Death by Jealousy (11 page)

Cindy
was nonplussed. “Everyone?”

“Yes,”
said Nora, “except me, Allie’s mother and one other friend. Her mother was
revolted.  She even told Allie that if she didn’t cut it out she was going to
report her to the police.”

“What
did Allie say about that?”

“She
just laughed,” said Nora. “She told me her mother couldn’t do anything to her
anymore, so now she was threatening to go to the police.”

“That’s
quite a threat,” said Cindy. “Did her mother make good on it?”

“I
have no idea,” said Nora, looking away. “But her mother meant the best by it,
she wanted to protect Allie, not only from drugs, but from everything. Her
mother wasn’t happy about her relationship with Peter either, she said he was
stealing Allie away from her.”

“Was
that true?”

“How
could it be true? Allie fell in love. She deserved to be happy, didn’t she?”
asked Nora.

“Of
course she deserved to be happy,” said Cindy, “everyone does. But was he
getting between her and her mother?”

“No,
it wasn’t Peter. It gave Allie a thrill to get back at her mother,” Nora went
on. “It gave her a thrill to have jewels from Peter and show them off.  Allie
finally felt she was worth something.”

“Finally?”
asked Cindy.

“For
years Allie couldn’t do anything right,” Nora went on heatedly. “Whatever she
did her mother criticized her. But her mother just wanted to make her a better
person. I told her that time and again.”

A
new picture of Allie was emerging, but Cindy felt as if she could sympathize
with the struggles Allie had gone through. She’d just gone about it all the
wrong ways. She thought jewels would make her important and depended on drugs
to ease her relentless pain.

“I
told Allie to give up pot during the wedding. But she couldn’t,” said Nora.

“Did
she bring it down to the Island with her?” Cindy asked.

“No.
There’s a guy down here she got it from.”

Cindy’s
back arched. Now there was a drug dealer was in the picture. This was important
information! They should have been aware of it before.

“Who
was dealing drugs to her? I have to know.” Cindy demanded  instantly.

“I
have no idea,” said Nora, “I really don’t.  Allie wanted to tell me but I told
her it was more information than I needed to have. I begged her to stop.”

“I
have to find out who he is,” Cindy insisted, “we should have known about him
long ago.”

“Ask
Laura then,” Nora whispered.

“Laura,
her Maid of Honor?” Cindy was shocked.

“Laura
went with her to get the stuff because Allie was scared to go there alone,”
said Nora.

“What
about Peter?” Cindy was amazed.

“He
wouldn’t go,” Nora continued. “He didn’t want any part of it. Peter’s an
upright guy, kind of stiff if you asked me. A lot like his father.”

 “Did
Peter know that Allie smoked? “asked Cindy, “was it a bone of contention between
them?”

“Maybe
in the beginning, but I don’t think he realized how much the habit grew,” said
Nora. “There’s lots of things Peter doesn’t realize. He’s the kind of guy who
blocks out what he doesn’t like, looks for the best in everybody. If he doesn’t
find it, he’s usually shocked. For instance, Peter thought Allie should accept
his friendship with Vivien. Nothing Allie said could make him think differently.
He wants life to be the way he wants it to be. He believes what he believes.”

“Not
an easy guy to be in a relationship with,” Cindy murmured.

“Very
easy if you’re the person he thinks you should be,” said Nora.

Cindy
shook her head. “I’ve got to talk to Laura, find out more about who was dealing
drugs.”

“Please
don’t tell Laura I told you,” Nora started trembling.

“You
did the right thing, Nora,” Cindy said.

“What’s
right about it?” Nora’s eyes were filled with tears.

“You’re
helping the truth come to light. For all we know you could be leading us to
Allie’s killer.”

“Oh
God,” Nora started sobbing. “I can’t believe she’s really dead.”

A
fierce wave of distress suddenly overtook Cindy when she thought of Allie going
to the drug dealer. There was a web on the island they hadn’t yet uncovered. The
police hadn’t said a word about it, either. Maybe that’s where the answers were
waiting. Suddenly, a startling thought struck Cindy.

“Nora,”
Cindy suddenly blurted out, “Could Allie have gone diving high on pot?”

“I
don’t know about that,” Nora whispered. “But I think there’s a killer loose,
running around.”

“What
kind of killer, someone who knew Allie? Did she have enemies? Cindy couldn’t
stop questioning her.

“Vivien
hated Allie’s guts,” Nora was trembling and her head fell into her hands.  “Who
else? I don’t know if I’m crazy or not. People tell me I’m paranoid, but I also
always thought how weird it was that Allie was so close to Tad.”

Cindy’s
brain started whirling. “Tad, the best man? Close in what way?”

“Tad
and Allie would talk on the phone all the time,” Nora whispered. “Peter had no
problem with it, though. He said he was glad they were friends. Tad helped a
lot with the wedding arrangements.”

“So,
there’s nothing off about that,” said Cindy.

“To
my mind there was,” Nora’s eyes opened wide. “Allie knew Tad and Vivien were
hot and heavy.  So, why would Allie make a point of calling him every day? The girl
I knew years ago would never have done that. It was only after Allie met Peter
that she started to change. If you want the truth, I agree with her mother. I never
thought the relationship was so great for her. Something about Peter started to
drive her crazy, make her act in strange ways.”

“Did
you think Tad was better for Allie?” Cindy was fascinated. There was an
intricate web in the relationships between these people. You pulled the web at
one point and all of it began to fall apart.

“Tad
was much better for Allie,” Nora went on in a hushed tone. “He would be better
for anyone.”

“Did
Allie think so? Did she want him?” asked Cindy.

“No,
not that she ever said. She was obsessed with Peter. Completely obsessed.”  

Nora
was a fine young woman and Cindy appreciated talking to her. “I can’t tell you
how much I appreciate talking to you, Nora.”

Nora
looked surprised. “Me? Why? Everyone knows I’m crazy. Please take everything I
say with a grain of salt. I always see the worst.”

*

After
Nora left, Cindy felt suddenly exhausted.  Mattheus came into the room and sat
down beside her, and Douglas stepped in two steps behind.

“Every
word of your interview was recorded,” Douglas said curtly, shocking Cindy. “Actually,
we were listening outside in our earphones.”

Cindy
had a moment of horror, she’d betrayed Nora’s confidence.

“You
should have let me know,” she said to Douglas.

“We’ve
got a dead body, could be looking at homicide. Right now, anything goes. Next
step you get Laura in here and find out where they got their pot. All kinds of
gangs and drug dealers are spreading on the Island. We’ve got to wipe all of
them out,” Douglas said.

“Seems
unlikely the dealer would be involved in Allie’s death,” said Mattheus.

“Unlikely,
but you never know.”

Laura
was called down next, and came almost immediately, trembling and sobbing. She
also ran over to Cindy and sat down at her side.

“Do
you mind if we all talk to you together?” Cindy asked softly.

Laura
shook her head and kept sobbing. “Ask me anything you want,” she said.

“We
understand that you accompanied Allie to get drugs,” Cindy started.

Laura
stopped crying instantly, looked up, scared.

“Just
a little pot,” she said in a high voice. “I wouldn’t exactly call it drugs.”

“Marijuana
is considered a drug,” Douglas said in a stiff tone.

Laura
looked at Cindy desperately. “Am I in trouble now?”

“That’s
not what this is about,” said Cindy, “but we need to know where you went for
it.”

“Carlos
Ramanos,” Laura gave him up fast. “I’ll write his address down on this paper.”
She grabbed a pad that was in front of her and wrote the information down. “He’s
a nice guy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Drugs
kill,” Douglas reiterated.

Laura
looked at him out of the corner of her eye and then turned back to Cindy.

“It
was just a little pot, nothing else.”

“Does
this guy deal other drugs, too?” asked Mattheus.

“I
don’t know,” said Laura. “We never asked for anything else.”

“Peter
must have known about this,” Douglas started pacing back and forth.

Laura
stood and faced him squarely. “No, he didn’t,” she called out sharply. “Allie
hid it from him. He found out once, back in the states and made her promise not
to do it. He didn’t want to be part of anything like that.”

“It’s
pretty obvious when someone’s high,” Douglas stared her down.

“Peter
didn’t pay attention to every little thing,” Laura exclaimed. “Allie told me
that he had no idea at all that she was still using. That’s why I went with her
to get them.”

“Come
on,” Douglas was closing in on her, “you’re telling me that Peter didn’t smoke
at all?”

“No,
he didn’t” Laura said emphatically. “He’s uptight that way.”

“No
one else in the wedding party smoked, ever?” Douglas was taunting her now.

“I
don’t know about anyone else, but I know Peter didn’t,” Laura stood her ground.

Cindy
stood up beside her now and confronted Douglas directly.

“That’s
enough,” she said. “Laura is helping us out. I’m going to go down and speak to
Carlos directly.”

“You’re
not going alone,” Douglas pivoted towards her. “We’ll go with you.”

“I’ll
do better if I go alone,” Cindy said, “Carlos is more likely to talk then.”

Mattheus
stood up as well. “Cindy and I will go together,” he announced. “First we have
to speak to Allie’s parents, and I need time to go through Peter’s company
records. Then Cindy and I will drive down and talk to Carlos.”

“The
company records have been audited by a forensic accountant,” Douglas announced
curtly. “There’s no reason to look into them further at this point.”

“As
you said, the case has turned a corner. We’ve got a body,” Mattheus said.

“You’ll
have to get the okay to go through company records from Mac,” Douglas looked
away.

Cindy
wondered if Mac also had the police in his hand.

“Cindy
can talk to Mac about it” said Mattheus. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to give her
whatever she wants.”

Cindy
wasn’t exactly sure how to take that, but before she had chance to wonder,
Douglas reached for the phone.

“I’m
having Allie’s parents come down to interrogation now,” he said.

Cindy
objected. “I’d rather see them in their room. It will be too difficult for them
to talk down here.”

“We
need to hear every word they say,” Douglas insisted.

“I’ll
report back to you,” Cindy said.

Douglas
hesitated and scratched his face.

“That’s
what we’re here for,” said Mattheus.

“Yeah,
sure,” Douglas agreed, “I guess I can trust the two of you.”

Cindy
turned fiercely and stared at him then.

“There’s
no guessing about it. You can trust us with your life,” she proclaimed.

Allie’s parents needed about half an hour to get
ready to be interviewed and Cindy and

 
Mattheus decided to wait for them outside on the hotel Veranda. Small, colored
lights that trimmed the wooden Veranda fence were on, bringing a soft glow to
the evening.

Cindy
and Mattheus sat down next to each other and Cindy put her head back on the
tall, rattan chair. They’d been going since early morning and the news seemed
to never end.

“You’re
doing a fabulous job,” Mattheus said quietly.

“Thanks,”
said Cindy, absent mindedly.

A
compliment from him usually meant a lot, but right now it felt hollow. She went
back over the past few hours in her mind, it had been one thing after another. Cindy
felt a mixture of loneliness, fear and sorrow. She thought of the interview
with Vivien and Tad, her strange encounter with Mac, the new information about
Mattheus’s time with Vivien, the discovery of Allie’s body and news about drugs.
Cindy felt discombobulated. It was way more than she could readily digest. 

“Things
will calm down soon,” said Mattheus, seemingly aware of her painful mood. “The
investigation is on a whirlwind right now. They’re even speeding up the autopsy
and we should have results in a little while.”

“What
good will that do?” asked Cindy.

Mattheus
was jarred. “What are you talking about? This is one of the most important
parts of the investigation. A body doesn’t lie.”

Cindy
wasn’t optimistic about it. “What exactly do you think they’re going to find?”

“My
guess is that Allie was high when she went diving,” Mattheus replied, “her
judgment was off, visibility was poor. When she and Peter got separated and she
panicked. The rest is history.”

“The
air gauge wasn’t recording the amount of air properly,” Cindy interjected. “It
said full when it was almost empty. That had nothing to do with being high on drugs.”

“Who
knows? That particular gauge could have been a faulty product. It happens once
in a while. If you’re high on drugs, how can you cope with it?”

“Too
much of a coincidence,” said Cindy.

“I
agree,” said Mattheus. “That’s why we have to dig deeper into other avenues as
well. Will you speak to Mac about getting us complete access to the company’s
records?”

That
was a completely different turn. “What exactly are you looking for?” said
Cindy.

“Peter’s
father owns the company, Peter’s a top player, too. There could have been a
transaction that someone didn’t like.  I’m looking for some sign of
irregularity in their dealings.” Mattheus was ruminating.

“Why
would they kill Allie, though? It doesn’t make sense.”

“When
I find something off at the company, I’ll be better able to answer that
question,” Mattheus drummed his fingers on the table.

“I’m
sure the police have been over it a hundred times,” Cindy was unimpressed.

“That
doesn’t mean a thing. The police could be in the company’s pockets, paid off
plenty for all we know. There’s big money down on this Island, no one’s immune.”

Cindy
looked over at Mattheus. Although his eyes were clouded, she was suddenly
struck again with how beautiful they were, how much he cared about what he was
doing. At the same time, he seemed much more edgy than he used to be. It was
harder for both of them going through the investigation when things were so
rocky between them.

Cindy
put her hand over his lightly, and Mattheus looked down at it, coolly,
surprised.

“That’s
nice,” he said, “but I don’t know if you realize that you haven’t actually
reached out and touched me since we first saw each other in Key West.”

Cindy
hadn’t realized he’d been keeping track.

“That’s
a long, long time between hugs,” Mattheus said, looking at her hand. “Holding
hands doesn’t really do it for me. I did that in high school.”

Cindy
felt put on the spot.

“My
guess is that you’re still mad at me when I spoiled our vacation in the middle
and decided to take on the next case,” said Mattheus.

“I’m
not mad at you, Mattheus,” Cindy replied, “I’m uncertain about what’s possible.
We needed that time together. We promised each other -.”

“You
put our personal pleasure before helping someone who was in trouble?  I’d say
that’s pretty selfish,” Mattheus replied.

“There’s
always going to be someone who’s in trouble,” Cindy shot back. “What about us?
Now we’re in trouble.  Our relationship is --.”

Mattheus
wasn’t really listening. “I miss being held,” he went on. “It’s not the same
working together with this weird tension between us. It’s not even healthy.”

“No,
it isn’t,” Cindy agreed.

Mattheus
shook his head glumly. “A guy has his needs,” he muttered under his breath.

“Is
that why you spent so much time with Vivien?” Cindy retorted.  

“Jesus,
we’re back to that again?” said Mattheus. “You think I’m stepping out on you
when I focus in on a suspect and spend extra time with them?” He pulled his
hand away from hers.

“I
never said that,” Cindy bristled.

“I’m
on a case and so are you. Vivien has a lot of good information. I want to hear
every word she has to say.” Mattheus looked fed up.

“I’m
sure you do,” said Cindy. “But why didn’t say a thing to me about it? That’s
irregular, Mattheus.”

Mattheus
ran his hands over his face slowly.

 “I
don’t have the energy for this nonsense right now,” he said, “especially the
way things are between us. Who says we’re even back together? We’re sleeping in
separate beds, aren’t we? Why shouldn’t we both have the freedom to do anything
we like at this moment in time?”

Cindy
felt as though she’d been punched in the gut. “A relationship is more than a
moment in time. It takes lots of moments, Mattheus. It takes patience, devotion.”
She felt heartsick. Once again they’d said they’d go slow, see how things
developed. And once again they’d landed on a rocky shore. “If you want to see
other people, just tell me.”

“There’s
just one obstacle after another between us,” Mattheus grumbled. “I don’t want
to upset you – I don’t know what I want. I guess we both need time.”

Cindy
realized that Mattheus was still just fresh from all the shocks he’d had in Key
West. How could he really trust anyone at this point? How could he let himself
get really close?

“Time
is good,” Cindy said quietly. “We learn everything in time.”

Thankfully,
Cindy’s cell phone rang and she picked it up quickly.

“We’re
ready to see you now,” a soft, male voice said. “Room 1033.” That had to be
Allie’s father.

“Allie’s
parents are ready for us to come up to their room now,” Cindy said.

She
and Mattheus got up abruptly then and walked to the elevator without saying
another word.

*

Mattheus
knocked on the door of room 1033, and an older man, slightly bent over, opened
it. He had grey hair, bleary eyes and an unbearably sad expression.

“I’m
Allie’s father,” he said dimly.

“I’m
so sorry for your loss,” Cindy said immediately.

“Thank you,” he acknowledged her
for a moment, and then ushered them into the

hotel
suite.

The
room, painted pale lavender, was large and open, with a bed, chairs, tables and
large, swirling couch in it. A woman draped in a long grey shawl sat on the
couch, without moving, staring ahead of her. She had dark hair, pulled back
into a knot at the bottom of her neck.

“This
is Allie’s mother Peg,” the old man said.

Peg
did not look over as Cindy and Mattheus walked towards her.

“Sit
down,” the old man said, pointing to some chairs. “Peg doesn’t really want to
talk to anyone. We realize that we have to now.”

“I
can understand how she feels,” said Cindy as she and Mattheus took their seats.

“You
can’t understand anything,” Peg said bitterly, looking over at Cindy with
burning eyes. “Nobody can understand how a mother feels who loses a daughter
like this.”

“I’m
so sorry,” said Cindy.

Peg
did not take that in, just continued talking, rabidly. “But I knew it would
happen. I even told Henry. Didn’t I, Henry? Didn’t I?”

Henry,
the old man, nodded quietly. Obviously he’d been listening to his wife speak
like this for a long while.

“I
told Henry that no good can come of unbridled money spent in crazy ways. I knew
something bad was coming into our lives when Allie met Peter. Why did they keep
running down here to the Island all the time? What was wrong with his working
at home in the U.S.?”

“Peter’s
company is located down in both places,” Mattheus said, trying to calm her
down. “Many people work offshore.”

“There’s
something strange about that,” Peg’s eyes squinted. “There’s no need to work so
far from home.”

“Cindy
and I work all over the Caribbean.” He was trying to get through to her. It was
impossible though.

“Why
did Allie have to get with someone who didn’t want to work at home?” Peg
continued. “Allie was greedy, that’s why. She was born greedy and I saw trouble
coming her whole life long.”

“My
daughter and wife never saw eye to eye,” Henry tried to get a word in.

“That’s
putting it mildly,” said Peg, dismissing him in a flash. “You didn’t help me
either, Henry. You didn’t step in and teach Allie that enough’s enough.”

“Allie
had a good life, Peg,” he said quietly. “Allie was a good girl. She found a
good husband. She had an accident.”

“This
was not an accident,” Peg was emphatic.

“What
was it?” Cindy was quick on the uptake.

“Someone
definitely murdered my daughter. If you do your job and scratch the surface, it
will be easy to find out who. There are plenty people down here who would have
been thrilled to see Allie taken down from the perch she sat up on.”

“Like
who?” Cindy asked.

Peg
had a powerful, electrifying energy. She spoke as if she had access to
information no one else did, as if she were the ultimate authority. It was disconcerting.

“Look
carefully at Peter’s parents for starters,” Peg whispered harshly. “They never
accepted Allie for a minute, just acted like they did. Everything about them
screams phoniness! Basically they wanted someone better, a rich girl for their precious
son.”

“What
leads you to think that?” Cindy wanted grounding in facts. Peg wasn’t
interested in facts though, just needed to make her case.

“And
what about Peter?” Peg’s eyes were flashing. “A perfect suspect, if I ever saw
one. Allie was becoming more and more clinging, like she always did since she
was a child. What better way to get rid of her? Peter could have had cold feet
when the wedding got too close.”

Cindy
felt waves of nausea as she listened to this woman speak. There was a
heartlessness about her. How awful it must have been for Allie to have her as a
mother.

“What
do you know about Peter’s company?” Mattheus broke in. “I’m interested in his
financial dealings.”

“She
knows nothing,” Henry piped up. “She thinks she knows everything, but she doesn’t.
I know Peter’s a good boy and he loved Allie. So do his parents. I wouldn’t
want you getting the wrong idea.”

“Henry
lives in a dream world all of his own,” Peg lashed out at him. “Peter’s company
did big international deals with huge sums of money changing hands. He wouldn’t
speak about them. I asked him a lot and he wouldn’t say a word. Everything was
super confidential. But I did see the jewels he gave Allie. Obscene if you
asked me. Huge rubies, emeralds, sapphires. What was he doing? Buying her love?
Showing off to the world? It turned my stomach. A man like this never makes a
decent husband. A decent husband doesn’t have to put on such a show.”

“I
never gave Peg anything like that at all, Henry said softly. “I gave her what
mattered. I gave her love. I stayed close to her no matter what happened. I
never, ever left her side. But I couldn’t do the same for my daughter, could I?”
Tears welled up in his eyes.

Henry
was a beautiful man and he touched Cindy deeply. She thought of how she had run
away from Mattheus back on the island. She thought how hard it was for her to
stay at Mattheus’s side now. She certainly didn’t love Mattheus the way Henry
loved Peg. Maybe Cindy never really loved him at all? Maybe she couldn’t love
anyone?

Mattheus
and Cindy looked at each other for a quick moment as Henry spoke. Cindy
wondered if Mattheus was having the same thoughts as she was.

Mattheus
just tossed his head for a moment and turned his attention back to Peg.

“You
didn’t hear anything specific about Peter’s financial dealings from Allie, did
you?” Mattheus was back hunting for new facts.