Death by Proposal (10 page)

Cindy
felt put in her place as she and Mattheus left their room and went straight to
the gym on the third floor.

“Sean’s
waiting for us there,” Mattheus mentioned as they got into the elevator. “It’s
high time someone talked to him.”

“What
did you find out about him so far?” Cindy asked, switching into professional
mode.

“Not
much yet,” said Mattheus, “I’ve been busy investigating Kate and Clay and their
families first. Nothing worth reporting. Everything with them is on the up and
up. They both come from terrific families, had everything they ever needed.
There’s nothing in either of their backgrounds that would lead to this.”

The
elevator door slid open and Cindy and Mattheus walked down the hall to the gym
at the end. They walked through large double doors and Cindy looked around. The
gym was a huge and well equipped with big glass windows, overlooking the ocean.
Right now it was practically empty with a few people on treadmills and a guy
doing weights.

“We’re
here to talk to Sean McKenzie,” Mattheus said to the young woman who was sitting
at the front table. “He’s expecting us.”

“Yes,
he told me to tell you he’s boxing in the back,” she said, casually, as if the
visit were the most natural thing in the world.

Mattheus
nodded and Cindy glanced around. Two punching bags hung down at the end of the room
with someone in the distance, skirting around. It had to be Sean.

“He’s
over there,” Cindy motioned to Mattheus.

“Figures
the guy would be punching something out,” said Mattheus.

“There’s
all kinds of ways to get frustration out,” said Cindy. “Don’t be too quick on
the draw.”

Mattheus
smiled, put his arm around Cindy and hugged her for a second.

“Okay,
I won’t,” he said. “And I hope you’re not upset with what I said a little while
ago.”

Even
though she knew what he was talking about, Cindy pretended she didn’t. There
was no reason to make a big deal about it now.

 
“What did you say?” she asked lightly.

“About
our relationship changing all the time, high tide and low tide,” Mattheus
reminded her.

Cindy
laughed. “Oh yes, you said it was dangerous.”

“It
can be dangerous when the tide comes in and you’re not expecting it,” Mattheus
joked back.

“Life
is dangerous, Mattheus,” Cindy said then, “but it’s also amazing. Low tide is
beautiful and high tide is too.”

“Yeah,”
he replied, “as long as you’re not thrown up against the rocks by it. As long
as you’re not found dead on the pavement early in the morning right after you
just got engaged.”

“Even
that,” Cindy responded, “it’s amazing, too. It’s worth the risk, isn’t it?”

Mattheus
looked at her and smiled, impressed.  “You’re right,” he said. “Forget it, I
mouth off sometimes.” Then he zeroed in as they approached the figure in the
back, now punching the boxing bags for all he was worth.

As
Cindy and Mattheus came closer, Sean wiped the sweat off his face with the back
of his arm, tossed his dark hair off his forehead, and looked up at them.

“What
brings you two here?” he started, his feet still dancing around.

“How
about we go and sit and the bench near the window?” Mattheus started.

“I
like it here,” said Sean.

Mattheus
took a step closer. “It’s better to sit at the window,” he repeated.

“Have
it your way,” said Sean, joining them and sitting down.

Cindy
looked out at the vast sky behind them, and the surf rolling up on the shore.
The day was still cloudy and unsettled, just like the case, she thought.

“We
hear you and Kate knew each other for a long time,” Mattheus started.

A
swift look of pain crossed Sean’s face, “Yeah,” he said. “I’m surprised the
cops didn’t come and talk to me sooner.”

“Me
too,” said Cindy.

“You
guys aren’t the police?” asked Sean, quickly.

“We’re
private detectives,” said Cindy.

“Working
for who?” Sean seemed more nervous.

“We
were hired by Kate’s family,” Mattheus said.

“It
figures,” said Sean.

“It
was a good move by them, don’t you think?” asked Cindy. “I mean you want to
find out what happened to Kate, too, right?”

The
question threw Sean off balance. “Do I want to find out? What kind of question
is that? You better believe I want to know exactly what happened. But, it’s
obvious, isn’t it?”

“Nothing
is obvious in a criminal case,” Mattheus responded tartly.

“Now
it’s a criminal case?” Sean flared up. “I heard on the radio they were calling
it suicide.”

“That’s
one of the possibilities,” Mattheus put his face close to Sean’s. He was
obviously trying to unnerve him, get him to spill whatever was on his mind. “But
it’s not definite yet.”

Strangely
enough, Sean seemed relieved that the case wasn’t settled.

 “Good,”
he said, “I can’t imagine that it was suicide. Kate wasn’t like that.”

“We
heard that Kate was suffering pretty badly after you guys broke up,” Cindy
intervened.

Sean
straightened up and looked over at her. “We broke up and got together a
thousand times,” he said, his voice huskier. “We never broke up for good.”

“This
time you did, though,” said Mattheus, grimly.

Sean
seemed punched in the belly by that. “I didn’t think it was for good,” he
replied. “I tried to get back with her. She was giving me a hard time, just wouldn’t
do it.”

“Was
this the first time she wouldn’t?” asked Cindy.

“Sometimes
she said she wouldn’t,” Sean continued, “but she always did. We just waited it
out, missed each other, said we were sorry and promised things would be good
this time. Then we got back together.”

“Kate
said she was sorry or just you?” asked Mattheus, his face darkening. This
interview was obviously upsetting him. It was easy to see he didn’t like Sean,
or believe what he was telling him.

“Yeah,
sometimes Kate was sorry,” Sean answered fitfully. “Why? You think I was the
only one who ever did something wrong?”

“Were
you?” asked Mattheus.

“Hell,
no,” Sean threw his hair back off his forehead ahead and stared down Mattheus. “You
think she was some kind of angel or something?”

Cindy
could suddenly see why Kate had been so attracted to Sean. He was very good
looking and had a tough, animal energy that didn’t back down. On the surface he
and Kate seemed very different. It must have been a perfect balance between
them.”

“What
did Kate do wrong, Sean?” Cindy broke in. “How did she hurt you?”

Sean
swallowed hard. “It’s about time someone asked me that,” he started, “everyone
always said I was the bad guy, but I wasn’t. Kate had her moods, believe me.
She could be warm one minute and cold as ice the next. It got to me. I hated
it. Some of my friends even finally said she enjoyed playing me.”

“What
do you mean playing you?” asked Mattheus, alerted.

“They
said Kate enjoyed seeing me need her, dangling me on the edge of a string,” said
Sean.

“She
did that?” asked Mattheus, his eyes narrowing.

“Sometimes
she did,” said Sean.

“That
must have pissed you off, big time,” said Mattheus.

“And
what did you do about it?” Cindy interrupted.

“I
told you, when I had enough, we broke up. Or, when she was sick of me, we took
a break. Then we missed each, talked it over and got back together again. It
was an old story. Everyone knew it. Ask anyone you want.”

“There’s
no getting back now, though, is there?” asked Mattheus.

Sean
looked as though it had just hit him.

“Did
you also bring other girls you were dating to see Kate?” Mattheus asked, trying
to smoke him out.

Sean
lurched up, ran over to the boxing bags, and began dancing around them again.

“Get
back here, Sean, sit down on the bench,” Mattheus ordered.

“I
never brought any other girl to see her, ever,” cried Sean. “I never cheated on
Kate before, ever.”

“You
two were broken up when you went out with Riva?” asked Mattheus.

“Yes,
we were,” Sean seemed sadder.

“So,
it wasn’t cheating exactly, was it?” Mattheus said.

Sean’s
eyes opened wide. “You can say that again,” he shouted. “That’s what I told her
again and again. I said I was sorry and it wasn’t cheating. We were broken up.”

“She
didn’t buy it though, did she?” Mattheus kept the pressure up.

“No,
she didn’t,” said Sean, “no matter what I said, she refused to forgive me. She
wouldn’t even talk. That’s why I brought Riva with me. I wanted her to tell
Kate exactly when we got together, that it was after Kate and I broke up.”

“I
saw you and Riva at Kate’s table in the dining room, the night she died,” said
Cindy abruptly, shifting the tone of the conversation and throwing Sean off
balance.

Sean
spun around. “What the hell do you mean you saw me there?” He was
discombobulated.

“Mattheus
and I just happened to be having dinner at the table next to Kate’s.”

“Yeah,
I believe that, like I believe a horse became a fish and started to swim,” Sean
spit out.

“It’s
true though,” said Cindy.

“Kate’s
uncle put you up it? He told you to go sit there next to her table? “asked Sean.

“Not
at all,” said Cindy. “We sat there before we ever met Kate’s uncle. It was the
night before she died.”

“I
don’t believe a word of this,” Sean growled.

“Okay,”
Mattheus moved in on him fiercely. “You let us know whatever you got, right
now. None of this looks good for you, buddy.”

Sean
punched his fists against the wall then. “Nothing ever looks good for me, does
it?” he murmured. “I’m used to it.”

“Tell
us what you know,” Mattheus insisted.

“I
told you the truth, like it or not,” Sean spoke faster, scared. “When I knocked
at her door and yelled that night, it made me crazy to think that Kate was in
there with someone else. Crazy. How dare she? I knocked and begged her to come
back! I banged at the door, but she didn’t answer. No one did. It was dead
quiet inside.”

Cindy
froze, unmoving.  Sean had just admitted that it was him banging at the door
and yelling. That was huge. It opened a new window for them. She and Mattheus
had to let the police know about this immediately. The police would have to
take Sean in for questioning, they wouldn’t be able to wrap up the case up as a
suicide so fast.

“When
you knocked on the door, was she already dead?” Mattheus’s eyes squinted. That
was shocking information for him as well.

“How
the hell do I know?” Sean looked like he was about to gag. “No one answered.
There was not a sound inside. Who knows who this guy she was with really is? Who
knows what he did to her?”

“There’s
absolutely no evidence in Clay’s past that points to anything suspicious,” said
Mattheus.

“Kate
met him online,” said Cindy, wanting more from Sean.

Sean
put his hands over his ears. “I know she did. I don’t want to hear any more
about him.”

“Where
did you meet Riva?” Cindy asked.

“Both
Kate and I knew her a long time,” said Sean, suddenly looking like a scared kid.
“Riva went to school with us. She’s from a poor family and hung out with a
different crowd.”

“It
must have been awful for Kate to see Riva here with you,” Cindy insisted.

“Yeah,
that’s right,” Sean’s face curled up in a look of contempt, “and it was awful
for me to see her with that guy. He wasn’t her type anyway. Seemed like some
kind of boring stiff, if you asked me.”

“Okay,”
Mattheus said, disgusted. “We’re going to have to call this in, Sean. You told
us yourself you were the one banging on Kate’s door.”

“Sure
I was, but so what?” Sean yelled.

“People
on Kate’s floor reported they heard someone banging on the door and yelling,”
Mattheus said. “No one said they saw who it was though.”

“That’s
not true,” Sean spit out. “Someone at the end of the hall on the right side
opened their door and looked at me. A lady in a pink bathrobe.”

“You’re
sure of that?” asked Mattheus.

“Positive.
She kept saying, be quiet, so I turned and looked at her. About thirty years
old.”

“We’ll
check it out,” said Cindy.

“What
difference does it make, anyway?” asked Sean. “Kate never opened her door. I
never got in to see her.”