Death by Temptation (20 page)

Everything changed as Cindy and Felix began their
descent behind the trees. The wet, slippery ground was filled with loose rocks
and branches and it grew darker and darker as they groped their way down. Cindy
felt as if she were sliding into hell, following close behind Felix.

Suddenly Felix broke the silence. “There, there,” he
uttered, pointing to something in the shadows.

Cindy stopped and saw a small hut leaning
precariously against an incline. Was it possible? Was Kara holed up there?

“Is that it?” Cindy asked Felix, thunderstruck,
suddenly afraid to take another step.

“It’s the first stop,” Felix whispered.

“What happens after that?” asked Cindy.

Felix wouldn’t say a word though, just moved
stealthily, his footsteps growing lighter and lighter.

“Quiet,” he warned Cindy, over his shoulder. “We
don’t want to let them know we’re coming.”

“Who?” Cindy shivered.

“Someone’s there,” Felix answered. “The place isn’t
empty.”

Cindy froze. How could he be so sure? There was only
a tiny light from some scattered stars shining on it.

“I smell it,” Felix answered. “Human flesh smells
strong in the rain forest at night.”

Cindy wanted to throw up. “Who would be there
besides Kara?” she demanded. Was Felix smelling her corpse? “How long has she
been in that hut anyway?”

“Patience, patience.” Felix lifted his hand toward
Cindy. “You ask too many questions. Wait and see for yourself.”

Cindy grew silent. He was right. Felix had a native
wisdom that she had to rely on now.

“A few more steps,” he whispered, as they were
suddenly at the ramshackle hut with a small, outdoor porch that looked like a
shed.

Cindy took another step, and to her shock, suddenly
saw someone there on the porch, curled up close to the floor. Whoever it was
probably was as frightened of her as she was of them.

“Hello, hello,” Felix called out into the strange,
damp night, spotting the figure.

Slowly, the person uncurled and faced toward them.

Cindy took another step and to her total amazement,
in the shadows, there stood Rowley. “Rowley?” Cindy uttered when she could
catch her breath.

Rowley stared at Cindy with an equal look of shock
on his face. “What are you doing here?” he gasped, distressed.

“That’s a question I should be asking you,” Cindy
quickly responded.

“I belong here,” Rowley uttered, digging his hands
into his thighs.

“You belong here? Is Kara inside?” Cindy’s head was
spinning. Had Rowley known where Kara was all the while?

“What makes you think Kara’s here?” Rowley became
excited.

“Why else would you be here?” Cindy retorted.

“Why would
you
be here?” Rowley countered
fast. “No one told me you were coming.”

Cindy gained her footing immediately. “What do you
mean no one told you? Who told
you
to come here, anyway?”

Rowley remained stalwart and silent.

“Answer me, Rowley, this isn’t a game.” Cindy felt
deep anger rising. “There’s a manhunt going on, the police are searching for
you now. You disappeared without a word.”

Rowley seemed unaffected. “I received a call to come
here, and I listened,” he mumbled. “The person told me not to tell anyone, just
to leave immediately and follow directions. Or else Kara would be harmed.”

It was a plausible story, but Cindy didn’t buy it.
The timing was off. Rowley had left right after Cindy had shown him a photo of
Kara and Shane. How likely was it that someone would call him just then?

“Who called you and told you to come here?” Cindy
persisted.

“I don’t know, his voice was garbled,” Rowley shot
back. “He promised to take me to Kara, though.”

“Was it a ransom call?” asked Cindy.

“He didn’t say anything about money,” Rowley
replied.

Cindy knew she should give Rowley the benefit of the
doubt, but something was off and she felt it. At the very least, she wasn’t
getting the whole story.

“How long have you been waiting here?” Cindy
continued. “Not since you left?”

“Why all these questions, Cindy?” Rowley was
suddenly unnerved. “I’m not the suspect. In fact, it’s
you
who have to
answer some questions! What are you doing down here? It’s you who could be
making trouble for me! They said not to tell anyone.”

Cindy heard Felix chortling in the background then.
What did he find so funny? Cindy found it disturbing. She decided to jump in
and take a huge step then. Rowley’s answers were far too slick. She had to
shake Rowley up, push his buttons, break through his exterior and see what was
really churning inside. It was fair game for her to do it, too. After all, this
was an emergency and all bets were off.

“You left right after I showed you the photo of
Shane and Kara,” Cindy dug in.

Rowley looked at her blankly. “So?” he replied.

Cindy knew it was her right to create any kind of
scenario that would lead Rowley to tell her the truth, no matter how much it
stretched the truth.

“So, a lot more information has come out since you
left,” Cindy continued, waiting to let her words sink in.

Rowley refused to react.

“There’s someone down here who’s told me lots more
about you,” Cindy lied, hoping he’d take the bait.

“Who?” Rowley asked calmly.

“How well do you know Jenna, Shane’s best friend?”
Cindy continued.

“Not at all.” Rowley started getting antsy. “Why
would I know her?”

 “Jenna’s down here, Rowley, and she told me, point
blank, that you and Shane knew each other.” Cindy kept fishing.

“That’s ridiculous!” Rowley’s voice rose in dismay. “How
dare she say that?”

“Your game is up, Rowley.” Cindy pulled out all the
stops. “Jenna gave us evidence. You lied to the police!”

Rowley became distraught. “I didn’t lie, exactly.”
The words poured out on top of one another. “Shane was Kara’s friend, not mine.
I never could stand her.”

“But you knew her, you met her.” Cindy was
breathless. “Isn’t that right?”

“It’s right, it’s right,” moaned Rowley.

“And you told the police you didn’t,” Cindy
repeated, victorious.

“Kara met Shane in the shelter,” Rowley burst out
forcefully. “Kara helped Shane a lot and they got close. Kara wasn’t supposed
to get close to the inmates. They warned her not to and so did I. But she
wouldn’t listen, just got close to Shane anyway. Then Shane did a favor for
Kara and got her some drugs.”

“Some favor,” said Cindy. “So, Kara did drugs?”

“Nothing much, just at parties and stuff.” Rowley’s
voice was now shaking. “I begged her not to, believe me. And I told her to stay
away from Shane a hundred times.”

“But Kara didn’t listen to that either, did she?”
Cindy pressed on.

Rowley’s eyes squinted. “Kara didn’t listen to
anyone. But it wasn’t such a big deal in the beginning. Who doesn’t do some
drugs?”

“It got worse?” Cindy pushed him. “Kara needed more
and more?”

“No, nothing like that,” Rowley objected. “Kara
didn’t need more, Shane did. Shane kept pushing Kara to find her connections.
Pushing her to meet me.”

“Why?” Cindy was startled. “Shane was dealing?”

 Rowley was taut and harrowed now. “I said no a lot
of times, but Shane wouldn’t stop. The damn bastards got their claws into her
and wouldn’t let go.”

“Who?” Cindy asked. “The drug ring?”

“Right,” Rowley snapped. “They found out I was a
famous surgeon and wanted Shane to get me dealing back in the States. That’s
how they do it, find an entry way and never let go.”

“Shane was their entry way to you?”

“Exactly,” Rowley muttered. “She came to see me over
and over and each time I refused. Finally, I told her that if she came again, I
would call the police.”
“That didn’t go over well,” Cindy commented.

“I couldn’t care less, I didn’t care less.” Rowley’s
voice got louder, reverberating in the thick air. “But Shane wouldn’t let go,
she couldn’t. God knows what she owed them. When Kara wanted to come down to
St. Lucia for our honeymoon, I told her I didn’t want to. We knew Shane came
down here often. Kara said it didn’t matter. Shane promised she’d leave us
completely alone. And Kara always wanted to come to St. Lucia. She kept saying
one thing had nothing to do with the other.”

“Was Kara further in to the drug ring than you
knew?” Cindy was stunned by the information.

“No, she wasn’t,” Rowley insisted, rolling his hands
through his messy hair. “Drugs weren’t such a big thing for her, she didn’t
care about them.”

“What did Kara care about, Rowley?” Cindy took a
tiny step closer.

“She cares about me, she loves me.” Rowley’s voice
turned into a strange cry.

“Where is she now, Rowley? Where is she?” Cindy
demanded.

“That’s what I have to find out,” Rowley finally
wailed.

“Why did you lie to the police, Rowley?” Cindy
wanted to shake him. She believed what he said but also knew there was more,
much more.

“I had to, I had to.” Rowley was practically
retching. “If they realized I knew Shane, it would have been all over the
papers. My life would be over. My practice would be ruined. I worked too hard
to let that happen. Believe me, this isn’t my fault. I haven’t done anything
wrong!”

“Obstructing a murder investigation is a crime,”
Cindy murmured. “Withholding evidence.”

“Go to hell, Cindy,” Rowley yelled then. “Are you
crazy? Whose side are you on?”

“You withheld incredibly important information in
the search for your wife.” Cindy wouldn’t let up. “For all we know, it could
have saved her life.”

Rowley bent over then as if punched in the gut,
pressing his hands along the sides of his head.

“Kara’s alive, she’s well, they’re bringing me to
her,” he started howling. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m the victim here, not
the bad guy.” Then he broke into sobs.

Cindy took a few steps away and let him sob. She had
to remember what she was doing here, what was needed now. Immediately, she
grabbed her phone to reach Mattheus again. Not only did she have to tell him
that she’d found Rowley, but he had to know exactly where she was.

This time the minute the phone rang, Mattheus picked
up immediately. “My God, Cindy, my God, where are you?” He sounded completely
anguished.

“I’m in the rain forest basin, here with Rowley,”
Cindy answered.

“What?” Mattheus yelled. “What? Why in hell didn’t
you let me know where you were going? I’ve been going through hell trying to
reach you. For a while we even thought you could be missing as well!”

“I tried to call before but your phone didn’t pick
up,” Cindy spoke firmly, trying to quiet him down.

“We can pick up your exact location from your
phone’s pings,” Mattheus said quickly. “Believe me, we’ll be there as soon as
we can!”

“Who’s we, Mattheus?” Cindy asked, relieved.

“I’m with Abe and Darrin, and two other cops you
don’t know. This case is on high alert again. My God, Cindy, my God, when I
thought you were missing, I didn’t know how I could live. I didn’t want to.”

“I’m fine, Mattheus,” Cindy said slowly.

“Are you really, really? Are you telling me the
truth?”

“Get here fast,” Cindy said then. “Not only do we
have Rowley, we’re close to finding Kara as well.”

After Cindy hung up the phone she turned back to
Rowley, who had returned to crouching on the floor of the porch.

“Get up, Rowley,” Cindy demanded. “It won’t do you
any good to curl up and hide.”

Cindy felt a light hand tapping her shoulder then.
She turned abruptly and Felix was behind her, pointing into the distance once
again.

Cindy swiveled around and saw two people arriving in
the distance. They walked quickly, without hesitation. As they grew closer, to
Cindy’s alarm, she saw Alfred and Jenna approaching. Someone else was also
walking behind them too, taking steady, slow steps in the moonlight. How did
they know she was here? What was going on?

“Alfred,” Cindy uttered, amazed, when they arrived.
“Jenna?”

Alfred stared at Cindy, equally shaken. “What are
you doing here, Cindy? What?” he exclaimed. “You weren’t invited.”

 Felix chortled once again in the background.

Jenna tried to take a step toward Cindy, but Alfred
held her back.

 Cindy was disturbed by his comment. “This is my
case, where else should I be? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I
thought you were helping me.”

“Of course I’m helping you, but having you here is
not necessarily helpful,” Alfred hissed. “I never told you to come to this
place. I had orders to come here with Jenna, that’s all.”

Right then the person who had been walking behind
Alfred and Jenna emerged in the flickering light. To Cindy’s horror, Santos
stood there grinning, taking it all in. She didn’t know whether to be relieved
to see him or terrified.

“Santos?” Cindy uttered.

“Alfred’s right, no one invited you here, Cindy,” he
spoke in a low, heavy tone. Then he threw a quick perturbed glance at Felix.

Cindy knew she had to protect both of them. She
wanted to tell Santos that he was the one who had invited her. After all, he’d
given her the photo, hadn’t he? Didn’t he expect her to trace it? She couldn’t
say that out loud though because Santos had warned her not to tell anyone. What
kind of a game was he playing with her, anyway? Had Santos arranged to have all
of them gathered here?

“Did you hear me, Cindy?” Santos asked in a
threatening tone. “I said no one invited you here.”

“I did receive an invitation to be here.” Cindy
flared up. She had no intention of letting him intimidate her. “I received a
gift, Santos. It was a photo of a woman curled up in a hut. I needed the
location, so I found it. I believed the person who gave me the gift wanted me
to find her. Otherwise, why would he give me the photo at all?”

Santos smiled slowly, his teeth shining in the
light. Then he turned to Rowley, who was still crouching.

“Stand up and be a man,” Santos demanded of him.

Rowley slowly untangled himself. “I am a man, I will
always be a man.” He sounded stricken.

“Who made the call to Rowley?” Cindy emerged from
the shadows, deciding to take on her rightful position here. She couldn’t let
Santos silence her.

“I made the call,” Alfred piped up unexpectedly.

“At my command. I told Alfred to call him.” Santos
stepped in, moving closer to Cindy.

“Why?” Cindy turned fully to Santos then, her heart
beating wildly. “Is Kara alive? Do you want her husband to see her?”

Santos’s eyes turned into slits, beaming. “You go
too far, Cindy, you don’t know where to stop.”

“I stop when my case is solved,” Cindy uttered.

“This puts you in great danger,” Santos warned.
”Especially in St. Lucia alone.”

Strangely enough, Cindy didn’t feel endangered at
all. “I am not alone, ever,” she remarked. “When you do what’s right, there’s
help waiting in every corner. I see that now.”

Santos seemed to like that, and quieted down. “Come
closer, Rowley,” Santos insisted then.

Rowley took another step in their direction and all
at once saw Jenna standing there.

“Jenna?” Rowley called in a strained tone.

“Alfred told me to come,” Jenna answered, agitated.
“Shane is dead, she was killed. My best friend is gone.”

Rowley lunged off the porch toward Jenna in a flash.

“How could you have told Cindy about me and Shane?”
he went at her. “You promised never to say a word.”

“I didn’t tell her,” Jenna jumped back. “I kept my
promise to you and Shane.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Rowley grabbed Jenna by the
shoulders.

“I didn’t.” Jenna’s voice got louder. ”I swear I
didn’t tell anyone.”

“How many times did I tell you and your crazy friend
to leave me alone?” Rowley demanded, pressing Jenna’s shoulders hard.

“I swear by my life, I never told Cindy. I just gave
her the photo of Kara and Shane,” Jenna cried out with alarm.

 Rowley swiftly pushed her to the side and lunged
toward Cindy. Like a drunk he leered in Cindy’s face.

“You made this up?” Rowley yelled. “Did Jenna tell
you I knew Shane?”

“No, she didn’t.” Cindy swerved out of his reach. “I
made it up to get the truth out of you. And I got it.”

“You trapped me!” Rowley howled, stretching his
hands out to grab at Cindy.

Santos stepped in quickly, blocking Rowley’s move.

“Nobody touches Cindy, ever,” he declared. “I will
kill anyone with my own hands that tries.”

Rowley looked terrified as Santos raised his hands
toward Rowley’s neck.

“I’m not going to hurt Cindy, I’m not going to hurt
her,” Rowley whimpered. “I just want to find my wife. Is she still alive?”

“Yes, your wife is alive,” Santos declared, “and she
wants to see you.”

A stunned silence fell over the group.

“Oh my God, oh my God.” Rowley fell over, trembling.

“The guys kidnapped your wife to give you a push,”
Santos went on. “They wanted to scare you.”

 “To force me to deal drugs?” Rowley breathed.

“Exactly,” Santos declared. “But one thing they did
wrong that still bothers me. They did not ask for my approval.” Cindy saw his
hands curl into fists. “Nobody kidnaps a young woman without first asking
Santos.”

“Who did it?” Cindy breathed hard.

Santos turned toward Cindy intensely. “That is no
business of yours, my dear! Who it was doesn’t matter. When you do something
like this and you’re not told to, you won’t be around for very long anyway.”

Cindy heard Felix chortling softly in the
background. Santos smiled along with him. Suddenly Cindy realized that Santos
had to have known she was here. Holly probably told Santos that Felix had
brought her. Santos must have come now to look after her. Cindy felt a swift
and deep wave of appreciation.

“Why would someone take it upon themselves to have
Kara kidnapped?” Cindy asked Santos quietly, knowing that one way or another he
would give her some kind of answer now.

“It could have been someone who failed in their
mission.” Santos’s voice became resonant. “Someone who tried to get Kara’s
husband into the ring. Could be she had a debt she was paying, and the person
she owed wouldn’t let her off the hook.”

“You’re talking about Shane?” Cindy said, startled.
There was no one else Santos could have been referring to. Shane had been on a
mission to get Rowley to deal drugs. “Shane arranged to have Kara kidnapped?”

“I’m not saying the person meant this kind of harm.”
Santos became indefinite. “Maybe this person always planned to get Kara out of
hiding, once they got her husband to say yes to the ring.”

“Kara was a pawn.” Cindy looked at Santos.

“What else?” He shrugged. “A stupid pawn.”

Rowley cringed. “Kara was not stupid, she tried her
best. She loved me.”

“It was never meant to go this far, was it, Santos?”
Cindy saw it all clearly then.

“Of course not,” Santos growled. “It was never meant
to happen at all. So, of course, Santos will bring the wife back, now.”

A moment of silence fell upon them all. Santos was
going to take them to Kara, release her. Did Kara have any idea that they were
close by? The idea of seeing her alive once again was a shock to all of them.
But there was more, and Cindy felt it.

“The person who had Kara kidnapped must have
contacted the husband after the wife disappeared,” Cindy mused out loud. She
was on a roll, the skies were parting. Shane had to have arranged this, but was
convinced that Rowley would agree to deal. Kara would be let free then.

“Of course the husband was contacted,” Santos chimed
back. “The person who had Kara kidnapped contacted him immediately afterwards
and told him if he didn’t get involved with the ring, his wife would be
killed.”

Cindy shuddered from head to toe.

“That’s not true, it’s not true.” Rowley started
sobbing.

“It is true.” Alfred glared at Rowley. “You know
it’s true, I know it’s true.”

“Get the hell out of my life,” Rowley practically
spit at Alfred.

“I’m the one who’s bringing you to Kara and you’re
spitting at me?” Alfred voice grew piercing. “I’m the one who’s been searching
for her night and day. Who’s the one who really cares about Kara? You tell me.”

Cindy suddenly realized that Rowley had not only
refused to go along with the drug ring, he hadn’t told anyone he’d been
contacted by them.

“I have only one thing to ask you now, Rowley, and
it bothers me a lot.” Santos shook his head back and forth. “What kind of
husband wouldn’t say yes? What kind of man leaves his wife to die? Before I
give Kara back to you, I want an answer!”

“Kara’s not dead, she’s alive, you just said so,”
Rowley burst out.

“Yes, she’s alive, but no thanks to you, is it?”
growled Santos.

Rowley stared at Santos, his jaw setting hard. ”It’s
not my fault, it’s her fault that this happened. I’m not the one who was
friends with Shane. I’m not the one who got drugs from her.”

Cindy couldn’t believe her ears. Rowley blamed Kara
for all that happened.

“So, I’m asking you now, Rowley,” Santos went on
somberly, “your wife is alive, but if you want to see her again, will you say
yes to the drug ring? What is it?”

Rowley flinched.

Cindy heard footsteps nearby growing closer. Santos
heard them too and turned around. There was nothing to see, though, just trees
rustling in the wet, evening breeze.

“You brought me here to force me to say yes to the
ring?” Rowley turned to Alfred, furious.

“I brought you here to rescue your wife,” Alfred
shouted.

“How about it, Rowley?” Santos grinned. “Do we take
you to Kara or not?”

Rowley bit his lower lip and shut his eyes tight.
“If I say no, you’ll do the same to me,” he replied, “lock me up in a hut and
throw away the key?”

“That’s not the question.” Santos became more
intense. “The question is what are you willing to sacrifice to see your wife
alive again?”

“Do you love her enough?” yelled Alfred.

“This is blackmail, not love,” Rowley cried out, his
voice echoing as out of the shadows Mattheus, Abe, Darrin, and two other cops
emerged.

 “It’s over, we heard every word,” Mattheus started.

Oddly enough, Santos remained at ease. “This has to
be Mattheus.” Santos looked him up and down, slowly. “Cindy’s missing in action
partner.”

“It’s over,” Mattheus repeated.

“It’s far from over, my friend,” Santos remarked,
smiling at Mattheus. “In fact, it hasn’t even yet begun.”

“Take us to Kara this minute,” Mattheus responded.

“That’s a big request.” Santos rubbed his face.

Darrin stepped over to Santos then. The two of them
seemed to know each other well, nodded warmly at each other.

“Kara’s alive?” Darrin muttered.

“How would I know something like that?” Santos
remarked. “I had nothing to do with this one at all.”

“Plea deal.” Darrin’s voice grew softer. “You show
us where she is and I never heard of you. In fact, I didn’t even see you here.”

“Wait a minute,” Mattheus started, but Darrin
quickly put his hand over Mattheus’s mouth.

“Let’s go,” Santos said to Darrin solemnly, “we have
an agreement. I’ll bring you to her.”

“That still doesn’t tell us anything about what
happened to Shane.” Darrin was trying for more.

“Who’s Shane?” Santos replied, letting Darrin know
exactly how far he was willing to take him. Yes, he’d lead him to Kara, but
Shane was another matter. Darrin would have to find out about her on his own.