Death by Betrayal (Book #10 in the Caribbean Murder series) (18 page)

“Lots
of husbands and wife synchronize their passwords,” Mattheus mused.

Cindy
hadn’t heard that, it was a strange idea to her. Actually she and Ann had
somewhat synchronized their passwords.

“Ann
and I did something like that,” Cindy mentioned then. “Her password was
sunshine and mine Rainforest.  We figured you needed both sun and rain.”

“Really?”
Mattheus was encouraged, as he lifted his arm to hail a cab he hailed a cab
down. “It sounds like we’re on the right track.  Let’s go right back to the
room this second, keep brainstorming and try a bunch of passwords. Sooner or
later we’ll crack the code.”

*

Once
back at the hotel they went straight up to Cindy’s room where Frank’s computer
was being stored. They opened it quickly, leaned over it together and started
guessing at passwords.

“What’s
the opposite of sunshine? Dark clouds?” asked Mattheus.

“Try
it,” said Cindy.

It
didn’t work.

“Keep
going,” said Mattheus. “Give me more ideas.”

“Thunder,
storm, dark night, evening,” Cindy breathed.

They
tried each one and nothing happened.

“Her
password was Sunshine10 – try Sunshine20.”

Another
bust.

“Combine
two words,” Mattheus directed.

“Stormnight,
darksun, eveningthunder,” Cindy called out.

Mattheus
tried each one, but nothing yielded. The computer stayed dead locked.

“Frank
always called Ann an angel,” said Cindy, unwilling to be defeated. “How about
that? Annangel? Try it.”

Mattheus
tried and it didn’t work.

I’ve
got to find it, I’ve got to find, I’ve got to find it, Cindy fervently murmured
to herself.

Suddenly
in a blaze something hit Cindy. “Wait a minute,” she said. “Why would Frank
have a password that was the opposite of my sister? He felt close to her his
whole life long. Her password was sunshine10 - how about sunshine11?”

“Try
it,” Mattheus acquiesced.

Cindy
typed it in and to her total amazement, it hit the spot. The computer opened. They
both stared at it.

“Divine
intervention,” whispered Cindy.

“What
are the chances we figured this out?” Mattheus was open mouthed.

“It’s
a sign,” Cindy breathed.

“A
sign that we’re smart and gutsy,” said Mattheus.

“A
sign that someone is helping,” Cindy trembled.

 “A
sign that we’re on the right track,” said Mattheus.

“The
password just came to me out of the blue,” Cindy replied. “There have to be
angels lending a hand.”

First
they scrolled through Frank’s emails. As Cindy expected they were routine and
dull. Mostly business appointments scheduled back in the States, without one
mention of Beggio. There were also a few scattered emails from Ann asking what
time he’d be home, and telling him what they were having for dinner.

“Boring,
if you asked me,” Mattheus murmured, rubbing his forehead.

“See,
I told you,” Cindy murmured. “There’s nothing in Frank’s life that’s dramatic
or hidden, he’s an open book. We’re on the wrong track with him.”

“Maybe
yes, maybe no,” Mattheus squinted his eyes. “He could be storing hot, secret
emails on his unknown cell phone for all we know.”

“There’s
nothing hot about Frank,” Cindy insisted.

“Could
be, we never know,” Mattheus smiled.

“Could
be is just conjecture,” Cindy responded, annoyed.

“True
enough,” Mattheus leaned closer to Cindy, ruffling her hair with his hand. “I
remember the day I taught you that.”

Cindy
smiled back, “I do, too,” she responded. “You were a great teacher.”

“You
were a fantastic student,” Mattheus replied. “Beautiful and adorable, just like
today. And gutsy, very gutsy.”

Cindy
felt waves of love coming from Mattheus towards her.

“Let’s
go look at Frank’s Facebook page now,” Mattheus went on, conspiratorially.

They
quickly flipped to Frank’s Facebook page and scrolled along slowly. In some
ways Frank’s page resembled Ann’s. The same photos of the two of them were
posted, along with the restaurants they enjoyed going to. There were also
photos of the same couples with them.

“There’s
nothing here,” Cindy whispered, gratefully. “Same old thing, dull, dull, dull.”

“Wait
a minute, don’t be so quick,” Mattheus pulled the computer over to him. “Let me
check his messages and responses.”

Cindy
leaned back and closed her eyes briefly. Mattheus wouldn’t find anything, she
would surely be vindicated. She’d known Frank practically her entire life and
though they’d never gotten on so well, he’d always been a pillar of stability. That
was one of the things that Ann loved so much about him. It was impossible that Frank
could remain a suspect. Then the challenge would be to go deeper and see how
Ann’s horrible death took place. Cindy thought she’d probably have to go back
and talk more to Evan Price. There was no way he’d told her all he possibly
knew about the murders at the hotel.

“Whoah,
look at this,” Mattheus suddenly said.

Cindy
opened her eyes quickly. “What?”

“The
day before Ann was killed, Frank defriended a woman on Facebook.”

“Really?”
Cindy sat up straighter and crammed closer to the computer. “Who?”

“That’s
something we’ve got to find out, don’t we?” Mattheus breathed.

 “Do
you know how to do that?” Cindy asked, agitated. She never would have expected
that from Frank.

“It’ll
take a little while,” said Mattheus.

Cindy
stood up. “Why in the world would Frank do that?” she spoke to herself out
loud.

“Lots
of possible reasons,” said Mattheus as he worked with the computer. “It’s not
only that he defriended her though, it’s that the time he did it that’s
significant – the day before Ann died.”

Cindy
took a deep, painful breath, suddenly remembering her mother’s words that all
men stray sooner or later. It seemed impossible to think that of Frank, though.

“Listen,
we’ve got to give the computer to the police and let their experts help out,
right away,” Mattheus seemed to feel as though they’d hit gold.

“No,
Mattheus,” Cindy’s voice rose quickly. “We can’t do that.”

“Cindy,
this is a murder investigation,” Mattheus stood up quickly. “It’s a serious
piece of information. We have to share it. The police can go further with it,
check into her possible networks.”

“The
police will use it to get Frank,” Cindy practically started sobbing, suddenly feeling
like a traitor to the family. “They’ll reel Frank in. Let me call my mom first
and see if she knows where Frank is so we can talk to him first. Let’s give him
a chance - for Ann’s sake anyway.”

“We’re
finding the killer for Ann’s sake,” Mattheus reminded Cindy.

“But
Ann would want us to give Frank a chance, to talk to him first,” Cindy’s voice
was practically breaking.

“Okay,
go ahead, call your mother. See if she knows where Frank is, and I’ll keep
trying to find out who the person is that he defriended.”

Cindy
rushed to the phone, called her mother and was tremendously relieved when she
picked right up.

“Mom,
where is Frank right now?” Cindy asked urgently.

“I
have no idea,” her mother replied, taken aback by Cindy’s tone.

“Mattheus
and I need to talk to him this second,” Cindy answered breathless. “Things
don’t look good.”

“Why?
What’s happened?” her mother sounded aghast.

“I’m
not going into details,” said Cindy, “but believe me. There’s trouble here.”

“You
found that Frank had a girlfriend?” her mother asked, alarmed, almost as though
she’d expected it.

“I
can’t say what we’ve found,” Cindy could barely respond.

“Be
careful, Cindy, don’t go too far,” her mother shot back wildly. “Enough is
enough.”

“We
have to find the truth, we have to find the killer,” Cindy replied fervently.

“Cindy,”
her mother started yelling. “It’s not just Frank’s life you’ll be destroying
but mine, too.”

Cindy
quieted down momentarily. “It’s not in my hands anymore, mom” she whispered on
the phone.

“Oh
yes, it is,” said her mother. “You couldn’t save your sister, but you can save
the family. You have influence, Cindy. Use it.”

Cindy
held the phone in her hand horrified. Was her mother asking her to lie, or hide
important evidence? Didn’t she want her daughter’s killer brought to justice?

“I
know you’ll do it, for my sake, Cindy,” her mother started whimpering suddenly.
“Promise me you will. Promise.”

Cindy
hung up the phone then without saying another word. This was a promise she
couldn’t and wouldn’t make, ever. But her mother’s words hung on her heavily,
nevertheless.

“My
mom doesn’t know where Frank is,” Cindy finally said to Mattheus.

“Didn’t
think she would,” he murmured his head in the computer.

Cindy
walked to the window to look out over the beautiful ocean that was spread out
before her. It was hard to believe her mother had made a request like that of
her. Cindy realized that she barely knew her mother at all; now it even seemed as
though she lived in a world of her own. Cindy had no idea what would happen to
her mother when the reality hit home.

“Oh
boy, oh boy,” Mattheus suddenly shouted. “I found it. Found her! Come here, Cindy,
quick, take a look at this!”

Oh
my God, Cindy trembled as she rushed to the computer, her heart in her hands.

“I
don’t believe it!” Mattheus’s voice got louder.

“Who
is it?” Cindy leaned over and to her amazement, there was a photo of Ronnelle,
the woman she’d seen at Beggio’s party. “This is the one Frank defriended?”
Cindy couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I
saw her, I know her,” Mattheus continued methodically, “I met this woman at the
races. I spoke to her briefly. She was with that woman Linda you introduced me
to. She’s a single woman and she was flirting with me.”

“What
was going on between her and Frank on Facebook?” Cindy dove in.

“I
can’t find that yet - but the police will,” said Mattheus, “not only that,
they’ll find out everything about her, including her connection to Frank. Why she
even on Frank’s Facebook page?”

Cindy
clutched her hands to her heart. “It could have just been business,” she
mumbled, trying to keep her world from falling apart further.

“Could
have is conjecture,” Mattheus said adamantly. “Frank defriended her for a
reason. And, if I recall properly, this beauty told me she had no idea who
Frank was.”

Cindy
quickly remembered her encounter with Ronnelle at Beggio’s party. “She told me
that as well,” Cindy added.

“She
lied to both of us,” Mattheus was fortified and quickly took out his cell
phone.

“Don’t
call the police this minute,” Cindy tried to stop him, but he held up his hand
emphatically.

 “Cut
it out, Cindy. This is serious business. We’re not hiding a thing,” he
declared.

*

Mattheus
moved out onto the patio as he spoke with the police. Cindy thought for a
moment of following after him and listening in, but she couldn’t bear it. This
piece of news struck like a knife.  Was it actually possible that Frank had
been involved with another woman? Cindy had a sinking feeling about it, feeling
primarily awful for Ann. Was there any chance that Ann had known about Ronnelle?
Had she and Frank talked about it? Had Ann actually known her killer that
horrible afternoon when she fought for her life?

Mattheus
walked back into the room, looking drawn and sullen.

“What
did the police say?” Cindy asked haltingly.

“Are
you up for news?” Mattheus asked coming over to her, taking her arm and leading
her to a chair to sit down.

“Do
I have a choice?” asked Cindy. “Can I make life go back to the way it was if I
say no, don’t tell me anything?”

“Nothing
goes backwards. You have no choice,” answered Mattheus.

“So
tell me,” said Cindy, her voice dipping.

“The
police have been checking Frank’s unknown cell number. There are lots of calls
on it from an untraceable number – someone with a temporary phone. That’s how
Beggio’s operated in the past. He contacts his people with temporary cell
phones. The police definitely fee that the caller on Frank’s phone is connected
with Beggio. When I told them about Ronnelle being defriended on Frank’s page,
Trage was thrilled, said that was big news. The police are going to check her
phone and everything else about her. In a little while they’ll let us know her
whereabouts, and for starters, either you or I have to talk to her again.”

“I’ll
do it,” Cindy shot out quickly.

“Okay,”
said Mattheus, “and the police also want to grill Frank again, immediately.
They’re looking for him now, as we speak.”

Cindy’s
heart began fluttering. “Frank’s in hiding?”

“Call
it what you want,” Mattheus went on. “No one knows where he is, do they?”

Fear
gripped Cindy’s heart. If they didn’t find Frank fast the police could stage an
all-out manhunt for him. For all Cindy knew there’d be a shootout and she’d
find Frank dead, too. She couldn’t bear the thought of that. Despite
everything, Cindy knew deep inside that Frank hadn’t killed Ann.

“The
evidence is mounting,” Mattheus said carefully.

“Circumstantial,
that’s all,” Cindy breathed. “Nothing specific, nothing direct.”

“Cindy,
face it,” Mattheus insisted then. “The police are on it full out now. They’re
talking to everyone, including Grenfield. The pieces are coming in, they’re
going to fit together.”

“None
of this would have happened if we hadn’t been amping up the investigation,”
Cindy suddenly exclaimed.

“That’s
right,” Mattheus replied. “Frank might have slipped through the cracks, be sent
home and gone on to kill again.”

“Don’t
call him the killer! It’s not been proved!” Cindy was insistent.

“Cindy,”
Mattheus got into her face, “Frank’s in hiding, he defriended someone who lied
to us about knowing him.”

Just
then the phone rang again sharply. Mattheus quickly picked it up and then put
his hand over the phone. “It’s the police, calling with more information,” he
whispered.

 Cindy
thought of her mother and uncles. How were they going to handle a double blow?

“Right,
okay, thanks,” said Mattheus. “Cindy will be there tomorrow. Yeah, and I’ll
join you with the search.”

“What
was that?” Cindy asked completely alarmed by now.

“The
cops put pressure on Grenfield.  He protected himself, cracked and talked.
Frank’s had a shifty off shore account with Beggio. Nothing important, but he
has one. Frank laid about that and so did Beggio.  Things are piling up –
they’re not looking good for Frank.”

Cindy
took a deep, bitter breath. “Some of these off shore accounts are illegal,
everyone lies about them,” she said.

“Cindy,” Mattheus yelled now. “Open your mind. Stop
protecting Frank. There’s nothing left to

protect.
Ronnelle will be at a big Cricket Match tomorrow. You’ve got to go and talk to
her there.”

“What
is it? Where? Give me details,” said Cindy, gearing herself up for the worst.