Death by Desire (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 4) (6 page)

Mattheus wondered for a second how the Senator
knew so much about the women around Petrovich.

“I’ll call him right now,” the Senator said, “and
I’m getting an invitation for one.”

Mattheus had no choice but to relent. He was
working for the Senator. Petrovich was his contact.

 “This time I’ll go by myself,” Mattheus said. “Next
time, I’m taking my partner along. I value her impressions and feedback.”

The Senator paused. “You’re a lucky guy,” he
said finally, “it’s rare to value someone like that.”

“Yes, it is,” said Mattheus, hung up and then
threw a glance over towards Cindy’s patio, a few feet away. He tried not to let
himself dwell on how valuable Cindy really was to him. Then he wondered how she
was doing with her research. He was getting hungry, almost ready for the dinner,
pretty soon they’d order up. He’d give her a few minutes before going over to see
what she wanted for dinner and also what she’d found.

*

Cindy sat on her patio, her laptop open, deep
into the Facebook pages of Tiffany, Tad, Rori, Shane. There was hours of work
before her. She had emails to check, texts, tweets. Tiffany and Rori’s pages
were very different. Tiffany’s page was mostly dominated by photos of her and Tad.
She had tons of friends she spoke with regularly, mostly about the party coming
up. Her profile was bursting with things she loved to do, including cooking,
painting, dancing, boating, having a wonderful time. Her engagement had been
announced and friends from all over had commented on it, wishing her well.

 Tad’s page had mostly photos of Tiffany and
his sister on it. There were one or two male friends from college as well. Other
than that, there wasn’t too much activity. Clearly, he didn’t spend much time
this way. His profile stated that he enjoyed reading, writing, museums, and
walks along rocky shores. There was nothing irregular, except perhaps how
different the two of them seemed. It lead Cindy to take a moment to wonder
again about what it was that attracted couples to one another and how happy these
two would have ultimately been.

Rori’s Facebook page had a different flavor.
She had all kinds of friends splashed across it, including bikers, dancers,
rich girls, snobs, and a few good looking Japanese guys.  Her profile page was
not filled in. There was only one picture of Tiffany on her page and very
little mention of the engagement. Rori mentioned that she was indefinitely
single. Cindy wasn’t sure what she meant by that.

Cindy was just getting to Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend,
Shane’s page, when Mattheus appeared on her patio.

“You’ve got hours ahead of you to work,” he
said quietly, as he came up and sat down beside her. “What did you find so far?”

“Just getting a flavor of everything,” said
Cindy. “We’ve got quite a cast of characters. The next step should be to speak
to Tad’s family. See if they have anything different to add.”

“I’m up for that,” said Mattheus. “Let’s make
an appointment to see them early in the afternoon. I’ve set up an appointment
for us to meet with the police in the morning. Then, I’m going to Petrovich’s
Villa for a party in the evening. The Senator is getting me in.”

Cindy raised her eyebrows. “Good work,” she
said. “We’re both going, or you’re going alone?”

“I think it’s best the first time I meet him
that I go alone. I’ll stay more under the radar that way.”

Cindy smiled. She didn’t love the idea of
Mattheus going alone.

“After all, Petrovich is quite a ladies man,”
said Mattheus. “Once he sees you, his concentration will be gone.”

Cindy felt a shot of warmth go through her. She
enjoyed it when Mattheus joked around this way. It never left the realm of
joking though, and she took it for what it was worth.

“Now, let’s get some dinner ordered,” he said. “We
need fuel to keep going.”

Cindy agreed. She was tired and hungry and the
hotel was also known for its incredible French gourmet food.

Mattheus called downstairs for diner and
included a bottle of aged French wine. He also asked them to send up a drink
before dinner for both of them.

Cindy felt badly for stopping and enjoying
herself when there was so much left to be done. And, yet, the more she
researched online, the more she felt they were on the wrong track.

“I’m not sure we’re even in the ballpark,”
Cindy said then to Mattheus after he’d ordered the drink.

“What do you mean?”

“For all we know, it’s none of the people at
the party,” she went on. “It’s Christmas on the island. The place is packed.
Could be there’s a random lunatic floating around. Maybe he hates the wealthy
and is hiding out somewhere, just waiting for revenge.”

“Could be,” said Mattheus somberly. “But why
would a random killer focus on the Senator’s daughter? Doesn’t make sense. If
the Senator has been fighting building on the island, it makes more sense that
he’s stirred up some powerful forces that want to teach him a lesson. There
have been demonstrations on Guadeloupe against developing on St. Bart’s. The ruling
forces there have shot people down for it. Guadeloupe is only forty five
minutes away.”

“Think it’s spilled over here?”  Cindy asked stunned.

“Makes sense,” said Mattheus, “there’s millions
of dollars involved in this battle.”

 The doorbell rang and their drinks arrived.  Mattheus
took their glasses out to the patio, and they sat down and drank slowly, as the
ocean beneath them roared.

“Or, the murderer could be hiding in plain
sight,” Cindy mused, picking up the train of thought they’d been following. “Much
closer - only a few steps away, right in front of our noses.”

 “Stranger things have happened,” said
Mattheus, as they stared together into dark night.

The first thing the next morning Cindy and
Mattheus were scheduled to meet with the local police in town. Crime was so rare
on St. Bart’s that the police station was small, located in an oversized
clapboard house on a narrow road, lined with flowers and huge trees. The road,
near a mountain, was in a hilly area, slightly apart from the main section of
town. Mattheus and Cindy parked down at the bottom of the hill and climbed up
on foot. Cindy wore sandals and it was fun walking up the pebbly road in the
warm, morning sun. Little lizards jumped out at them as they walked, a slight
breeze blew and the air was full of bird song. It was a place you could totally
relax in, be yourself, let loose, and deeply unwind. Cindy could see how easy
it was to be lulled into a sense of perfect safety here. Nothing in the
environment gave the slightest suggestion that anything could ever go awry.

The policemen, called gendarmes, got around the
island both on motor scooters and in cars. A few vehicles were parked outside.
When Cindy and Mattheus walked in, three gendarmes were waiting for them,
sitting at a round table, having coffee and croissants.

The station had an untouched, even lazy
atmosphere. There were filing cabinets against the far walls, a few round
tables with computers and phones. Some files and newspapers were scattered
around. Basically, the place had the feeling of nothing much happening here at
all.

One of the gendarmes stood up as Cindy and
Mattheus entered. He was tall, fair and elegant looking, in his early forties.
He walked over to them and extended his hand.

“Jean Pierre here,” he said in a slight French
accent.

“Mattheus and Cindy,” Mattheus replied
cordially.

Jean Pierre nodded and then smiled at Cindy.

The other two sat where they were, and continued
to drink their coffee.

“Marc and Tomas,” Jeanne Pierre said then,
introducing the other two gendarmes.  “We all have orders to share our
information with you.”

Clearly, Jean Pierre had been appointed spokesman
for the group. The other two seemed reluctant to get involved. The entire
operation seemed like amateur hour. The crime didn’t seem to have made a dent.
Life was simply going on as usual.

Cindy and Mattheus sat down at the table with
all of them.

“To begin,” Jean Pierre continued, “I want you
to know how unusual it is for us to have a crime like this in St. Bart’s.
Actually, it’s unheard of.”

Mattheus raised his eyebrows. “And it was a
Senator’s daughter who was killed,” he added, breaking into their casual
manner. “That really ups the stakes.”

One of the gendarmes, Marc, perked up. He was
in his forties with slicked back dark hair and hazel eyes. Cindy thought he
looked more like an actor in a movie than a cop at work on a crime.

“That’s not to say we’re not troubled by the
event,” Marc chimed in. “Of course we are.  We have been working on it
relentlessly.”

The third gendarme at the table, Tomas, pushed
his coffee away. He seemed like the most solid of all, stocky with a reddish
face and shifty eyes.

“You’re here at the peak of the tourist season,”
Tomas said, looking directly at Mattheus. “You may not be aware of it, but the
island is packed. The villas are filled and the parties have started. Every day
more yachts come into shore. Do you know what would happen if this news became
public? Do you know how many holidays would be ruined?”

Cindy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It
was more important to keep the guests happy than find a killer lurking in their
midst –or to get justice for a vulnerable young woman.

“What about the Senator’s family?” she said. “They’re
suffering terribly. They need to find the killer immediately.”

“We’re working on it,” Tomas, said gruffly.

“For all we know there are other victims,”
Cindy continued, “or there will be again, soon. The killer could be out
stalking his prey right now as we speak.”

“Doubtful,” Jean Pierre muttered.

No matter what she said, there was a wall
around the three of them that Cindy couldn’t penetrate. This investigation was
way out of their range and obviously these guys were following careful
directives. Cindy doubted that they even had the slightest idea about how to proceed.

Mattheus went along with them, though. He was
more practical, not going to fight them. Instead, he tried to put them at ease.

“Of course we don’t want to rock the boat,”
Mattheus said. “I understand perfectly.”

Jean Pierre seemed relieved and so did Marc. Tomas
looked at Mattheus, edgy.

“But we do need to see what you’ve found so
far,” Mattheus continued.

“Of course,” said Jean Pierre. “And we also
have clearance to take both of you to the scene of the crime.”

Tomas didn’t like that. He tapped his fingers
on the table, much the way Mattheus liked to do.

“Great,” said Mattheus, “but first fill us in
on what you have so far.”

Marc, walked to a filing cabinet, took out two
large files, threw them down on the table. Mattheus opened the files. Photos of
Tiffany lying mangled on the beach spilled out in front of them. It was hard
for Cindy to actually look at them.

“Body, stabbed twelve times, ultimately
strangled with bare hands,” said Marc. “See the marks on the neck.”

“Overkill,” said Mattheus, looking at the
photos carefully. “Points to someone she knew.”

“Definitely,” Marc agreed.

“Or else a lunatic, high on drugs, out of his
mind, searching for power,” Tomas broke in, his small eyes squinting.

Jean Pierre took exception. “We don’t have
those kinds coming here,” he said.

“There’s always a first time,” Tomas, replied. “A
killing like this can be the extra high some are searching for. Guests on this
island have everything.  I mean, where do you go after you get to the top?
Where’s your next thrill coming from?”

Cindy shivered. This guy was grim. But he was
more real than the others.

“How do you guys go about catching someone like
that?” Mattheus jumped in.

“We call in the police from Guadeloupe,” said
Marc. “There’s plenty of back up available.”

“Have you done that yet in this case?”

“The order is in,” Tomas replied.

“What else do you have about the murder?”
Mattheus wanted every last detail. “Any physical evidence, DNA?”

Marc stood up and shook his head. “We’ll take
you down to see the scene yourself. It was on the beach. The water came lapping
up over the body, washing most everything away.”

Mattheus wasn’t having it. “Was she raped in
the process?”

“Not sure,” said Marc. “Looks like it, could
be. There was definitely damage.”

“That’s important,” said Mattheus. “It changes
the picture. Did he leave any semen?”

“No semen,” Marc said fitfully. “Nothing under
her fingernails or on her body either to show a fight or struggle.”

“She just succumbed to it?” Mattheus asked.

“Looks like it,” said Marc.

“Or, the guy prepared himself carefully,”
Mattheus went on. “Most likely wore a condom and rubber gloves. Could have been
a crime of passion, but he also planned it down to the last detail. Had to know
police procedure too. Could be we’ve got a real professional on our hands. I’d
bet anything this isn’t his first time. How long was she there before the body
was found?”

“Almost sixteen hours,” Jean Pierre chimed in.

“Nobody came looking for her before that?”
asked Cindy.

“There are lots of parties going on all over,”
said Marc. “I guess people thought she was at one and stayed longer than she’d
planned. It’s not so unusual.”

“What about her fiancée?” Cindy continued. “He
didn’t go looking for her?”

“No, he didn’t,” said Marc. “He said she’d sometimes
hang out with friends and forget about time. He figured she met up with some of
them and was partying.”

Cindy listened closely. She remembered times she’d
been gone longer than usual and Mattheus hadn’t checked up on her either. It
had bothered her, but she hadn’t said anything. Clint always had checked up
right away. He would never have let something like this happen.

“We’ve talked to the fiancée plenty,” Tomas
broke in. “His alibi is air tight. He was scuba diving at the time.”

“I heard,” said Mattheus.

“From everything I heard, their relationship
was good,” Tomas continued. “We talked to Tiffany’s family, friends on the
boat, and also Tad’s family. No one thinks Tad is involved in any way. They say
he was a terrific boyfriend and that she was thrilled about getting engaged.
They were happy that night at their party, dancing, laughing, like that.”

Cindy took a deep breath. Tad did seem like a
decent young man.

“What about Tad’s family?” Mattheus plunged on.

“They’re rich, cold and haven’t much to say,
except what a great kid Tad is. They have a daughter who can be a loose wire,
but she had nothing to do with this.”

“Daughter has an alibi?” Cindy burst in.

“Yeah, she does, but that’s going too far,”
Jean Pierre said. “The victim was raped. It couldn’t have been a woman.”

“How do you know it was rape?” Cindy said. “Signs
of sexual violence?”

“Not really.”

“Could have been the rapist that hit St. Bart’s
years ago,” Marc chimed in, “the short guy, who watched couples having sex from
behind bushes. Then, when it was over, he’d knock out the guy and rape and kill
the gal. Remember him?”

“That was ten years ago,” Tomas made a face. “He
was caught. He’s in jail for life.”

They were grabbing at straws, not even sure if Tiffany
had definitely been raped. Somehow Cindy didn’t feel sex had much to do with
the crime.

“The sex could have had nothing to do with the
crime,” Cindy said. “It could have been consensual sex before the murder
happened.”

“Odd that there would be no semen left then,”
Mattheus said.

“No, I like the way you think,” Tomas focused
on Cindy. “I said the same thing myself. No reason to link sex to this killing.
The guys from Guadeloupe will look into it more.”

“And we’re also here,” said Mattheus.

Tomas frowned. “We’ll take you to the scene of
the crime, and then there’s not much more we can do for you.”

“What about the rich Moguls on the island?”
Mattheus threw it out casually, as if he were unsuspectingly tossing a fishing
rod into shark infested waters.

“What about them?” Tomas looked startled.

“It was the Senator’s daughter who was killed,”
Mattheus repeated. “Could be there was another motive for the crime? I heard
the Senator was causing a problem for some rich guys on the island who are
determined to build.”

“You mean build the casino?” Marc asked,
defensively.

“For starters,” said Mattheus.

Tomas stood up tall then and walked over to
Mattheus.

“Now you’re going a little too far,” he said,
getting into Mattheus’ face. “This kind of investigation is not a good place to
go.”

“Why not?” Mattheus wouldn’t relent.

“This island is run by old, rich, ruling
families,” Tomas said under his breath. “It’s been that way for a long, long
time. There’s big money at stake here, especially in real estate. These
families don’t take it well when outsiders come in and start poking around.”

“You mean they didn’t like the Senator?” asked Mattheus.

“I mean you,” Tomas said huskily, “and your
lovely partner here.” He threw a glance at Cindy that was anything but
complimentary. “They’re not going to like it if you start poking around in
their private lives.”

Cindy’s heart pounded for a moment. They were
being warned to lay low, look away from possible motives and evidence. She
wouldn’t have any part of it. Cindy could never tolerate being threatened and
she wasn’t going to start now.

“I heard the girl who was killed was the
Senator’s favorite daughter,” Cindy continued defiantly, letting Tomas know
exactly where she stood. “If the Senator had gotten in someone’s way, this
killing would be a perfect revenge.”

“You probably heard a lot of things,” Tomas was
trying to keep her down. “You got quite a little lady here,” he said to
Mattheus then, closing his lips tight.

“We’re good partners,” Mattheus remarked. “We
don’t let a stone go unturned. Not even a worm infested stone.”

Tomas guffawed, “Think you’re pretty hot, eh?”

But Cindy got what these guys were saying, loud
and clear. Stay out of the politics on the island. Focus on someone who was inconsequential,
like Tad. Let dirty dogs lay.

“Let’s go see the crime scene,” Mattheus broke
into the tense atmosphere that was becoming more intense by the moment.