Death by Jealousy
Authors: Jaden Skye
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Women Sleuths, #Romance, #Romantic Suspense, #Mystery & Suspense, #Suspense
D E A T H B Y J E A L O U S Y
(book #6 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)
DEATH BY DEVOTION (Book #9)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
Tap
here to download Jaden Skye books on Amazon now!
Copyright
© 2013 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
Cindy
and Mattheus sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the plane, enjoying the trip and each other,
relaxing like old times, as if nothing had gone wrong between them. Before they’d
left they’d gone over the details of the case that they were flying down to the
Cayman Islands to solve. Mattheus felt it could just be a case of a missing
person—a bride at a destination wedding who’d gotten cold feet and ran away. Sure,
she’d found a strange way to do it, but last minute panic can do crazy things
to the mind. He wasn’t convinced they were looking at a crime.
Cindy
wasn’t so sure.
Cindy
hadn’t even been sure she was going to work on another case with Mattheus,
until the frantic call for help came in. The call came very early in the
morning, the day after she and Mattheus had finished their last case in Key
West. Cindy was planning to go back home to Long Island, take a breather, and
spend much-needed time with her sister Ann. The visit would stabilize Cindy,
help her regain her footing. It always did.
Cindy
had still been in Key West, asleep in her hotel room, when her phone rang
uncontrollably and wouldn’t stop. She’d picked up the receiver, only half
awake.
“My
son, my son!” a woman kept gasping.
“Who
is this?” Cindy woke up fast.
“Dana
McPherson,” the woman could barely speak.
Dana
McPherson was a well-known surgeon in Oyster Bay who Cindy had known when she’d
been married to Clint. Dana, a strong, elegant woman could barely catch her
breath.
“What’s
wrong?” Cindy grabbed the phone hard.
“We
need you, Cindy,” Dana’s voice was laced with panic and tears. “You’ve got to
help.”
“Tell
me what happened?” Cindy tried to calm her.
“They’re
holding my son Peter for questioning. He’s the main suspect,” Dana could barely
get the words out.
“Suspect
in what?”
“He
didn’t do it, I’m positive,” Dana was babbling. “You have to come down and convince
them of that. You must.” Then she started sobbing uncontrollably.
Cindy’s
heart clenched. She wasn’t ready to take on another case. She needed time, had promised
it to herself. She wanted to sort out her life, see where things were going
with her and Mattheus. Things had happened so quickly between them, she hadn’t
had time to digest it. Mattheus’s erratic behavior in Key West had frightened
her in more ways than one. Cindy had to be sure this was the life she really
wanted, and that Mattheus was the one she wanted to share it with.
Dana
finally stopped sobbing and began speaking again.
“We’re
all here at the Cayman Islands for Peter’s wedding. Everything was fine. Then Peter
and Allie went for a night dive a day before the wedding. The two of them got
separated underwater and she never surfaced again. Never!”
Cindy
gasped. The awful story reminded her of what had happened to her and Clint on
their honeymoon when he’d disappeared surfing. She remembered the wait, the
horror, the search.
“It’s
awful,” Cindy breathed.
“Beyond
awful,” Dana’s voice choked back. “They’ve been searching under water and on
land and can’t find her anywhere. For no reason at all, they’re focusing on Peter.
We can’t do this without you, Cindy. You and Mattheus are known for the
fantastic work you do. Especially in the Caribbean.”
“Thank
you, Dana,” Cindy breathed.
“Can
you come right away? We’ll pay you well for it.”
Cindy
flinched. It wasn’t about the money, it never had been. There was a deep satisfaction
she felt helping others who’d become victims of sudden crimes. Cindy loved digging
beneath the surface of lives, stripping off masks, listening for lies. She
enjoyed searching out the real culprits and then helping families discover a new
equilibrium in their lives. It made what happened to her with Clint bearable,
gave it all meaning to help someone else.
“Please
come down with Mattheus, right away,” Dana pleaded.
“We’re
on the way,” Cindy responded.
*
“We’ll
be landing at Cayman Islands Airport in exactly twenty minutes. The weather is
perfect, skies are clear,” the Captain’s voice came over the loud speaker, updating
the passengers who’d left Miami a short time ago. It was only a thirty minute
flight down to the Cayman Islands and seemed as if no time had passed at all.
Cindy
looked out of the airplane window. This was the part she loved, flying through
a cloudless sky, arriving at a new island, being ushered in. She loved being filled
in on the details of a case, meeting the people involved, getting an overall
feel of the crime scene. The trip had been easy so far, and things between her
and Mattheus felt natural and good, as if they’d never gone through the
difficulties they had on their last case.
Mattheus
reached out and squeezed Cindy’s hand with warmth and anticipation, just as he
used to. It gave her a sense of closeness and support, as if the two of them
were in this completely together. This was the part she loved most of all,
being a team with someone she cared for - and who cared for her, no questions
about it. That connection between them had almost been gone during the weeks
that just went by. Granted, it was a time of shock for him. After years of
searching, Mattheus had finally located his missing wife’s body in Key West. To
his horror, he also discovered she’d just been killed, had been alive in
hiding, all along.
Naturally,
it threw him for a loop and old waves of rage and confusion arose. The more he
investigated and discovered about his wife’s secret life, the worse he’d felt
about himself - and everyone else.
Cindy
told herself over and over she had to understand that. How could Mattheus not
be suspicious then, turn into a stranger and withdraw? How could she have
expected him to be the same person she’d known? Cindy desperately wanted to
trust him again, have things go back to the way they’d been. But could they
ever? Did time go one way only? That was her question now – she wasn’t sure.
Cindy
put her head back on the plane seat and smiled. No matter what had or hadn’t happened,
at least they were still together, shoulder to shoulder, taking on a new case.
That was something anyway. Despite herself she felt comforted.
“I
reserved one room for us at the hotel this time,” Mattheus leaned closer and
said softly.
Cindy
smiled. She’d been wondering about that. They’d both been so cautious in the
beginning of their relationship. They’d only progressed to sharing a bed after many
months of working together, knowing each other, building a bond. When they’d
finally became lovers, it had been wonderful for both of them, deeply healing
and nourishing, as if their lives could truly start again. But old wounds weren’t
healed so easily. Hard times and misunderstanding came and by the time they
were down in Key West on the last case, she and Mattheus had returned to being
working partners again, in separate rooms.
“Hope
you’re okay with one room again?” Mattheus murmured. “I asked for two single
beds, just in case.”
Cindy
turned and looked at the delicious, boyish smile on his face, the one she’d always
found so engaging and hard to resist.
“We
can take one room,” said Cindy, “but two single beds are good. Let’s not jump
into anything right away, we’ll see how it goes.”
“Ever
the cautious one,” Mattheus grinned. “I’d better be glad with what I can get.
One room is definitely better than two.”
Cindy
looked into his beautiful eyes and smiled. He still loved her, that was clear.
She loved him too, but was that enough to create a foundation they could build
a life on? She truly didn’t know.
“Fasten
your seat belts for landing,” the voice over the plane’s loudspeaker announced.
“Already?”
Cindy was shocked.
Mattheus
laughed as he reached over and pulled her seat belt over her gently. “We’re on
the way,” he said.
“Prepare
for landing,” the voice continued.
“I’m
prepared,” Mattheus whispered to Cindy, “how about you?”