“What was a great idea? Leaving Shelly? Or going to live with his cousin?”
“Both,” said Tommy frowning. “The poor guy had to get away from Shelly. I begged him to do it for the past year.”
Mattheus felt himself starting to freeze, but shook it off. He had to force himself to listen.
“Why did he have to get away from Shelly? What was wrong with her?”
Tommy looked Mattheus straight in the eye. Finally someone wanted his story and he seemed eager to let it be heard.
“The women in the Shelter won’t tell you, but Shelly was one hell of a wild cat. She made my friend’s life miserable.”
Shelly? Mattheus kept saying over and over in his mind. Made his life miserable? It didn’t compute.
“She turned it into a living hell,” Tommy insisted.
“How?” Mattheus demanded.
“The bitch took advantage of Anthony big time. She ran around on him, in front of everyone. He told me he knew about some of it, but man, I could see the hurt in his eyes. He really loved her. I don’t know why!” Tommy took his cap off and put it on again then. “I’ll never know why good guys fall for these bitches. Some guys like to be hurt, I guess.”
Mattheus swallowed hard. This was not a picture of Shelly he could even relate to. A wildcat? Running around with guys?
“Anthony told me he knew she needed to step out on him once in a while,” Tommy continued, “but believe me, it wasn’t once in a while. It was getting worse. Anthony finally told her he couldn’t stand it. She just shrugged it off, acted like she had a vendetta.”
“Against who?” asked Mattheus, the fury rising again inside.
“Who the hell knows, and who cares?” said Tommy. “But she was definitely getting worse and worse, flaunting it wherever she went. She’d turn up in public with one guy one day and then another the next. She and Anthony started fighting about it then. He would yell that he’d leave her if she didn’t stop.”
“People heard that?” asked Mattheus.
“Sure they heard the fights. But they didn’t get the whole picture. People thought it was Shelly who was jealous of him. She was, but he gave her no reason. It was Anthony who was being ripped apart. ”
“What kind of a woman does that?” Mattheus blurted out, heartsick.
“A rotten one, that’s who,” said Tommy.
“It’s not Shelly,” Mattheus uttered.
“What do you mean?” Tommy spun around on a dime. “Did you know her?”
Mattheus couldn’t speak.
“Did you ever see her come in here and dance? The last few weeks before she was killed she came in with only one new guy though, danced with him like a slut. There seemed to be something between them. They clung to each other like it was a matter of life and death.”
“What?” Mattheus felt the heat in his body rising.
“They had some connection! It was obvious. My blood boiled for Anthony. When I told him about it, he finally got fed up, got the hell out of there and went to live with his cousin, Bella. What choice did he have?”
Mattheus started perspiring heavily.
“Believe me,” Tommy went on, “Anthony wouldn’t have ever hurt Shelly, he loved her. He was asleep in his cousin’s house on the night of the murder. Bella was out dancing, and he was supposed to go too, but he didn’t have the heart for it. He called me before he went to sleep. I told him to go get some coffee, and to rest, and stay strong. He said he would. He was supposed to go dancing so that’s what he told the cops. Nobody actually saw him sleeping at his cousin’s that night, so the cops decided his alibi didn’t hold. I say he’s a convenient patsy.”
Mattheus didn’t know what to say or think. He stood there numb, staring.
“Hey, man, you alright?” asked Tommy, looking at him.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” said Mattheus, reeling inside. “I need to know the name of the guy Shelly was tight with, the one she came dancing with here?”
“Sure,”” said Tommy, triumphantly, “he’s a married guy, named Flan. Owns a shark fishing boat down at the pier.”
“Got it,” said Mattheus, “Flan.”
“Remember the name,” Tommy leaned closer. “He’s the one the cops should be questioning. He’s the one the slut couldn’t live without.”
Mattheus wanted to raise his hand to stop him talking about Shelly that way. It was more than he could take, hearing her called a slut. All the years they were married, she’d turned away from Mattheus, cold as stone, plenty of nights. It had become more and more of an effort getting her to come close at all. Mattheus had just thought it was a phase that would pass, that all couples went through that sort of thing.
Mattheus stared at Tommy now, feeling helpless and confused.
“I got to go now, man. Thank you,” said Mattheus, getting up off the bar stool.
“Hey, wait a minute, you look woozy,” said Tommy.
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,” Mattheus mumbled as he weaved his way to the door.
Once outside he lurched against a pole, rocked back and forth, and then threw up all over the ground.
CHAPTER 18