Death by Jealousy (9 page)

As
soon as they returned, Mattheus and Cindy went their separate ways. Cindy
decided to speak with Vivien first, then Tad, then Nora. She phoned upstairs to
the Interrogation room, where the police were stationed. They had agreed to put
her and Mattheus in touch with whomever they needed when they needed it. Cindy
asked to speak to Vivien.

The
police called back in a few moments and told her that as luck would have it,
Vivien and Tad were together at the moment, downstairs at the pool. They’d been
notified that she wanted to speak to them and were waiting for her there.

Cindy
went straight out back to the sprawling pool at the side of the hotel. It was
surrounded by beach chairs, umbrellas and small wooden tables, where waiters came
regularly, serving drinks. The day had grown cloudier and cooler and Cindy
wondered why Vivien and Tad had chosen to spend time there. Most of the chairs
at the pool were empty and it was easy to see them sitting close together,
towels around their shoulders, waiting for her.

When
Cindy approached the two of them stood up and faced her. Vivien wore a black
bikini with a net cover up, and her long, red hair hung down to her shoulders. Mattheus
was right, she was a total knockout, with huge green eyes and a sensual energy
that wove a web around her.

Vivien
ran her hand through her hair as Cindy got closer.

“I
knew you’d want to talk to me,” she said in a breathy tone that betrayed her
anxiety.

“Thanks
for your time,” Cindy replied, also glancing over at Tad.  He had a steady, cam
quality to him. “Thanks to both of you.”

Tad
simply nodded. “Of course I’ll be glad to speak to you, but I’ve really told
the police and your partner Mattheus all I know,” he said.

“I’d
like to speak to you as well,” said Cindy.

Vivien
reached out and took his hand. “You can talk to both of us now,” she said
smiling, displaying a row of perfect, glistening, white teeth.

“I’d
rather talk to each of you alone,” said Cindy.

Vivien
shivered slightly, “Why?”

“There
may be something personal you’ll want to tell me,” Cindy responded.

“There’s
nothing I have to tell you that Tad hasn’t heard a hundred times,” Vivien murmured.
“We’re absolutely best friends.”

“I
thought you and Peter were best friends,” Cindy was quick on the uptake.

“I
have a lot of best friends,” Vivien replied, a little muscle near her full
mouth, twitching. “I’m not the kind who needs to hide away with just one person.”

“Like
Allie was?” asked Cindy.

Vivien
paused, as if surprised that Cindy knew what she meant.

“You’re
the one who said it, not me,” Vivien retorted.

Tad
stepped in promptly, not wanting this to go further.

“Vivien’s
close to lots of people and Allie was, too. They’re just very different women.”

“In
what way?” asked Cindy.

“Allie
couldn’t share Peter with anyone,” Vivien blurted out, in a plaintive tone.  “She
wanted him all for himself.”

Cindy
looked at Vivien’s eyes flaming.

“I
was close to Peter before he met Allie,” she went on quickly. “She couldn’t
take it though, even though he told her a hundred times we were just good
friends.”

“Some
women have a hard time with that,” said Cindy quietly.

“Sure
they do,” said Vivien, “but not the way Allie did. She wanted Peter to be her
personal possession, got upset each time the two of us talked. Give me a break.
I was his best friend for years. She didn’t even want me to be down here for
the wedding.”  Vivien’s eyes flamed once again.

Cindy
decided to play the devil’s advocate. “Plenty of women wouldn’t want their
groom’s ex girl friend at their wedding.”

Vivien
threw her head back, “Thank God, Peter wouldn’t buy into something like that. I
was more than an ex-girlfriend, I was his best friend for years.”

“This
must have been hard on Peter, too,” Cindy turned to Tad then.

Tad’s
face was implacable, no trace of a response.

“Peter
took it in his stride,” Tad finally said in a measured tone. “By the way, aren’t
you employed by Peter’s family? Didn’t they bring you down on the case?”

Obviously
Tad was putting Cindy in her place. She found it startling and interesting.

“Yes,
Peter’s parents hired Mattheus and I. Exactly what are you getting at?” she asked.

“I
know his parents were desperate to take Peter out of the spotlight,” said Tad. “He
doesn’t belong in it.”

Was
Tad was suggesting that Cindy and Mattheus skew their investigation, come up
with the results they were paid to find? Not only was that illegal, it was
shocking that he would even bring something like that up.

“We’re
committed to finding out what happened to Allie,” said Cindy. “If Peter wasn’t
involved, the spotlight will be taken off him, naturally.”

“If?”
Vivien almost gasped. “Are you suspecting Peter?”

“Not
at all,” said Cindy. “I’m just responding to Tad’s comment.”

Again,
Tad’s face was unreadable. “Peter’s been my close friend for many years. He doesn’t
deserve to go through this right after his fiancée has died.”

“The
only way to take the spotlight off Peter is for us to find the one who did it,”
said Cindy. “I’d like to know what you think about that? And also what Vivien
thinks?”

“She
drowned,” said Tad, suddenly saddened. “Nobody wanted her to die.”

“What
do you think, Vivien?” asked Cindy.

“I
have no idea what happened down there, or what was going on in her private
life. Allie shut me out of it, entirely. I’m not close to her friends. I’m
close to Peter, and I’m close to Mac.”

Cindy
shivered for no reason she was aware of. Vivien noticed immediately.

“Mac
and I are very close, actually, “Vivien said, in a taunting tone, a little
smile curling at the edge of her mouth. “He’s a wonderful man who’s always
there for everybody, including me.”

“You
didn’t feel badly about coming to a wedding when you knew the bride didn’t want
you there?” Cindy responded tensely.

“My
best friend wanted me there,” Vivien answered, staring at Cindy defiantly. “Why
are you even asking, am I some kind of a suspect now?”

“Should
you be?” Cindy wanted to break Vivien’s cover, expose what was beneath her
silky veneer. “Seems like you had a lot to benefit from Allie’s disappearing.”

Vivien
gasped and grabbed onto Tad’s arm.

“You’re
totally crazy,” Vivien said, glaring at Cindy, “that’s a horrible, horrible
thing to say.”

Tad
didn’t like that, either. He stepped out in front, blocking Vivien.

“Peter
would have been devastated if Vivien wasn’t at the wedding,” Tad defended her
vehemently. “So would the rest of Peter’s family. Your line of questioning is
out of order.”

“And
you?” Cindy asked Tad, “Are you close to Vivien as well?”

“Not
exactly,” said Tad, taking a step away. “We know each other, but close is a
whole different matter.”

To
Cindy’s surprise, Vivien showed no response to Tad’s odd remark. Cindy absorbed
it all as the wind grew stronger, tossing the three of them about a bit.

“I
think we should go in now,” Vivien said, looking at Tad. “It’s way too windy
out here.”

Cindy
was about to agree when she turned bit and  saw someone standing on the other
side of the pool, watching them all from afar.

“That’s
Mac,” said Tad, “a good friend of the family.”

“Cindy
knows Mac,” Vivien purred. “Mac, come over and join us. Right away!”

As
soon as Vivien called out, Mac walked quickly in their direction, the wind
blowing his hair as well.

“Good
to see you all,” he said, as though the meeting was perfectly normal, old
friends running into each other at a pool. “Nor Easter coming, I’ve heard.”

Vivien
dashed over and stood close beside him, looking at Cindy dauntingly.

 “Cindy
has just said something awful about me,” she spoke coyly, looking up into Mac’s
eyes.

“Really,
what?” Mac seemed troubled.

“Cindy
thinks I had something to do with Allie’s disappearance,” Vivien’s voice rose
in the heightening wind.

“Silly,”
Mac said to Vivien, as though he were speaking to a schoolgirl, who’d had a bad
dream. He turned his glance to Cindy then, and once again she felt the magnetic
attraction between them, was irritated by Vivien’s hand on his arm.

Cindy
caught her breath quickly, and regained her footing. Mac could be irresistible
when he wanted to be. She wasn’t going to fall for it.

Cindy
looked directly into Mac’s eyes. “I actually never said that Vivien had
anything to do with what happened. I was just exploring her relationship with
Allie.”

Mac
smiled at both of them, as if wanting to make peace.  “I understand,” he said.

“It
was a rough relationship,” Vivien repeated.

Mac
smiled at Cindy. “You know how girls can be. Vivien and Allie loved fighting
over Peter. Most gals enjoy fighting over the same guy.”

Cindy
was offended. There was nothing in the world she hated more.

“In
fact, it’s a national pastime down on the Island,” Mac joked, trying to melt their
concerns. “The girls love seeing who’s prettier, sexier, who can win the guy’s heart.”

“Allie
won, though,” Cindy answered crisply. “She was marrying Peter. The fight was
over.”

“I
won, too,” Vivien insisted. “Peter cared about me.”

“Yes,
he did,” Mac said to Vivien. Then he turned to Cindy. “Just because Allie was
marrying Peter didn’t mean she was locking him into a cage. A guy’s allowed to
have other friendships.”

“A
husband respects his wife’s wishes,” Cindy stood her ground staunchly. “If something
bothers her – the husband respects that.”

Tad
cleared his throat. “Peter respected Allie more than anyone in the world.”

Vivien
winced.

“Peter
gave Allie whatever she wanted,” Tad continued, “there was no reason Allie
couldn’t have allowed him to have Vivien at the wedding.”

“Thank
you, Tad,” breathed Vivien.

“Was
there anyone Peter didn’t respect?” Cindy jumped right back in. “Anyone he had
trouble with?”

 “Peter
hated Allie’s mother,” Vivien burst out. “He told me that many times. Maybe he
was scared Allie would turn out like her.”

“Wait
a minute,” Mac chimed in. “Peter never hated anybody.”

“Why
hasn’t anyone spoken to Allie’s parents?” Cindy asked abruptly then. She felt a
visceral need to speak to Allie’s mother.

“The
police spoke to them when it happened,” said Mac. “Since then her parents haven’t
been out of their room. They demand privacy, don’t want to see Peter or his
family right now.”

 “Allie’s
mother blames everyone for everything that’s gone wrong in her life,” Vivien
continued, her voice growing rougher. “Peter told me. He told me things. We
were close friends.”

Cindy
shuddered. “What about your parents, Vivien? Are they at the wedding, too?”

“My
parents died in a car accident when I was little,” said Vivien. “I was raised
by my Aunt in Atlanta. What has this got to do with anything?”

Mac
also looked curious about why Cindy asked that. Cindy wasn’t entirely sure
herself.

“Just
curious,” said Cindy.

“Well,
I’ve had enough,” said Vivien, looking at Mac beseechingly.

“You
two go upstairs,” said Mac to Vivien and Tad. “I’ll talk to Cindy alone.”

“I’m
sure that will make Cindy happy,” Vivien said snidely, as she tossed her hair
behind her shoulders, shook her head and fled with Tad back into the hotel.

“That
was harsh,” said Mac after he and Cindy were alone together and darker clouds began
covering the sky. “It’s a side of you I didn’t imagine.”

“It
was only harsh in the interest of getting Vivien to open up. Sometimes there’s
no other way to get at the truth.”

“Vivien’s
a beautiful girl, she doesn’t need this,” Mac interjected.

“No
one needs it,” said Cindy, “but like it or not, Vivien’s involved.”

Mac
seemed put off. “How?”

“Vivien’s
a guest at the wedding, even though Allie didn’t want her here. There was bad
blood between her and the victim for a long time. It goes to motive.”

“That’s
ridiculous,” Mac exclaimed.

“Why?”
asked Cindy. “Vivien’s an orphan and who was now in the process of losing her
best friend – Peter.”

Mac
laughed. “There’s no way Vivien would ever lose Peter.”