know.”

Cindy didn’t want him to leave right at that
moment. “Sure, “she said, casually.

He went to the door. Before he left, he turned towards
her. “And, while you’re busy investigating, think of what we’ll order up for
dinner when we’re through,” he said, giving her a fleeting, whimsical smile.

Cindy grinned. He was cute. She liked that. He
could be playful even in the midst of a terrible crisis. It calmed things down,
brought perspective, helped her remember that despite the darkness of life, a
natural order prevailed.

Mattheus went straight to his room, pulled out
his laptop, and brought it out onto the patio that spread over the sea. It was
better for him to work here alone, apart from Cindy. He liked it that they had
their own separate spaces. It was easier for him to concentrate on what he had
to do that way. His former wife never let him out of her sight. It had been a
strain that grew worse over time and he appreciated Cindy’s easy acceptance of
his rhythms and needs. It seemed she liked her space too. Despite her gentle
exterior, Mattheus knew that Cindy was strong, fiercely independent and growing
more so day by day. He smiled, she was such an unusual mixture of so many
intriguing qualities. He barely knew what he would discover about her next.

Mattheus sat down at a table on the patio,
opened the laptop and went online. It was still warm outside with wonderful
breezes which calmed him, as he dove into the search engines, looking for all
he could find about Sasha Petrovich, the Mogul the Senator was focused on. To
his surprise, there was a wealth of information about him online. The guy made
his billions in international real estate, buying up prime land and converting
it to hotels and casinos all over the world. Petrovich’s picture came online.
He was younger than Mattheus had expected, in his early fifties, tall, stocky, sensual,
with ferocious eyes, dark hair, bushy eyebrows and an overly full mouth. Whew,
this was one hell of a character. One of the homes he owned was here on St. Bart’s,
where he came regularly. He had his own private security force, boats, jets and
all the women he could handle. There were tons of photos of him at parties with
different women. Quite the man about town. There were also pictures of him with
top political officials in different countries. Clearly, this guy had plenty of
money and knew how to use it. He also had plenty of influence to throw around.

Mattheus switched to different websites to find
something about the battle between him and the Senator about building the
casino here on St. Bart’s. Strangely enough, he couldn’t find anything.
Mattheus found that odd.

Mattheus stretched his legs out and threw his
head back. A sprinkle of stars was beginning to come out in the night sky,
making a canopy over them. He couldn’t rest and enjoy the evening, though. He knew
he had to do better. He had to meet Petrovich personally. He sat up abruptly,
and dove back online, searching for anything else about him he could find.

Petrovich came from a small town in Russia raised
in a poor family with a shadowy past. He made his money quickly, and flashed
like a comet onto the social scene. The guy had never been married and had guests
at his home constantly. Vodka and champagne flowed freely at his endless
parties, especially around Christmas. That was good. Mattheus checked further
and suddenly let out a low whistle. There was a big party planned for the next
day at Petrovich’s Villa. Couldn’t be more perfect, the timing was great.

He got up and walked to the edge of the patio,
peering out at the ocean below. It shouldn’t be hard to get himself invited to
this guy’s villa, meet him in person, talk to the guests, snoop around. Mattheus
took out his cell phone and called the Senator’s private number immediately.

“Yes?” a clipped voice answered, eager. It
seemed as though he’d been waiting for the call.

“Mattheus here.”

“Yes?” the voice had more urgency.

“There’s a party tomorrow at Petrovich’s villa,”
said Mattheus. “Can you get me invited to it?”

The pause on the other end only lasted a
minute. “Consider it done,” the Senator said.

“Great.”

“Anything else?”

“Not yet,” Mattheus felt pressured.

“Okay then,” the Senator continued. “Good work
finding that out.”

Mattheus grinned. He liked to be praised when
he deserved it. This was a nice first step.

“And something else,” the Senator went on, “the
wife really liked your partner. She wants to see her again soon.”

“That’s good,” said Mattheus.

“Yeah, but don’t take her to Petrovich’s party.”

“Why not?” Mattheus suddenly felt on edge.

“He’s got a treasure trove of women who will
flock around you. You want to find out what they have to say. The last thing
you need is another woman hanging on.”

Mattheus took exception. “My partner doesn’t
hang onto me.”

“Okay, okay,” said the Senator, “but don’t
bring her anyway. It’ll keep the women away.” Then he laughed. “Actually, it
probably wouldn’t, they’re an aggressive bunch, barracudas if you ask me, they
just take who they like, no matter who he’s with. But, just in case, go alone.”

Mattheus didn’t like being told how to proceed
with his investigation. That was his domain.

“You’re a good looking guy,” the Senator
continued, adamant. “You’ll create a stir. It will work to your benefit. Listen
to me, I know what I’m talking about.”