Death by Devotion (Caribbean Murder #9)

“I’m filling you in now,” Cindy replied.

“Filling me in? You could have been killed. The rock could have hit your head,” Mattheus’s voice grew harsher.

“It didn’t, it fell on the floor of the cab. I’m okay,” said Cindy.

“I’m coming right over,” Mattheus insisted.

“No, wait a minute,” Cindy breathed.

“There’s no waiting for anything,” Mattheus slammed down the phone.

Cindy looked down at her phone and hung up. Of course she knew Mattheus would be upset, but she had no choice but to tell him. She was too tired to deal with Mattheus’s feelings at the moment. She’d informed him and that was enough.

Cindy put her head back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest for a moment. In what seemed like a minute heard a loud knock on her door. Mattheus got here so fast, Cindy thought, as she went to the door to open it. To her surprise, Sean was standing there.

Without a second’s hesitation, he walked right in. “Okay, where the rock, where’s the note?” he said distressed. Then he took a second to look around at the cramped room. “And what are you doing in a dump like this?”

“Mattheus booked the room for me,” Cindy replied. “The hotel’s close to Andrea’s family. It’s convenient.”

“Convenient for what?” asked Sean.

The door to the room was still open and without knocking, Mattheus suddenly walked in unannounced.

“Cindy,” Mattheus called out, but stopped the moment he saw Sean standing there, holding the rock in his hand.

“Come in, Mattheus,” Cindy walked to the door.

“What’s he doing here?” Mattheus nodded at Sean, who looked over at him, equally displeased.

“I reported the incident to the police, and Sean came right over to see about it,” Cindy replied, matter of factly.

“You reported it to him before you told me?” Mattheus couldn’t seem to believe it.

“Sean got here a moment ago,” Cindy tried to defend herself and normalize the situation.

“That still means you called him before you called me,” Mattheus grew more agitated.

“Of course I did, I called the police,” Cindy said emphatically.

“I was the one you always called first,” Mattheus said more loudly. “We’re the partners, not you and him.”

At that Sean put the rock down and walked over to him. “Cindy did the right thing,” he said, stepping directly between them. “It’s her responsibility to report this to the police.”

“Don’t you tell me about her responsibility,” Mattheus shot back.

“Listen, Mister, you got a short fuse,” Sean wasn’t backing down. “And it’s not doing you any good.”

“Not Mister, Mattheus,” Mattheus staunchly corrected him, as the two of them stood nose to nose.The encounter was distressing and unprofessional and made Cindy feel less safe than before. They obviously couldn’t stand one another. Cindy had to defuse the tension that was building and she had to do it right away.

“How about paying attention to the matter at hand,” Cindy broke in between them. “Who wrote this note? Were they following me? Was it one of Natalie’s friends, who saw me talking to her about Andrea?”

Mattheus grabbed the note out of Sean’s hand, scanned it quickly and threw it down on the ground. “I’m getting out here and finding whoever sent it,” he growled.

“And do what with them? Take them out?” Sean closed in on Mattheus.

Mattheus leered at Sean. “I’m finding them and bringing them in as an accessory to the crime,” he said.

Sean quickly put his hand on Mattheus’s shoulder. “No, you’re not. Calm down.”

Mattheus pushed him away. “You just try and stop me,” he said, lunging towards the door.

“Listen, it’s complicated,” Sean called at him. “You don’t know who’s behind this or what they’ll do next.”

Mattheus turned and stared at him. “You and the rest of the force can sit around all day figuring it out, but Cindy’s life is in danger now. And I’m making sure nothing happens to her!” With that he charged through the door and left.

Cindy could barely breathe. Mattheus would let nothing stop him from protecting her. But Sean was also right, it was complicated and there was a web of unsavory characters who could get triggered into action if they didn’t tread carefully.

“That guy’s out of control,” Sean said to Cindy as soon as Mattheus had left. “He’s a ticking time bomb and we can’t let him loose on the island.”

“He won’t let anything hurt me,” Cindy replied.

“But he’s still out of control,” Sean insisted. “What the hell does he know about the underworld here, or what he’s getting into?”

“He’s been investigating it himself,” Cindy said. “He’s good at that. I’m sure by now he’s got a few contacts of his own down here.”