Despite himself, Leon laughed. “The killings are over, it’s done and finished. And the idiots know
that I had nothing to do with it. “You’re looking in the wrong place, buddy,” Leon tapped both hands on the table a few times. “Those murders reek of big business down here and everyone knows it. These rich guys got all kinds of women holed up at expensive hotels. If you asked me, someone was getting revenge on someone and taking a few of their women out. What the hell has that got to do with me? Me and my friends are completely covered. We weren’t even down here when these killings took place. Who sent you down here?”
“Trage,” said Mattheus.
“Police Chief?” Leon looked surprised.
“Right.”
“Then he’s more of an idiot than I even imagined,” said Leon. “He’s sending you on a wild goose chase, he knows we deal in other parts of the island.”
Mattheus stopped and wondered if it could be so? “Why would he do that?” Mattheus asked quietly.
“It’s easy to blame everything on the drug trade, isn’t it?” Leon responded, “but drug guys don’t kill one dame after another, it’s not our style. Besides the killings are over.”
“No, they’re not,” Mattheus proclaimed swiftly.
“What do you mean?” Leon looked perturbed.
“And I’m offering you complete immunity,” Mattheus continued.
“You cracked or something?” Leon scanned Mattheus closely. “Immunity for what?”
“For talking to me,” said Mattheus, “telling me everything you know. A few days ago, another woman was killed. I’m a private detective and the woman who was killed was my partner’s sister.”
Leon looked genuinely distressed. “Sorry to hear that,” he muttered.
“Sorry isn’t the word for it,” Mattheus felt himself getting tight. “She was killed in her bed while down here on vacation with her husband.”
“Listen fella, and listen good,” Leon broke in fast. “We’ve got our hands in plenty of stuff, but nothing to do with those killings. I like women, I don’t kill them. Sorry about your partner’s sister, I hadn’t even heard it happened again.”
Mattheus felt his genuine upset. “Help me find out who did it,” Mattheus suddenly pleaded.
“If you ask me, it’s a wild card. And I’ll tell you something else that’s no mystery. Those damn murders will never get solved. They were an inside job if I ever saw one.”
“That’s not enough, I need more than that,” Mattheus pleaded.
“Why not see who those dead dames had in common?” Leon suggested. “Could have been they were all involved with the same guy.”
“You’d make a great detective yourself,” Mattheus replied. “There’s a lot of pieces to this puzzle I haven’t looked into yet.”
“Just get down here?” Leon asked.
“Yeah,” said Mattheus. “To help my partner out.”
“There’s a nest of snakes down here on the Island just waiting to pounce,” Leon muttered. “The sister just came for a few days, right? On vacation with a husband?”
“Right,” said Mattheus.
Leon cupped his chin with his small hand. “Don’t waste your time trying to solve the hotels murders. Your partner’s sister isn’t part of the chain, her murder’s got to be connected to something else.”
“What?” asked Mattheus swiftly.
“Damned if I know,” Leon replied. “That’s your job, not mine to find out.”
Mattheus began to push his chair away from his table. “Thanks for your time,” he said.
“Hell, hang in a while,” Leon didn’t want him to go. “Never hurts to relax and chill out. Have a couple of beers on me.”
“Wish I could,” said Mattheus, “but time’s short and I got a lot of work cut out to do.”
“You’re a great guy,” said Leon, unexpectedly. “If there’s ever something else I can do to help you, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Mattheus left the interview ill at ease. Why did Trage send him down to a complete dead end? True, Mattheus had asked to see Leon, but Trage should have stopped him. Cindy was right, they had to develop a laser sharp focus now, hone in on all the right places, before Ann’s case also conveniently went cold.
Chapter 11