Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (12 page)

Cindy
took a few steps away to a small chair and sat down on it. “I’ll talk to
Mattheus and call you about it,” she answered succinctly. “Of course we’re
broken up, but we’re still working a case together here.”

“I
realize that,” said Sean briskly, “but that doesn’t mean you stay in the same
room.”

*

Sean
left soon after and Cindy noticed that he hadn’t asked her anything at all
about her interview with Natalie.  Didn’t it matter, didn’t he care? Or, did he
know the answers already, and was just letting Cindy spin her wheels? Andrea
had said that the police couldn’t care less about what she’d told them. Cindy
stopped and wondered if the police had already decided Andrea was the killer
and were basically closed to looking further. If they pulled Mattheus in as an
accessory to the crime, that would certainly tighten their case.

Cindy
liked Sean, but wasn’t totally sure about him yet, either. Yes, he was strong
and uncompromising, but there were strange lapses in his behavior that were
unaccounted for. She didn’t like that he withheld information from her, or that
there were questions he’d never answer. Cindy had to face the fact that Sean
was definitely still an unknown.

*

 An
hour later, after Cindy had a light dinner and was preparing to go to bed, there
was suddenly a loud knock on her door. She wasn’t expecting anyone and startled,
she ran and double locked the door.

“Who
is it?” Cindy demanded.

“Mattheus,
open up,” the voice outside answered.

Cindy
sighed a breath of relief and opened the door slowly. Mattheus stood there,
looking exhausted and disheveled.

“Where
did you go when you left here?” Cindy asked as she stepped to the side to let
him in.

Mattheus
walked in staunchly. “I have people I’m working with down here, I went to see
them,” Mattheus replied.

Cindy
knew that Mattheus had a wide network of people all over the Islands who
respected him and would help with all kinds of connections and support.
Especially in a case like this, so directly connected to him.

“Sit
down,” Cindy offered.

Mattheus
kept standing. “I don’t trust that Sean guy one bit,” he started. “I don’t like
that you called him and that he was in your room when I got here.”

Cindy
took a deep, swift breath. “I’m working with the police on this, Mattheus. He’s
the point man for the case.”

“He’s
after me,” said Mattheus. “You’re gonna deny it?”

“I
won’t deny it,” said Cindy carefully. “But I won’t confirm it, either.  I’d say
he has questions about your involvement in the case.”

“That’s
ridiculous, he wants to lock me up with Andrea. Then they’re done with
everything. Case closed. The killer goes free.” Mattheus was on fire.

“Who’s
the killer, Mattheus?” Cindy suddenly had an urgent need to know what he
thought.

“I
have no idea. But I’ll find out for sure,” Mattheus’s jaw was set. “I’ve got my
own string of people investigating. This police force has been bought off, they’re
completely useless.”

“Bought
off by whom?” Cindy was stunned.

“When
we find that out we have the key,” Mattheus shot back, “and we’ll also know the
truth about Sean.”

Cindy’s
head started spinning. Mattheus was a great detective and she didn’t doubt
Mattheus’s motives, but Sean was right. He could be a ticking time bomb.

“Mattheus,”
Cindy turned to him swiftly, “why not give the investigation over to me, and
back off for a little while. Step away. Get off the Island.”

Mattheus
looked stunned. “And leave my daughter in their clutches?”

“I’m
on it, I’m good, I’ll take care of her,” Cindy insisted. “And the cops won’t
feel so threatened if you’re not around.  Then I can get the cooperation I need
from them. You put me in touch with your contacts and we’ll penetrate the web.”

Mattheus
wouldn’t even consider it. “First of all, Andrea won’t talk to you. She’ll
barely even talk to me,” he replied. “Secondly, the way things look to me, you’re
swept away by Sean. Before I know it, the two of you will turn on me.”

Cindy
sat down on the sofa, unnerved. She had no idea why Mattheus suspected her
loyalty so deeply.

“You
think I came down here to turn on you?” she asked, deeply saddened.

“No,
I think you came down here because you felt guilty,” Mattheus retorted. “You
pushed me to meet Andrea - so you have a hand in whatever happened next. I
think you came down here to clear your conscience – just like you became a
detective to clear your conscience about what happened with Clint. But are you
someone I can trust? Are you someone who’s really loyal to me? I’d have to say
no.”

Tears
stung Cindy’s eyes. “I’m not loyal because I went back home after you told me
you were leaving me to be with your daughter?”

“That’s
one reason,” Mattheus replied. “You’ve done it before, too. Just pulled out on
me without a moment’s notice.”

“And
your behavior had nothing to do with it, Mattheus?” Cindy was quick on the draw
now. “It’s all me? You’re the victim?”

“It’s
normal to want to be there for a daughter you hadn’t seen for her whole life,”
he replied, shaken.

“Okay,
it’s normal,” said Cindy, “but is it also normal to dump the woman you’re about
to get engaged to in the process?”

“I
didn’t dump you,” he insisted.

“Of
course you did,” said Cindy. “There was no discussion at all about it. You just
told me you were going and I was staying behind. There was no mention for how
long either. It could have been a year or more, for all I knew. I was disposed
of for your convenience and you didn’t even say you were sorry.”

Mattheus
listened and then walked to the window. “I was in a shocking situation, Cindy.
How often does a guy meet a daughter he abandoned at birth?”

“Sure
it was shocking,” said Cindy, “so, the way you handle it is to abandon me, too?”

“In
your eyes, I abandoned you. In my eyes, I did what was right,” he insisted.

“So
here we are now,” breathed Cindy, now trembling.  “And where do we go from
here? There’s no way to work for someone who doesn’t trust you.”

“What
are you doing,” Mattheus’s jaw clenched, “pulling out on me again?”

“No,
I’m not,” said Cindy. “I came down here to solve the case and I intend to do
it.  I made a commitment to justice.”

“You
made a commitment to justice and not to me?” Mattheus asked, startled.

Cindy
stopped and they looked at each other. “Did we ever make a commitment to each
other, Mattheus?”

There
was no way to answer that directly and Mattheus knew it. The muscles in his
face quivered.

“I
wanted to Cindy, I was about to do it,” Mattheus’s voice trembled.

Cindy
said nothing. “Wanting to doesn’t mean a thing. It doesn’t catch the gold ring,”
she finally muttered.

“So,
you intend to team up with Sean against me?” Mattheus quipped again.

“Not
at all. Sean and I are not a team. I’m working the case on my own, but I need
police support and protection. And I also need to move out of this hotel.
Whoever threw the note, knows I’m here.”

Mattheus
nodded bruskly.

“I
want to transfer to Hotel Washington,” Cindy continued, “and I want you to move
there with me as well.”

That
surprised Mattheus. “Why Hotel Washington, and why me?” he replied.

“However
you feel at the moment, we are still working this case together. We need to
share information.”

“I
got that,” said Mattheus, seemingly relieved, “but why Hotel Washington?”

“Sean
asked us to transfer to it,” Cindy replied matter of factly. “We’ll be safer
there, they can keep a better eye on us.”

“He
wants
us
to transfer there?” Mattheus asked, agitated.

“Yes,”
said Cindy, “in different rooms on the same floor.”

“And
where to from there?” asked Mattheus then. “What’s next?”

“For
me, more research for me into Andrea, her family and friends,” Cindy replied.

“What
did you find out about Andrea from Natalie?” Mattheus suddenly shot to
attention.

“More
than you want to know,” said Cindy, “much, much more.”

  Hotel
Washington was a few miles away, up on a hill, overlooking the ocean. It had
all the amenities anyone could want, including a beautiful pool, wonderful
restaurants, a top notch bar and rooms with large balconies. Sean arranged for
the move first thing the next morning and Cindy and Mattheus got there just
before breakfast. It was a tremendous relief to leave the other hotel. Cindy
wanted to ask Mattheus if he wanted to grab breakfast before they went to their
separate rooms, but was afraid it would seem too much like old times.

“Let’s
grab a bite of breakfast before we go to our rooms,” Mattheus jumped the gun.

Cindy
was hungry and she also wanted to normalize things between them. “Sure,” she
said quickly. It couldn’t hurt, and there was a lot they had to cover anyway.

*

Cindy
and Mattheus were quickly seated in a large, airy coffee shop, ordered
breakfast and breathed the sweet, refreshing ocean air. Cindy hadn’t felt so
comfortable since she’d arrived on the island.

Once
breakfast came and they started eating, Mattheus looked over at her. “I hope
you don’t totally hate me,” he said under his breath.

“Of
course I don’t hate you,” Cindy said casually.

“There’s
no excuse for some of the things I said last night,” Mattheus wouldn’t drop it.
“I was accusing you and that was awful.”

“It
wasn’t pleasant,” Cindy agreed. “You get like that, Mattheus, jealous and
suspicious. You lose perspective.”

“I’m
under terrible pressure,” Mattheus tried to defend himself.

“I
know,” said Cindy. “The case hits way too close to home.”

“It’s
tricky for me down in the underworld, too,” Mattheus continued. “Slimy beyond words,
so many rotten things happening down here, it’s hard to keep focus. These gangs
have their hands into everything, and I mean everything.”

“What
are you looking for, exactly?” asked Cindy.

“I’m
talking to people who knew Cain. I found out he was part of everything. Cain
worked for a guy named Pedro who orders routine executions of anyone who gets
in his way. Cain took the job on, did the dirty work, contracted the hits out
to people he knew.”

“The
middleman?” asked Cindy.

“You
could call him that,” said Mattheus.

“There’s
got to be lots of people who wanted Cain dead,” said Cindy.

“Absolutely,”
said Mattheus, “but no one messes with Cain, or they’re messing with Pedro. And
I heard Pedro’s fuming about Cain’s death.”

“Is
he trying to find out who killed Cain?”

“I’m
sure he is,” said Mattheus, “and most likely he knows.”

“Personal
vendetta?” mused Cindy, “or, maybe Pedro did it himself?”

“That’s
what I thought, too,” said Mattheus, “but the guys laughed when I asked that.
They say Pedro loved Cain like a brother.”

“So,
he’s got to know who did it, “Cindy felt nervous. How could something like this
happen under his watch and he not know?

“It’s
also possible this could have come out of left field,” Mattheus was musing, “could
have knocked Pedro for a loop as well?”

“Can
you get to talk to Pedro directly?” Cindy was fascinated. “He’s probably doing
our work for us, tracking down the killer as we speak.”

“That’s
what I’m trying to do,” said Mattheus. “I’m getting closer, too.”

“The
guys down there also have to know who threw the rock in my window,” Cindy
suddenly realized.

“No,
they don’t. They sneer when I ask them.  That’s baby stuff, not even on their
radar. You don’t count with them. I do, because Cain was my daughter’s
stepfather.”

“Nobody
suspects you?” Cindy was surprised.

“They
like me,” Mattheus started to grin. “Damned if I know why, but they like having
me around.  I meet them in a shack down in the lowlands, under a bunch of scraggly
trees. They know I’m a detective who’s in trouble himself and that gives them a
boost.”

“Wonderful,”
said Cindy, “a great crowd to be with.”

Mattheus
smiled. “But when I told them about someone throwing a rock in your cab window,
they were actually confused. Seems like someone’s barging into their territory.
They ordered me to find out who the jerk could be.”

“So
the rock throwing came out of left field,” Cindy mused, “just like the killing
might have.”

“Could
be,” said Mattheus.

“Tell
me more about Cain,” Cindy suddenly felt like her old self, following the scent
of the true culprit.

 
“The guy was heartless - a sadist,” Mattheus continued. “I heard he enjoyed
ordering the killings, wanted to hear every little detail about them after they
were done.”

“So,
he got his just due,” Cindy mused. “It’s easy to imagine that there’s someone
around who wanted to get revenge.”

 “Absolutely,”
Mattheus agreed, “but why hadn’t they gotten it before? How come Cain’s killing
was linked to the time I came down to see Andrea?”

“It’s
a good question,” said Cindy, “I kept asking it myself.” You’d think the cops
would be all over it, too.”

“You’d
think so,” Mattheus muttered. “But I’ve seen it before – rotten cops who’ve
been paid off to look the other way. Paid off big, probably. But what bothers
me most, what I can’t get it out of my head, was that Petra was married to Cain.”

“There’s
a lot of things that trouble me about Petra,” Cindy quickly added.

“Like
what?” Mattheus seemed startled.

Cindy
didn’t know how he’d handle what she had to tell him. She didn’t want to throw
him more off balance than he already was.

“Petra
wasn’t a good mother to Andrea,” Cindy started mildly.

“Why
do you say that?” Mattheus looked disturbed.

“Mattheus,
Petra let Cain beat Andrea,” Cindy retorted.

“Let
her? That’s harsh,” he replied. “Cain also beat Petra. She must have been
scared to death.”

“A
mother defends her daughter,” Cindy insisted.

“And
maybe she couldn’t?” Mattheus’s face flushed. “Obviously, you’ve got something against
Petra.”

Cindy
was amazed that he was defending her. The idea that his daughter had been
living in danger, with no protection all these years, didn’t seem to hit him at
all. Maybe he was too guilty to face it.  Cindy decided to try another tack.

“I’m
not accusing you, Mattheus,” Cindy continued. “What happened to Andrea all
these years is not your fault. There’s no way you could have done anything
about this. You didn’t even know her.”

“I
didn’t
care
to know her,” Mattheus corrected her. “And I never would
have known if you hadn’t pushed me to find Andrea. So, I’ve got to thank you
for that.  But I don’t see Petra the way you do. I see her as gutsy and trying
to do the best with the little she’s got.”

“We’ve
got to find out if that’s so,” Cindy said slowly. “So, while you’re talking to
the guys in the gangs, I’ll go speak to Petra.”

Mattheus
bristled, “I’m not sure it’s the best idea.”

“It
has to be done,” Cindy said uncompromisingly. “It’s part of my investigation.”

There
was no way Mattheus could disagree. “Okay, so go talk to her, but tread
lightly.  Her daughter’s in danger, her rotten husband has been killed and now
Petra’s on her own.”

Cindy
wasn’t so sure about that, either.  I’m more on my own than she is, Cindy
thought.

*

After
breakfast Mattheus left to continue his discussions with the guys in the gangs.
Cindy went upstairs and enjoyed spending some time in her new room. It was
spacious and open, with pink flowered wall paper, a large bed, comfortable
settee and large white wicker doors that led to a balcony.  Cindy felt safe and
protected here, finally able to unwind.

The
next step would be to go talk to Petra. Cindy wondered whether she should let
her know in advance that she was coming, but decided against it. It would be
best to arrive unannounced. That way Petra wouldn’t have time to prepare for
the visit and Cindy would find her just as she was. Petra wouldn’t like it, but
so what? Cindy wasn’t there to make a friend.

After
relaxing out on the patio for a little while, Cindy got up, went to the bathroom,
showered and changed. She slipped on a lovely lemon summer dress, with a lime
green cotton sweater. Then she spent some time on her make up. It had been
awhile since she’d had a chance to pamper herself. It made her feel better,
more ready to face whatever was next for her.

Just
as she was about to leave to drop in on Petra, her phone rang. It was Sean.

“I’m
a block away and would love to have some time with you,” he said. “Does it
work?”

There
was no way Cindy could say no. This wasn’t necessarily a personal call. Sean
might have new information for her. “Sure,” she replied lightly.

“Great,
let’s meet in the lobby in ten minutes?” he said. “Looking forward.”

*

Sean
was there waiting in the lobby by the time Cindy came down. He looked fit,
handsome, and eager for her to arrive.  It was surprisingly good to see him, as
well.

“Wow,
you look beautiful,” he said immediately, taken aback by her appearance.

Cindy
smiled. It was the first time she’d been able to take care of herself properly
and get ready. And she hadn’t had a compliment like that in quite a while, she
realized.

“Let’s
go to the garden in the back,” Sean suggested. “There are plenty of tables for
coffee, or trails to walk on.”

“Great,”
said Cindy, “let’s walk.” Cindy felt like walking along one of the narrow,
winding, hiking trails that wound its way in back of the hotel, and up through
a well known birding paradise. As they entered the trail the song of birds
filled the air.

“This
island is so beautiful and I never had a moment to realize it until now,” Cindy
smiled. She was glad to be taking a little time just to walk and enjoy nature
and the sunny day. “I’m so glad you came by,” she commented.

Sean
smiled broadly. “Me, too, I’m so glad.” He stepped just a bit closer to her.

They
walked along until they came upon a wooden bench in a clearing. “How about
sitting down here for a few minutes?” Sean asked.

It
was a perfect spot to stop in, right beside a gurgling brook and little birds
twittering on branches.

“I
always feel so good when I’m with you,” Sean said softly. “You’re a special
woman, Cindy, easy to be with, smart, comforting.”

“Thanks,”
she replied, flushing. It felt good to hear those words, was surprised how
badly she needed to hear them.

“Mattheus
is lucky to have you helping out here,” Sean continued.

“It’s
the least I can do,” Cindy responded. “He’s helped me over and over again in so
many ways.”

Sean
became more silent. “Really?”

“Yes,”
Cindy continued, “Mattheus taught me all I know about being a detective. And,
he’s totally been there for me in times of real danger.”

“A
person can have so many sides to them,” Sean said thoughtfully.

“That’s
true,” said Cindy, looking over at Sean. “How about you? Sounds like you have
many sides, too.”

Sean
smiled. “I wouldn’t say so. I’m a pretty straight forward kind of guy. I like
what I do, I mean what I say.”

“You
like working on this police force?”  Cindy asked, thinking of how convinced
Mattheus was that they’d been bought off.

“Sure,”
Sean replied, “I like it down here fine. The guys on the force are good to me.”

It
didn’t seem to Cindy then that Sean had a sense of the force being corrupted. Now
she wondered if that was true. There were always rumors like that about that
about every police force. If it were bought off, Sean would have to know it.

 “Ever
plan to move back up to the States?” Cindy asked casually, just to make small
talk.

Sean
shrugged his shoulders lightly, “From time to time, I think about it,” he said.
“How about you? What are you up to when this case is over?”

It
was a good question, one that Cindy had purposely stopped herself from
considering.

“I’m
not sure,” she answered slowly. “I’ve a good job offer waiting back in New
York, writing a crime column for a top newspaper.”

 “Really?
That’s wonderful,” Sean was impressed.

“I’m
not sure,” said Cindy.

“It’ll
probably be good for you to go home for a while,” Sean reflected. “Will be
great for you to get away from Mattheus.”

Cindy
shivered as the soft air stirred up into a little breeze.

“I’ve
been looking into Mattheus’s background,” Sean continued, unabashed. “Did you
know he was once brought up on charges?”