“The Senator warned us not to take his wife’s remarks seriously,” Mattheus remarked.
Cindy bristled. “I guess he has his reasons for invalidating his wife,” she said. “But I don’t like it.”
Mattheus turned and looked at Cindy. “Why?”
“I don’t like the way he treats her,” said Cindy.
“You don’t know enough about their relationship,” said Mattheus.
“There’s disrespect there,” said Cindy.
“Bitterness,” Mattheus replied. “Lots of older guys get bitter about their lives. It’s par for the course.”
Cindy wondered if Mattheus expected that to happen to him, too.
“Who knows how the Senator’s relationship to his wife connects to what happened to Tiffany?” Cindy said.
Mattheus put his hand on her arm. It felt warm and comforting suddenly.
“We have to stay focused,” said Mattheus. “There are lots of people involved in this gang, all kinds of interactions. If we go off on a whim, or in a wrong direction, we’ll lose valuable time.”
Cindy agreed. But it was difficult in the beginning to know what was a whim or misdirection and what would lead to where they needed to be. Things that seemed most innocent could have hideous tentacles propping them up. Things that seemed frightening on the face of it, often added up to nothing. It was what fascinated her about investigating, discovering what hunch to follow and what to let go of immediately.
Mattheus took his arm away.
“I’m going to my room now to get going,” he said. “When you’re done with your work, let me know.”
Cindy didn’t want him to leave right at that moment. “Sure, “she said, casually.
He went to the door. Before he left, he turned towards her. “And, while you’re busy investigating, think of what we’ll order up for dinner when we’re through,” he said, giving her a fleeting, whimsical smile.
Cindy grinned. He was cute. She liked that. He could be playful even in the midst of a terrible crisis. It calmed things down, brought perspective, helped her remember that despite the darkness of life, a natural order prevailed.
Mattheus went straight to his room, pulled out his laptop, and brought it out onto the patio that spread over the sea. It was better for him to work here alone, apart from Cindy. He liked it that they had their own separate spaces. It was easier for him to concentrate on what he had to do that way. His former wife never let him out of her sight. It had been a strain that grew worse over time and he appreciated Cindy’s easy acceptance of his rhythms and needs. It seemed she liked her space too. Despite her gentle exterior, Mattheus knew that Cindy was strong, fiercely independent and growing more so day by day. He smiled, she was such an unusual mixture of so many intriguing qualities. He barely knew what he would discover about her next.
Mattheus sat down at a table on the patio, opened the laptop and went online. It was still warm outside with wonderful breezes which calmed him, as he dove into the search engines, looking for all he could find about Sasha Petrovich, the Mogul the Senator was focused on. To his surprise, there was a wealth of information about him online. The guy made his billions in international real estate, buying up prime land and converting it to hotels and casinos all over the world. Petrovich’s picture came online. He was younger than Mattheus had expected, in his early fifties, tall, stocky, sensual, with ferocious eyes, dark hair, bushy eyebrows and an overly full mouth. Whew, this was one hell of a character. One of the homes he owned was here on St. Bart’s, where he came regularly. He had his own private security force, boats, jets and all the women he could handle. There were tons of photos of him at parties with different women. Quite the man about town. There were also pictures of him with top political officials in different countries. Clearly, this guy had plenty of money and knew how to use it. He also had plenty of influence to throw around.
Mattheus switched to different websites to find something about the battle between him and the Senator about building the casino here on St. Bart’s. Strangely enough, he couldn’t find anything. Mattheus found that odd.
Mattheus stretched his legs out and threw his head back. A sprinkle of stars was beginning to come out in the night sky, making a canopy over them. He couldn’t rest and enjoy the evening, though. He knew he had to do better. He had to meet Petrovich personally. He sat up abruptly, and dove back online, searching for anything else about him he could find.