Death by Desire (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 4)
Read Death by Desire (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 4) Online
Authors: Jaden Skye
DEATH BY DESIRE
(book #4
in the CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES)
Jaden
Skye
About the Author
Jaden
Skye is author of the #1 Bestselling CARIBBEAN MURDER series, which includes
eight books (and counting). The first book in the series, DEATH BY HONEYMOON,
was a #1 Bestseller, and is now available as a
FREE
download on Amazon
!
Also
in the series are DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2), DEATH BY MARRIAGE (#3), DEATH BY
DESIRE (#4), DEATH BY DECEIT (#5), DEATH BY JEALOUSY (#6), DEATH BY PROPOSAL
(#7) and DEATH BY OBSESSION (#8). She is also author of the romance A PERFECT
STRANGER.
Jaden
has always been fascinated with mystery, wrongful death, lies, deception and
the power of the truth to prevail. Her romantic suspense/mystery novels feature
strong female protagonists who must overcome insurmountable obstacles, and
through them, she seeks to get to the very heart of the nature of justice and
love.
Please
visit
www.jadenskye.com
to find links to
stay in touch with Jaden via Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, her blog, and a
whole bunch of other places. Jaden loves to hear from you, so don't be shy and
check back often!
Books 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)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
Tap
here to download Jaden Skye books on Amazon now!
Copyright © 2012 by Jaden Skye
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database
or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like
to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for
each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was
not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own
copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses,
organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CONTENTS
In the midst of great natural beauty, hidden
beneath lush growth, intensely scented poppies, bougainvillea, lilies of the
valley, a snake slowly crawls on its belly, back to the sea. And, the body of a
young woman lays twisted hopelessly, torn and disposed of, the day after a
lavish party on her family’s yacht, celebrating her engagement to be married
and to live in happiness the rest of her life.
“Find me,” she cries silently, as her spirit
departs from the land of the living, the yacht rocks in the ocean, and the
snake stops at the water’s edge, raises its head and hisses loudly into the
sun, before it slithers away.
Cindy’s stomach fell as she looked out of the
plane window and saw the narrow landing strip at the St. Bart’s airport. It ran
right to the edge of the ocean and seemed as if it would take a miracle not to
miss the strip and sink in the water. As she reached for her life vest and
Mattheus put his hand over hers.
“We’re doing just fine,” he said, “the pilot
does this all the time.”
Cindy took a deep breath as the plane quickly
descended. The trip had gone so quickly. There hadn’t been nearly enough time
to go over all the reports the Senator had faxed about the gruesome murder of
beautiful Tiffany O’Connell, his daughter. Tiffany had been found at sunset,
mauled at the beach, the day right after her huge engagement party on her
father’s yacht. Half of St. Bart’s had been there to celebrate.
The Senator’s wife, a frail woman, beside herself
with shock and grief, had heard about Cindy and demanded a woman on the case. The
Senator had faxed sheet after sheet to them just before they boarded the
flight. The reports were sent secretly, along with photos of Tiffany, both at
her engagement party and then of her mangled body on the beach.
Nothing like this ever happened at St. Bart’s, he
told them, especially during the Christmas season, when the place was packed
with visitors, the rich and famous, coming from all parts of the United States
and Europe to celebrate and be seen at the glittering parties for those on the
A list. During this week, huge, magnificent yachts would be arriving, lining
the coast, jockeying for the best position. People planned for a glorious
Christmas vacation at St. Bart’s all year long. And so did the residents, who
thrived on the island’s reputation for being beautiful, pristine, totally safe
and unspoiled. The island was a unique mixture of ravishingly beautiful natural
habitats along with elegant shops, restaurants, clubs, and spas. The food was
exquisite, the service supreme. It was a place people could come and be cared for
magnificently, protected, free of the pressures and dangers that haunted other
vacation spots in the world. This one place still remained as a sanctuary for
celebrities who could unwind without being gaped at by the rest of the hungry
world. The police on the island were doing their best to keep it quiet.
Cindy felt strange to be going on Christmas,
which always been her favorite holiday. She loved the wonderful music, food,
smells, candles, lights. She loved wrapping presents, receiving cards,
connecting with those who’d been far away. A special feeling of peace and love
always surrounded her, a sense that the world could be a haven, always filled
with everything good. The image of this young woman’s mangled body now rose up
and filled her mind. She had to go, no matter what the season.
Cindy had looked over the photos and reports during
the flight, but there wasn’t much in them. The police on the island hadn’t
found any evidence at the scene of the crime.
“Twelve stab marks,” Cindy had said to
Mattheus. “It’s a crime of passion.”
Mattheus wasn’t sure.
“No evidence anywhere? Could be a setup.”
Cindy loved tossing ideas back and forth with
Mattheus; they each always saw another aspect of what was going on.
Mattheus looked out the plane window now, and
tapped his fingers on the edge of his seat. Cindy felt how eager he was to get
there already, dig in, uncover suspects. She took a deep breath. This was the
fourth case she’d been on in a row. She hadn’t had time to catch her breath or
regroup. It was actually startling to her to see how enormous the need was for
a woman detective down on the islands. Cindy was troubled to see the danger
women lived in, and how unprotected they felt. It was also comforting to have
Mattheus besides her doing the work. They balanced each other wonderfully and
were quickly becoming a well-known team. More quickly than Cindy wanted. Some
days it felt as if they’d always be together, chasing after one killer or
another. It was as if they’d fallen into an unknown destiny that swept them
along unfailingly.
Cindy paused and wondered where they were
really headed, and what kind of life she could ever have again?
The photos of Tiffany were terrible, haunting.
Cindy could see that she’d been a beautiful young woman, and that whoever did
it, was violent, possessed with hate. They took great pleasure in destroying
her beauty, twisting and stabbing her mercilessly. And the fact that it
happened the day after her engagement party was doubly troubling to Cindy. It
reminded her of the loss of her own husband of Clint, murdered right on their
honeymoon.
“There’s something about times of happiness,” Cindy
said to Mattheus, “they’re dangerous.”
Mattheus looked at her directly. “They can be,”
he said softly.
“People can’t stand the happiness of others,”
Cindy murmured. “It brings out the worst.”
“Not always,” Mattheus responded. “It’s just
that in our business we’re called to see the darkness.”
Cindy shivered.
“And to help with it,” Mattheus’ strong, warm
voice grew deeper. “To make sure it doesn’t happen again to someone else.”
“But it does,” said Cindy.
“But at least we stop this particular killer
and save others he might have been killed,” Mattheus was resolute in his
determination.
“We’ve still got a lot to learn about details
of this case,” Mattheus went on. “That’s good. We’re going with open minds.
Everything I’ve researched on the Senator and his family looks interesting. I’m
looking forward to meeting the guy. His constituents love him. He has a
fantastic record of fighting for the environment, supporting the underdog. He
makes plenty of time to be with the people, listens to their concerns. This
guy has worked long and hard. He won his seat from the ground up. It’s disgusting
that something like this happened to him.”
Cindy nodded in agreement. “It’s disgusting no
matter who it happens to,” she said. “No one deserves this. No family deserves
to live in this kind of pain.”
“But we don’t always get what we deserve. Do
we?” said Mattheus.
Cindy had no idea how to answer that. Of
course, it didn’t seem so. She herself had been a victim of crime when Clint
was murdered, and she had to endure pain that felt like it would never go away.
Doing this work helped, though. With each case they solved Cindy felt as
though she was rectifying what happened to Clint. His senseless death was
serving a good purpose; she was using the impetus from it to save others.
Cindy wondered more about Tiffany’s murder now.
There were no articles published it in the local papers and Mattheus had been only
able to research the Senator and his family thus far.
“What about the Senator’s wife?” Cindy asked,
trying to round out the picture.
“They were childhood sweethearts,” Mattheus
said.
Cindy smiled. It wasn’t what she’d expected to
hear.
“Solid marriage, three kids, all girls. The one
who was killed, Tiffany, has a twin sister, Rori. And there’s an older sister,
Winnifred, who’s twenty one. The wife, Meryl, got sick pretty soon after the
twins were born. Never really recovered completely. Records say she’s frail,
hired a housekeeper to raise the family. Wasn’t always at her husband’s side
during government functions. There’s nothing in the records to show that the Senator
took up with anyone else.”
Cindy was surprised again. She hadn’t thought
that would have been something Mattheus would focus on, or that it would have
much bearing on the case.
“A rough time for it to happen,” Mattheus sighed.
“A week before Christmas. The island is packed. The killer could easily get
lost in the crowds, commotion, parties. For all we know he could even have his
eye on someone else.”
They approached the tarmac, and Cindy felt
herself trembling.
Mattheus lay a reassuring hand on her wrist.
“You OK? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
Cindy nodded.
He was right. She felt unusually nervous
arriving on the island. She wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was the image of Tiffany
that stuck in her mind, casting a long, dark, shadow.
“You’re becoming an old hand at this by now,”
Mattheus went on. “You should be taking it all as a matter of course.”
Cindy couldn’t possibly imagine how the violent
loss of life could become a matter, or being responsible for hunting down the
one who did it. Cindy had been raised to see the world as orderly, filled with
beauty and decency. It unnerved her deeply to look into the chaos that lurked
beneath the careful cover of what seemed to be social correctness, stable
relationships, and perfectly manicured homes.
The plane bumped on the ground a few times as
it landed. Then it stopped at the very edge of the strip, its nose practically
hanging over the water.
“We’re here,” Mattheus said.