Death by Temptation (14 page)

“I
appreciate the offer, Pete, I really do,” Cindy replied strongly.

“Please
come back to the room and wait with Rowley and me,” Pete suggested then. “I
have to get back.”

 Cindy
felt odd about it. She didn’t want to go back to Rowley’s room and wait for
Mattheus to return. She’d learned all she needed and thought it would be better
to wait for Mattheus back in their suite.

“It’s
been wonderful talking to you, Pete, it really has,” said Cindy, “but it might
be jarring for Mattheus to see me in the room.”

 “I
don’t like that,” Pete insisted. “I’ve sensed it myself, but I want you to know
you’re absolutely welcome there.”

“I
know you feel that way,” said Cindy.

“But
Rod doesn’t?” Pete quickly asked. He was sharp and awake, aware of every
nuance.

“I
think Rod is more comfortable being alone with Mattheus,” Cindy said.

“Okay,
that’s fair enough,” said Pete, irritated, “but how about you? You’re on a case
and you need support too.”

“Yes,
of course,” Cindy agreed, “and Mattheus and I will go over things in our room
later.”

Pete
grimaced. “You remind me of myself, Cindy, and it doesn’t feel good.”

“There’s
no problem,” Cindy objected, trying to stay professional.

“Are
you guys engaged?” Pete took it further.

“We
were,” she said and smiled.

“Were?”
Pete was startled. “Mattheus told us you’re his fiancée. Did he lie to us?”

“No,
he didn’t lie,” Cindy quickly protected him. “As far as he’s concerned we’re
still engaged.”

“And
how about you?” Pete was startled.

“We
were engaged,” Cindy repeated. “We broke things off and then we came down here
to patch things together. We wanted to see where our relationship was going,
what could be possible, after all.”

“My
God.” Pete looked shaken. “You came down here, Kara went missing, you guys got
involved, and now your relationship has gotten completely thrown off track!”

“Not
quite,” Cindy answered slowly. “That’s what I also thought in the beginning. But
by now I see that if something’s truly solid, no matter what happens, it can’t
be thrown off track. Hard times only make the relationship stronger. Hard times
bring you closer, they don’t tear you apart.”

Pete
closed his eyes for a second. When he looked up at Cindy, there were tears in
them.

“You’re
right, Cindy,” he whispered. “You’re a wise woman, you’re beautiful, you’re
brave and strong. You deserve only the best that this world can bring you.”

“Thank
you,” Cindy whispered back. “The same is true for you, Pete.”

“Slowly,
I’m beginning to realize that,” he murmured. “And believe it or not, you’ve
helped me do so.”

“You’ve
helped me too, Pete.” Cindy smiled at him before getting up to go back to her
room.

Soon after Mattheus returned to Rod’s room, he
called Cindy immediately. “I

heard you dropped in while I was gone.” Mattheus
sounded jarred.

“I was looking for you, Mattheus,” Cindy responded.
“I need to talk to you, it’s

important.”

“Why? What’s up?” he asked.

“I was down at the police station this morning.”
Cindy began to fill him in quickly.

“Oh, so that’s where you were when I woke up alone?”
Mattheus now sounded irritated. “At the very least you could have left a note
telling me where you were.”

Mattheus was right, but Cindy didn’t want to even
take a minute to deal with it now. They had something larger here to work on.

“The medical examiner’s report is in,” Cindy
continued. “Abe told me what they found.”

“I know it’s in, I told you it was coming in today,”
Mattheus replied flatly. “Gunshot wounds and all the effects of drowning.
They’ve definitely got a homicide on their hands.”

“There were also significant drugs found in Shane’s
body,” Cindy continued.

Mattheus was unmoved. “To be expected,” he
responded. “Check on any regular down at the casino and you’ll find them loaded
with drugs. It goes with the territory.”

“But you don’t find all the regulars at the casino
turning up dead on the beach.” Cindy’s voice grew sharper.

“What are you trying to say?” asked Mattheus.

“I’ve got the name of a contact at the drug ring,”
Cindy spoke up. “I’m going down to talk to him. I want you to go with me.”

“How did you get this contact? Who gave it to you?”
Mattheus wasn’t at all pleased.

“I’ll tell you later,” Cindy replied.

“Tell me now,” Mattheus insisted. “I’m not chasing
after harebrained schemes. How is a contact in the drug ring related to Kara’s
disappearance?”

Cindy drew a quick breath. Mattheus probably thought
Alfred gave her the name and was unwilling to go along with anything Alfred
might suggest. For a second Cindy wanted to tell Mattheus that she’d gotten the
name from Abe, but she immediately stopped herself. If Mattheus wasn’t open to
going with her, if he was going to squash the idea right out the gate, she’d
rather go by herself. She’d do better that way.

“Seems like you have more important things to do,
Mattheus,” Cindy said somberly.

“If you mean it’s more important for me to be with
my friend the last day or so before he leaves for home, then yes, you’re
right,” Mattheus replied. “Rod’s not doing well. I’m keeping him going.”

“I know you are,” said Cindy.

“You know? How? Did Pete tell you?” Mattheus was
quick on the draw.

“Pete and I had a valuable conversation,” Cindy
replied calmly. “He helped me understand many things.”

“Well, he certainly can’t stop talking about you,”
Mattheus murmured in return. “That’s

all I’ve heard from the minute Rod and I got back.
He’s been telling me to call you right away, to

go back to our room, give you a hand. What did you
tell him you were, a damsel in distress?”

Cindy was horrified by Mattheus’s comment. “That’s
disgusting, Mattheus,” she finally

said. “It’s derogatory, humiliating, not at all
worthy of who you are.”

“I’m sorry.” Mattheus realized it immediately.
“These days here are rough. I’m exhausted.”

“They’re rough for me as well,” Cindy quipped.

“I just don’t know why Pete’s so obsessed with you,”
Mattheus went on.

“Perhaps he’s just an old-fashioned gentleman and
doesn’t want me working on the case alone.”

“There’s no case to work on!” Mattheus flared up.
“Listen to me, I’ll repeat it again. There’s no case to work on! The case has
gone completely cold. Right now we have no clues or leads to follow.”

“Maybe
you
don’t!” Cindy said and then
stopped herself abruptly.

“What are you telling me?” Mattheus became quieter.

“Nothing, Mattheus, nothing at all,” said Cindy. “Go
back to Rod and when he goes home we can catch up on new findings.” Then she
hung up the phone abruptly.

*

Oddly, Cindy felt better after she and Mattheus hung
up. And she was only slightly

apprehensive about going down to the casino alone to
talk to Santos. Cindy decided to go right

 away. It was still light out, late afternoon. She’d
stay a short while. It would be fine. The idea of asking Pete to accompany her
flashed through her mind momentarily, but of course, that would be
inappropriate in every possible way. This wasn’t a world Pete should be a part
of, or could even navigate in. He didn’t seem like someone who would know his
way on the twisted trails Cindy traveled on.

Cindy knew that she shouldn’t go down there without
letting someone know where she would be. She could tell Abe, of course, but it
would only agitate him. He’d given her Santos’s name under duress and Cindy
didn’t want to push it. The only other person Cindy could let know, oddly
enough, was Alfred. However, she hesitated to do that. Rowley was right, Alfred
could be a wildcard, and Cindy had no idea what he would do with the
information. She’d also have to give him Santos’s name and she’d promised Abe
she wouldn’t do that.

She’d be fine alone, Cindy finally concluded,
pulling on a pair of navy linen slacks and a nondescript shirt. Then she made
her way out of the room, down the elevator, and out the front door of the lobby
to hail a cab and get to the casino as soon as possible.

*

As the late afternoon light filtered through the
window, the taxi wove down to a casino situated in a little traveled, dark part
of town. This wasn’t a safe place for women to come to, and she asked the cab
to wait for her to be sure to have a ride back. Cindy’d been to dangerous parts
of the island before and had worked her way through them. She was amazed by the
agility she’d developed to weave in and out of rough spaces, with or without
Mattheus at her side.

Cindy leaned back on the seat and rested as she
watched the streets narrow through the window of the cab. Finally, the taxi
screeched to a halt.

“Back there,” the driver motioned through a clump of
trees to a dip in the road.

“Thanks,” said Cindy, getting ready to get out.

“Be careful, miss,” he added. “I’ll be waiting
here.”

*

The casino was long, flat, and half empty when Cindy
pulled open the huge, brass doors. People were sitting at machines, pulling the
levers, and staring straight ahead of them. Cindy walked around a bit, drifting
here and there, waiting to spot someone who looked like they would know who
Santos was. A bunch of tough guys huddled at different tables, and didn’t
bother to look over at Cindy at all.

Finally, a middle-aged woman with bleached blonde
hair, dressed in a silvery dress that fit too tight in all the wrong places,
ambled over.

“Looking for someone, honey?” she asked.

“I’m here to see Santos,” Cindy remarked.

The woman ran her hands up over neck and across her thick
silver necklace that made her outfit complete. “I thought so,” she said.

Cindy wondered how she knew. Had Abe possibly called
ahead giving them a heads-up? Did someone else?

“I’m Holly, follow me,” said the woman swiftly,
putting her hand on Cindy’s arm and leading her. Cindy noticed her long, purple
fingernails that were perfectly manicured and wondered what her role was here.

“You know Santos well?” Cindy quickly asked as they
wove their way through the center of the casino to a dingy section in the rear.

“Everyone knows Santos well.” Holly winked,
obviously taking a liking to Cindy. “You from the police department?”

Cindy was startled, wondering what made her think that.
“Why do you say that?” she asked.

Holly smiled, her face lighting up. “The way you
dress, honey,” she answered.

“Nobody else looks like this in St. Lucia on a
beautiful day. It’s okay, we’re used to it. The cops send people down to check
up on us every few months. It’s nothing.”

Cindy liked her very much. Something about Holly was
refreshing. “What do they check up on?” Cindy asked.

“Everything, you name it. And we got it covered. We
got the right answers. They come down, they check, and then they leave us
alone.”

“You got it all figured out,” Cindy commented.

Holly liked that. “Yeah, Santos does, to the last
drop.”

Clearly the police made routine, spot checks down
here and then left them alone to do as they pleased. Holly thought that was
what was going on now. Cindy decided to play along.

“We had to come down now after you know what happened,”
Cindy spoke in an overly confidential manner, hoping to get some response.

“You mean what happened with Tomas?” asked Holly,

Cindy had no idea what she was talking about, but
pretended to anyway. “Yeah, yeah,” she continued, “Tomas, and other things.”

“I get it,” Holly whispered. “They’re idiots, all of
them.”

“Sure are,” Cindy agreed.

“We’re almost there.” Holly turned and looked at
Cindy, and her tone grew hushed.

“Don’t say anything to Santos about Tomas,” she
warned. “He doesn’t like it one bit.”

“Okay, okay,” Cindy promised as they approached a
little, dark room.

“He’s in there,” she whispered to Cindy then,
pulling her closer. “Make it quick this time, please, honey. Santos is a busy
man, and he’s a little on edge today.”

“Of course, of course, I understand,” said Cindy, smiling
at her as if Holly were an old friend.

“Holly,” a loud voice suddenly boomed from inside
the room.

Holly jumped. “He’s calling for me.” She looked back
at Cindy as she leapt toward his door. “I’m right here, right here,” she called
back to him.

“What are you doing?” the voice continued booming.
“Why are you here?”

“They sent someone down.” Holly walked over to the
door and without opening it, shouted back in.

“Who’s they?” the voice called back.

Holly pushed the door open, slipped inside, and
disappeared as if into a deep cavern.

In a few seconds she emerged.

“Go on in, honey.” She pushed Cindy by the
shoulders. “I told him you’re here and that you’ll make it quick. You’re lucky
he’ll see you. He wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“Thanks,” said Cindy, giving her a quick hug.
“You’ve been great, thank you.”

“Hurry up now,” Holly reminded her, as Cindy ducked
and walked through the low entranceway into Santos’s room.

“You’re here from the police?” was the first thing
Cindy heard as she entered the room, which was so dark it was hard to make out
who was in it.

Cindy wanted to play along, but she also knew that
if Santos found out that she was tricking him all bets would be off.

“Cindy Blaine from C and M Investigations,” she said
frankly.

At first there was a heavy silence. Then Santos
piped up, “What in hell are you talking about?”

“I got your name from Abe at the department.” Cindy
started talking quickly. “I’m a private detective. I need your help.”

“Need my help with what?” Santos sounded as if this
was the last thing in the world he expected.

Cindy saw a figure get up out of the shadows and
walk toward her. The figure was a short but stalwart Caribbean man in his
mid-fifties, who moved like a little volcano.

“I’m here with my partner, Mattheus,” Cindy continued
as he came closer. “We’re investigating the disappearance of Kara Flynn, the
bride who went missing on her honeymoon.” Cindy decided to play it straight. It
was the only way to go with someone like him.

First Santos looked relieved, then he laughed. “You’re
so pretty,” he said, taking his time to look Cindy over. “Very pretty, why are
you dressed like that?”

Cindy looked down at her slacks briefly. “Can you
help me out?” she asked, paying no attention to his comment.

Santos laughed once again, harder. “This is so
silly, it’s cheering me up. I’m glad you came to see Santos.”

“What’s silly about it?” asked Cindy.

“How do you expect me to help you? And why are you
coming to me?” Santos went on quickly. “Do you know how scared people are to
come to Santos?”

Thankfully, Cindy didn’t.

Obviously, he’d taken a liking to her though, and
laughed again. “Why did you really come to see me?” he asked, this time
curious.

Cindy had no choice but to be straightforward. “We
have no leads at all in Kara’s disappearance and then this other young woman,
Shane, turned up dead on the beach.”