Death by Marriage

by Jaden Skye

  Nojo shook his head as Margot dialed, a look of pain crossing his face. The world he lived in and hers intermingled for a moment and he felt the torment Margot was going through. Cindy was touched to see him caring.

  Margot clung to the phone as it rang and rang. Finally, someone picked up. “Wendy,” Margot said, breathless, “this is Margot Kowan.” She paused a moment, and then went on quickly. “I have to get in touch with Gregg right away. We have a mini emergency here. No, it’s fine, no one is hurt. Do you happen to know where he is now?”

  A long silence followed.

  “Are you sure?” Margot continued weakly. “Really? What day exactly did he fly back? Well, no, he didn’t return home. No, I haven’t seen him. Please, wait a minute, don’t get frightened. I’m sure we can figure out where he is now. I’ll call you back later.”

  Margot walked gingerly to the end table, and put the phone down, just before her body slowly buckled, landing her on a nearby chair.

  CHAPTER 15

  “She said he left two and a half weeks, ago.” Margot said in a tiny voice they barely could hear. “He told her he was going home.”

  “Do you live here alone?” Brayton asked softly.

  “I live with my son,” Margot sounded numb, “and the household staff.”

  “This is your son with your husband?”

  “Of course,” said Margot icily.

  “She in any danger? Nojo asked Brayton gruffly.

  “Who knows?” Brayton replied. “Anything’s possible now.”

  “I’ll stay here with her a few days,” Nojo offered.

  Margot looked up at him horrified. “No thank you,” she said. “It’s not necessary.” Then she looked over at Mattheus, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her, but was absorbing her every single move.

  “What do I need?” Margot asked Mattheus then, “a lawyer, detective? What happens now?”

  Cindy moved in then and took over. “You can’t stay here alone, with such shocking news. “Do you have friends or family who can stay with you?”

  “I have many friends,” said Margot. “They’ll come to my side. Are you telling me you think my husband has been killed?”

  “That’s part of it,” said Cindy.

  Mattheus came up close to both of them then. “You’ll get the whole picture, little by little,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions you still have to answer.”

  Margot looked at him pleadingly. “I don’t want to,” she said.

  “Maybe not this minute,” Mattheus said, and turned to Brayton. “There’s only so much a person can take. Give her some time.”

  “I can give her until tomorrow,” said Brayton, “but we can’t sit on this for long. We’ll come back tomorrow, but first there’s one thing we got to know.”

  “What is it?” asked Margot.

  “What were you doing two weeks ago, the first Sunday of the month?”

  Margot shivered. “The first Sunday of the month is when the book club meets at my home. Everyone was here with me all day...”

  Brayton nodded. “Give Mattheus the name of some of the people who attended,” he said, “and we’ll call it a day. Tomorrow’s time enough to go forward.”

  “Is there’s something else?” said Margot then, once again, trembling. “If there is, tell me now.”

  “We may as well tell her,” Cindy said. “Better to hear it now when we’re all around. She’ll find out anyway, once this thing breaks open.”

  “What is it?” Margot asked, her face contorting.

  “Your husband had another wife and family,” Cindy slowly said. “He was known as Paul Kowan. They lived on the mainland.”

  Margot just stared. “Another wife?” she mouthed silently.

  “Double life,” said Mattheus softly.

  Cindy turned once again then, and saw Graham clutching onto the edge of the open door. He’d been listening to every word. It was his father who had been killed as well.

  “Come in,” Cindy called to Graham.

  “Who’s that?” asked Brayton, suddenly seeing him.

  “It’s the son,” said Cindy.

  Graham walked in, went over to his mother, and stood behind her very close.

  “We’ll get through this,” he said, “in a hoarse ragged tone.”

  “And maybe we won’t,” said Margot.

  CHAPTER 16

  Mattheus drove home with Cindy in her car, the police car trailing behind them.

  “You did it again,” he said grinning, “blew the case wide open.”

  Cindy was still in shock herself, and worried about Margot. “I don’t like leaving Margot alone that way.”

  “She’s got her son, and her friends are coming over.”

  Cindy said nothing. That might not be enough. Who knows how this news could affect her? In many ways she seemed so fragile. And then her striking bitterness came through. How could she not have been bitter, with her husband married to someone else all these years? And how could she not have known?

  “I’m trying to figure out how a woman could not know that her husband had another wife and family, for years and years?” Cindy said to Mattheus. “It defies the imagination.”

  “Most people fall into routines and think everything’s great,” said Mattheus.” Then it hits.”

  “But she had to feel it in some part of her being,” Cindy insisted. “You didn’t see how bitter she could get. And it’s not only another wife, there are children in both families.”

  “I thought the woman was completely in shock,” said Mattheus. “The police will go over her pretty good the next few days. They’ll want everything she can tell them about Paul. Now we don’t only have a defense attorney, we got a full blown con man on our hands -- and a whole other world he lived in. He fooled two women for years at the same time. Who else was he fooling?”

  Cindy took a deep, painful breath. “He also had a fling with Heather,” she said.

  Mattheus grinned. “That’s right. Jesus, this was one busy guy.”

  “Heather told me he meant a lot to her and that she ended their relationship suddenly.”

  Mattheus’ ears perked up.

  “Heather had to know about Kendra when she took up with Paul,” Cindy went on, “so that wasn’t the reason her relationship ended. When I asked her why, she told me to come here, and I’d find out everything I needed to know. Heather probably found out about Margot herself! It had to be too much for her. She had to realize the guy was a con. I’m going to spend more time talking to her.”

  “Talk to anyone you want,” said Mattheus, “but Heather’s just a side liner. Kendra’s the one who will suffer from this. This only adds new fuel to the fire. People are going to think that Kendra knew. She’s smart, she’s aware, runs her life like a pro. it would be harder to figure that Paul could fool her. There’s more motive now. Maybe she found out and blackmailed him with that insurance policy? Or, she might have made him pay by buying her expensive jewelry? The other wife’s just a pathetic character, sitting in a fancy home, in shock. He pulled the wool over her eyes completely.”

  “It’s awful, awful,” Cindy breathed. She felt as though she had just witnessed a life being wrecked under her eyes.

  “No one said this was going to be easy,” Mattheus said and put his hand over Cindy’s for a moment.

  It felt good to have his hand there. Cindy wanted him to keep it there.

  “The work’s rough, but you see what’s real.”

  Cindy felt for the moment that she might rather not see what was real, stay sleeping, dreaming that the world was beautiful. Then she realized that was exactly how Margot had lived.

  “I’m glad you came so over so quickly,” Cindy suddenly turned to Mattheus, grateful.

  “I’m glad you called,” he said, touched.

  Mattheus took his eyes off the road a second and looked at her warmly. They smiled at each other then, and it felt for a moment the way it had in Grenada, easy, warm and secure. Cindy remembered then why sh
e’d decided to work with him. She remembered how good it could feel.

  “My guess is that the cops will be taking Kendra in pretty soon,” Mattheus said. “More questioning is on the way. Could be they’re close to locking her up.”

  Cindy’s stomach clenched. “It’s all circumstantial,” she said.

  “Yeah, but there’s too much of it now,” said Mattheus. “Comes to a point when enough is enough. It’s probably a good idea for you to tell her in person about the second wife and family. Get her ready. See how she reacts. Sniff around the edges. Is it really possible that she had no idea?”

  *

  Cindy called Kendra and made arrangements to see her immediately, before she could hear the news from anyone else. This could be a terrible shock for her as well, thought Cindy. There was no reason to believe that Kendra had any idea about the second wife. Who knew how she would handle it?

  Cindy parked in front of Kendra’s home and came up the front walk, her palms growing sweaty as she got closer. Kendra opened the door, looking upbeat in an off white linen dress with a sparkling, coral necklace around her neck, as if it were a normal afternoon.

  “Come in,” said Kendra, glad to see Cindy. “Let’s go sit in the study.”

  The study was a large, square room filled with books, plants and comfortable sofas. It felt snug and secluded from the sprawling outdoors. Kendra sat down opposite Cindy with a look of expectancy. It suddenly struck Cindy that she looked too perky and confident for the situation she was in. It was odd for a woman who was the focus of so much suspicion.

  “It’s been a while since we’ve spoken,” Kendra started. “I know you’ve been very busy.

  Can’t wait to hear what you’ve dug up. Someone out there did it, and they had to leave tracks around.”

  It seemed as if Kendra had no doubt at all that Cindy would find the information she needed to get her off. Perhaps the power of her conviction came from being totally innocent, Cindy wondered for a moment. Cindy decided not to jump in and tell Kendra the whole story, but see how much Kendra knew first.

  “I met a fascinating woman,” Cindy started. “Her name is Heather May.”

  Kendra showed no reaction at all.

  “You know her?” Cindy asked.

  Kendra shrugged lightly. “No, not really. I’ve heard her name, of course. We all vaguely know each other down here on the island, see each other in passing. But I’ve never spent any time with her. We’ve never actually talked.”

  That didn’t completely make sense to Cindy.

  “What about her?” Kendra was curious.

  “She’s quite a character,” said Cindy.

  “So what?” said Kendra. “There are lots of characters down here. That’s why they chose this kind of life.” She spoke as if she were at work, giving a guided tour of the island.

  “Was Paul also a character?” asked Cindy.

  “What difference does that make now?” asked Kendra, suddenly irritated. “He’s dead. Someone killed him. And it wasn’t me! I’ve been grilled enough. Now, I want you to tell me what you’ve found out.”

  “I will,” said Cindy, “but I need to know more from you as well. It will help me put the puzzle together.”

  Kendra stood up and walked to the bookshelf. “Okay, what else do you want to know?”

  “Whatever you can tell me about your marriage.”

  “What about you? Have you ever been married?” Kendra turned the tables on Cindy. “Do you know what it’s like to live with one man, year after year after year?”

  Cindy flushed, taken aback. “I’ve been married,” she answered quietly. “But it didn’t last long.”

  Kendra threw Cindy a sharp look with a mixture of pity and disdain. “So you get it,” she said, “marriages fall apart. But unlike others, no matter what happened, Paul and I stuck it out. That’s something I’m proud of.”

  “What did happen? “asked Cindy quick on the uptake.

  “I told you before. He spent time at that bar, travelled for business, liked to gamble, I wondered if there wasn’t another woman filling in the gaps. Can you understand that?”

  “Of course I can,” said Cindy.

  “Is that what happened to you and your husband too?” Kendra arched her neck back, a dash of spite pouring from her eyes.

  “My husband was killed,” Cindy said calmly.

  Kendra took a swift breath.

  “On our honeymoon,” said Cindy trying to create a bond between them and getting Kendra to trust her more.

  “My God, I’m so sorry,” said Kendra, backing down. “I didn’t mean to say anything nasty, I’m just so sick of being grilled and grilled.”

  “It’s all right,” said Cindy.

  “Do you do this work because your husband was killed?” Kendra asked.

  “Partially,” said Cindy. “And partially I have a nose for it. It feels good to bring killers to justice. It’s something important.”

  “I felt that immediately about you when I read about the case in Grenada,” said Kendra.

  “Kendra,” Cindy said then straightforwardly, “you must have known that Paul played around.”

  “I wasn’t sure, I thought maybe?” said Kendra, smiling feebly.

  “There were people who might have known,” Cindy said, “Why didn’t you ask them? Why did you wait for me all these years?”

  “How could I shame myself that way? Kendra said.

  “Heather May suggested that I see a woman down at the edge of the island who could fill me in on important details.”

  “Yes?” Kendra seemed interested.

  “I went to the address she gave me and found a woman named Margot living there.”

  Kendra showed absolutely no reaction.

  “You don’t happen to know her?”

  “No, I don’t know anyone named Margot.”

  “Margot Kowan?” said Cindy.

  “Who is she?”

  There was no other way to tell her, than directly. “Paul had another wife and family all the time he was married to you. This woman Margot has his pictures all over, with her and their son.”

  Kendra looked as if she’d been doused with ice water. She shivered and then burst out, alarmed, “What kind of crap are you telling me?”

  “Paul lived under an alias, Gregg Kowan.”

  Kendra stood up, her face turning beet red and her eyes flaming.

  “This is crazy,” she said. “You’re a maniac! I should fire you for saying something like this.” Her voice rose like a wild, shrill bird that had flown in the window and had no place to land. “And if you keep up like this, I will fire you. Now, get out!”

  She kept yelling, until the door to the library flew open and Nell stood there, staring in. Once the door opened, Kendra took the opportunity to rush out.

  “What happened?” Nell asked in an even tone.

  “I had painful information for your mother.”

  Nell stared at Cindy. “What?”

  “Something a woman named Heather May told me,” said Cindy.

  “Heather speaks to my mother all the time. What could she have told you that was different?”

  Cindy stepped back. “What did you say?”

  Nell looked confused. “Nothing, I just said that Heather May and my mother speak all the time. I can’t see what could have so upset her?”

  A long, slow chill ran through Cindy’s arms. Kendra had lied to her about Heather May. What else was she lying about?

  “Your mother and Heather are good friends?” Cindy asked.

  “I wouldn’t say that. They have lunch together occasionally and talk on the phone. Everyone knows everyone down here. There really aren’t so many secrets.”

  Cindy liked Nell very much. She had a plain, forthright quality that Cindy appreciated.

  “When your mother calms down, tell her to call me,” said Cindy, definitively. She didn’t like being played for a fool. There was no point to it.

  Nell smiled oddly. “It won’t make a di
fference what I tell my mother. She won’t listen to anything I say. She never would. Don’t let her stupid moods scare you. Be strong! Call her yourself!

  [MSOffice2]

  CHAPTER 17

  All the way back to the hotel in the car, Cindy thought about the lie Kendra had told her. What could it possibly imply? Why did she say she hadn’t spoken to Heather? What was she really covering up?

  Cindy pulled over to the side of the road, took out her cell phone and put in a call to Heather. She had to know right away whether Kendra knew about Margot. Everything could turn on this.

  To Cindy’s great delight, Heather picked up the phone immediately.

  “Heather, this is Cindy” she said.

  “Yeah, hi,” said Heather.

  “Thank you for sending me to that address. It was incredible.”

  Heather seemed disinterested. “Happy I could be of help. Got to go now.”

  Cindy clutched onto the phone. “No, wait a minute, please. Just one second.”

  Heather was in a hurry, “What?” She seemed put upon.

  Cindy got straight to the point. “Does Kendra know about Margot?”

  Heather was jarred. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

  Cindy was stunned. Heather had been so helpful and forthcoming. Something had intervened. Someone had gotten to her?

  “I thought you would know, since you knew about Margot.”

  “What has one thing got to do with another?” Heather said. “These are two separate women with two separate lives. Why would I get in the middle of them? Their lives have nothing to do with me.” She sounded irritated.

  Cindy was truly startled. “Has someone told you not to talk to me?” she said.

  This only increased Heather’s agitation. “Like who?” she snapped. “I don’t know who you’re talking to, or what you’re thinking, but I’m asking you to leave me out of this now! I don’t want you to call me anymore. I gave you a lead. That’s it. I’m done now.” And she hung up the phone.

  Cindy sat staring at the phone in her hand. This was another game changer. Someone had clearly told Heather to back out and shut up. She’d been completely different when Cindy met her in person.