Death by Jealousy (16 page)

“Yes,”
said Peter.

“What
did Tad say?” asked Mattheus.

“He
was horrified, too. Agreed it didn’t look good.”

“How
come the forensic accountants didn’t find those accounts?” Mattheus dug deeper.

“I
don’t know,” said Peter, “it was all right there. I haven’t been in here since
Allie died. There are more important things to be concerned about now.”

“Of
course,” said Mattheus. “Do you know where those files are now?”

“I
don’t know where anything is at this moment,” said Peter. “Tad’s taking care of
all those details for me. Call him in. We’ll ask him about it.”

“I
called him before, he was out to lunch,” Mattheus remarked.

Peter
smiled, “Yeah, Tad takes nice long lunches. But he earns them, works really
late, too.”

“Doesn’t
give him much time for a social life, does it?” Mattheus remarked off handedly.

“What
do you mean? Tad’s got the greatest girl anyone can imagine.”

“Vivien
was also your girlfriend at one time, I heard,” said Mattheus.

“She
was, and now we’re best friends. It works better for us that way. I’m happy for
her and Tad, really.”

Mattheus
nodded. Peter was one hell of a guy, an open book. Mattheus had nothing but
respect for him.

“Can
you call Tad for me?” Mattheus asked Peter. “Ask him to join us. It’s
important.”

“Of
course I can,” said Peter and immediately picked up his phone and got in touch
with Tad, who agreed to join them on the spot.

*

About
ten minutes later, Tad walked into the office looking calm and focused.

“Hey,
man, it’s so great to see you here,” he said to Peter and went over to give him
a hug.

“Do
you know Mattheus?” Peter immediately introduced them.

Tad
extended his hand graciously. “I think we talked briefly in the beginning, but
I did have a chance to talk to your partner, Cindy, down at the pool.  She interviewed
me and Vivien. Then Mac arrived on the scene.”

Mattheus
liked Tad very much as well. “How did the interview go?” he asked.

“As
I recall there was some upset between Cindy and Vivien,” Tad shrugged. “You
know how it is with women, always something.”

Mattheus
could relate to that.

“Vivien
does better with guys, for sure,” said Peter.

Tad
cringed. “Vivien does fine with everyone. As I recall Cindy was pretty
aggressive, digging into her behavior. There was no need for it. Mac came to
Vivien’s defense. Vivien told me later that she thought Cindy was jealous of
her, that all women were.”

Mattheus
smiled. It would have been unusual for Cindy to be aggressive with a woman.  And,
once again, he wondered what Mac was doing there with them. That guy seemed to
turn up all over the place, especially where Cindy was concerned.

“Anyway,”
Tad sat down on the chair next to Peter, “what’s this meeting about?  How can I
help? What’s the urgency?”

“I
was telling Mattheus about what I found at the company,” Peter said plainly.

Tad
looked momentarily confused. “What?”

“The
irregular deposits, the cash coming in and going out like crazy.”

“What
has that got to do with the investigation into Allie’s death?” Tad said,
finally.

“Nothing,”
said Peter, “but Mattheus called me in to talk about it.”

“How
did Mattheus find out about it?” Tad asked, surprised.

“I
just told him,” said Peter.

“What
do you mean?” Tad seemed bewildered.

“Mattheus
found the email I sent asking you to come for an emergency meeting. He wanted
to know what it was about?” said Peter.

Tad’s
face clenched. “So you told him about the problem we have here? Why?”

“Why
not?” asked Peter.

“Hell, Peter, your judgment is off! What do our
business problems have to do with Allie? Nothing. It’s not good for Mac and your
father to find out about the financials from someone else. It’s better

for
us to tell them ourselves.”

“All
bets are off now,” Peter’s head hung down. “I need time to get over this. I’m
out of the game for a little while. Let Mattheus step in and help us out.”

Tad
shrugged. “I thought I was handling things now.”

“You
are,” said Peter. “And Mattheus can help.”

“That’s
not what he’s here for,” Tad repeated. “He’s here to find out what happened to
Allie, that’s it. That’s all.”

Mattheus
broke in. “What did you think about the files Peter showed you, Tad? Look like
money laundering?”

Tad’s
face remained impassive. “That’s too big a conclusion to jump to,” he said, “you
never know about these things.  You never know who was doing it either. Got to
be careful about throwing rocks. It can create ripples of all kinds. You
investigate something like this quietly, one step at a time.”

“Who
do you think might be doing it?” Mattheus zeroed in.

“I
have no idea,” said Tad. “That’s finding a needle in a haystack. You need
special investigators for that. Once Peter and I tell Edward and Mac, it will
be up to them to decide what to do next.”

Tad’s
responses were all measured. Obviously he’d given it careful thought.

“We’ve
got to get those files over to my dad and Mac immediately,” Peter said then.

Mattheus
interrupted, “I noticed files that were deleted and scrambled on Peter’s
records.

Peter
jumped to his feet. “Which files?”

Mattheus
quickly opened the computer and showed him what he’d found.

“Those
are the ones,” Peter breathed, horrified.

“Someone’s
onto it,” Tad said quickly. “They’ve wiped the evidence out.”

“It
doesn’t matter,” Peter quickly recouped. “I have backups of those files with me
in my suitcase.”

Tad
looked completely shocked. “Backups?”

“You
think I’d leave something so important only on my computer?” Peter said. Then
he turned to Mattheus. “Once things settle down with Allie, I want you and Tad
to help me go over this with my father and Mac.”

*

Peter
and Tad left together to go for a walk, and Mattheus stayed behind to keep
scrolling through the files to see if anything else came up. Around five o’clock,
just before he was about to call Vivien, the phone rang.  It was Cindy.

 “How’s
it going?” Mattheus asked her, as if the day had been perfectly ordinary and
the call was just routine.

 “Fine,”
Cindy replied. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be at dinner in the
hotel with my sister and her husband tonight.  They’re flying down from Miami
for a quick visit.”

 
That was the first Mattheus had heard about that. He didn’t like Cindy’s sister
Ann and she didn’t like him.

“Just
wondered if you’d like to join us?” Cindy asked lightly.

The
last thing Mattheus wanted to do was have dinner with all of them.

“Normally
I would,” he said, matter of factly, “but I’m really tied up here tonight.”

Cindy
paused on the other end. Mattheus wondered what she was thinking. He knew his
response was irregular, but it wasn’t normal procedure to have dinner with her
family, either.

“Okay,”
she said then, “just asking.”

Something
in her voice struck him strangely though. “How’d your day go?” he got in
quickly, as he felt her about to hang up.

“I
don’t know. I’m still here, anyway,” Cindy said, strangely.

“What
the hell do you mean by that?” Mattheus shot back, as she suddenly hung up the
phone.

Mattheus
and Vivien met up in a restaurant down the block with a garden in the back. When
Mattheus arrived he found Vivien sitting in the back garden, under a hanging
tree, sipping a cocktail. Dressed in a sheer, dark green dress, and beautiful
emerald bracelet, she looked absolutely ravishing, with the setting sun dimming
across her face.

The
moment Vivien saw Mattheus approaching, her face burst into an incredible
smile.

“It’s
You
,” she breathed, as he came closer. “I’ve been waiting for this all
day long.”

Mattheus
sat down, his head whirling as she edged closer to him. I’m not available, Vivien,
he wanted to say, I’m a married man. But then he suddenly realized he was not. His
wife wasn’t missing any longer. She was dead.

Mattheus
looked down at the bracelet Vivien was wearing and realized that it had to be
the one Tad purchased for her. And what about Tad? How would he feel about
Mattheus and Vivien meeting secretly like this? 

“That’s
a beautiful bracelet you’re wearing,” Mattheus was transfixed by it.

“The
bracelet is beautiful, or I am?” Vivien purred

“That
too,” Mattheus had to agree.

“I
ordered you a Scotch and soda,” Vivien said, pointing to a drink on the table. “I
know you like them.”

Mattheus
was touched, but he was here for a purpose. He couldn’t get swayed.

“I
want to make you happy, Mattheus,” Vivien said as Mattheus reached for his
drink.

“I
am happy,” he replied.

“And
I want to make you even happier,” Vivien’s lips parted into a smile as he
lifted the Scotch to his mouth.

“Where’d
you get that bracelet?” Mattheus asked as he put the drink back down.

“It
was a gift,” Vivien said lightly.

“From
Tad?” Mattheus wanted it all out. Here she was hidden away with Mattheus, while
accepting jewels from someone else.

“Yes,
from Tad,” she said, “so what?”

“So,
you told me not to mention to Tad that we were meeting,” Mattheus reminded her.

“Of
course not,” Vivien said under her breath, lifting her drink to her mouth. “You
and I need our time alone. When someone who is perfect for you is just brought
into your world, do you go telling the whole world about it? Or do you spend
time with that person alone?”

“Who
exactly is just perfect for you?” Mattheus asked more gently.

“Let’s
not play games, please,” Vivien replied, staring starkly into his eyes. “You
know what I’m feeling. You’re feeling it, too. I couldn’t sleep last night, I
was thinking so much about you.”

Mattheus
stomach lurched for a second, then he grew silent.

“You’re
gorgeous, sexy, strong,” murmured Vivien.

Vivien
was beautiful, sensual, everything anyone could imagine, but as she spoke Mattheus’s
thoughts drifted away to Cindy. He didn’t want to hear this from Vivien, it was
Cindy he longed for. It was Cindy he wanted to hear these words from, Mattheus
suddenly realized. Hell, he hadn’t even told Cindy what he was doing tonight. He’d
said he’d be at the office, and here he was having drinks with someone else.

“I’m
so happy we’re here together,” Vivien murmured again.

There
was no way Mattheus was going to lead Vivien on either, no matter how much
information she might have for him.

“Vivien,”
Mattheus said gently and firmly. “I’m involved with someone else.”

“That’s
silly,” Vivien wouldn’t even consider it.

“It’s
true,” said Mattheus said quietly. “There’s someone else I love.” Those words hit
him as hard as they hit her, shocking both of them.

“Someone
you
love
?” Vivien refused to take it in. “Are you comparing me to Cindy?
She’s older, uptight and totally infatuated with Mac. It’s absolutely obvious
to everyone.”

Mattheus
came to bitter attention. “Who exactly is it obvious to?”

Vivien
tossed her beautiful hair over her shoulders, languorously.

“Do
you happen to notice that wherever Mac is, Cindy’s two steps away?” Vivien said.

“Mac’s
the one going after Cindy,” Mattheus insisted.

“Not
at all,” Vivien exuded certainty. “Mac’s older, he’s rich, he’s a great catch.
Plenty of women on the Island have tried to get him, but no one has. No one
will. He does what he wants, likes his freedom. Usually he hangs out in the
casinos, gambling like hell. He’s only stayed around here so long because of
what happened to Allie. That shocked and devastated him and he’s trying to
help. Cindy’s got her eye set on the wrong guy. I don’t know how she can do
that either, when she has someone as incredible as you around?”

Despite
himself, Mattheus felt stick to his stomach.

“But,
if you prefer Cindy’s company to mine, go right ahead,” Vivien continued,
flippantly.

Mattheus
looked at Vivien’s beautiful, carved profile in the fading light. He’d told her
he’d spend an hour with her and wasn’t about to run out on his word.

“I
said we’d talk for an hour,” Mattheus said quietly. “I’m here.  Tell me about
you and Tad.”

“Why
do we have to spend our time on that?” Vivien said petulantly. “There’s nothing
to tell, he’s boring. I mean he’s a great guy, but he’s boring. I’m not leaving
him or anything.  I just like to wander once in a while. It makes life
bearable.  Is there something so wrong with that?”

“I
don’t know,” Mattheus said, “why not ask Tad?”  

*
Cindy waited in the lobby for her sister and brother in law to arrive. She
couldn’t wait to see them. These days had passed in a blur and Cindy’s sense of
time had been disrupted, going so quickly from one case to the next. Once again,
though, she felt as if she were on the case alone. Mattheus’s staying late at
the office tonight and not joining her for dinner was particularly upsetting.
Normally, it wouldn’t be, thought Cindy. But the way things were between them
now, it would have made a huge difference to have him here.

As
usual, Ann and Frank were right on time, never leaving Cindy waiting. Ann,
looking beautiful as ever, dressed in soft pink, ran over to Cindy and embraced
her.

“Such
a treat, such a treat,” she murmured.

Cindy
felt the same way. It was amazing to have a sister who cared so deeply, to go
through the years with. Cindy hugged her brother in law Frank then, and the
three of them made their way to the hotel restaurant.

“Mattheus
joining us tonight?” Frank asked casually, as they walked through the lobby.

“Not
tonight,” said Cindy lightly. She didn’t want to go into everything right away.
This was still Ann and Frank’s vacation and Cindy wanted them to relax and
enjoy the evening. She wasn’t even sure it was fair of her to tell them anything
that was upsetting. Just a lovely dinner together with them would hit the spot.

Cindy
had made reservations earlier, and the three of them were led to their table as
soon as they arrived at the restaurant.

“Your
guest will be here in a few moments,” the Maitre D’ said as they got to their
table and he pulled out Cindy’s chair.

 “Guest?”
asked Ann, curious.  

Cindy
tried to laugh.  “We must have a mystery visitor,” she said, “I don’t recall
inviting anyone.”

 “It
has to be Mattheus surprising you,” Frank said light heartedly. “Now, that’s a
romantic thing to do, Cindy. I give the guy credit for that.”

 
Cindy suddenly wished it were true. She was filled with a wave of desire to see
Mattheus, have him join the dinner, become closer to Ann and Frank.

“The
fact that the two of you are still working together after all this, means
something,” Frank went on. “Now, if we could get the two of you to set up shop
in the States that would be a big step forward.”

Ann
put her hand over his arm. “Frank’s in a dreamy mood these days,” she said. “Let’s
see what Cindy has to say about things. “How are you guys doing? How’s the case
going?”

Before
Cindy could begin to answer though, she looked up and saw a suave man walking
towards their table, dressed to the hilt, suntanned, captivating.

“I
hope I’m not crashing the party,” Mac said, flashing them a dazzling smile.

Ann
looked at him startled and Frank seemed confused.

Mac
introduced himself immediately, shook their hands and took a seat next to Cindy.
Then he nodded to the waiter who immediately brought over two expensive bottles
of wine.

“Compliments
of your guest,” the waiter nodded at Mac.

Cindy
felt nervous though, rather than pleased. She’d made a point of not inviting
Mac, though she had mentioned she’d be here for dinner.

“Cindy
told me that her family was coming, and I took the liberty of barging in and
joining the party,” Mac laughed lightly. “Just had to meet the family of such
an outstanding, beautiful woman.”

Ann’s
eyebrows raised, “We actually expected Mattheus,” she said, unimpressed.

“No
luck, you got me, instead,” Mac smiled again. “Actually, I just found out that
Mattheus is still tied up. He and Vivien are having dinner right now in a
delightful restaurant near our office.”

Cindy
felt the air go out of her lungs. Mattheus said he’d be staying late at the
office tonight.

“I
believe Mattheus is working late at your office tonight,” Cindy took a painful
breath and tried to correct Mac. She was desperate to recreate a sense of
honesty and equilibrium in her world.

“You’re
right, Mattheus was at the office all day,” said Mac, “but not tonight.  I just
spoke to Tad who dropped in for a drink at the bar. He happened to see Vivien
and Mattheus having dinner together in the restaurant in the back garden.”

Cindy
felt herself flush. Had Mattheus blatantly lied to her? It was more than she
could imagine. Something else had to be going on.

“Tad
wanted me to meet him at the bar, to talk with me about something,” Mac
continued, “but I told him I was going to have dinner with you and your family
at the hotel tonight.”

“Sounds
like a game of musical chairs,” Ann commented taking Cindy’s hand.

“We
used to call it snake dancing,” Frank broke in, “never knowing who your partner
would be dancing with that night.”

Ann
squeezed Cindy’s hand.

“It’s
a complicated case,” Cindy tried to regain her poise and dignity and put everything
on a professional basis, once again.

“Isn’t
the case over?” Frank intervened. “I read they found the body, and there was no
sign of foul play.”

“Things
seem to be in order,” Mac agreed, “though it’s hard to believe Allie’s gone.”

“Sorry
for your loss,” Frank said, shaking his head. “Our family’s been through it as
well. It’s a terrible thing.”

 “Yes,
I am sorry as well,” said Ann, in an odd tone.

 
“Thank you,” Mac looked at Ann, coolly. There seemed to be a strange energy
between them.

 
 “Are you one of the detectives, too?” Ann asked Mac then.

  
“I’m a close friend of the groom’s family,” Mac said. “The bride and groom are
like a niece and nephew to me. I helped organize the wedding, took care of
details, even bought the gifts for the wedding party.”

 “Sounds
like they were fortunate to have you here,” said Ann dryly.

 
“And there’s more gifts where those came from,” Mac said, under his breath to
Cindy. “  

  “And
what is it that draws you to have dinner here with us?” Ann seemed to be
growing more and more uncomfortable with Mac.

“Your
sister draws me,” Mac said directly. “She needed help and I gave it to her.”

Ann
became more nervous. “What kind of help did Cindy need?” she asked hastily.

“Cindy
stepped a bit out of her territory, jostled the eco system here around, stirred
up some backlash, to put it bluntly.” Mac replied.

A
taut silence descended upon the table. This was way more than Cindy had wanted
to get into.

“Where
was Mattheus?” Ann looked alarmed.

“I
don’t know,” said Mac, “but your sister called me instead, and I was glad she
did. I was grateful for it.”

“Do
you have the protection you need here, Cindy?” Ann was agitated.

“Yes,
of course I do,” said Cindy.  

“Why
don’t I believe that?” said Ann.

“Mattheus
and I always split our time during investigations,” said Cindy. “He wasn’t
around when this happened. Mac was close by.”

“I’ll
never let anything happen to Cindy,” Mac interrupted. “Never, under any
circumstances.”

 Mac
spoke with such vehemence that Frank stared.

Cindy
wanted to get off this topic and was about to say something completely
different when she suddenly saw Edward and Tad walking intently towards their
table.