by Jaden Skye
“What’s that address you’re writing down?” asked Nojo.
“A guy named Silbert Hours.”
Nojo grinned. “Damned if you don’t get the craziest information. What in hell has this case got to do with him?”
“You know the guy?” Mattheus was surprised.
“Everybody knows Silbert House,” said Nojo. “A pathetic loser if ever there was one.”
“He runs a massage parlor?” said Mattheus.
Nojo laughed out loud. “Yeah, yeah, tell me another. “He sells the ladies – for a fistful of dough.”
Mattheus listened. It made sense to him.
“And he gets a big piece of the pie. That massage parlor rakes in more than you can imagine.”
That explained where this guy got his money for the high stakes game.
“I want to find out where he was when Paul was killed,” Mattheus said.
“Oh brother,” Nojo snorted. “Silbert Hours never goes out in the daylight. It hurts his eyes. You want to find out where he was that day? You’ll have to ask the ladies and their customers.”
“You’re sure about this?” asked Mattheus.
“Positive.”
“I’m still going to check it out.”
“Enjoy yourself,” said Nojo. “It’s as good an excuse as any to get a freebee.” And he laughed and laughed so hard that Mattheus had to get up and walk away.
“And just remember,” Nojo yelled after him, “that nothing on this island’s free! There’s a price to pay for everything! Those ladies there are vicious. They’ll rip your heart in two.” Then he laughed and laughed again so hard that it sounded like an old caw had gotten trapped in the rafters of the house, and was struggling to get free.
CHAPTER 11
Cindy and Mattheus met up and decided to drop in at Paul’s old office unannounced. It was in a fairly modern, mid-sized, air conditioned building on the third floor. On the door it said Robbins and Jeffries, Criminal Defense Attorneys. They opened the door, walked in and were greeted by the receptionist, as if everything were normal, and it was just another day.
“Can I help you?” she smiled prettily.
“Private Investigations,” Mattheus said. “We’re investigating the murder of Paul Robbins and would like to look around.”
The smile on her face quickly vanished. “I’m sorry,” she said, startled, and stood up quickly. “Mr. Jeffries is out right now and I don’t have the authority to let you into his office.”
Mattheus pulled out his old police identification to show her.
Nervous, she stepped back.
“We’re not going to do anything more than look around,” said Mattheus. “Mr. Robbin’s wife Kendra has hired us to help out.”
The receptionist’s eyes, confused and helpless, flitted to Cindy.
“It’s perfectly alright,” Cindy said soothingly. “We’ll be in and out in a little while.”
That seemed to calm her down.
“Okay,” she said suddenly, “but just for a little while. Mr. Jeffries is on edge about everything since this happened.
“It’s understandable,” Cindy said.
“He goes out for coffee breaks all the time, and leaves earlier than he ever did.”
“It had to be a tremendous shock,” said Cindy.
“Tremendous,” she said, finally coming out from behind her desk. “My name is Peggy.”
“Nice to meet you,” Cindy extended her hand.
Peggy was young, slim and wore a grey skirt and pale, rose colored blouse that hung over the edges.
“I’ll open Mr. Robbins office for you,” she said.
“I’m sure the police have already been through it,” said Mattheus.
“Just once,” she answered, “and briefly. That also bothered Mr. Jeffries that the police didn’t spend more time in the office, seeing what they could find. I heard Mr. Jeffries telling someone that the police never thought the answers were here.”
Cindy and Mattheus followed her down a hallway to a door on the right. She took the key she’d brought with her and unlocked the door.
Paul’s office was a large room, overlooking a busy square, where people were walking, shops were open for business and cars driving here and there. The windows were shut tight and the air conditioning turned up high. It was so cold Cindy got a chill when she walked inside.
“He loved this office,” Peggy said sadly. “I haven’t been in it since Mr. Jeffries locked down. He was worried that something would be messed with or stolen.”
A large wooden desk stood in the middle of the room, with a comfortable leather chair behind it and two smaller chairs in front. The side of the room had filing cabinets, a small sofa, and old wooden book cases that were filled from top to bottom. Other than that, the walls were covered with large photos of Kendra and Nell.
Cindy looked at the photos, touched. “He must have really loved his family,” she said.
“Very much,” said Peggy. “Kendra called him all the time. So did his daughter. No matter what he was doing, he always stopped and took their calls.”
Cindy felt sad to hear that. She could only imagine what a loss it must be for both of them.
“Mr. Robbins always said to me, Peggy, remember one thing, family is first.”
Cindy remembered that Paul had trouble with his original family back home. That’s why Kendra and Nell must have meant so much.
“What else did he tell you?” Mattheus asked, walking around, going to the front of his desk, opening the drawers, poking around.
“About what?” Peggy asked confused.
“About himself, about life?”
“Not much,” she finally said. “He told me to always be on time to work,” she smiled a little. “He hated it when people were late. And he said to be polite to everyone who came in, including the worst looking ones. He told me over and over that everyone deserves a chance.”
“But he didn’t get it himself, did he?” said Mattheus.
Cindy was startled by the edge in Mattheus’ tone.
“In fact, it could have been one of these criminals that finally did him in?” Mattheus threw a side glance at Peggy.
Peggy jumped back. Mattheus seemed to be taking pleasure in purposely jarring her.
“It could have been anyone,” Peggy said quietly. “I have no idea. I don’t like thinking about it. I wouldn’t be able to come in to work here, if I did.”
Cindy wanted to step in between Peggy and Mattheus, but something in his eyes told her to back away. He was doing this for a reason.
“Was there someone who came in recently that you felt funny about?” Mattheus said.
Peggy’s eyes clouded over. “I didn’t pay much attention to the clients,” she said. “I didn’t feel comfortable with most of them.”
“Mr. Robbins did though?”
“He loved them,” she looked Mattheus straight in the eye then. “I used to hear him talking to them in the waiting room and also on the phone. He made them feel confident and protected. Seemed he always wanted to get them the best deal.”
This was hard for Peggy and Cindy could see it. But just then, the door to Paul’s office flew open and a tall, thin, agitated man walked in.
“What’s going on here?”
“It’s the police,” said Peggy nervously. “They’re investigating the case.”
“Jeffries here,” he turned towards Mattheus. “Who sent you to our place?”
“Private Investigations,” said Mattheus. “We’ve been hired by Mrs. Robbins.”
Jeffries cleared his throat. “I heard about that,” he said. “She’s desperate to clear her name.”
“We’re following any leads we can get now,” Mattheus looked him straight in the eye.
“Believe me, I’ve been over this a million times,” Jeffries said hastily. “Been through his draws myself, looking for something. There’s nothing there now. They’ve been emptied out by the police. What did they find? Nothing. No threatening notes, no
love notes, no secrets numbers to a game. Nothing. The guy knew what he was doing. Nothing telltale left behind.”
“You worked together for a long time?” asked Mattheus.
“At least ten years,” said Jeffries, his voice catching. “Come into my office. We’ll talk.”
“Let’s talk in here,” said Cindy. She enjoyed being in Paul’s place, letting the vibration sink in, scanning his bookshelves, looking at the photos of Kendra and Nell. A sense of his life came over her here. The office showed a powerful man, successful, intelligent, attached to family. There wasn’t yet a kink in the armor that she could see for herself.
Jeffries turned to Peggy then. “You can go back to the front desk now,” he said.
Peggy nodded, turned and left.
“Okay,” he said to Cindy, “let’s sit down here, and talk.”
The three of them sat down as Jeffries started tapping his hands together.
“Miss the guy like hell,” he said. “I still can’t get it through my brain that he’s gone for good. This never should have happened. I warned him lots of times to be careful, though. He loved the underworld too much. Got much too chummy.”
Cindy was taken aback. “How so?” she interjected.
Jeffries turned and looked at her, then he looked at Mattheus.
“We’re a team,” Mattheus said.
“Yeah,” said Jeffries, “heard that Kendra wanted a woman detective on the job. She’s always had a distrust of men. Except for Paul, of course.”
“They had a good marriage?” asked Mattheus.
“As good as any,” said Jeffries. “I know the cops are focusing on her, but that seems unlikely to me. I never saw bad blood between them. And, he never complained about her to me. If Paul was one thing, he was loyal.”
“Who do you think did it?” asked Mattheus plainly.
“If you ask me, it’s one of the cons,” said Jeffries. “They’re a tricky bunch. You’re playing with fire when you take on these cases,” Jeffries scraped his throat loudly.
“You ever had any trouble with them personally?” asked Mattheus
“No, I haven’t, but I always thought the day would come. Not to Paul, but to me. I’m shorter with them. I can get nasty.”
“You want me to go through your cases as well as his?” asked Mattheus.
“It’s not necessary,” said Jeffries. “We kept our cases apart. Stick with his.”
“What else can you tell us about him,” asked Cindy. She felt that this guy knew a lot more than he was letting on.
Jeffries got antsy, “What do you want to know? Paul lived big and gave a lot. Big tipper, too. You’d always see him in his expensive suits, driving his yellow car. The guy didn’t like to stay in one place for too long or be pinned down. He loved to come and go. Did a lot of work in St. Croix, so he’d fly out for a couple of days and then fly back home. It was a way of life for him. Everyone got used to it.”
“Peggy said he loved his work, and his clients?”
“Sure,” said Jeffries, “The guys he helped loved him too. You can’t do this job if you don’t have some connection with them. Paul also liked being a big man around town, having influence in the courts and with the cops. His word had weight. He was respected. No one could believe that he’d been found dead like that. On a back alley, like a heap of trash! It didn’t fit. I really would have thought the cops would have done a better job hunting for his killer.”
“We’re on the job now,” said Cindy.
Jeffries looked at her, amused. “Okay,” he said, “don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else.” He chuckled. “Or if someone else suddenly turns up dead.”
CHAPTER 12
Mattheus went back to the police station to do more research on Paul’s past clients and Cindy felt it was time to drive to the address Heather gave her.
She went back to the hotel and called for her car. When it arrived, she got in and began to drive slowly to the address Heather had scrawled on that piece of paper. Bright sun pierced the windshield and she turned the radio on loud to lift her spirits as she drove. Lively reggae music came on and Cindy sang along with it. It was easy to feel good down here. For a brief second she wished Mattheus was with her, sharing the drive and music.
The address she was headed to was all the way on the Eastern tip of the island. It was almost a world apart, a residential community that dipped down along the ocean. Some said it was an island of its own. Cindy was more comfortable driving now as she learned how to navigate the treacherous, winding roads. This work was exciting. Every day she learned something new and met someone else that expanded her mind. Now she enjoyed the changing scenery, as the ocean came into view and then disappeared again behind a clump of trees. As she wound her way to this distant peninsula, she looked forward to what and who she would meet next.
Heather had told her the person would tell her all she needed to know. Cindy didn’t take that so seriously. At times it was hard to take anything too seriously here, with the warm breezes, beautiful ocean and endless flowers that greeted you wherever you went. The case seemed elusive and confusing still, with nothing that she could bite into. But Kendra’s life could be in danger if Cindy didn’t find something significant soon. Cindy didn’t sense that Kendra was a killer, but she’d been wrong before and was holding all options open now.
As the car approached the destination, the roads and streets smoothed out. Cindy drove through small, winding lanes until she came to the back entrance of the community and was able to drive in. She then drove slowly along the manicured pathways. This was definitely a world set apart, one that seemed to enjoy keeping others out, being secluded, and making sure everything stayed the way it had always been. The beautiful, well-appointed homes were nestled between old trees, surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens. They seemed as if nothing had touched them ever, or ever could.
After a few more blocks, finally, Cindy came to the address she’d been given. It was a pale beige stucco house, set off the street, behind huge palm trees. Cindy parked outside, got out, and looked around. For as far as the eye could see, there was nobody.
Cindy walked up to the front entrance. There was a huge, copper knocker on the front door, with a carved woman on it. For a second, Cindy pulled her hand back. Then she laughed, lifted her hand to the knocker and knocked loudly. The sound rang out through the quiet block.
In a few moments, a beautiful, exquisitely groomed woman in her late forties, with huge green eyes, soft brown hair and perfect skin, opened the door. She looked at Cindy, curiously.
“Yes?” she said, standing at the door.
“I’m Cindy Blaine,” said Cindy.
The woman made no response, just kept gazing.
“Heather May gave me your address,” Cindy went on.
The woman’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“I apologize for disturbing you, but may I take a few minutes of your time?” asked Cindy.
“What is this about?” asked the woman.
“I’m investigating a case on the island,” Cindy said.
The woman seemed completely uninterested. “I don’t know anything about cases on the island,” she said. “We live quietly here and don’t pay attention to the messes all around.”
“I can see that.”
Cindy smiled, but the woman didn’t respond.
“I’m investigating a murder that took place a short while ago,” Cindy spoke with greater urgency.
The woman shivered a moment. “Awful,” she said.
“Yes, awful,” said Cindy. “And I need to talk to you for just a few minutes.”
“Why me?” the woman seemed truly disconcerted. “I have nothing to tell you about any murder.”
“But you may know something that will lead me closer,” said Cindy definitively. “Heather May said you might be able to.”
The woman looked perturbed and shook her head. “I barely know Heather May.”
“Just for a few minutes.”
&nbs
p; Reluctantly, she opened the door a little wider and let Cindy in.
The home was gorgeous, immaculate, perfectly decorated. The woman showed Cindy into the main sitting room and both of them sat opposite one another in high back wooden chairs.
“I let you in because Heather May sent you,” the woman said quietly. “Even though I barely know her, she’s rather close to a dear friend of mine. My name is Margot Kowan.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Cindy, looking around. “Your place is truly beautiful.”
“Thank you,” said Margot. “It’s a great relief to be here, apart from the turbulence of the main island.”
Cindy could see how she would feel that way. “You live here with your family?” Cindy asked.
“With my husband and son,” said Margot, speaking matter of factly, with little emotion.
“Your husband works down here on the island?”
“What difference does that make?”
Talking to her was like talking to an ice glacier. Cindy needed some way to make contact and felt as if she couldn’t get through. She decided to speak to her straight.
“Heather told me that when I came to this address, I’d know all I needed to know about the murder that took place on the mainland,” Cindy said.
Margot’s eyes opened wide. “I can’t imagine why she’d say a thing like that. As I told you, we hardly bother down here with what happens on the mainland. This is our own little world. We like to keep it that way.” She spoke quickly and breathlessly.
A long chill went up Cindy’s spine. Margot lived in an encapsulated bubble and didn’t want anything bursting it. She had no interest at all in being drawn into something that was painful or sordid. Cindy decided to try another tack.
“How do you know Heather May?” she asked.
“As I mentioned, she’s a friend of a friend. The friend thinks the world of her. I’ve met Heather once or twice. Seemed like a wild card to me. The hair, I mean,” and she smiled slowly. Everything about Margot and her home were in perfect order, not a thread out of place. Cindy could see why Heather would make her uneasy. Cindy felt she couldn’t find an entrance way into any of Margot’s true feelings at all.
