by Jaden Skye
By the time Owen spun around to see who Cindy was waving at, both the cops and Mattheus were at his side.
“Get the hell away from me,” Owen tried to grab Nina and make a run for it.
“Hold on,” one cop said, closing in. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Oh no? Says who?” asked Owen, trapped and furious.
“There’s new evidence,” Cindy spit out at him again. “There’s a witness who saw you driving the boat into your wife, over and over again.”
“Oh God,” Nina whimpered, turning white.
“Tara was alive after the accident,” Owen gained his footing, “it didn’t kill her. I lost control of the boat. There’s no way they can prove I did it on purpose.”
Nina started crying and Cindy stepped fiercely between her and Owen, separating them.
“If you know something that you’re hiding,” Cindy flung out to Nina, “you’re an accessory to a crime. You’ll be arrested and charged with murder, too.”
“Oh no, no,” Nina became terrified.
“If you tell us the truth, you’ll be free,” Cindy said.
“She doesn’t know the truth, she doesn’t know anything,” Owen tried to edge back in beside her.
“I do know things,” Nina kept whimpering.
“Shut your mouth, idiot,” Owen demanded.
Nina’s eyes opened painfully. “What did you call me?” she gasped.
Owen stepped closer threateningly, “I said shut up, idiot,” he thundered at her.
Trembling, Nina crept closer to Cindy.
“It’s alright, Nina,” Cindy said, “tell us the truth and you’ll be protected in every way.”
“It was planned, it was planned,” Nina started sputtering, “Owen did it to be with me. And not only that, he wanted the money, too.”
“From the insurance policy?” Cindy demanded.
“Yes, he said he needed all the money he could get. And he needed Tara gone, and me in his life,” Nina’s body was trembling.
The police yanked Owen’s arms behind him then and locked the cuffs on.
Owen’s face grew red and his eyes started glaring. “You’re a fool now and you’ve always been,” he practically spit at Nina.
“Did Owen put the stuff into Tara’s IV?” Cindy continued grilling Nina. This was a perfect time to get every ounce of truth out of her.
“Yes, he did,” Nina breathed. “But I pushed him to do it. I couldn’t stand waiting so long for Tara to die.”
“You couldn’t stand waiting?” Cindy was horrified.
“Neither of us expected Tara to live after Owen pushed her into the water and rode the boat into her head,” Nina couldn’t stop talking. “Tara had no right to live then, but she did. Then Owen just sat there day after day in that chair by her side. I told him to get out of the chair and finish it off. I couldn’t stand waiting. We had a new life ahead for us.”
Owen glared at Nina as she spoke, then suddenly lurched again as the cops cranked the cuffs tighter.
“Alana was innocent all along?” Cindy breathed painfully.
“She was,” Nina looked at Cindy, alarmed.
“You killed not only Tara, but Alana as well,” Cindy stared at her. “Two beautiful women dead because of both of you.”
“But you said I’d be free, you’d keep me safe if I told you everything,” Nina was quick to cry out. “You need me for a witness, too.”
“Yes, I do,” Cindy acquiesced.
Mattheus stepped over to Cindy then as one policeman carted Owen away and the other came over to Nina.
“I offered her immunity. We need her for a witness,” Cindy muttered.
“Got it,” the other policeman said, taking Nina’s information down, “I’ll advise the courts of that.”
“Well at least they’ve got Owen,” Mattheus replied, as Nina stood there shaking like a ragged leaf in the wind.
Chapter 22
Once again the headlines announced that Cindy was a hero. Because of her unwillingness to leave any stone unturned, Tara’s true killer had been apprehended! At the very last minute Cindy had turned things on their head once again.
Cindy and Mattheus sat close to one another on the small, velvet settee in their hotel suite watching the news on TV.
“The hospital administrator, Konrad has been re-instated in his job,” the reporter continued. “Devastated to have lost Alana, Konrad is setting up a foundation in her name.”
“So many victims of one crime,” breathed Cindy.
“And some who will grow because of it, as well,” said Mattheus, comfortingly.
That was an interesting thought to Cindy. “Who?” she asked.
“I received two calls from Loretta who couldn’t get through to your phone,” Mattheus continued. “She said you’ve saved her life, turned her into another person. One day she wants to be a detective like you.”
Cindy smiled. “That’s good hear,” she moved closer to Mattheus, hoping to stay beside him like this for the rest of the afternoon.
Mattheus got off the settee suddenly though, fell down to his knees, and looked up at Cindy.
“What’s wrong?” Cindy asked alarmed, not knowing what was going on.
Out of nowhere and with the full force of his heart, Mattheus suddenly cried out,
“Cindy, I love you. The time has come.”
Then Mattheus dug down into his pocket, pulled out a small velvet box. He flipped it open, put the open box on the palm of his hand, and held it up towards Cindy. An incredible diamond, engagement ring, sparkled magnificently like a thousand suns.
“Will you marry me, Cindy?” Mattheus’s voice dropped to an echo. “I need you at my side forever, I want to live my whole life with you. I want to make you happy, give you everything.”
Cindy stared at the ring, stared into Mattheus’s eyes which were filled with endless hope and devotion.
“Yes, yes,” Cindy cried out uncontrollably, unable to believe this was really happening.
“My God,” Mattheus jumped up, drew Cindy into his arms and held her for what seemed like an eternity. “We’ll leave Jamaica now,” he whispered, “have time together, celebrate our engagement, walk on beautiful beaches together.”
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Cindy breathed, “we’ve never had time alone before, but who knows now?”
COMING SOON…
Book #11 in the Caribbean Murder Series
Now Available: Jaden’s Skye NEW romance series!
A PERFECT STRANGER
(Book #1 in the Tom’s River Saga)
Nestled among trees and hills, set alongside a winding river, the small town of Tom’s River, Wisconsin, so beautiful and protected, is a place where everybody knows each other, a place where nothing ever changes and where people can feel safe. But one day, all that changes. Megan’s husband has gone missing, and no one can find him.
As the search deepens, Megan discovers the truth not only about her husband, but also about the secrets he’s been hiding in their marriage. Her world is shook as she realizes she’s been living a lie, has been in a relationship with a man who’s been living a secret life, a man she never really knew.
Some months after his disappearance, as the snows of winter melt, Hunter, a handsome, magnetic stranger, arrives in Tom’s River. A loner with a mysterious past, he is content with his solitary job at the lumber yard. But as a tornado ravages the town, he is destined to cross paths with Megan, as she seeks help to repair her damaged home.
Once Hunter and Megan meet, nothing is ever the same again. As he repairs the roof that blew off her home, the two cannot hold back their feelings for each other. They fall madly in love. Yet Megan cannot, once again, live with a man who is keeping secrets from her: she needs Hunter to open up about who he is, about what he’s running from. And that is not something Hunter may be ready to do.
As they face a crucial crossroads in their affair, a shocking and dramatic twist hits the town: one that will test their love, and will test
the town. Nothing will be the same in Tom’s River again.
Please visit Jaden’s site, where you can join the mailing list, hear the latest news, see additional images, and find links to stay in touch with Jaden on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and elsewhere:
www.jadenskye.com
Also by Jaden Skye
THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES
DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)
DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2)
DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3)
DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4)
DEATH BY DECEIT (Book #5)
DEATH BY JEALOUSY (Book #6)
DEATH BY PROPOSAL (Book #7)
DEATH BY OBSESSION (Book #8)
DEATH BY DEVOTION (Book #9)
DEATH BY BETRAYAL (Book #10)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
