Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

Like who, Cindy wanted to ask, Vivien? But she kept quiet.

“There’s always a lot of drama with these folks. Most of it amounts to nothing. They live off it. It gives them a high.”

“A lot of drama in your life as well?” Cindy suddenly asked, curious. Mac was daunting, sensual, provocative, and seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

“There used to be a lot of drama in my life,” Mac said softly, “now I’m single and free from it all. I’ve one daughter who lives with her mother on the other side of the world. Me, I come and go as I choose. The world is my oyster.”

“Quite an accomplishment,” said Cindy.

He laughed. “You can say that again.”

“A world traveler?” she asked.

“When I choose to be,” Mac replied. “I like it down here, though.”

“I can see why,” said Cindy. “It’s beautiful, luxurious, with great weather. Your company’s doing fabulously, too, I imagine. What’s not to like?”

“Exactly, I’m a man who has impeccable taste and can have whatever he wants. And what I want most is to help with this case. Edward and Dana have been my best friends for years. They look fine on the outside but they’re spinning inside. I want to be a rock for all of them.”

“You are a rock,” said Cindy softly.

“Thank you,” Mac replied, pleased.

“And what can you tell me about Allie’s disappearance?” Cindy went on.

“I felt something bad was coming for a long time,” Mac said, “not this, of course, but something. Allie got too upset about little things, would go off into a spin. Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked the girl – very much.”

“Did you think she was good for Peter?”

“I did in the beginning,” said Mac, “at the end I began to have my doubts. She was unstable.”

“Did you say that to Peter?”

“No, never. You don’t say something like that to a guy who’s in love. I’m not going to tell you I didn’t hope he’d reconsider, at times. Peter’s a bright guy, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. Does great work at the company. He’s important to all of us.”

“Did he reconsider?” Cindy asked plainly.

“Not that I ever heard,” said Mac.

“What do you think happened to Allie?” Cindy looked at Mac directly.

“I think she went into one of her panics,” Mac said softly. “She and Peter got separated under water, she couldn’t find him and must have gone crazy. They found her vest and tank. It looked like she ripped them off in desperation. People do that when they panic, when they can’t get enough air.”

“You think Allie drowned?” Cindy wanted specifics.

“Seems obvious,” said Mac.

“Where’s her body?” asked Cindy.

“Who knows? But it’s unlikely that she swam to the surface and is alive, lost on the Island. Come on now, that’s some kind of dream.”

“Unlikely, but possible,” said Cindy, testing.

“Nothing would make me happier,” said Mac, “but I wouldn’t count on it. Actually, this wouldn’t be anything more than a missing person case, if they hadn’t found that her air gauge was broken, that someone could have tampered with it.”

“That’s a big if,” said Cindy.

“Equipment breaks all the time. There’s no reason to suspect Peter,” said Mac emphatically.

“Who else could have been involved in tampering with the air gauge?” Cindy needed to know.

“What’s the point in speculating?” Mac went on. “I doubt anyone will ever see her again, and without the body, even though the gauge was broken, this can never become a criminal case.”

Cindy wondered why he wanted things closed so quickly.

“Take the pressure off yourself,” Mac continued. “Take it easy, take it slow. There are people at this wedding who will drive you crazy, if you let them. And it will all be for nothing.”

That was a strange way to put it. Body or no body, the case was more than a disappearance. The air gauge had possibly been tampered with, someone could have interfered with Allie’s supply of air. Whether or not they found the body, there might be plenty of circumstantial evidence laying around. Cases like these were always put together one piece at a time.

“Our efforts are never for nothing,” said Cindy. “A life has been lost. Allie deserves a thorough investigation.”

“Lives are lost all the time,” said Mac grimly, “especially when people go diving at night.”





CHAPTER 7