“Looks like it,” said Marc.
“Or, the guy prepared himself carefully,” Mattheus went on. “Most likely wore a condom and rubber gloves. Could have been a crime of passion, but he also planned it down to the last detail. Had to know police procedure too. Could be we’ve got a real professional on our hands. I’d bet anything this isn’t his first time. How long was she there before the body was found?”
“Almost sixteen hours,” Jean Pierre chimed in.
“Nobody came looking for her before that?” asked Cindy.
“There are lots of parties going on all over,” said Marc. “I guess people thought she was at one and stayed longer than she’d planned. It’s not so unusual.”
“What about her fiancée?” Cindy continued. “He didn’t go looking for her?”
“No, he didn’t,” said Marc. “He said she’d sometimes hang out with friends and forget about time. He figured she met up with some of them and was partying.”
Cindy listened closely. She remembered times she’d been gone longer than usual and Mattheus hadn’t checked up on her either. It had bothered her, but she hadn’t said anything. Clint always had checked up right away. He would never have let something like this happen.
“We’ve talked to the fiancée plenty,” Tomas broke in. “His alibi is air tight. He was scuba diving at the time.”
“I heard,” said Mattheus.
“From everything I heard, their relationship was good,” Tomas continued. “We talked to Tiffany’s family, friends on the boat, and also Tad’s family. No one thinks Tad is involved in any way. They say he was a terrific boyfriend and that she was thrilled about getting engaged. They were happy that night at their party, dancing, laughing, like that.”
Cindy took a deep breath. Tad did seem like a decent young man.
“What about Tad’s family?” Mattheus plunged on.
“They’re rich, cold and haven’t much to say, except what a great kid Tad is. They have a daughter who can be a loose wire, but she had nothing to do with this.”
“Daughter has an alibi?” Cindy burst in.
“Yeah, she does, but that’s going too far,” Jean Pierre said. “The victim was raped. It couldn’t have been a woman.”
“How do you know it was rape?” Cindy said. “Signs of sexual violence?”
“Not really.”
“Could have been the rapist that hit St. Bart’s years ago,” Marc chimed in, “the short guy, who watched couples having sex from behind bushes. Then, when it was over, he’d knock out the guy and rape and kill the gal. Remember him?”
“That was ten years ago,” Tomas made a face. “He was caught. He’s in jail for life.”
They were grabbing at straws, not even sure if Tiffany had definitely been raped. Somehow Cindy didn’t feel sex had much to do with the crime.
“The sex could have had nothing to do with the crime,” Cindy said. “It could have been consensual sex before the murder happened.”
“Odd that there would be no semen left then,” Mattheus said.
“No, I like the way you think,” Tomas focused on Cindy. “I said the same thing myself. No reason to link sex to this killing. The guys from Guadeloupe will look into it more.”
“And we’re also here,” said Mattheus.
Tomas frowned. “We’ll take you to the scene of the crime, and then there’s not much more we can do for you.”
“What about the rich Moguls on the island?” Mattheus threw it out casually, as if he were unsuspectingly tossing a fishing rod into shark infested waters.
“What about them?” Tomas looked startled.
“It was the Senator’s daughter who was killed,” Mattheus repeated. “Could be there was another motive for the crime? I heard the Senator was causing a problem for some rich guys on the island who are determined to build.”
“You mean build the casino?” Marc asked, defensively.
“For starters,” said Mattheus.
Tomas stood up tall then and walked over to Mattheus.
“Now you’re going a little too far,” he said, getting into Mattheus’ face. “This kind of investigation is not a good place to go.”
“Why not?” Mattheus wouldn’t relent.
“This island is run by old, rich, ruling families,” Tomas said under his breath. “It’s been that way for a long, long time. There’s big money at stake here, especially in real estate. These families don’t take it well when outsiders come in and start poking around.”
“You mean they didn’t like the Senator?” asked Mattheus.
“I mean you,” Tomas said huskily, “and your lovely partner here.” He threw a glance at Cindy that was anything but complimentary. “They’re not going to like it if you start poking around in their private lives.”