“Go on,” Mattheus felt like he was going to rip the guy limb from limb.
“He’s a musician down here in a big band. Handsome, black guy. He and Shelly had been living together the past three years. People heard them fighting a lot recently, and one night, a week before it happened, he was seen leaving the house late at night, running through town. “
Mattheus could barely breathe. “Running through town?”
“We have enough on him to hold him,” said Rodney. “And, also, his alibi doesn’t hold up.”
Mattheus jaw was locked and he was trembling. “I want to talk to him,” he demanded.
“Cool down a minute,” Rodney said.
“Listen, man, I’m a private detective, I have a right to. She was my lawful wife.”
Rodney threw a quick glance at Cindy.
Cindy nodded slowly. “Mattheus needs to talk to the guy,” she said.
“Maybe?” Rodney was thinking it over.
“You can’t say no,” said Mattheus. “This was my wife.”
“Alright,” said Rodney, “I’ll let you interview him, but first I want you to see the crime scene.”
Mattheus flinched. “Why?”
“Sorry, but I need to do it,” said Rodney. “I know you and your wife spent time down here together. It may bring something back to you, jog a memory. We need to know whatever you might remember.”
“Take me there,” said Mattheus, fury suddenly arising. “Now.”
CHAPTER 7
Green Pebble Beach was located at the eastern tip of the island, straight down a steep hill, wedged between two coral reefs. Instead of sand, rocks covered with green algae and moss, spread over the area that sloped down to the sea. The rocks were so small and glistening, they looked like green pebbles, giving rise to the name, Green Pebble Beach. The water down here was also calmer, greener and had a sweet, pungent aroma that enveloped you the moment you came close.
As Cindy, Mattheus, Rodney and Alex carefully climbed down the hill, Cindy could hear the ocean’s small waves lapping gently up against the stones.
“Very few people come to this place,” Rodney said as they came to the bottom of the hill. "It's out of the way, not very restful. Most don’t know about it.”
“Shelly knew about it,” said Mattheus, looking around. “She liked it here. We came a few times. She even took some of these pebbles home.”
Rodney stopped in his tracks. “That’s interesting,” he said. “I had no idea.”
“She loved exploring out of the way, hidden places,” Mattheus went on.
“What did she do with the pebbles?” Rodney asked.
Mattheus shrugged. “I have no idea. What difference does it make?”
“None, I guess,” said Rodney, “but if she knew and liked this place it could mean that she came here of her own volition. The person who killed her might have known it and killed her here, rather than somewhere else and dumped her.
Mattheus shivered. Cindy could see that he was still processing everything, it really wasn’t sinking in.
“Anthony’s our main suspect right now,” Rodney continued, “he knew everything about her, of course.”
Mattheus face grew darker. “This guy’s got a record? He’s done something rotten and lousy before?”
“Nothing much, just a few DWI’s. Some assorted complaints.”
“There’s no way Shelly would have anything to do with someone with DWI’s,” Mattheus said flatly. “She wouldn’t – she was smart, sharp. She would never willingly choose a guy like that.”
“What are you saying?” asked Rodney.
Mattheus’s brow furled. “The bastard coerced her, kidnapped her, maybe?” He was throwing things out, reaching for an answer, something to hold onto. “Shelly’d been in the grip of a monster – she couldn’t get out.”
Rodney and Alex glanced at one another.
Alex shook his head, “Farfetched,” he responded, as they all proceeded carefully onto the pebbles that led down to the edge of the shore.
“Sounds like your wife was an unusual woman,” Rodney said as they continued to walk.
Cindy’s heart clenched. She knew how painful this had to be for Mattheus. All the coals getting raked up again and again.
“I never thought of her as unusual,” Mattheus said succinctly. “She was great to be with, bright, vivacious, interested in lots of things. She saw more than most people, too. When we came down here sometimes she’d look at the pebbles so closely she could see different colors in them. She’d comment on it. She was a sensitive person, aware of these things. I used to tell her to become an artist, do watercolors of the pebbles if she loved them so much. She just laughed it off.”
This was the first time Cindy had heard this about Shelly. It was also the first time she directly realized how deeply entwined the two of them had been, how alive Mattheus’s feelings for her still were.
Rodney walked over to a coral reef and leaned against it. Alex stepped closer to Mattheus, offering support.
“This is where we found her,” Rodney said solemnly.