Death by Temptation (9 page)

Mattheus quieted down. This was personal for him,
Cindy saw, way too personal.

“Did you get a look at the body yourself?” Mattheus
continued questioning Abe.

“Actually, I did.” Abe spoke more slowly.

Both Mattheus and Cindy stopped walking and turned
to him. “And?”

“To me it looked like the death was recent,” Abe
continued carefully. “It didn’t seem as though the body had been in the water
long.”

“What?” Both Cindy and Mattheus were startled.

“In fact,” Abe continued, “we’ve got a young woman
about the same age as Kara, same color hair and general build. But otherwise,
she doesn’t look like Kara.”

Cindy and Mattheus stopped stone cold.

“What are you talking about?” asked Mattheus.

“I looked at her up close,” Abe repeated with
difficulty. “It’s not Kara.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Mattheus breathed.

“Not right now,” Abe agreed as they got very close
to where the body was stretched out on the sand. “In fact, right now, we’ve got
more questions than we had a few hours ago.”

Cindy and Mattheus stepped up to the body and saw
Darrin Frank, the Chief of Police, guarding the body and gazing into the ocean.

“I need to see her for myself,” said Mattheus.

“Take it easy, Mattheus,” Cindy said as he moved
closer to where a poor, lonely girl lay completely dead on the sand.

*

Serial Killer Loose on the Island?
Headlines
screamed across the papers and TV stations blared the news. “The body washed up
on the beach this morning was not the body of the young woman who recently went
missing. New concerns are developing. Police are moving the search into high
gear again. The body, now at the medical examiner’s office, is being
identified. Is there a killer on the loose? Is this a case of mistaken
identity? Are the two cases connected? If anyone has any information leading to
the capture of the killer, a handsome reward is waiting.”

 St. Lucia was on alert, and a sense of panic was
spreading. Cindy and Mattheus were called into the police station for an
emergency meeting. Chief of Police Darrin Frank, Abe, and a host of other
detectives and law enforcement officials who were charged with handling the
situation were there. The gathering was being held in a large meeting room,
where rows of chairs had been set up to accommodate those in attendance. Darrin
Frank was chairing the meeting. Abe and a few other police officers sat beside
him in the front of the room behind a desk, facing the attendees.

“Word has gotten out way beyond St. Lucia,” a man
sitting in a back row started the discussion. “Hotel reservations are being
cancelled. People are leaving ahead of schedule. From the looks of it we’ve got
a killer on the loose.”

“I’ve heard that,” Darrin replied in a stately
manner. “All precautions are being taken, additional police have been posted in
key places. The search for the missing woman has been resumed. But please
remember, there’s no direct evidence yet to show that either of these women
have been murdered or that there’s any necessary connection between the cases.”

“Come on now,” the man in the back row piped up
again. “Two young women who are the same age, body shape, and type come to
harm. That points to a serial killer, doesn’t it?”

“It could.” Darrin Frank wasn’t ruling anything out.
“But at the moment that’s pure speculation. It could be entirely coincidental
that the two women happened to be swimming at the same beach and both of them
drowned. One body returned to shore, the other did not.”

“Unlikely that it’s coincidental,” the man in the
back row rebutted Darrin.

Cindy was impressed with the way Darrin was handling
the meeting. There were too many factors that had to be considered, and
naturally, rumors were spreading wildly on their own. The only way to halt the
rumors was by staying anchored in the facts. Darrin was presenting a calm,
orderly presence that was badly needed at a time like this.

Mattheus leaned over and whispered to Cindy,
“Darrin’s doing a great job.”

“Yes, he is,” Cindy agreed.

“Who’s this girl who was found dead?” another member
of the audience called out then.

“The young woman’s name was Shane Mallory,” Darrin
informed them. “The body’s with the medical examiner. As soon as we have
results, we’ll know more how to proceed.”

“But who was she?” the person continued. “Someone
said she was a massage therapist from the States.”

“Correct,” said Darrin. “As far as we know Shane and
her boyfriend, Vinny, were vacationing down here. Seems as though they came
down regularly. Several people who knew her have called into the station,
offering to help.”

“What kind of people? Where do they know her from?”
the person continued.

“Apparently Shane spent a lot of her time at the
casino when she was down here,” Darrin continued. “Seems she was a regular there.
We’re checking the casino thoroughly, and finding out all we can about the
young woman.”

Mattheus whistled under his breath. “Not good,” he
murmured. “Probably addicted to gambling, with all the traps that go along with
that. She could have been involved in a drug deal, or a debt gone bad. The
police told Rod that there’s a nasty drug ring operating down here on the
island.” 

“Why did they tell that to Rod?” Cindy was startled
that this was the first she’d heard about it.

“They told him because most of the trouble in St.
Lucia can be traced either to the drug ring or to offshore banking,” said
Mattheus. “The police had to rule both out when they were searching for Kara.”

“Did they?” asked Cindy.

“Yes, they did,” Mattheus assured her. “Rowley was
questioned in depth about his finances. Fortunately, he had nothing to do with
the banks down here.”

“What about drugs?” asked Cindy.

“Rowley told the policed that neither he nor Kara
did any drugs. Rod confirmed it. In fact, Rod was offended that the police
would even ask something like. He told them that Kara

 worked in a shelter for abused women and saw
firsthand what drugs could do.”

“Good,” said Cindy, somewhat relieved. From what she
knew about Kara it certainly didn’t seem that she would be involved with a drug
ring.

“It’s looking more and more like Kara drowned,” said
Mattheus, sadly.

Cindy wasn’t ready to go that far. “Right now it
doesn’t look like anything to me,” she responded. “There’s no reason to think
Kara was murdered and also no reason to think she drowned.”

“So where does that leave us?” asked Mattheus.

“Completely in limbo,” said Cindy bleakly.

“That’s exactly how I feel”—Mattheus grimaced—“about
everything.”

*

The meeting at the station went on for a while
longer and different assignments were given out. The overall plan for finding a
culprit and keeping the island safe was laid out. The police work on this
island certainly far exceeded those on others, thought Cindy. And yet, she
still didn’t feel confident that they would uncover what happened to Kara. This
new case could be a detour. It would certainly change their focus, possibly
even be a relief. At least they had a body to work with. There was, of course,
also the off chance that the new case was somehow connected to Kara and would
help them locate her as well. As of now, Cindy wasn’t sure about anything.

After the meeting was over Abe tapped Cindy on the
shoulder and said that she and Mattheus were welcome to come with him into
Darrin’s office now. Shane’s boyfriend, Vinny, was there and would be
questioned in about ten minutes. Abe thought it might be helpful to have Cindy
and Mattheus there.

Cindy was thrilled by the invitation and so was
Mattheus.

“I’ve got to gather every detail I can find to give
to Rod,” Mattheus murmured as they walked down the long hallway together to
Darrin’s office.

Mattheus seemed obsessed with Rod, thought Cindy,
and with doing right by him. She actually felt uncomfortable saying anything
about it, fearing that Mattheus would take it the wrong way.

“What does Rod think about this new case that’s
turned up?” Cindy asked instead.

“Not good, not good,” said Mattheus. “Now he’s
terrified that Kara could have been killed and thrown into the water, like
Shane.”

“There’s no proof that Shane was killed and then
thrown into the water,” Cindy quickly retorted.

“No, but it’s certainly possible,” Mattheus
continued. “It’s not that Rod feels so bad about Shane, either. It’s Kara he’s
focused on.”

Cindy took exception to that. “Why doesn’t Rod feel
bad about Shane? She’s also a young woman, she also has a father somewhere who
will be devastated when he finds out.”

“Of course, of course,” Mattheus quickly corrected
himself. “Nobody’s saying it isn’t a tragedy for Shane’s family. It’s just that
Shane is one case, and Kara’s another. You can’t expect Rod to feel bad for the
entire world.”

Cindy didn’t know what to make of Mattheus’s
comment. It wasn’t like him at all. Somehow he’d gotten deeply under the
influence of his old friend and it was affecting his own feelings and behavior.
Cindy shuddered. Even though Rod was going through a tragedy, she didn’t like
anything about him or the effect he had upon Mattheus.

*

When they arrived at Darrin Frank’s office, a young
man with dark hair sat there looking turbulent and grim.

“Come in,” Darrin said as Cindy and Mattheus
appeared in the doorway. “Sit down here.” Darrin motioned to two chairs close
to the desk the young man was seated at. “This is Vinny Jezze, Shane’s
boyfriend.”

Vinny threw a quick, distraught glance over at Cindy
and Mattheus, then looked away. He was handsome, intense, and obviously
agitated. Cindy felt badly for him.

“We thought you’d want to be here when we questioned
Vinny,” Darrin went on. “If there’s anything you need to ask, please feel free
to do so. Vinny’s already given us his alibi, and it’s completely checked out.
He and Shane were in the casino the night before she turned up dead. Lots of
people saw him. They saw her there too, until about eleven o’clock. After that,
people still saw him there at the tables, but not her.”

Vinny ran his hands through his thick, wavy hair.

“So, where was Shane after eleven p.m., Vinny?”
Darrin started the questioning.

“I don’t know,” Vinny spoke in a nervous tone. “We
always played different tables and did different things all night along. I had
no idea she wasn’t still around.”

“That’s been confirmed,” Darrin said then to
Mattheus and Cindy.

“When did you realize Shane was gone?” Mattheus
joined right in.

“Not until it was time for us to leave, around six
in the morning,” Vinny answered glumly.

“You guys didn’t usually leave until six in the
morning?” Mattheus’s voice became round around the edges.

“That’s right, we played all night long and slept
most of the day.” Vinny picked up on Mattheus’s attitude and became
antagonistic as well.

Mattheus took him on, readily. “You were the last
one to see her alive?”

Vinny glared at Mattheus. “No, I wasn’t. Some people
at other tables saw her playing just before eleven. Last I saw her was around
ten.”

Mattheus looked up fast at Darrin, who nodded
quickly, confirming Vinny’s response.

“You spoke to those people?” Mattheus asked Darrin.

“Yes,” Darrin replied. “Nothing was out of order, it
was normal for her to be there at that time. She seemed fine to everyone.”

“So, who in hell was floating around the casino?”
Mattheus flared up. “Who could have grabbed Shane? The same person who grabbed
Kara, maybe?”

“Speculation,” Darrin flung back.

“All kinds of people float around the casino.” Vinny
jumped on it. “But there’s plenty of security, too. Shane was a pro, she knew
her way around. She wasn’t someone you could just grab. She would have made a
commotion, shouted for me.”

“But the place was so noisy, how could you hear
her?” Mattheus confronted him.Agitated, Vinny stood up quickly and then sat
down again. “If someone grabbed her, you just bring him to me, and he’ll never
stand up straight again,” he exclaimed. “I’m begging you guys, let me go find
him. I’ll take care of it for you, rip him limb from limb.”

“You can help us more by staying calm,” Darrin said
to Vinny. “Tell us all about how else you and Shane spent your time. Who was
Shane in contact with? Who had something against her or against you?”

“I swear to you, no one.” The color drained from
Vinny’s face. “Everyone loved Shane, she was fantastic, smart, strong, loyal,
and she’d been through a lot.”

“What?” asked Darrin.

“Everything,” said Vinny. “Life isn’t easy for
anyone, is it?”

“We can’t get hold of her parents,” Darrin
continued. “Why not?”

“They couldn’t care less about Shane.” Vinny was
practically growling. “They moved all over the country since she was a kid.
First they’re here, then there. Right now they’re in Europe. Shane hadn’t
spoken to them for months. There’s no way they’ll be coming down here any time
soon.”

“How long were you guys dating?” Darrin zeroed in on
him.

“Year and a half,” said Vinny. “We were gonna get
married as soon as her divorce was done. It was gonna be soon.”

“How many times was she married?” Darrin looked
quizzically at Vinny.

“One time only, no kids,” Vinny answered on the
spot.

Cindy liked Vinny immensely. Everything he said was
direct and heartfelt. She could feel how much Shane had meant to him.

“Her ex have anything against Shane?” Abe chimed in.

“In the past , yeah,” said Vinny, “but it was over
now. The idiot met someone and is happy. He can’t wait for the divorce to go
through, too.”

“Does the ex also live back in the States?” Darrin
asked.

“Yeah, so what?” asked Vinny. “He lives in
Connecticut too, a few blocks away from my used car dealership. That’s how I
met Shane, she came in to buy a used car.”

Cindy breathed deeply. It was interesting that both
Kara and Shane came from Connecticut, but so far that fact didn’t add up to
anything. No matter what came up, there was nothing sticking that the police
could hold onto.

“What do you think happened to Shane, Vinny?” Darrin
asked loudly then.

Vinny hands twisted into tight fists. “I don’t know,
I don’t know.” His voice sounded strangled. “But just let me loose, give me a
chance. I’ll track down whoever did it if it’s the last thing I do.”

*

After Vinny left, the police took a ten-minute
coffee break. “Stay if you want,” they said to Cindy and Mattheus, “we got
Rowley and Kara’s dad coming in next.”