Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (4 page)

“This
is Andrea’s dad,” Petra piped up loudly, trying to ease the situation. “He’s a
private detective.”

That
stopped Cain for a second. “Private detective? Ha, well, I’m clean as can be.”

“He’s
Andrea’s dad,” Petra’s voice grew more strident.

“Like
hell he is. I’m Andrea’s dad,” Cain exclaimed. “Remember, you married me!”

“Mattheus
is Andrea’s natural father,” Petra insisted.

“He’s
the guy who left you in the lurch?” Cain’s face grew contorted as he glared at
Mattheus through swollen eyes.

“I
wanted him here, I invited him,” Andrea spoke right in Cain’s face.

“Listen,
slut, I heard enough from you,” Cain barked, sullenly.

Mattheus
felt the rage rise through him. “Who the hell do you think you are, calling my
daughter a slut?”

“I’ll
call the bitch whatever I like,” Cain sauntered closer to Mattheus. “What the
hell do you know about her, anyway? When’d you last see her? She’s a bitch and
a slut and everyone knows it.”

At
that Andrea spun around, fled to the door, opened it briskly and disappeared
into the dark night.

Horrified,
Mattheus ran after. He couldn’t let her fly away like that, shamed and
humiliated.  He’d find her easily, he thought, as he fled on her trail.

But,
to Mattheus’s surprise, the heavy darkness and thick trees created a blanket he
could not penetrate. Where was she? Where had she turned? He didn’t know where
he was either, but he’d track her down, he wouldn’t give up. In his painstaking
way, Mattheus waded slowly through the hill and brush searching for his
daughter.”

*

 When
Mattheus finally found Andrea, she was crumpled up under a huge tree down at
the base of a hill, in a tangled part of town, crying. By then it had grown
dark and all he had was the light of the moon.

“Andrea,”
Mattheus called as soon as he spotted her.

She
didn’t look up.

“Honey,
I’m here.” The terrain was so rocky, Mattheus got down on his knees and crawled
to where she was laying.  He wanted to put his arms on her shoulders to comfort
her, but didn’t want to scare her. “I’m here,” he repeated softly.

“Too
little, too late,” she muttered and slowly raised her head, looking at him out
of the corner of her eyes.

“What’s
going on here? Tell me,” Mattheus begged her.

Andrea
gathered herself together and sat up. “What do you think, we got a bed of roses
to live in?”

“I
don’t know what to think,” Mattheus said.  “But I came down to find out and help
you. You’ve got to tell me.”

“Cain’s
an ex con,” Andrea started.

“You
told me that already. “He’s your stepfather?” Mattheus wanted to be sure he got
the details straight.

“He
beats us regularly,” Andrea breathed.

“Beats
us?” Mattheus wanted to be certain he heard right.

“Me
and my mother,” Andrea mumbled, “it’s his favorite past time.”  Then she pulled
up the sleeves of her shirt and showed Mattheus the marks all over her arm. In
the moonlight they looked eerie, as if strong arms had grabbed her from behind
and pummeled her, leaving dark, ugly bruises all over her skin.

“My
God, have you told the police?” Mattheus breathed, horrified.

“Don’t
make me laugh,” said Andrea. “You think they care about guys who beat women
down here? It happens all the time.”

Mattheus’s
head swirled as he pulled his daughter to him. He took her arms into his hands
and looked at the bruises more closely.  

“There
have got to be laws,” Mattheus insisted.

“Give
me a break,” Andrea looked at him as if he were a fool. “There’s nothing we can
do. Mom’s been through this before and so have I.  I grew up all my life
watching her husband’s give her a thrashing. When I let them beat me too, she
doesn’t get it so bad.”

Mattheus
pulled his daughter to him. “This can’t go on,” he exclaimed. “I won’t allow
it.”

Andrea
seemed fascinated. “And just what are you going to do?”

“There’s
a lot we can do, and we have to,” Mattheus started thinking quickly. “One day this
guy could really hurt you. We can’t let it go on.”

“You’re
living in dreamland,” Andrea answered, sounding strangely like her mother for a
second. “This is how local guys treat women down here.  It would take a miracle
to stop him.”

“We
don’t need a miracle. There are other ways,” Mattheus murmured.

Andrea
sat up straighter then. “Oh yeah? Like what? Give me a hint,” she said, oddly
excited. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it myself, over and over.”

Mattheus
fell strangely quiet then, thinking about what could be done, as a large bird
swept closely overhead, howling into the dark night.

Even
though it was a frosty morning, Cindy and Ann bundled up with scarves and warm
jackets and walked along the water at the local beach. It was fun to be here
with Ann, feeling the wind on her face, moving briskly. The past few days had
been jammed pack and Cindy had enjoyed the activity. As Ann had predicted, the
interview at the newspaper was interesting and stimulating. Cindy liked
everyone she met there and they were definitely impressed with her. They were
offering her a tremendous opportunity to write her own column on crime, track
down the people who made a difference and cases that needed attention. It
actually sounded so interesting that Cindy had a hard time not just taking it
on.

“I
just need a few days to think it over,” Cindy had told Al’s friend Hal.

“Sure,
you can have a few days,” Hal agreed, “but we want to get going on this as soon
as possible. Any questions you have?”

Cindy
had asked a few more questions and he answered them fully. She told him she’d
get back to him in a couple of days and he seemed satisfied with that.

Ann
stopped walking and grabbed Cindy’s hands, “So, let me know,” she finally said,
“what are you going to do about the paper? The suspense is terrible. Are you
taking the job?”

Cindy
laughed at the abrupt way that Ann broached the topic.

“Probably,”
Cindy quipped.

“Probably?”
Ann’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that’s better than definitely not. I was hoping for
a Yes, I’m thrilled.”

Cindy
laughed. “Well, I am thrilled to be back here right now. Everything’s about it
is great, except for Clint’s family.”

“Forget
about Clint’s family,” Ann’s face clenched. “I’m truly sorry I set up the
meeting between you and Marge.  I’m truly sorry I let her into the house.”

“It’s
okay, Ann, it’s not your fault,” Cindy quickly countered. “You meant the best.”

“I
did,” said Ann, uneasy.

“You
had no way of knowing she was playing you, too. But I warned you about it,”
Cindy commented.

“Yes,
you did,” Ann said somberly, “and I’m sorry, I really am.”

Ann
had arranged for a meeting between Cindy and Marge the day after the welcome
home party. Marge had arrived looking lovely and happy, quite different from
the way Cindy remembered. Probably because she was now divorced from Ralph,
Cindy’s thought initially.”You look great, Marge,” Cindy had offered when Marge
walked in.

“So
do you,” Marge seemed equally surprised to see how put together Cindy seemed.

“Everyone’s
wondered what in the world’s really become of you since Clint died and you’ve
stayed down in the Caribbean.  We all heard that you had a partner. Pretty
quick, if you asked me.”

Ann
had come out to the living room then with a tray carrying two cups of coffee
and tiny pastries.

Both
Cindy and Ann took their cups of coffee and sat down on the sofa.

“Yes,
I have been working with a business partner,” Cindy replied formally.

Marge’s
eyebrows raised and a little smile crossed her face. “Really, just a business
partner? People have said he’s much more than that.”

“What
people?” Cindy was irritated. Marge had always thrown daggers at her. Seems it
was a family sport.

Now
Marge shrugged, “Just people,” she countered. “People who have been following
your adventures closely, reading about you in the papers. There’s a bunch of
them here in Cove Bay, you know.”

For
a moment Cindy’s heart fluttered in fear. But she quickly regrouped, there was
no reason for it. Marge always enjoyed casting innuendos, creating uneasiness.

“Well,
people say all kinds of things, don’t they?” Cindy had answered non-commit ally.

“In
fact, people have even been wondering why in the world you’ve come back?” Marge
looked at her boldly. “You would think this house had too many memories for
you.”

Cindy
blanched. “This house has good memories for me, Marge,” she’d answered briskly.

“Good?”
Marge seemed amazed.

“Clint
and I spent wonderful times here before he was killed,” Cindy said softly. “His
things are here and it’s good to be back with him.”

“His
things are here, but he’s not,” Marge quickly shut down Cindy’s reverie. “And I
can’t imagine that you’d ever bring your new partner here either, would you?”
Cindy smelled something coming became alert and quieted down. “What’s on your
mind, Marge?” she asked bluntly.

“Well,
it’s actually odd that you’ve returned,” Marge started, “because Al and I were
going to contact you, anyhow.”

“About
what?” asked Cindy, warning bells going off.

“About
this house,” Marge was blunt. “We want it back in the family, just like we
wanted it before.”

“Want
it
back
?” the words stuck in Cindy’s throat. “You never had it. The
house belonged to Clint and me. We found it, we bought it, we lived here and
fixed it up.”

“Your
name was never on the deed,” Marge retorted. “And you weren’t mentioned in Clint’s
will.”

“The
house was in Clint’s name. I was his legal wife and now the house automatically
belongs to me. He never updated his will. Whoever thought he’d have to?”

“You
were his legal wife for about a week,” Marge retorted, her face flushing.

“What
are you trying to tell me?” Cindy demanded, standing up and putting her coffee
cup down on the table.

Marge
hadn’t hesitated a moment.  “Sell the house back to the family. We’ll pay you
for it. We want to give it to Clint’s son, to come to and visit. It’s only
right that he be near us so he’ll get to know his father’s family. He’s all we
have left of Clint.”

Cindy
was aghast.  Where was this coming from? Had Marge been in touch with Heather? Clint
had a son with an old girlfriend, Heather, but never knew about the child.
Heather had married someone else before the child was born and told her husband
the boy belonged to him. Cindy had only found out about all this after Clint
had died. Al had known about it though, had he told  Marge? Had she known all
along, as well?

“Have
you been in touch with Heather?” Cindy asked, horrified.

“Yes,
I have,” Marge answered, proudly.  

“What
about Heather’s husband?” Cindy insisted. “Does he want to come here too?”

“They’re
divorced now,” Marge replied quickly, “Heather’s a single parent, just like me.
Nothing lasts long, does it, Cindy?”

Cindy
stared at Marge, wounded. Obviously Marge and Heather had teamed up, become
friendly and joined forces against her.

“Heather’s
son is my nephew,” Marge insisted. “We want him to be close to us.”

“And
what about Heather?” asked Cindy. “She wants to live here now?”

“Not
live here, but she’s agreed to visit, spend time down here with the family as
much as she can. She likes the idea. And while she’s down here, you better
believe, I’m introducing her to every available guy I know.”

Cindy’s
head began spinning. She wasn’t ready to give up the house, let go of her last
connection with Clint. The cottage had become a safe haven for her, a place to
return to and re-group.

“There
are other places nearby the family could purchase,” Cindy replied, “plenty of
them.”

“Why
should this cottage make such a big difference to you?” Marge became more
boisterous. “You have a new boyfriend. Everyone knows it. You can’t bring him
here where Clint grew up. Absolutely, no way. If you dare tried, there’s be
trouble.”

Cindy
was amazed.  From the day they’d met her Clint’s entire family had been set on
getting rid of her, and it was still going on now. They still blamed her for
their son’s death.

Marge
stood up and confronted Cindy. “I’m not married to Ralph anymore,” she
announced, “but the family has a bunch of good lawyers. “

“Including
Al?” Cindy asked.

“What
about Al?” Marge got nervous.

Al
had to know the family wanted the house, thought Cindy. Is that why he tried to
set Cindy up with a job in Manhattan? Was he hoping she’d get an apartment
there also, meet new people, get out of Cove Bay and out of their lives?

“If
you don’t let us purchase this place from you at a price we decide on, we’ll go
to court and take it away,” Marge said roughly.

“Thanks
for the head’s up, Marge,” Cindy said slowly. “But I’m not ready to let it go.”

“Who
cares whether or not you’re ready?” Marge’s lips pursed tight. “Clint had a
family who wasn’t ready to lose him, either. How about thinking of us once in a
while?”It seemed that none of them would rest until they’d gotten rid of Cindy,
never had to see her again.

Cindy
turned her back as Marge jumped up, raced to the foyer, grabbed her coat and
let herself promptly out of the door.

*

The
waves kept lapping up onto the shore as Cindy and Ann resumed walking. Cindy
had been so lost in the memory of what had happened between her and Marge that
she hadn’t been listening to Ann’s chatter.

“Cindy,
are you listening to me?” Ann was talking loudly now over the waves, trying to
get Cindy’s attention.

“Actually,
I was just thinking of what had happened between me and Marge,” Cindy responded.

“Well,
forget it, already. Clint’s family are nuts,” Ann proclaimed. They always have
been, and they can’t affect you anymore.”

Cindy
wasn’t so sure about that.

“You’re
here to start a new life,” Ann insisted. “Did you see how many people came to
the party to welcome you home?”

There
was a group who welcomed her home and a group who wanted her out of here as
well, thought Cindy as her cell phone started chiming, announcing a call.

Cindy
picked it up, curious to see who was calling and wanting to take a break from
her conversation with Ann.

“Hello,”
Cindy answered.

A
man’s, low, garbled voice responded on the other end, “Cindy?”

Cindy
had no idea who it was. “Yes, who is this?”

“Cindy,
Cindy, oh my God,” the voice became louder.

Cindy’s
blood ran cold. “Mattheus?”

“I’m
in bad trouble,” he was having difficulty speaking now.

“What
is it? What happened?” Cindy’s heart started pounding.

“Andrea’s
stepfather has just been found murdered, laying in a pool of blood.”

Cindy
felt nauseous.

Mattheus
said something else but Cindy couldn’t make it out. His voice was going in and
out, filled with horror. 

“What
did you say? I can’t hear you,” Cindy exclaimed.

“Andrea
was found right next to his body,” Mattheus managed, “covered with her
stepfather’s blood.”

“Wait
a minute, she killed her father?” Cindy froze.

“It
looks like it from the sight of things. The police immediately arrested her. She
denies having anything to do with it, though. Said she came there and found him
dead.”

“My
God,” Cindy uttered.

“No
one believes her,” Mattheus continued frantically. “Everyone knows that the two
of them fought all the time. He beat the life out of her, Cindy.”

Cindy
had trouble breathing.  “I’m so sorry, Mattheus.”

“I
need your help badly,” Mattheus pleaded. “Everything needs to be investigated. This
guy was an ex con.  He was a brute. He also beat Andrea’s mother.”

“Sounds
like someone felt he deserved to die,” Cindy responded.

“He
did deserve to die,” Mattheus insisted.

“Don’t
say that to anyone, Mattheus,” Cindy breathed.

“The
guy was a low life, the scum of the world,” Mattheus continued heatedly.

“Mattheus,
be quiet,” Cindy demanded. “The police won’t let you help with the case if you mouth
off like this.”

“They
won’t let me anyway,” Mattheus said plaintively. “They said I’m too close to
the suspect, to Andrea.  I’ve got too much at stake.”

“You
have a right to investigate, Mattheus,” Cindy insisted. “It’s your job.”

“They
also heard that I was threatening the jerk, the day before he died.”  Mattheus
continued.

“You
were threatening him?” Cindy felt frightened.

“Damn
it, Cindy,” Mattheus countered, “I just told him to back off the women, or I’d
take care of him.”

“Jesus,”
said Cindy, “for all you know you can become a suspect now, too.”

“I
already am,” Mattheus answered, in a garbled tone.

“You
are what? A suspect?” Cindy felt alarmed.

“Listen,
I can’t keep talking now,” Mattheus’s voice grew shaky, “I beg you, just come
down and help.”

*

“I
don’t believe you’re actually going there again with all that’s happening here,”
Ann was totally beside herself.

“I
don’t have a choice,” Cindy insisted. “Mattheus is in grave trouble.”

“So
what? He got himself into it. It’s his life, it’s his trouble, “Ann was fuming.

“It’s
not only his trouble, it’s his daughter,” Cindy interrupted. “She’s been
arrested for murder.”

Ann
stopped and stood her ground.  “And what has that got to do with you?
Absolutely nothing. Someone’s being arrested for murder every day.”

“I
was the one who urged Mattheus to go find his daughter,” Cindy finally said,
quietly. “In fact, I insisted. He didn’t want to. If I hadn’t urged he never
would have met her, wouldn’t be in this lousy mess.”

“Now
you’re blaming yourself for this, too?” Ann looked devastated.

“Ann,
this was the man I was about to get engaged to. He saved me from so many close
calls.” Cindy couldn’t help coming to his defense.

“This
was the man who tossed you aside, who chose to be with a daughter who couldn’t
stand you. Remember that?”

But,
at this moment of danger, all of those considerations disappeared.Lives were at
stake.

“You’re
in love with Mattheus? You’re still in love?” Ann’s face grew brittle.

“No,”
Cindy responded quickly. “I’m not in love with Mattheus anymore, but I also can’t
let him drown. He could be a suspect in the case himself.  I have to go down as
a professional, and help him sort this out.”

“Well,
I’m sure Marge will be happy to hear that,” Ann quipped sarcastically. “Finally,
you’re back out of town.”

“I
don’t know if she’ll be so happy about it,” Cindy countered. “I may be leaving
for now, but you can tell her, I’m definitely not selling the house.”