Death by Wedding (Book #16 in the Caribbean Murder series)

by Jaden Skye

  “Drinking and drugs do it every time,” Kiera whispered, pleased at Cindy’s response.

  “What is she doing here alone? Isn’t Gregg supposed to look after her?” Cindy was aghast.

  “Gregg’s too busy hanging out with Pete,” Kiera reported. “When Benita’s left alone, this is where she gravitates to. She’s a low-life, you can see for yourself.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Cindy was filled with a sense of horror and sorrow as Benita called out for another drink. Her hair was loose and wild over her face and her voice sounded even more strangled.

  “Come on over and talk to Benita, why don’t you?” Kiera obviously had a plan and wasn’t letting it slide.

  “She’s in no state to be talked to.” Cindy pulled back.

  Kiera stiffened. “Wrong. She’s in the perfect state to be talked to,” she said. “This is the true Benita, right here. Find out what she has to say. Ask her why Sparks died.”

  Cindy knew she had to go along and see what Kiera had in mind.

  The moment Cindy and Kiera approached, Benita lurched away.

  “So, you’re back at the bar again?” Kiera shouted at Benita. “Still making a complete fool of yourself! What if Sparks saw you now?”

  Benita spun around and stared at Kiera. “Go to hell, go to hell,” Benita started to scream.

  The bartender immediately came over. “Okay, ladies, no more of this now. You don’t want me to call the bouncer again, do you?”

  “What do you mean, ladies?” Kiera smirked. “Is this how a lady behaves? Benita was never, ever a lady, only pretended to be.”

  Cindy was disturbed. “Have some compassion for Benita,” Cindy said to Kiera. “She’s just lost Sparks, she’s in terrible pain.”

  “Compassion, really? I’m also in pain.” Kiera’s face became contorted. “I just wanted you to see who you really have on your hands. Wake up, Cindy. You want blood on your hands? You can’t go along with locking up an innocent man.”

  “Who’s the innocent man, Wess?” asked Benita, zeroing in on Kiera suddenly.

  “That’s right, he’s innocent,” Kiera responded. “And we both know it.”

  “How come you’re so obsessed with Wess now?” Benita was doing her best to pull herself together.

  “Because Wess is a wonderful man,” crooned Kiera. “I care about him, and he deserves better than you.”

  “So, now you suddenly got the hots for Wess?” Benita suddenly flailed up at Kiera.

  “What are you talking about?” Cindy asked, stepping between them as all eyes along the bar turned their way.

  “I’m not talking about anything.” Benita shut up quickly. “There’s nothing to talk about anyway, is there?” Then she spun back around on her seat, grabbing her drink.

  “Put that drink down and speak.” Kiera came up closer behind her.

  “Are you threatening me now?” Benita looked enraged.

  “It’s over, Benita,” Kiera whispered in her ear.

  “Nothing is over ever,” Benita thundered, “until I say it is. Then it’s really over.”

  At that Kiera spun toward Cindy. “Ask her where she was when Sparks was killed!” Kiera demanded.

  Cindy knew she had to follow Kiera’s lead. “On the night Sparks was killed, at exactly what time did you meet Kiera and welcome her to Belize?” Cindy asked.

  “Go to hell,” whispered Benita in return.

  “Tell me!” Cindy intensified her demand. “Where were you exactly when Sparks was killed, Benita?”

  “I already told you,” Benita practically spit into her drink.

  “Tell me again,” Cindy demanded.

  “I was meeting Kiera at the airport,” Benita said. “I was welcoming her down to Belize.”

  “I need the exact time line,” Cindy repeated.

  “I can’t remember right now,” Benita mumbled, discombobulated.

  “You have to remember,” Cindy demanded. “You told us you were not at the rehearsal dinner because you went to the airport to meet Kiera. Was that a lie?”

  Benita suddenly smiled. “It was a half truth,” she whispered. “Everything is only a half truth, isn’t it?”

  “She doesn’t have an alibi.” Kiera’s voice grew fierce then. “She told you she did and she doesn’t. She lied.”

  “I do,” Benita whispered. “A secret alibi.”

  “And what about you?” Cindy confronted Kiera. “You went along with Benita’s story. Why did you do that? How come?”

  “I had to,” said Kiera, “I had no choice about it.”

  “We all have a choice about everything we do.” Cindy grew tougher.

  “I promised Sparks I’d always take good care of Benita,” Kiera went on then in a strange voice. “But Benita never greeted me at the airport at all. She told me to say that and I went along with it as long as I could. But I can’t anymore now. I won’t. I refuse to. The truth is, she wasn’t with me. I was alone at the airport until I got to the hotel.”

  Benita’s eyes clouded over and she laughed. “Idiots, you’re all idiots.”

  “It’s all a lie,” Kiera gasped from the bottom of her throat.

  Benita sprung up from her stool suddenly, as if she were about to grab Kiera. “And how about you? Did anybody see you at the airport? Any witnesses?”

  “Bat saw me there,” Kiera announced loudly.

  “Bat?” Benita looked thunderstruck.

  “Sparks called Bat to let him know I was coming and told him to meet me there,” Kiera went on. “Sparks never wanted me be alone.”

  “Sparks couldn’t have cared less about you.” Benita grew livid.

  “Ask Bat if you don’t believe me.” Kiera turned to Cindy then. “Check this all out carefully.”

  Cindy’s heart began pounding as the two women seemed about to lunge at each other.

  “I will ask Bat,” Cindy replied carefully. “In fact, Bat’s with Mattheus right now. I can call and have Mattheus ask him.”

  “I don’t want Mattheus asking Bat, you can ask him yourself,” Kiera insisted.

  Benita jumped off the stool then and, her fingers like claws, suddenly began flailing at Kiera, scratching her wildly on her shoulders and neck.

  “Get off me, get off!” Kiera pushed Benita backward for all she was worth.

  As Benita spun backward, she ducked down, running toward the back of the club. Cindy followed her and saw Benita duck lower, grab her phone from her pocket, and make a call.

  “You get here and protect me from Kiera,” Benita thundered into the phone. “If you’re not here in a few minutes, it’s over. I’m telling all.”

  Then Benita ducked lower and before Cindy knew what was happening, scurried out the back door. Cindy turned backward a second to see Kiera racing up to her.

  “Let’s go,” Cindy hollered, “Benita just left through the back door. Take me to her.”

  “Come on,” Kiera agreed, as they both fled the club.

  Once again Kiera pulled Cindy in the dark night, through winding side streets. Finally, they reached another back door of a low building, where Kiera suddenly halted.

  “Benita’s gone in here, I’m sure,” said Kiera. “There’s nowhere else to go.”

  “Where are we?” asked Cindy, breathless.

  Kiera stood up and smiled. “This is the back way into Wess’s hotel suite. I’ve watched Benita make her way here even when Sparks was alive. Even though they were engaged, Benita’s been back with Wess for a long time.”

  “Is she inside the suite now?” asked Cindy, breathless.

  “We’ll go push the door open and see.” Kiera’s eyes were shining. “Wess isn’t there to protect her, and neither is Sparks. Let’s see what the bitch does now on her own.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Cindy and Kiera approached the back door of Wess’s suite carefully. But before Cindy knew what happened, Kiera lurched backward and, in a flash, kicked the door for all she was worth. The door rattled fiercely. She kicked
it once again and in a blast, it flew open. Triumphant, Kiera grabbed Cindy’s hand and pulled her inside.

  No one was there. The place was silent and empty with no sight of Benita anywhere.

  “She’s not here,” whispered Cindy.

  “She is.” Kiera stayed firm. “Let’s walk slowly into the main room. She thinks she’s hidden, but she’s not. Nothing is hidden anymore. Her time is up. Follow me!”

  Kiera yanked harder on Cindy’s hand as they walked silently into the living room. Once again, it was empty and still, everything in place as though waiting for Wess to return.

  Suddenly, Cindy heard a low rumble behind her.

  “Take another step and you’re dead,” Benita’s harsh voice rang out.

  Cindy spun around to see Benita crouched in the corner, a small revolver in her hand.

  “You don’t want to die like this, do you?” Benita had an eerie smile on her face.

  “Is this what you did to Sparks?” Kiera asked, frozen at Cindy’s side. “Did you come on him from behind?”

  Benita’s hand trembled on the gun and Cindy realized she had no experience with it. She tried to defuse the situation.

  “Why would you kill Sparks, Benita?” asked Cindy. “Frankly, I don’t believe you did it.”

  “You’re right, I didn’t!” Benita stood up tall then, still pointing the gun at them.

  “Yes, she did,” breathed Kiera. “Sparks even warned me that if someone ever found him dead, the first one we should grab was Benita.”

  Benita guffawed. “Ridiculous. Sparks never said that. He always thought I loved him.”

  “But you didn’t, did you?” Kiera demanded.

  “Not when I found out who he really was.” Benita calmed down and took a few small steps toward them. “And believe me, there were plenty of people who also found out and wanted to kill him.”

  “Like who?” asked Cindy, feeling as though they were all standing on the edge of a slippery precipice that could topple over at any moment.

  “For starters, how about Kiera?” Benita smiled. “Kiera couldn’t have been too happy when Sparks told her that, like it or not, I was the one he was marrying.”

  Cindy was startled. “Wait a minute, are you saying Kiera and Sparks were involved?”

  Benita’s eyes filled with pure rage. “Were they ever! Everyone knows that Kiera is a home-wrecker. She loves breaking up couples and taking the guys for herself! She wears them like badges of honor. Even her dead sister knew that. April warned me about Kiera a long time ago.”

  “Don’t you dare mention my sister,” Kiera threatened. “April never said that.”

  “Your sister loved Sparks, just like you did,” Benita insisted. “She also tried to take him away.”

  Cindy’s head started whirling. “Slow down a minute,” she interrupted. “I thought Sparks introduced Kiera to Pete and wanted the two of them to be happy.”

  “He did it to cover their tracks,” Benita started ranting. “He didn’t fool me, though, not for a second.”

  “You and Kiera were with Sparks at the same time?” Cindy wanted to get the details straight.

  “What difference does it make? What difference?” asked Kiera, baring her teeth.

  “Everything makes a difference, Kiera,” said Cindy, a strange calm taking her over. “Sparks was engaged to be married to Benita.”

  “But I miss him, I miss him,” Kiera continued wailing.

  “You miss him?” Benita flared up. “How about me? It was me he was going to marry!”

  “No, it wasn’t. He loved me more. He told me,” Kiera continued. “When it was all over, I was the one who was going to be walking down the aisle with him. So, you killed him for it, didn’t you?” Kiera stepped closer to Benita.

  “If I could have I would have,” Benita hissed at her. “But someone else did it first. Do you have any idea who, Kiera?”

  Cindy listened in shock as suddenly a strange sound came from the front door. Someone was out there, rattling the door, pushing it in.

  “It’s got to be Pete.” Benita looked relieved. “Finally, finally,” she said, as to Cindy’s amazement, Pete dashed in, taking full measure of the situation.

  “Put the gun down immediately, Benita,” Pete ordered, a strange smirk on his face.

  “I won’t. You can’t make me,” Benita dug in, as Pete quickly lunged over and grabbed the gun out of her hand. There was no contest either; Benita practically gave it to him. A huge wave of relief filled Cindy.

  The small revolver still in his hand, Pete then turned to Cindy and Kiera.

  “Okay, let’s all sit down a minute,” he commanded.

  “Give me the gun, Pete.” Kiera walked toward him.

  To Cindy’s shock, Pete shoved his arm out in front of him, pushing Kiera back.

  “Get back to where you belong,” he demanded.

  Kiera stared at him for a second, then went to sit down on the couch beside Cindy and Benita.

  “You’re all acting like a bunch of idiots.” Pete’s lips tightened. “This game has gone on too long! I’ve had enough of it! I warned you, Benita.”

  Cindy wondered what game he was talking about. “What game?” she asked, needing to keep him talking.

  “You know what I’m talking about, Cindy,” Pete shot back. “Or maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re a beautiful woman who’s not so bright.” He threw Cindy a sidelong glance. “What are you doing with these two, anyway? Why the hell is a detective hanging around them?”

  “I’m looking for Sparks’s killer,” Cindy responded curtly. “That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

  “I thought the case was over,” Pete snapped. “They’ve got Wess in custody, don’t they?”

  “Temporarily,” Cindy remarked, throwing out a gauntlet, wanting to see how he would respond.

  “Temporarily?” Pete was struck by the comment. “Seems like as long as this rumbling goes on, we’re all in trouble. Once it stops the police will settle on Wess and that will be that.” He threw Benita a quick glance.

  “The police have settled on Wess,” Benita insisted. “It’s over, Pete.”

  “Far from over,” he snapped back. “But you guys don’t care a bit. You keep making a commotion and calling attention to yourselves. Everyone in the bar saw what happened tonight.”

  “How do you know about that?” Cindy was dumbfounded. Pete hadn’t been at the bar tonight.

  “I have my ways.” Pete flicked his head back. “And I know this can’t continue.”

  “What will the police find if the rumbling doesn’t stop?” Cindy stood up abruptly, wanting to take Pete off balance for the moment.

  “Sit back down!” Pete snapped in return, his hand tightening around the gun.

  “And if I won’t?” asked Cindy, taking a step toward him. “If we don’t stop making a commotion? Then what?”

  “You heard me.” Pete’s eyes became like slits. “The games are over for now. I’m telling you!”

  Benita started to cry. “I thought you were my friend, Pete,” Benita wailed. “I thought you wanted to protect me.”

  “Shut your lousy crying up.” Pete stepped closer. “I can’t trust even one of you lousy idiots anymore.”

  “You said we were friends,” Benita continued.

  “We’re all sitting on dynamite and you don’t even know it,” Pete snapped in return. “This can all blow up in our faces at any second.”

  “Yes, it can.” Kiera entered the fray. “That’s why I want Cindy to take Benita in.”

  “Benita?” Pete’s face grew tighter. “She’s the one who told Sparks everything?”

  “No, no.” Benita was becoming unhinged. “I’m not the one who told Sparks. Kiera is.”

  “What did Kiera tell Sparks?” Cindy insisted as Pete’s hand inadvertently tightened around the small revolver.

  “Forget who told what to who!” Pete exclaimed. “It’s over for all you stupid women. You think I can afford to let this go on another second?”


  Cindy looked out the window then and saw a shadow passing on the nearby hill, approaching the house.

  “What did Kiera tell Sparks?” Cindy repeated harshly.

  Pete smiled at Cindy strangely. “Sparks demanded a million bucks from me after he heard I was still making secret gay porn films. If that news came out my career would be finished. So, Sparks felt I owed him that much at least to keep it all quiet.”

  Cindy gasped. “That’s awful,” she said.

  “What’s awful about it? It’s my pleasure, dear Cindy, I happen to love it,” Pete snapped.

  “I mean it’s awful that Sparks blackmailed you about it.” Cindy tried to clear it up.

  “And it’s my guess that dear Kiera here was going to get her cut,” Pete went on.

  “I never said a word to Sparks about this,” Kiera insisted. “I didn’t need his money. I had him.”

  “Like hell.” Pete turned on her. “No one really had Sparks. You know I begged him to tell me who gave him the information, and he wouldn’t. We were out on the beach together. I said, Sparks, if you tell me who told you, you won’t have to die. Sparks looked at me funny and got quiet. Just get me my money, he answered, or I’ll spread the news about the films everywhere. I knew that minute I had to get him out of the way. I had no choice about it.”

  Cindy heard the front door slowly open then as Pete continued to talk.

  “And now I’ve got to get rid of all three of you, because you fools know too much about me. I can’t trust any of you. You’re all loose cannons. It’s a pity, really.”

  “Pete.” Kiera rushed over to him. “I never told Sparks. I’ll never tell anyone.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Pete insisted. “I can see it all happening.”

  Kiera’s voice rose. “Benita’s the one who told Sparks. We’ve got to get her locked up and things will settle down.”

  “Benita didn’t tell Sparks,” Pete said to Kiera. “Gregg knows everything that’s going on and he said it was you who had all the gossip locked up.”

  “Gregg’s wrong, he’s crazy. He has it in for me,” breathed Kiera.

  “Gregg wouldn’t lie to me, he loves me,” gasped Pete. “And he also said your rotten sister, April, was the one who told you about me. Why do you think I decided to hang out with you again? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!”