Death by Jealousy (10 page)

Cindy
was startled. “Marriage changes everything. It’s not unusual for wives to get
rid of their husband’s friends. You hear about it all the time. They edge them
out.”

“Not
Peter,” Mac shook his head vigorously. “Peter’s a loyal guy, loves his friends
and knew how to keep Allie in her place.”

Cindy
was unnerved by that. “What exactly was Allie’s place?”

“I
mean Peter knew how to set limits for her. In fact, I helped him with it. That’s
the most important thing a guy has to learn in a relationship - how to say Yes,
and how to say No.”

“
You
helped him do that?” Cindy was intrigued. It had definitely grown colder and
she was only wearing a thin shirt.

“You
must be cold,” Mac’s eyes roamed over her body, “and you’re only wearing a
thin, beautiful shirt.”

“I’ve
been colder,” said Cindy.

“You’re
absolutely charming,” Mac grinned. “I enjoy everything about you. Look, it’s nasty
out here and getting dark. Let’s go inside and have a drink while we keep
talking. I want to keep you safe and warm.”

“I’m
fine where I am,” said Cindy, refusing to be beguiled by the considerable charm
Mac had turned on. “What exactly did you teach Peter about setting limits with
Allie?”

Mac
laughed, “You like that? It interests you?”

Cindy
couldn’t help but think that the limits between her and Mac right now, weren’t
what they should be.

“Well,
it took some doing to teach Peter limits, I must admit,” Mac went on. “Peter loved
Allie, she pulled at his heart strings and gave him something he needed badly.”

“What?”
asked Cindy intrigued.

“Phenomenal
sex,” said Mac, enjoying Cindy’s shock. “Beyond phenomenal,” he went on, “Allie
wanted it all the time. Now, phenomenal sex makes it hard to set limits.”

As
he spoke Mac drew closer to Cindy until she could felt him almost upon her.   

“And,
along with great sex, came guilt,” Mac continued, “Peter’s a guy who can be
manipulated by guilt. Lots of us are, you know.” He stopped and waited for an
answer.

“I
wouldn’t know,” said Cindy, “I’m not into those games.”

“You’re
above it all?” Mac smiled. “You’re telling me you’d be fine with it if your guy
got close to another woman?”

“I
never said that,” said Cindy, wondering how he managed to turn the conversation
to this. "I bet you could make a guy feel plenty guilty if he got too
close to someone else?” Mac persisted.

Cindy
thought about it for a moment.  She remembered how jealous she’d felt when she
thought Mattheus was too involved with a woman on one of their cases.

“I
wouldn’t make him feel guilty, necessarily,” said Cindy, “I just wouldn’t choose
to be with a guy like that.”

“All
guys are like that,” Mac was practically touching Cindy now. “No one’s
naturally monogamous. Women aren’t either.”

“I
am,” said Cindy.

Mac’s
voice fell into a husky tone.  “You’re not naturally monogamous, Cindy. You
might be involved with one and refuse an encounter with another, but deep down
you’d be wanting it to happen, right?”

Cindy
felt herself flush from head to foot. He was going far afield of where she felt
comfortable.

“You
and Mattheus are an item, aren’t you?” Mac asked.

“We’re
business partners,” Cindy replied.

“Who
just happen to share a bedroom,” Mac chuckled.

“What
has this got to do with anything?” asked Cindy.

“Besides
the fact that Mattheus isn’t right for you,” Mac continued, “I’m trying to help
you understand Allie and Peter. She wanted him all to herself. In most ways, she
had him. But he still had feelings for Vivien. Why shouldn’t he?  He and Vivien
have known each other for years. She was his first real love.”

“Hopefully,
people move on,” said Cindy.

“Peter
and Vivien moved on,” said Mac definitively. “They became friends. I wonder why
Mattheus didn’t fill you in on all this? He’s had plenty of time to find out
about Vivien. The two of them have talked for hours out here at the pool.”

Cindy
felt stunned and flustered. Mattheus hadn’t said a word to her about having spent
hours interviewing Vivien at the pool. He had said she was beautiful, though.

“Look,”
Mac’s voice became matter of fact, “all guys find Vivien irresistible. She’s
not a woman who’s going to be alone.”

“Is
she dating someone else?” Cindy needed to know more.

“She
and Tad have been dating for a while now,” Mac answered.

Cindy
slowed down and took it in. Tad had told her that he and Vivien weren’t close.

“Vivien’s
a woman who likes men,” Mac continued.

“Promiscuous?”
asked Cindy.

“That’s
judgmental,” said Mac, pursing his lips.

“It’s
important to call something what it is,” Cindy insisted.

“Why
call it promiscuous, then?” Mac looked right at her. “Why not call it daring
and free?  Why not say that Vivien refuses to let herself be tied into a narrow
lifestyle that would confine her?”

Mac
was playing with Cindy’s mind, creating alternative realities that would take
her off track. But Cindy had a more important question for him to answer than
whether or not Vivien was promiscuous or not.

“I
have a bigger question for you to answer now,” said Cindy, taking back her
train of thought. “It’s not about Vivien’s lifestyle, but why someone refused
to let Allie live a life of any kind? To answer that question I need to be
stone, cold, clear.”

Mac
stopped and listened. “You’re tougher than you look,” he said.

“I
have a job to do here,” said Cindy.

“I
respect that,” Mac replied.

“Thank
you,” said Cindy, “I respect you, too.”

Mac
seemed taken off guard. “Respect me? Why?”

Cindy
felt his warm breath on her face now. For a second, she flinched, feeling he
was going to pull her into his arms. The two of them stood there unmoving
though, neither of them taking an action of any kind.

“Why
isn’t Mattheus right for me?” Cindy finally asked in a throaty tone.

“The
guy’s got a short fuse that’s dangerous,” Mac answered directly. “You can do
much better than him.”

Cindy
felt upset having this conversation, but also wanted to hear more. She wondered
again if something negative had happened between Mac and Mattheus.

“Did
Mattheus contact you for access to Peter’s emails?” Cindy asked.

“Yes,
he did,” said Mac. “I gave him very limited access to one particular, personal
email account of Peter’s. He could have gotten it from the police as well.”

“How
about the others?” Cindy quickly asked.

“Those
are our personal banking accounts. Highly confidential. You’ve got to
practically get a court order to get them released. This case doesn’t warrant
it. There’s no reason for it.”

“Doesn’t
warrant it?” Cindy was surprised.

“Of
course we have to do everything we can to find out what happened to Allie, but
what I mean is that nothing points to our company. There’s no reason to open
our records and files. We’re known for our high integrity and service.” Mac had
a way about him that made you trust him, forget the details you were concerned
with.

“I’d
like to see the office Peter worked in though” said Cindy, “speak to some of
the guys he worked with.”

“There’s
no problem with that. I’ll take you there myself,” Mac smiled.

Cindy
recoiled, “How about Mattheus joining us?”

“Really
stuck on that guy, aren’t you?” asked Mac.

“We’re
partners,” Cindy repeated.

“For
now, anyway,” Mac replied.

The
intensity of the wind had grown much stronger and it didn’t make sense to stay
outside. Just as Cindy and Mac turned to go into the hotel, their cell phones
started ringing at the very same moment. They both picked up.

The
first thing Cindy heard was Mattheus yelling, his voice so garbled it was hard
to make out his words.

“What’s
the matter? What’s wrong?” Cindy asked immediately.

“We
have it, we have it!” Mattheus shouted.

“Have
what?”

“The
body’s turned up! “ Mattheus’s voice grew strident.

 “The
body?” gasped Cindy, “when?”

“Where?”
 Mac shouted into his phone then.

“They’ve
found Allie washed up on the shore,” Mattheus went on heatedly. “The winds and
tides washed her in. Some dancers at the festival found her leg protruding out
from under a tree.”

Cindy
cringed as she pictured the scene, Allie washed up, like a rag, under a tree. A
wave of nausea flooded over her.

 “She
was badly mangled. It’s a mess.” Mattheus went on.

“My
God,” Mac yelled back into his phone.

Cindy
could barely breathe. The case had suddenly turned a corner. An autopsy would
be performed, the investigation would deepen. More police would be brought in.

“Where
are you now?” Mattheus demanded.

“I’m
at the pool with Mac,” said Cindy.

“Mac?
Why him?” A taut silence fell between Cindy and Mattheus.

“He
arrived as I was talking to Tad and Vivien,” said Cindy.

“A
likely story,” breathed Mattheus. “He arrived or he’s been watching you from
afar? Tracking your every move?”

“That’s
crazy Mattheus,” Cindy was agitated. “And where are you?”

“Digging
into the computer.  I got clearance to scan Peter’s personal email account.
There’s plenty to see here, too.”

“Emails
from Vivien?” Cindy was right on it.

“No,
emails from Allie, hundreds of them, asking where he was, what he was doing and
with who? She was warning him if he didn’t cut it out, she didn’t know what she
would do. We’ve got a whole new picture of her.”

“Allie
was stalking him?”

“Pretty
close,” said Mattheus, “at the very least she was pulling in the net. In the
emails she’s going crazy, suspecting him of everything.”

Despite
what Cindy had heard about Allie’s suspicions, she was shocked that it had
gotten this bad.

“Didn’t
the police see these emails?” asked Cindy.

“They
said they didn’t think it meant a thing - had no bearing on the case.”

It
was easy enough to call Allie a stalker, say she was going crazy, but did Peter
give her a reason to be jealous like that? Cindy wondered.

 “What
about emails from Vivien?” Cindy shot back. “There had to be plenty of them.”

“You’re
obsessed with Vivien,” Mattheus breathed.

“I’m
obsessed?” Cindy was furious. “How about you? I happen to know you’ve spent
plenty of time alone with her and haven’t said a thing about it to me.”

“Who
told you that, Mac?” Mattheus started fuming.

“Yes.”

“That
guy wants to drive a wedge between us as sure as night is night and day is day,”
Mattheus shot back. “The question is, why? I’m coming down to the lobby
immediately. Get inside and meet me there. More police are arriving at the
hotel in a few minutes. This is all over the news, causing a commotion. People
at the festival can’t talk about anything else.” Then he hung up.

“Poor
Allie, poor Allie,” Mac’s voice was shaky as he simultaneously shut off his
phone.

“I’m
sorry, Mac,” Cindy offered.

“How
am I going to tell Peter we’ve found her?” Mac murmured. “He held onto hope for
so long.”

“Tell
him the mind plays all kinds of horrible tricks on us,” Cindy said.

“That’s
a lousy thing to say,” said Mac.

“And
also tell him that Allie’s alive somewhere else now, watching all of us from a
different world.”

*

Cindy
didn’t want to go back to the lobby and speak to Mattheus right away. The hotel
and the Island were crowded and this news would only draw more curiosity
seekers. She needed to be alone with her thoughts, take a walk near the water, have
a moment to realize the enormity of what had taken place. The sudden appearance
of Allie’s body came as a shock to Cindy. She wanted to say good bye to her.
Even though she hadn’t known Allie personally, she felt a connection with her
after all these days. In the back of her mind Cindy realized she’d also been hoping
that somehow, somewhere, they’d find her alive. It was painful to see a young life
lost, especially the day before her wedding. Cindy also felt a responsibility
to Allie’s family and loved ones. She knew she could ease everyone’s suffering
so much by finding out exactly what happened and making sure that justice was
served.

Rather
than go back to the lobby, Cindy slipped out of the hotel and went down to the
edge of the water. It was cold out and windy and the waves were high and strong.
Clearly the turbulent seas had tossed Allie up to shore right in the midst of the
festivities. How awful that she’d been found by a stranger, in the middle of
the celebrations, dancing for joy. Life and death intertwined - the timing was
strange though, and Cindy wondered what to make of it.

Cindy
walked at the water, thinking of Allie, and also of her own husband Clint. He’d
died in a similar way, though his body had washed up sooner. Cindy remembered
the pain of finding him there, the finality of it, the unrest that wouldn’t
leave her alone. She also remembered her unending resolve to find out the truth.
That determination had kept her going not only then, but through all the cases
that followed since then.

As
she walked some seagulls flew across sky making odd formations. They dipped
down, then flew higher, then dipped down again, circling around as if in a
dance. It almost as if they were trying to get Cindy to notice them, to show
her that patterns in nature could not be ignored. Nothing was left hidden
forever. At the perfect time, under the perfect conditions, everything
inevitably became clear.

*

When
Cindy returned to the hotel lobby, Mattheus was in a whirl.

“Where
the hell were you?” he asked the minute he saw her.

“I
needed a few moments to myself,” said Cindy, oddly calm then.

“Allie’s
family has been taken to identify the body and the British Royal Guard is here
as well,” Mattheus words fell over one another. “The body was gruesome,
scratched, bruised and bitten.”

“It’s
been under water quite a while,” said Cindy, “all of that could have taken
place after Allie drowned.”

“We’ll
find out for sure in a little while,” said Mattheus. “And, they found her
camera still wrapped to her wrist.”

“Good,”
said Cindy, “if we’re lucky we’ll find something valuable on it.”

“You
seem odd,” Mattheus stopped and looked at her slowly. “Calm in a weird way.”

“It’s
a sobering moment,” Cindy said.

Mattheus
quieted down. “Death is never pretty,” he agreed.

“Puts
everything in perspective,” said Cindy, sadly.

“You
can say that again,” Mattheus breathed. “Shows how little time all of us have.”
Then he reached his hand out and took Cindy’s in his.

Cindy
trembled at his touch.

 “I
don’t want to fight with you, Cindy,” Mattheus said, suddenly softly, “we need
each other, we belong together, both of us know that.”

*

Cindy
and Mattheus were still in the hotel lobby when the television screamed the
news -
Bride’s body washed up on shore, mangled.
The reporter’s shrill
voice howled through the Island, cutting into the joy of the festival,
shattering the celebration. Guests in the lobby huddled together in small
pockets whispering. The TV showed people on the streets, a look of fear on
their faces.

“We have to speak to Allie’s
parents as soon as possible,” Mattheus said to Cindy intently.

“We’ll
do it together.”

“Let’s
give them some more time,” said Cindy.

“They’ve
had plenty of time. I’m sorry about this, but we’ve got to know everything last
thing about her. Those emails I saw from Allie were creepy,” said Mattheus.

Was
it possible that Allie had brought this on herself in some way? Cindy realized
that they had no choice but dig into every last detail of Allie’s life.

“And
we have to find out what Nora was warning her about. Immediately! Did you speak
to her yet?” Mattheus was on high alert.

“No,
not yet,” Cindy had it on her list.

“Call
up to Nora’s room this minute,” said Mattheus.

Cindy
called the police in the Interrogation room, asking to speak to Nora
immediately. In a few moments they called down that they’d located her and she
was on her way to see them. Cindy and Mattheus should come upstairs that
minute.

The
mood in the Interrogation room was grim and solemn. When Cindy and Mattheus
walked in, Douglas was there, tapping his foot fiercely on the floor.

“Bad
timing,” he muttered on his phone, “right in the middle of everything. This
kind of news is the last thing we need.” Then he turned and looked over as
Cindy and Mattheus walked in.   “From now on, all the interviewing has to be
done under police auspices. We need to keep track of everything said,
everything seen. You’ll have to report into us immediately, whatever you do.”

“Got
it,” said Mattheus.

They
were tightening the reigns and Cindy understood why.

Just
then Nora walked in, looking ashen. She ran over to Cindy and the two of them
hugged.

“I
knew it was awful. I told you,” said Nora.

Cindy
nodded sadly.  

“Sit
down here,” Douglas said and motioned to the table, as Nora’s body jerked away.

“I’d
rather talk to Cindy alone,” Nora said half under her breath.

Douglas
was about to shake his head when Mattheus intervened.

“It’s fine,” said Mattheus, “let
them talk by themselves. Many women feel more comfortable

talking
to another woman alone.”

Douglas
didn’t like it, but conceded the fact.  “I’ll step outside for a little while,”
he said reluctantly, and left.

Mattheus
followed after him. “When you two are finished in here, let me know. I’ll wait
outside and guard the door.”

“Thanks,”
said Nora holding onto Cindy’s arm for all she was worth.

As
soon as they were alone, Cindy started. “Nora, I saw the emails between you and
Allie,” she said.

“Which
emails? When?” Nora started shaking.

“Recent
ones,” said Cindy, “a few days before you all left to come down for the wedding.”

“You’ve
been spying on me all along?” Nora was terrified.

“Nobody’s
spying on you,” Cindy tried to calm her down. “When something like this
happens, we check emails, phone records, computer, everything. It’s routine
procedure.”

“It’s
not routine to me,” Nora looked like she would burst into tears. “I had no idea
people would read what I was writing.”

“You
warned Allie to cut it out,” Cindy got right to the point, “you said something
bad would happen if she didn’t.”

Nora
got paler then. “I was just trying to protect her,” she said.

“From
what?” asked Cindy.

Nora
became silent.

“We
have to know.”

“What
difference does it make?” Nora asked then, “she’s dead now, isn’t she? We’ll
never see her again.”

“Yes,
she is, but we need to know more.”

“It
won’t bring her back,” Nora looked at Cindy vacantly, “and I don’t want to talk
against the dead. I just want to remember the good things about her. We were
close for lots of years.”

“I
realize,” said Cindy vehemently, “but for all we know your information will
save someone else’s life.”

“That’s
what I asked you before!” Nora said. “I asked if we were all in danger? You
didn’t think so.”

Tell
me what were you warning Allie about?” Cindy demanded.

Nora
breathed heavily. “I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone,” Nora started.

“Those
promises don’t matter anymore,” Cindy said softly.

 “Allie
was addicted to pot. It became much worse after she met Peter. I kept telling
her to cut it out but she got to a point where she couldn’t do without it.”

“Wasn’t
it obvious to everyone?” Cindy asked.

“No.
She was great at hiding it and people looked the other way. Mostly everyone
pretended it wasn’t happening.”