Death by Obsession (3 page)

“Quite a crew,” said Mattheus.

“Powerful,” Cindy agreed. “They all looked beautiful,
successful, on top of the world. Lynch’s mother’s photo was there too, over and
over again, her bright eyes glittering, her head held high.

“That’s Lynch’s mother Raina,” Mattheus said,
pointing to her picture. “A big personality, for sure.”

Cindy looked at her more closely. She did seem to
dominate the page. In the family photos, Tara actually looked more fragile
beside her, almost as if she’d been pushed into the background.

“The mother and Lynch run the family business,”
Mattheus commented. “She’s got all the contacts in the world and doesn’t
hesitate to use them. I read a few articles about her. She’s also out there
dating. A real dynamo.”

Cindy made a sour face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mattheus.

“Dating so soon?” said Cindy.

Mattheus laughed. “Come on, are you judging her? It
takes guts to get out there at her age and get a new life.”

Cindy realized that what Mattheus said was true, but
she also recoiled at the idea of Lynch’s mother tearing up the town only a
couple of years after her husband died. She couldn’t imagine herself doing
that. In the beginning, soon after Cindy’s husband Clint was killed, she and
Mattheus only got together to work on cases. Their relationship had grown
organically and slowly into everything it was today.

“Wonder how Lynch feels about his mother’s behavior?”
Cindy asked.

“What are you talking about?” said Mattheus. “His
mother’s picture is all over his page. It must be a great relief to him to see
her happy. Looks like he’s very proud of her.”

“Could be,” said Cindy, reluctantly. “I’d like to
find out more.”

Of course there were lots of things it would be nice
to find out, thought Cindy, but time was of the essence. They had to stay on
laser like focus, didn’t have the luxury of letting their trail wind here and
there.

“We need to stay on focus,” Mattheus said himself. “It’s
a good idea find out if there’s anything the natives know about Lynch,
something that would naturally stay hidden down on the island. That’s the only
hope we’ve got.”

“Only hope?” asked Cindy.

Mattheus cocked his head and grinned. “Of course the
whole thing is lousy,” he said. “The real hope is that Lynch comes up clean and
fine. You got it right. You’re well trained, Cindy.”

Cindy smiled, “Well, I’ve been trained by the best,” she
answered, grinning back.

“I guess I did a good job,” Mattheus murmured.

Cindy pushed her computer back and pulled her chair
over to him. “You did more than a good job, Mattheus,” she whispered. “You’ve helped
me find out who I am and given me a whole new life.”

As the day rolled on and Cindy and Mattheus finished
checking both the computer and text messages and it was time to hit the clubs
and casinos.

“We can grab a quick lunch there, poke around, find
out who to talk to,” said Mattheus.  “I saw a couple of articles that mentioned
seeing Tara and Lynch at The Dream Casino. It’s as good a place as any to
start.

It was an incredibly beautiful, sunny afternoon and
Cindy knew the island would be hopping. Tourists would be filling the busy
streets, sightseeing, shopping for souvenirs and taking photos of each other
suntanned and smiling. The last place in the world Cindy felt like spending the
day was in a dark, sultry casino with fluorescent lighting, crowded with people
betting on their luck. But what Cindy wanted at the moment didn’t matter.
Something larger was at stake.

“First stop is the Dream Casino,” she said.

*

The Dream Casino was one of the largest casinos in
St. Martin, a place that never went to sleep.  Cindy and Mattheus walked
through the big, front doors and looked around. There were more than 500
machines and gaming tables offering roulette, baccarat, three card poker and
plenty of terrific restaurants. People sat at slot machines, staring, fervently
pulling the levers, waiting for the big hit.

Before doing anything else, Cindy and Mattheus walked
over to a Shak’Eat to grab a quick bite. Then they would see what they could
dig up. Mattheus had made some calls and found the names of a few guys who
could be helpful. Mattheus’s close friend Rodney was the best of all. A cop on
another island who was hip to everything that went on, Rodney gave him Mattheus
name of the right guy to talk to. He even said that he’d personally contact the
guy to let him know that Cindy and Mattheus would be arriving soon. No worries,
Rodney would do everything in his power for them.

              As soon after they sat down at a table
for lunch, Mattheus called and let Rodney know they’d arrived at the casino.
Rodney was all over it. Before Cindy knew it, she saw a large, heavy, somewhat
greasy man sauntering over to them.

“C and M detectives?” he asked, rubbing his face as
he pulled out a chair and joined them. “Edwin Case here.”

“Thanks for coming by,” said Mattheus.

“When Rodney calls I jump,” Edwin grinned. “Your wish
is my command. You guys having a good time? Can we make it better?”

“We’re here to find out about Lynch Sprain,” Mattheus
jumped right in.

Edwin’s eyebrows raised a bit. “Lynch Sprain?” 

“You know who he is?” asked Mattheus.

“Everyone down here knows Lynch Sprain,” Edwin
answered, “the guy’s a big fish. His company owns half the island and the
wedding’s all over the papers. What’s up?”  Edwin was waiting for more from
Mattheus, uneasy about saying anything more. He was tossing the ball back into
Mattheus’s court.

“You tell me what’s up,” Mattheus countered.

Edwin took a quick look over his shoulder and then
focused dead square on Mattheus. “What are you up to? What do you want to know?”
he repeated.

“Lynch comes here to play the tables much?” asked Mattheus,
as if he knew more about him than he actually did.

“Not that I noticed,” said Edwin, nervous.

“Tell me about his company,” Mattheus continued.

“On the up and up. It’s a good company, I never heard
anything different.” Edwin rubbed his fat hands on his knees then and threw a
quick glance at Cindy.

“This is Cindy Blaine, my partner,” said Mattheus, so
Edwin wouldn’t be concerned about her listening in.

“Pleased to meet you,” Edwin replied.

“The family pay off the casino?” Mattheus asked,
overly familiar, his voice dropping an octave.  It was an old trick of his, to
take his opponent off guard.

“Not that I heard,” Edwin mumbled. “Why the hell are
you asking me this? Is something wrong?”

At that Mattheus’s eyes flashed open, “Is there?” he
asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Edwin.

“I believe you do,” said Mattheus, “or Rodney wouldn’t
have suggested you come over and talk.”

At the mention of Rodney, Edwin got restless and
shifted in his seat. “What’s this all about?” Edwin was on the offensive now.

Mattheus took a bold leap.  “I happen to know there’s
trouble in the family and there’s money in it for you to tell me what it is.”

“What kind of money are we talking about?” Edwin
replied, taken off guard.

“Plenty of money,” Mattheus whispered.

“Look, I don’t know a thing about it,” Edwin repeated
in a slurred tone. “But I know someone who knows whatever trouble is going on
within a hundred square miles.”

“Perfect,” said Mattheus, breaking into a grin.

Edwin seemed distressed. “Someone blackmailing Lynch?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” said Mattheus.

“For what? He’s a damn nice kid, hasn’t done anything
wrong all the time I’ve ever known him. Treats everyone good, treats everyone
fair.”

 It was easy to see that Edwin liked Lynch and wanted
to protect him. Cindy wanted to break in and say something to ease his
feelings, but she had to let Mattheus’s line of questioning take its natural course.
It was Mattheus’s way to get information out of people.

“Lynch’s had a rough time with his father dying,”
Edwin went on, mulling. “He was just getting back on his feet now. We’re all
happy about his wedding. People wish him well.”

“Nice to hear that,” said Mattheus, acting totally
unimpressed.

“We wish him well, too,” Cindy couldn’t contain
herself. “This is just a routine investigation.”

Edwin wasn’t buying it. “Nothing routine about it,”
he spit out. “You guys coming down here undercover, snooping around right
before the big day. Who put you up to it?”

Mattheus simply smiled.

“Okay, okay,” Edwin looked troubled. “I’ll give you
the name of someone else to talk to. But I’m only doing it because Rodney
called. If he hadn’t, I’d toss you guys out on your ears – coming down like black
crows, hunting for bad news, a couple of days before the kid gets married.”

Cindy felt flustered, but Mattheus showed no reaction
at all.

“Well, I’m glad Rodney called,” said Mattheus. “And
we’d certainly appreciate that name.”

Edwin gave them the name of Nick Cantro, a dealer who
worked at a casino two miles away.

“Lynch goes to that casino from time to time,” said
Edwin. “And Nick knows everyone and everything going on in St. Martin. He also
knows Lynch personally quite well.

Mattheus took the name, thanked Edwin, and said they
would be back with something for him.

 “Jesus,” Edwin mumbled, as they got up to leave, “Lynch
in trouble? It’s the last thing I’d expect.”

*

“Bingo,” said Mattheus as he and Cindy were on their
way to the Beach Casino, two miles down the road. “We got the name of our
informant. Now, let’s see what we get out of him.”

Cindy was disturbed at how excited Mattheus was. She
felt as though she were on a fool’s mission, trying to spoil the happiness of a
lovely, young, happy couple to satisfy the needs of a bitter father.

Cindy looked out the taxi window at the shops all
around, the restaurants, clubs, and outdoor cafes. The place was bursting with
life and energy.  Part of her wanted to forget all about the assignment and join
the fun.

The taxi turned around a bend and up towards the
Beach Casino. Cindy thought about their talk with Edwin Case. “That guy seemed
to really like and admire Lynch,” Cindy said.

“Maybe he does and maybe he doesn’t,” said Mattheus. “We
don’t really know anything about it, yet. If everything here is on the up and
up, that will be a good thing to know. Then we’ll look closer at Aldon, and prevent
trouble with him up ahead.”

That made Cindy feel better. At least something good
could come of all this. She and Mattheus got out of the taxi and walked into the
entrance of another humongous casino sprawling with gaming tables, machines,
poker games and packed with people searching for lady luck.

 Before they could even begin to get their bearings,
a short guy in a purple shirt, with a few top buttons opened, came right over.

“I’m Nick,” he said, “come with me.”

Obviously Edwin had called Nick immediately. Cindy
was amazed at how tight people were here, how on top of everything.

Nick brought them over to a half empty lounge and sat
them down on the back sofas, out of view of the half nude waitress, marching around.

  “Need a drink?” Nick asked.

“No, we’re good,” said Mattheus.

“So, what’s the problem?” Nick leaned forward,
cupping his ear.

“I need whatever you have on Lynch Sprain,” Mattheus spoke
loudly, over the racket.

“So I heard,” said Nick.

 “There’s big money in this for you,” Mattheus added.
Aldon had told Mattheus not to spare a dime.

“How much?” asked Nick.

“Plenty.”

Nick grinned. “Who wants to know about Lynch? The
girlfriend?”

Cindy was startled. “What do you mean girlfriend? You
mean Tara, the fiancée?”

“I thought it could be the girlfriend making last
minute trouble, but what difference does it make?” said Nick.

“Plenty of difference,” Mattheus said. “Is there a
girlfriend in the picture?”

“There was a girlfriend, big time. Not now,” said
Nick.

“So, why did you mention her?” asked Cindy, ruffled.

Nick shifted a little. “I don’t know, thought she
might be getting nervous now with the wedding so close. And taking place right
in her face, down here in her backyard.”

“Lynch has a girlfriend living down here?” Cindy
asked again swiftly.

“Had, not has,” Nick repeated.

“How long have they been broken up?” Mattheus asked.

“Once Lynch met Tara, that was it. The girlfriend,
Bala, was history,” said Nick.

“Tara broken Lynch and Bala up?” Cindy was startled.

“Nah, not really,” Nick shook his head. “Lynch’s
relationship with Bala was really over about three months before he and Tara
met. He only checks in with the girlfriend once in a while because of the kid.”

Cindy shivered. “The what?”

“Lynch and Bala have a child together?” Mattheus
echoed, stunned.

“Yeah, a little boy, Paulie,” said Nick, unimpressed.
“Cute as hell, too. He’s about four years old now.”

Cindy felt as if the walls were crumbling around her.
How could this be possible? She looked at Mattheus quickly. Neither had heard a
word about this before.

“Is Lynch’s son going to be at the wedding?” asked
Cindy, carefully.

Nick looked at her as if she were crazy. “What kind
of stupid question is that to ask?” he said. “Of course he isn’t. No one knows
the kid even exists at all.”

Cindy was horrified.  “What do you mean no one knows?”

“That was part of the deal,” Nick filled them in. “Lynch
agreed to pay for the kid, but didn’t want anyone to know about him. A kid like
that wouldn’t sit well with his fancy family now, would it?”

“Wait a minute, back up, back up,” Mattheus was
having a hard time taking it in. “What kind of story are you telling us? Lynch
and Bala were married? They had a child?”

“Who said they were married?” asked Nick. “And yeah, the
boy lives down here with his mother. She’s Caribbean and Lynch pays for every
little thing. He takes good care of both of them.”

Cindy was stunned. Was it really possible that no one
knew about this? How did Nick know that?

              Mattheus’s head shook, unbelievingly.  “Back
up, back up,” he said. “How do you know Lynch takes care of the kid? How do you
know that no one knows about it?”

Nick quieted down and made a strange face. “You can
ask me for all the information you like, but you can’t ask me how I got it. I
just know. That’s got to be enough.”

“So, how do we know you’re telling the truth?” Cindy
jumped in.

Nick threw her a contemptuous look. “What reason
would I have to make it up? You came looking for me, I didn’t come looking for
you. Edwin told me to give you whatever I had.”

“You’ve seen this child?” asked Cindy, aghast.

“Sure I’ve seen him,” said Nick. “He’s a great,
little guy. What the hell is the fuss all about?”

“Lynch sees the kid? Hangs out with him?” Mattheus
was agitated.

“I didn’t say he hangs out with him,” Nick jumped in.
“He sends money. The kid has whatever he needs.”

“Except a father,” Cindy exclaimed.

“Now, wait a minute,” Mattheus took exception to
that. “The guy sends money to care for the son. He’s doing his job.”

“Just sending money?” Cindy was appalled.

“It’s more than plenty of fathers would do,” Mattheus
held his ground.

“Nick said nobody knows about the boy,” Cindy interjected.

“The kid’s mother is Caribbean,” Nick repeated.

“Is Lynch ashamed of that? Is that why he’s hiding
his son?” Cindy became more inflamed.

“Hell, Lynch and Bala had a thing going for a few
years and then this kid came along. Lynch stayed with her a little while after
he was born and then got out. What’s the big deal?” asked Nick.

“What’s the big deal that Lynch has a secret child?”
asked Cindy horrified by Nick’s reaction as well.

Mattheus stood up abruptly then. “I’ll need to know the
child’s full, date of birth and where he lives now. I also need the full name
of the mother.”

“No problem,” said Nick.

“Thanks, Nick,” Mattheus said quickly, extending his
hand. “I’ll be back with the money to take care of you.”

“Sure thing,” said Nick, shaking Mattheus’s hand
hard.

*

A light wind was blowing up as the afternoon was
winding down. Cindy and Mattheus stood on the street outside of the casino and
stared at each other in disbelief.

“You could knock me over with a feather,” said
Mattheus, “this is the last thing in the world I expected.”