Death by Obsession (Book #8 in the Caribbean Murder series)

by Jaden Skye

  Raina looked over at Mattheus gratefully, and smiled. “It’s lovely of you to think of me at a terrible time like this,” she remarked. “Naturally, everyone’s totally only concerned with how this tragedy is affecting Lynch.”

  Again Cindy noted in passing how odd it seemed that Raina didn’t seem concerned at all about Tara, only how her death affected others.

  Raina picked up the thread of the conversation then. “Needless to say,” she started, “Tara was not a completely balanced young woman.”

  Cindy took exception to that. “What exactly do you mean?” To Cindy Tara seemed well balanced, centered and thoughtful. She wanted to say that to Raina, but paused. It was important to find out what Raina thought of her daughter in law to be.

  “Well,” Raina threw her head back, “it’s common knowledge that Tara drank too much, especially after her mother passed away.”

  “Common knowledge to who?” asked Mattheus.

  Raina frowned slightly. She didn’t like being confronted by Mattheus. In her mind he was her ally. “Ask any of Tara’s friends,” Raina quipped. “Common knowledge is common knowledge.”

  “Go on please,” said Cindy then, encouragingly.

  “Well,” Raina crossed her legs, and continued. “Obviously, Tara had been drinking down here more than she should have. She was nervous about the upcoming wedding.”

  “I’d heard Tara was delighted about marrying Lynch,” said Cindy, trying to egg her on.

  “Delighted, but also terribly nervous,” Raina responded without hesitation. “These things go together, don’t they?”

  “Of course they do,” said Mattheus.

  Raina smiled again at him, pleased. “Well, “she went on, “most likely Tara went for a swim alone right before the rehearsal dinner. The tides were ferocious that night and she must have been slightly drunk. So she was pushed up against the rocks, tossed about and drowned. The idea that someone killed her is ridiculous. Of course the police love to jump to the worst scenario. Makes for good headlines at least!”

  “We heard that she and Lynch went swimming at Ryder’s Cove together late that afternoon,” Cindy quickly interjected. “Why would she go back and swim alone?”

  Raina briefly shivered. “I heard that too,” said Raina, “but it doesn’t make a difference. Tara often did things over and over. She loved to swim, it was a favorite pastime. Obviously, she was nervous and before she got dressed for the dinner, went back to unwind again. She’s done that before.”

  “Done what?” asked Cindy.

  “She’s gone back to swim very soon after she’s already been in the water,” Raina replied. “In fact, I’d even asked her about it. She said she enjoyed it, it calmed her down.”

  This was news to Cindy and she made note of it. The information would certainly be a support to Lynch.

  “I’m sure that she drowned! Positive!” Raina repeated.

  “The body is with the medical examiner,” said Mattheus softly. “We’ll see what he finds.”

  Raina tossed it off. “What can he possibly find?” The body was tossed in the ocean and smashed into rocks.”

  “There’s a lot a body can tell,” Mattheus continued.

  “She brought it on herself,” Raina continued, undaunted. “How dare she go back and forth every minute about whether to go through with the wedding? She was playing roulette with the lives and hearts of many people involved. I told Lynch that earlier, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  “She must have been in a lot of conflict,” Cindy suggested.

  “You can say that again,” Raina’s lips curled together. “And I’m positive that her conflict started way before she learned about Lynch’s son. It was convenient for her to blame it on the boy. It was an easy way out, wasn’t it?”

  Mattheus sat back in his chair and listened then, while Cindy took the lead.

  “Tara wanted to get out of the marriage before she heard about Lynch’s son?” Cindy asked, jarred by the comment. This was the first she’d heard anything of this.

  “It had become a tug of war between Lynch and Tara for a while,” Raina replied. “It got worse in the last few weeks and I noticed Lynch looked worn around the edges. When I asked him about it he brushed it off, but a mother knows these things. I just assumed Tara was making things hard on him,” Raina’s lips pursed together.

  “Why would she do that?” asked Cindy.

  “You can’t ask why someone does something when they’re unbalanced, can you? Little things get blown up out of all proportion and make unbalanced people unstrung,” Raina flung back, “Any little thing even drives them to drugs or drink.”

  This was a dark and gloomy picture Raina was painting of Tara that didn’t jibe with Cindy’s impressions at all. “I never saw her that way,” Cindy remarked, hoping to prompt Raina on.

  “Well, that doesn’t mean a thing, does it?” said Raina. “You barely knew her at all. Clearly, she went for a swim alone down near the Cove right before the dinner, got upset, and the rest is history. It’s absurd that the police dare to call it a homicide before they’re absolutely positive. In fact, I’m having lots of things investigated about Tara, right now, as we speak. Someone in her past could even be involved in this, for all we know.”

  It seemed like Raina’s only concern was to keep up the good name of the family and take Lynch off the hook, Cindy thought. What better way to do it than by blaming the victim?

  “How is Lynch doing?” Cindy asked then, trying to get at things from a different angle.

  Raina stopped talking and stared at Cindy hard. “How do you expect him to be doing? He’s a wreck - still think she’s somewhere, alive.”

  Cindy wanted to tell Raina that was natural, that it took time for a shock like this to sink in, but she stopped herself. She found Raina’s defensiveness off putting, was still waiting to hear one word of sympathy from her for Tara or her family.

  “Lynch will calm down and come to his senses,” Raina picked up the thread where she’d left off. “But there’s going to be all kinds of fall out.” Then she paused and straightened her back, as if to make a grand announcement. “Okay, this is why I wanted both of you here,” she paused grandly. “I do not want a word about Lynch’s son leaked to the press. That would be disaster for us all.” Suddenly she stood up and smoothed her skirt. “I’m sure I can trust both of you in that, can I not?” Raina stopped and stared directly at Cindy.

  “Trust us in not letting the press know about Lynch’s son?” Cindy asked carefully.

  “Exactly,” said Raina firmly. “Not only the press. I don’t want you telling anyone.”

  Mattheus stood up then and went over to Raina. “We certainly won’t give the information to the press,” he said quietly. “But, one way or another, the police are going to find out about it.

  It’s impossible for them not to.”

  Raina’s bristled. “Why is it impossible? Who is going to tell them?”

  “Raina, a young woman is dead,” said Mattheus. “There has to be a thorough investigation.”

  “I never said otherwise,”Raina shot back.

  “And the existence of Lynch’s son is part of the story, like it or not,” Mattheus informed her.

  “He’s not part of anything,” Raina burst out harshly. “This is confidential information. Is there a way to make sure that the police don’t leak it, that they don’t ruin our business and reputation?”

  “Confidentiality is another question,” said Mattheus.

  “I need a way to keep the police quiet about it,” Raina demanded shrilly. “They do not have to divulge every, personal detail of our lives to the news, do they?”

  “It depends how things develop,” said Mattheus.

  Cindy stepped in instantly. “Mattheus means that if suspicion for Tara’s death falls on Bala or her brother Dawl, it may be hard to keep that quiet.”

  Raina spun around, her face pale.

  “Let’s take it one step at a time,” Mattheus tried to calm her.


  “I can’t do that,” she answered agitated. “I have to keep the big picture in mind. We’ve suffered enough through all this. It’s up to me to protect my family now.”

  CHAPTER 12

  The question of how Raina was going to protect her business and family was on Cindy’s mind as she and Mattheus left Raina’s room and went downstairs. There was a lot they had to go over and decided to take some time at the beach together to debrief.

  The exquisitely beautiful, sun and surf made the day seem perfect. Not a cloud floated in the clear, azure sky and guests at the hotel who were not part of the wedding, were lolling about, sitting on beach chairs and drinking cocktails as if nothing much had happened.

  “Let’s walk down towards Ryder’s Cove,” said Mattheus. “We’ll trace her footsteps, see what comes up.”

  The thought of it brought a chill to Cindy. “We don’t know that’s where she died,” she said, “only that’s where she was found.”

  “Let’s go there anyway,” said Mattheus, “it ‘ll give us a better sense of what went on.”

  Cindy blanched. Her personal connection to Tara made this case different. “I want to hear that she’s fine and this didn’t really happen,” Cindy looked up into Mattheus’s eyes.

  He smiled quietly. “I understand,” he said, “it’s too close for comfort.”

  “I liked her,” said Cindy, feeling bleak.

  “Then let’s give this our all,” Mattheus replied as they took off their shoes and walked through the warm sand to the edge of the water, and then headed to the cove.

  Cindy wanted to hold Mattheus’s hand as they walked, but stopped herself. She had to get a grip. This murder was different from most of the other cases they’d been on. She’d spent personal time with Tara, admired and respected her. It was hard for Cindy to have a sense of her as dead.

  Mattheus broke into her thoughts as they walked and the surf played with their bare feet.

  “Tell me about your visit with Tara to Bala,” he said. “I need to hear every detail of it.”

  Cindy knew it was tremendously important to tell him about it. She was ashamed of how reluctant she was to go over it again. Instead of wavering though, she decided to jump right in now.

  “Let’s sit down for a second on the sand,” Cindy said. “I can’t talk about this as we keep walking.”

  Mattheus looked surprised. “Okay,” he agreed, “let’s sit down.”

  They sat close together as Cindy pulled her legs up under her and, all at once, wanted to cry. “I messed up,” she said then in a small voice that was drowned out by the surf.

  Mattheus took her hand. “Speak louder, I can’t hear you,” he said.

  “I feel horrible about this,” said Cindy.

  “Why?” Mattheus grew nervous, “what happened?”

  Cindy launched into a description of the visit, describing Bala and her brother Dawl.

  “Tara was so excited to see the child again,” said Cindy. “Bala was there, waiting for Tara and so was her brother, Dawl.”

  “Who’s that, the uncle?” asked Mattheus.

  “Yes, Dawl raised the boy with his sister as his son,” said Cindy. “He was threatened by Tara, big time. He thought Tara came to take the boy away.”

  “My God,” said Mattheus. “Did she?”

  “I thought she came to include the boy in her life with Lynch,” Cindy said.

  “That’s the same thing as taking him away,” said Mattheus.

  “Of course not,” Cindy defended Tara. “She just wanted the boy to know his father and not to be abandoned by him!”

  “The boy’s relationship with his father was none of her business,” Mattheus retorted, beginning to get upset again.

  “Whether or not it was is not the point now,” Cindy grew stronger. “The point is that Tara wanted to see the boy and Dawl wouldn’t let her.”

  “Wouldn’t let her?” Mattheus was amazed.

  “Dawl actually warned Tara to stay away,” Cindy continued. “He said he was the boy’s father now, had help raise him since birth, and that somebody would only take him away over his dead body.”

  Mattheus dug his feet back and forth into the sand. “That’s a point blank threat,” he said.

  “You could call it that,” Cindy replied.

  “Call it that? What else is it? A point blank threat,” said Mattheus, turning and looking at Cindy.

  “Yes, it was a point blank threat,” Cindy started having trouble breathing. “And I let it pass right by. Tara and I left the boy’s home quickly after he said it. He threw us out. She never even got to see the child.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this right after it happened?” Mattheus was horrified.

  “I don’t know,” Cindy called out, her voice echoing into the sea. “I didn’t take it all to heart. I didn’t think she would actually go through with the wedding, so none of this would mean much.”

  “Whether or not she went through with the wedding, it means a great deal,” said Mattheus. “Threats like that mean something. People act on them sooner or later.”

  “Why would he?” Cindy whimpered. “If Tara left Lynch, she wouldn’t have had any more connection with his son. She said over and over she wanted to leave, but was just trying to see if she could work things out. Bringing Lynch’s son into the family was a big piece of it for her. Since she couldn’t work that out, I really thought she’d leave.”

  Mattheus’s face became covered with perspiration. “The brother was obviously threatened by Tara, but also the news of the child was now public. Whether or not Tara married Lynch, he had to keep the kid for his own. Who knows what he else he could have done?”

  “To who?” asked Cindy. “Nobody wanted the child.”

  “Dawl didn’t know that, though did he?” Mattheus cried out.

  “That’s what happens when a father abandons his child,” Cindy said frantically. “Unsavory people come in and take over.”

  “Are you referring to me, abandoning a child?” Mattheus suddenly asked horrified.

  “No I’m not,” Cindy wailed. “Is Tara’s death my fault? Am I directly responsible?”

  The two of them grew silent then. They stopped talking and listened to the sound of the waves pulled in and out by the heartless tide that took whatever it wanted from the shore, never to be seen again.

  “I’m so sorry, really I am,” Cindy put her head in her hands.

  Mattheus put his arm around her then. “No, it’s okay,” he said, “you can’t blame yourself. You did your best. You stood by Tara, you tried to help. You just never imagined she was in danger -.”

  Cindy looked up at him gratefully. “No, I didn’t,” she breathed. “This case has been strange, right from the start. I wasn’t thinking of it that way. We weren’t called down here to solve a murder.”

  “No we weren’t,” said Mattheus grimly. “At least we didn’t know it at first.”

  After sitting silently awhile together, Mattheus stood up and stretched. “Let’s get up and move forward,” he said softly. “We have to continue on to the cove.”

  Cindy was reluctant. “What are we going to do about Bala and Dawl?” she asked, staying planted in the sand.

  “I don’t know,” said Mattheus, “we have to find out more about the brother. Obviously, we’ll have to tell the police about this, and see what they come up with.”

  “I don’t want to tell them,” Cindy flinched.

  “Why not?” Mattheus was astonished.

  “We’ve already brought so much harm,” Cindy said softly. “Right now the boy has a home and a family. If we start poking around, who knows what will happen to Bala and Dawl? And if his family is destroyed, who knows what will happen to the boy then?”

  Mattheus grew quiet. “I understand how you feel,” he said softly, “but we can’t withhold information like this from the police. That’s obstructing a murder investigation.”

  Cindy’s head fell. “You think Dawl had something to do with w
hat Tara’s death?” she said disconsolately.

  “It’s a possibility,” Mattheus replied. “You don’t come charging into a family, mess with the balance of relationships, threaten people and walk away untouched.”

  *

  Mattheus insisted that they go onward to Ryder’s Cove. “There’s something about being in the place she was found that will help us think clearly,” he said.

  Cindy walked along beside him sadly, as though she were going to a funeral.

  “It’s not so far from here,” Mattheus took her hand and encouraged her to pick up her speed.

  Strong breezes from the ocean washed over them as they walked onwards the end of the beach. Once there, they turned down an incline and proceeded through two narrow trails, until they arrived at Ryder’s Cove.

  Ryder’s Cove was near the lagoon, a well -known spot for swimming, sightseeing and birding. The Cove was a cave like structure at the edge of the shore. Down a sloping hill, filled with jagged edges and hidden inside a cliff, warm, murky water spun around inside it in a whirl. Most came to take photographs, but didn’t actually swim.

  As Cindy and Mattheus got closer, Cindy stopped a moment and held back.

  “What?” asked Mattheus.

  Cindy felt the heat and humidity grow denser and more cloying as they approached the spot. “Tara and Lynch came here to swim during the afternoon,” Cindy murmured, allowing pictures of what could have happened to roll through her mind.

  “That’s right,” Mattheus recalled. “I believe people saw her alive after that.”

  “You’re sure about that?” asked Cindy quickly.

  Mattheus was startled. “No, not exactly,” he said. “I just assumed her friends saw her. We’ll have to check it out, get the time line down exactly. The medical examiner will also be able to tell us

  precisely how long she was in the water and what time she died.”

  Cindy nodded. As they moved closer to the opening of the Cove her heart starting pounding. “I can’t take another step closer,” Cindy breathed, her hand on her chest.

  “Why not?” asked Mattheus perturbed. This wasn’t like her.