by Jaden Skye
“First stop is the Dream Casino,” she said.
*
The Dream Casino was one of the largest casinos in St. Martin, a place that never went to sleep. Cindy and Mattheus walked through the big, front doors and looked around. There were more than 500 machines and gaming tables offering roulette, baccarat, three card poker and plenty of terrific restaurants. People sat at slot machines, staring, fervently pulling the levers, waiting for the big hit.
Before doing anything else, Cindy and Mattheus walked over to a Shak’Eat to grab a quick bite. Then they would see what they could dig up. Mattheus had made some calls and found the names of a few guys who could be helpful. Mattheus’s close friend Rodney was the best of all. A cop on another island who was hip to everything that went on, Rodney gave him Mattheus name of the right guy to talk to. He even said that he’d personally contact the guy to let him know that Cindy and Mattheus would be arriving soon. No worries, Rodney would do everything in his power for them.
As soon after they sat down at a table for lunch, Mattheus called and let Rodney know they’d arrived at the casino. Rodney was all over it. Before Cindy knew it, she saw a large, heavy, somewhat greasy man sauntering over to them.
“C and M detectives?” he asked, rubbing his face as he pulled out a chair and joined them. “Edwin Case here.”
“Thanks for coming by,” said Mattheus.
“When Rodney calls I jump,” Edwin grinned. “Your wish is my command. You guys having a good time? Can we make it better?”
“We’re here to find out about Lynch Sprain,” Mattheus jumped right in.
Edwin’s eyebrows raised a bit. “Lynch Sprain?”
“You know who he is?” asked Mattheus.
“Everyone down here knows Lynch Sprain,” Edwin answered, “the guy’s a big fish. His company owns half the island and the wedding’s all over the papers. What’s up?” Edwin was waiting for more from Mattheus, uneasy about saying anything more. He was tossing the ball back into Mattheus’s court.
“You tell me what’s up,” Mattheus countered.
Edwin took a quick look over his shoulder and then focused dead square on Mattheus. “What are you up to? What do you want to know?” he repeated.
“Lynch comes here to play the tables much?” asked Mattheus, as if he knew more about him than he actually did.
“Not that I noticed,” said Edwin, nervous.
“Tell me about his company,” Mattheus continued.
“On the up and up. It’s a good company, I never heard anything different.” Edwin rubbed his fat hands on his knees then and threw a quick glance at Cindy.
“This is Cindy Blaine, my partner,” said Mattheus, so Edwin wouldn’t be concerned about her listening in.
“Pleased to meet you,” Edwin replied.
“The family pay off the casino?” Mattheus asked, overly familiar, his voice dropping an octave. It was an old trick of his, to take his opponent off guard.
“Not that I heard,” Edwin mumbled. “Why the hell are you asking me this? Is something wrong?”
At that Mattheus’s eyes flashed open, “Is there?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Edwin.
“I believe you do,” said Mattheus, “or Rodney wouldn’t have suggested you come over and talk.”
At the mention of Rodney, Edwin got restless and shifted in his seat. “What’s this all about?” Edwin was on the offensive now.
Mattheus took a bold leap. “I happen to know there’s trouble in the family and there’s money in it for you to tell me what it is.”
“What kind of money are we talking about?” Edwin replied, taken off guard.
“Plenty of money,” Mattheus whispered.
“Look, I don’t know a thing about it,” Edwin repeated in a slurred tone. “But I know someone who knows whatever trouble is going on within a hundred square miles.”
“Perfect,” said Mattheus, breaking into a grin.
Edwin seemed distressed. “Someone blackmailing Lynch?”
“I wouldn’t put it like that,” said Mattheus.
“For what? He’s a damn nice kid, hasn’t done anything wrong all the time I’ve ever known him. Treats everyone good, treats everyone fair.”
It was easy to see that Edwin liked Lynch and wanted to protect him. Cindy wanted to break in and say something to ease his feelings, but she had to let Mattheus’s line of questioning take its natural course. It was Mattheus’s way to get information out of people.
“Lynch’s had a rough time with his father dying,” Edwin went on, mulling. “He was just getting back on his feet now. We’re all happy about his wedding. People wish him well.”
“Nice to hear that,” said Mattheus, acting totally unimpressed.
“We wish him well, too,” Cindy couldn’t contain herself. “This is just a routine investigation.”
Edwin wasn’t buying it. “Nothing routine about it,” he spit out. “You guys coming down here undercover, snooping around right before the big day. Who put you up to it?”
Mattheus simply smiled.
“Okay, okay,” Edwin looked troubled. “I’ll give you the name of someone else to talk to. But I’m only doing it because Rodney called. If he hadn’t, I’d toss you guys out on your ears – coming down like black crows, hunting for bad news, a couple of days before the kid gets married.”
Cindy felt flustered, but Mattheus showed no reaction at all.
“Well, I’m glad Rodney called,” said Mattheus. “And we’d certainly appreciate that name.”
Edwin gave them the name of Nick Cantro, a dealer who worked at a casino two miles away.
“Lynch goes to that casino from time to time,” said Edwin. “And Nick knows everyone and everything going on in St. Martin. He also knows Lynch personally quite well.
Mattheus took the name, thanked Edwin, and said they would be back with something for him.
“Jesus,” Edwin mumbled, as they got up to leave, “Lynch in trouble? It’s the last thing I’d expect.”
*
“Bingo,” said Mattheus as he and Cindy were on their way to the Beach Casino, two miles down the road. “We got the name of our informant. Now, let’s see what we get out of him.”
Cindy was disturbed at how excited Mattheus was. She felt as though she were on a fool’s mission, trying to spoil the happiness of a lovely, young, happy couple to satisfy the needs of a bitter father.
Cindy looked out the taxi window at the shops all around, the restaurants, clubs, and outdoor cafes. The place was bursting with life and energy. Part of her wanted to forget all about the assignment and join the fun.
The taxi turned around a bend and up towards the Beach Casino. Cindy thought about their talk with Edwin Case. “That guy seemed to really like and admire Lynch,” Cindy said.
“Maybe he does and maybe he doesn’t,” said Mattheus. “We don’t really know anything about it, yet. If everything here is on the up and up, that will be a good thing to know. Then we’ll look closer at Aldon, and prevent trouble with him up ahead.”
That made Cindy feel better. At least something good could come of all this. She and Mattheus got out of the taxi and walked into the entrance of another humongous casino sprawling with gaming tables, machines, poker games and packed with people searching for lady luck.
Before they could even begin to get their bearings, a short guy in a purple shirt, with a few top buttons opened, came right over.
“I’m Nick,” he said, “come with me.”
Obviously Edwin had called Nick immediately. Cindy was amazed at how tight people were here, how on top of everything.
Nick brought them over to a half empty lounge and sat them down on the back sofas, out of view of the half nude waitress, marching around.
“Need a drink?” Nick asked.
“No, we’re good,” said Mattheus.
“So, what’s the problem?” Nick leaned forward, cupping his ear.
“I need whatever
you have on Lynch Sprain,” Mattheus spoke loudly, over the racket.
“So I heard,” said Nick.
“There’s big money in this for you,” Mattheus added. Aldon had told Mattheus not to spare a dime.
“How much?” asked Nick.
“Plenty.”
Nick grinned. “Who wants to know about Lynch? The girlfriend?”
Cindy was startled. “What do you mean girlfriend? You mean Tara, the fiancée?”
“I thought it could be the girlfriend making last minute trouble, but what difference does it make?” said Nick.
“Plenty of difference,” Mattheus said. “Is there a girlfriend in the picture?”
“There was a girlfriend, big time. Not now,” said Nick.
“So, why did you mention her?” asked Cindy, ruffled.
Nick shifted a little. “I don’t know, thought she might be getting nervous now with the wedding so close. And taking place right in her face, down here in her backyard.”
“Lynch has a girlfriend living down here?” Cindy asked again swiftly.
“Had, not has,” Nick repeated.
“How long have they been broken up?” Mattheus asked.
“Once Lynch met Tara, that was it. The girlfriend, Bala, was history,” said Nick.
“Tara broken Lynch and Bala up?” Cindy was startled.
“Nah, not really,” Nick shook his head. “Lynch’s relationship with Bala was really over about three months before he and Tara met. He only checks in with the girlfriend once in a while because of the kid.”
Cindy shivered. “The what?”
“Lynch and Bala have a child together?” Mattheus echoed, stunned.
“Yeah, a little boy, Paulie,” said Nick, unimpressed. “Cute as hell, too. He’s about four years old now.”
Cindy felt as if the walls were crumbling around her. How could this be possible? She looked at Mattheus quickly. Neither had heard a word about this before.
“Is Lynch’s son going to be at the wedding?” asked Cindy, carefully.
Nick looked at her as if she were crazy. “What kind of stupid question is that to ask?” he said. “Of course he isn’t. No one knows the kid even exists at all.”
Cindy was horrified. “What do you mean no one knows?”
“That was part of the deal,” Nick filled them in. “Lynch agreed to pay for the kid, but didn’t want anyone to know about him. A kid like that wouldn’t sit well with his fancy family now, would it?”
“Wait a minute, back up, back up,” Mattheus was having a hard time taking it in. “What kind of story are you telling us? Lynch and Bala were married? They had a child?”
“Who said they were married?” asked Nick. “And yeah, the boy lives down here with his mother. She’s Caribbean and Lynch pays for every little thing. He takes good care of both of them.”
Cindy was stunned. Was it really possible that no one knew about this? How did Nick know that?
Mattheus’s head shook, unbelievingly. “Back up, back up,” he said. “How do you know Lynch takes care of the kid? How do you know that no one knows about it?”
Nick quieted down and made a strange face. “You can ask me for all the information you like, but you can’t ask me how I got it. I just know. That’s got to be enough.”
“So, how do we know you’re telling the truth?” Cindy jumped in.
Nick threw her a contemptuous look. “What reason would I have to make it up? You came looking for me, I didn’t come looking for you. Edwin told me to give you whatever I had.”
“You’ve seen this child?” asked Cindy, aghast.
“Sure I’ve seen him,” said Nick. “He’s a great, little guy. What the hell is the fuss all about?”
“Lynch sees the kid? Hangs out with him?” Mattheus was agitated.
“I didn’t say he hangs out with him,” Nick jumped in. “He sends money. The kid has whatever he needs.”
“Except a father,” Cindy exclaimed.
“Now, wait a minute,” Mattheus took exception to that. “The guy sends money to care for the son. He’s doing his job.”
“Just sending money?” Cindy was appalled.
“It’s more than plenty of fathers would do,” Mattheus held his ground.
“Nick said nobody knows about the boy,” Cindy interjected.
“The kid’s mother is Caribbean,” Nick repeated.
“Is Lynch ashamed of that? Is that why he’s hiding his son?” Cindy became more inflamed.
“Hell, Lynch and Bala had a thing going for a few years and then this kid came along. Lynch stayed with her a little while after he was born and then got out. What’s the big deal?” asked Nick.
“What’s the big deal that Lynch has a secret child?” asked Cindy horrified by Nick’s reaction as well.
Mattheus stood up abruptly then. “I’ll need to know the child’s full, date of birth and where he lives now. I also need the full name of the mother.”
“No problem,” said Nick.
“Thanks, Nick,” Mattheus said quickly, extending his hand. “I’ll be back with the money to take care of you.”
“Sure thing,” said Nick, shaking Mattheus’s hand hard.
*
A light wind was blowing up as the afternoon was winding down. Cindy and Mattheus stood on the street outside of the casino and stared at each other in disbelief.
“You could knock me over with a feather,” said Mattheus, “this is the last thing in the world I expected.”
Cindy was a bit in shock herself. “Let’s go somewhere for dinner and talk this over,” she said.
The two of them walked down the block silently looking for a place to eat. The streets were growing more crowded with tourists and party goers filling up every inch. Cindy and Mattheus stopped at a small, lovely restaurant on the corner that seemed fairly quiet for now.
They went in and were shown to a table in the back garden. Cindy sighed a breath of relief. It was good to be out of the throbbing energy and have time to talk and think. Mattheus ordered a light dinner as Cindy tossed the news about in her mind.
“Well, for starters Aldon isn’t some kind of paranoid psycho,” Cindy said, as Mattheus poured her a glass of ice water that was on the table.
“No, he isn’t,” Mattheus agreed, “he’s a nervous father.”
“He’s got a solid radar,” Cindy went on, “he realized that something was amiss.”
Mattheus raised his eyebrows skeptically. “I don’t know if it’s a solid radar, or just a lonely father looking for a reason to stop his daughter’s wedding.”
Cindy was genuinely surprised by Mattheus’s reaction. “What are you talking about?” she said. “This isn’t just some reason.”
“Sure it is,” said Mattheus.
“What are you saying, Mattheus?” Cindy was aghast.
“Look,” Mattheus answered, “if you dig hard enough you can always find something about everybody. Who doesn’t have a wrinkle in their past?”
“This is more than a wrinkle,” Cindy exclaimed. “Lynch has a secret life.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way,” Mattheus objected. “The guy had a girlfriend and they slipped up, they had a child. This isn’t the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. It’s not exactly a tragedy, is it? After all, the guy’s stepping up, taking care of both of them.”
Cindy felt her jaw drop in amazement. Why was Mattheus making light of it? Cindy had no idea.
“Lynch has a child that he’s keeping a secret from everyone,” Cindy said emphatically.
“We don’t know that for sure,” said Mattheus. “And even if he has, so what?”
“So what?” Cindy echoed. “Are you nuts?”
Mattheus laughed. “I don’t get why you’re so heated about this,” he said. “It’s not like the guy’s a killer, with a slew of bodies left behind.”
“Lynch is getting married in a couple of days, and his bride doesn’t know that he has a child,” Cindy exclaimed.
“So what?” Mattheus looked at Cindy, slightly bewildered.
“So what?” Cindy echoed again. “So, if he can keep a secret like this, who knows what else he’s hiding. The guy can’t be trusted.”
“That’s going too far,” Mattheus eyes narrowed. “Look, he has a kid that his family would obviously frown upon. He’s ashamed of it.”
“That’s not a reason to lie and hide him,” Cindy said.
“It’s human,” said Mattheus, “it’s not a crime. There’s no reason to string him up for it and ruin the rest of his life.”
Cindy felt confused. Was Mattheus implying that the truth about his past would ruin Lynch’s life? Mattheus wasn’t being clear about this, or even rational. Was he saying that it was okay to keep his child secret, not include him in his life? That would be abandonment.
“And what about Tara?” Cindy went on. “What will happen when she finds out down the road that her husband has a secret child?”
“Why does she have to find out?” Mattheus asked gruffly.
Cindy felt amazed. “A secret like this between a husband and wife is okay?”
Mattheus’s face flushed as he grew irritated. “Of course it’s okay. It’s natural. Who does it hurt? Does a guy have to divulge every last thing he’s ever done to the woman he marries?”
Cindy couldn’t even grasp the question. “Of course he does,” said Cindy. “There’s no room for hiding and lies in a marriage.”
“We’re obviously not on the same page about this,” Mattheus grumbled.
“That’s putting it mildly,” said Cindy as the warmth of the day disappeared in an instant, and she
felt a cold chill go up her arms and neck. Where could they go from here? If Mattheus felt it was okay for Lynch to behave this way, who knew what he also felt was fine for himself? “I, for one, would never marry or trust a man who felt this way,” Cindy continued. “If I found out later on, during my marriage about a secret child, it would have a terrible effect.”
“Would you leave?” asked Mattheus gruffly.
