by Jaden Skye
This was way more than she’d bargained for, but she decided not to jump to conclusions, thought Cindy, as she walked to the back of the hotel, where a large pool, surrounded by lounge chairs and little tables awaited her. There were a few guests scattered here and there, but basically the pool felt empty and it was soothing to be here.
Cindy sat down on a lounge and reminded herself that sooner or later either Alex or Mattheus would have to call back. She ordered a drink and put her head back, trying to put together the information she’d uncovered. Obviously, they were scared to death at the Shelter of having any misdoing exposed, afraid of being closed down. It seemed clear to Cindy that Shelly had exposed herself to danger by getting between Katrina and Flan. The only way Cindy would find out for sure, would be to go and talk to them herself.
The frosty, iced drink came and she sipped it slowly, suddenly missing Mattheus terribly. It had been so reassuring going over cases with him, feeling cared for and supported. She and Mattheus had balanced each other perfectly and both of them taken it for granted. Was it possible that he would ever come back to his senses, that they’d be able to be working partners again?
CHAPTER 17
Mattheus decided to spend the next day alone. He had no desire to see Cindy or hear about her visit to the Shelter. The shock of seeing her and Alex, cozy at dinner the night before, was more than he could handle right now. Jealousy had never been one of his weak points. In fact, up until now, the opposite had been true. It had never even occurred to him that a woman he was with would step out on him with someone else. Why would they? He was attentive, dependable, caring and loyal to a fault.
After Shelly went missing, out of respect to her memory, it was years before Mattheus let himself get involved with anyone else. And, he’d had no lack of opportunities either. The women down in Grenada had gone after him big time. Why wouldn’t they? He was good looking, toned, sexy and appealing. And he knew it. It was him who had said no to them, over and over.
When he’d finally met Cindy, it was different. Time had passed, Cindy was beautiful, charming, great to be with. They had so much in common, worked so well together. Despite himself, she’d won his heart.
Mattheus spent the morning in bed, ruminating about everything. He finally ordered lunch up in the room, ate it in bed, and thought about how much he used to enjoy sharing meals in the room with Cindy. He’d believed she’d be the perfect partner, someone to step in for Shelly, finally. How could one guy have been so wrong?
Obviously, Cindy had some kind of problem, pulling out on him in Grenada so suddenly. Who does something like that? It reminded him of the way Shelly just ran away. The fact that Cindy came right back down here to help him now meant something, of course. That was good of her, he knew she cared about him. But why in the world would she sneak around the first chance she got, and have dinner with another guy?
After lunch, Mattheus decided to get dressed and take a walk down at the harbor before going down to Rancher’s Bar. He put on a pair of jeans and shirt, and slid out of the hotel taking the back entrance, so as to be sure he wouldn’t run into her. Let her do all the investigating she wanted to, he thought. She was comfortable working with women, great at getting them to talk. So, good for her. That had worked when they were a team. Only they weren’t a team anymore. What were they? Mattheus had no idea.
He walked slowly down to the harbor, which was only a mile away. The sun beat on his face as it walked, feeling good, relaxing him. When he got near the water he took a deep breath and felt his head clear.
The harbor was filled with fishing boats, stores on the sidewalks, outdoor cafes and the wonderful smell of salty air. Mattheus sat down on a bench on the pier, watching tourists choose souvenirs, walk on the docks, go out on fishing boats. They made it look as though the world were normal, that people didn’t just disappear and that it made sense to collect happy memories to bring back as gifts for the folks at home.
Mattheus gazed out at the ocean, and suddenly missed Cindy terribly. Jesus, he thought, I must be going crazy, one minute I hate her, the next minute I miss her like hell. He suddenly wanted to call her, hear every little thing she found out at the Shelter, help her sort it all out, hold her in his arms. He ran his hands through his hair, nervously. Finding out about Shelly’s life down here had turned his world upside down. How could he trust anything anymore?
Mattheus got up, stretched his legs and started walking along the pier. Better to keep moving than to dwell on details, trying to make sense of them. His years of working as a cop taught him that. It always took time for the truth to be revealed. You had to take it one step at a time, stay in the moment and focus on that. Instead of dwelling on his life with Shelly, Mattheus turned a switch in his head and decided to do what he did best - focus on the crime.
What kind of evidence did the cops still need? How he could help? His gut still said that Anthony was innocent, but a gut gets you nowhere. He had to get out there, dig up the dirt, back up his instinct with hard facts.
Mattheus looked at his watch, to his surprise it was almost four o’clock. In a little while Rancher’s Bar would open and he’d be able to go in and talk to Tommy. This was a fascinating lead and he was eager to get on it, especially as the police had just let it just drift by.
Mattheus decided to walk over to Rancher’s Bar now. It was down the other end of town and by the time he arrived it would just be opening up.
*
Rancher’s Bar opened promptly at five. Mattheus got there about six minutes before opening, stood outside, leaned against a street post and waited for someone to arrive. The bar was located in a sketchy neighborhood, way over at the other side of town. A bunch of motorcycles were parked diagonally along the street, in front of small shanty buildings where people lived cheap. The air down here felt heavy with the smell of cooking coming out of the windows, grease, cigarettes and pot. You could hear rap music coming from some apartments, and a few bikers with tattoos passed by. One of them looked Mattheus over.
“Waiting for some?” the biker scrutinized Mattheus, as if he might be on the prowl for dope.
“Not now,” said Mattheus gruffly, trying to pretend he was one of the guys.
“Uh huh,” the guy kept walking.
In a few more minutes another big, muscular guy with a square face, old jeans, earring in both ears and red cap on his head, came up to the bar and leaned against the door. Then he took a key out of his pocket and opened it up.
Mattheus straightened up. That had to be Tommy. Mattheus gave him a few minutes to go inside, and get things going, before he decided to stroll inside and say hello.
The bar was still empty and half dark when Mattheus walked in. Tommy’s back was to him, lining up glasses along the bar.
“Hey,” Mattheus said as he sat down on a bar stool.
Startled, Tommy turned around.
“Hey man, you scared me. Didn’t hear you come in.”
“Sorry about that,” said Mattheus.
Tommy looked Mattheus over. “Haven’t seen you here before,” he said.
“Anthony sent me,” said Mattheus in a hushed tone. He didn’t want to waste any time. It was perfect to get to Tommy now before the crowd started arriving.
Tommy’s jaw fell. “Anthony sent you?”
“Your buddy in jail,” said Mattheus.
“Who the hell are you, man?” Tommy asked, defensive. He was being protective of Anthony and Mattheus liked that.
“It’s not what you think,” said Mattheus, leaning over the bar. “Hey, how about a beer before we talk?”
Tommy wasn’t budging, or giving anything up.
“Talk about what?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m here to help Anthony,” Mattheus said then. “I’m a detective from the Caribbean.”
“The Caribbean? Tell me another.” Anthony frowned. You could see it didn’t make sense to him.
“Give me a minute,” said Mattheus.
“What’s th
is? Some kind of hoax?” Anthony interrupted. “You think I’m a jerk or something?”
“No, really, it’s true,” said Mattheus.
“Really, my ass,” said Tommy. “The police here haven’t even bothered to darken my doorstep, even though Anthony told them about me at least fifteen times. So why should someone come from the Caribbean? Why should I believe you?”
“The police didn’t come because you’re a close friend of Anthony’s,” Mattheus said. “You’re not a reliable witness.”
Tommy relented a second. “Yeah, well, I am a reliable witness.”
“I believe that,” said Mattheus, looking straight at him. “That’s why I’m here, talking to you.”
“You believe that? How come?” asked Tommy.
“Because I have no choice,” answered Mattheus, straight up. “My gut tells me Anthony didn’t do it and I don’t know who else to talk to.”
Tommy liked that. He calmed down a little. “What kind of beer you want, Mister?” he asked.
Mattheus told him and Tommy poured some from the tap. It was good to have some beer now, and Mattheus drank a lot of it fast.
“Take it easy, guy,” Tommy said. “There’s more where that came from.”
“How long did you know Anthony?” Mattheus wanted to jump right in.
“Years,” said Tommy, turning his cap around on his head. “He’s a great guy!”
“I heard that from a lot of people,” said Mattheus.
Tommy was surprised, “Yeah? Who? I thought you didn’t have anyone else to talk to about it?”
Mattheus smiled. This guy didn’t miss a trick, he would make a terrific detective.
“I didn’t talk to anyone else, my partner did,” said Mattheus. “She’s talking to some women down at the Shelter today, as we speak.”
Tommy looked confused. “The abused women’s Shelter?”
“Yeah, where Shelly worked.”
“Oh yeah,” said Tommy. “I forgot about that. I heard she did a good job.”
“The women down there also said that they liked Anthony.”
“Everyone liked the guy,” said Tommy. “This is his damn, rotten luck.”
“But his alibi doesn’t hold,” said Mattheus.
Tommy made a fist and banged it on the bar.
“It holds,” he said. “I know his stupid cousin Bella for years. Everyone down here knows her. It’s no secret, she’s a druggie. Bella told Anthony to come and live with her when he split from Shelly. So, he went. I told him it was a great idea.”
“What was a great idea? Leaving Shelly? Or going to live with his cousin?”
“Both,” said Tommy frowning. “The poor guy had to get away from Shelly. I begged him to do it for the past year.”
Mattheus felt himself starting to freeze, but shook it off. He had to force himself to listen.
“Why did he have to get away from Shelly? What was wrong with her?”
Tommy looked Mattheus straight in the eye. Finally someone wanted his story and he seemed eager to let it be heard.
“The women in the Shelter won’t tell you, but Shelly was one hell of a wild cat. She made my friend’s life miserable.”
Shelly? Mattheus kept saying over and over in his mind. Made his life miserable? It didn’t compute.
“She turned it into a living hell,” Tommy insisted.
“How?” Mattheus demanded.
“The bitch took advantage of Anthony big time. She ran around on him, in front of everyone. He told me he knew about some of it, but man, I could see the hurt in his eyes. He really loved her. I don’t know why!” Tommy took his cap off and put it on again then. “I’ll never know why good guys fall for these bitches. Some guys like to be hurt, I guess.”
Mattheus swallowed hard. This was not a picture of Shelly he could even relate to. A wildcat? Running around with guys?
“Anthony told me he knew she needed to step out on him once in a while,” Tommy continued, “but believe me, it wasn’t once in a while. It was getting worse. Anthony finally told her he couldn’t stand it. She just shrugged it off, acted like she had a vendetta.”
“Against who?” asked Mattheus, the fury rising again inside.
“Who the hell knows, and who cares?” said Tommy. “But she was definitely getting worse and worse, flaunting it wherever she went. She’d turn up in public with one guy one day and then another the next. She and Anthony started fighting about it then. He would yell that he’d leave her if she didn’t stop.”
“People heard that?” asked Mattheus.
“Sure they heard the fights. But they didn’t get the whole picture. People thought it was Shelly who was jealous of him. She was, but he gave her no reason. It was Anthony who was being ripped apart. ”
“What kind of a woman does that?” Mattheus blurted out, heartsick.
“A rotten one, that’s who,” said Tommy.
“It’s not Shelly,” Mattheus uttered.
“What do you mean?” Tommy spun around on a dime. “Did you know her?”
Mattheus couldn’t speak.
“Did you ever see her come in here and dance? The last few weeks before she was killed she came in with only one new guy though, danced with him like a slut. There seemed to be something between them. They clung to each other like it was a matter of life and death.”
“What?” Mattheus felt the heat in his body rising.
“They had some connection! It was obvious. My blood boiled for Anthony. When I told him about it, he finally got fed up, got the hell out of there and went to live with his cousin, Bella. What choice did he have?”
Mattheus started perspiring heavily.
“Believe me,” Tommy went on, “Anthony wouldn’t have ever hurt Shelly, he loved her. He was asleep in his cousin’s house on the night of the murder. Bella was out dancing, and he was supposed to go too, but he didn’t have the heart for it. He called me before he went to sleep. I told him to go get some coffee, and to rest, and stay strong. He said he would. He was supposed to go dancing so that’s what he told the cops. Nobody actually saw him sleeping at his cousin’s that night, so the cops decided his alibi didn’t hold. I say he’s a convenient patsy.”
Mattheus didn’t know what to say or think. He stood there numb, staring.
“Hey, man, you alright?” asked Tommy, looking at him.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” said Mattheus, reeling inside. “I need to know the name of the guy Shelly was tight with, the one she came dancing with here?”
“Sure,”” said Tommy, triumphantly, “he’s a married guy, named Flan. Owns a shark fishing boat down at the pier.”
“Got it,” said Mattheus, “Flan.”
“Remember the name,” Tommy leaned closer. “He’s the one the cops should be questioning. He’s the one the slut couldn’t live without.”
Mattheus wanted to raise his hand to stop him talking about Shelly that way. It was more than he could take, hearing her called a slut. All the years they were married, she’d turned away from Mattheus, cold as stone, plenty of nights. It had become more and more of an effort getting her to come close at all. Mattheus had just thought it was a phase that would pass, that all couples went through that sort of thing.
Mattheus stared at Tommy now, feeling helpless and confused.
“I got to go now, man. Thank you,” said Mattheus, getting up off the bar stool.
“Hey, wait a minute, you look woozy,” said Tommy.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,” Mattheus mumbled as he weaved his way to the door.
Once outside he lurched against a pole, rocked back and forth, and then threw up all over the ground.
CHAPTER 18
Cindy lay on the lounge at the pool, under an umbrella, waiting to hear from Mattheus. Where was he? What had he been doing all afternoon? It was almost evening and he hadn’t answered her call all day long. Neither had Alex. She finally closed her eyes for a cat nap, when her phone rang. Cindy rolled over abruptly, grabbing it, hoping it was finally
Mattheus.
“Cindy,” a sharp voice answered, “We’re here.”
“Here? Who?”It took a few minutes for the voice to register.
“Ann and Frank,” her sister’s voice sounded determined.
Cindy’s heart dropped. “What in the world?”
“Come on,” said Ann, “at least act like you’re glad to hear from me. We’re only staying for the night. We’re at the hotel across the street.”
Cindy was completely taken off guard. She clearly remembered telling her sister not to come.
“We came down to get the vibes for one night,” said Ann.
“You came down to check on me!” said Cindy flatly.
“And if I did, so what? You’re in a crazy, dangerous situation with a person you barely know.”
“Ann, I told you not to come.”
“Don’t Ann me,” Ann answered sharply. “You were pretty happy when I picked you up from the airport in New York.”
“We planned that. It was different. I wasn’t on a case.”
“Some case! This is your boyfriend’s wife who turned up murdered. Both Frank and I are terrified. For all we know you could be best. We want to meet this guy face to face.”
“It’s not possible” said Cindy.
“Of course it is!” Ann insisted.
“Mattheus and I are not working together, anymore,” Cindy declared. It was comforting to say it, to acknowledge the reality.
There was a silence on the other end of the phone.
“Why not?” asked Ann, sounding surprised.
“Things are too unstable between us at the moment,” said Cindy. “I’m working directly with the police now.”
“Cindy, none of this sounds good. Do the police suspect Mattheus had something to do with the death?”
“Definitely not! Don’t become paranoid,” Cindy exclaimed.
