Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“There’s no real evidence of that,” Cindy responded.

“A tampered air gauge speaks loud and clear.”

“What was the motive?” Cindy shot back.

“Jealousy,” Mattheus responded without thinking. “It oozes all over this place.”

Cindy hadn’t seen any evidence of jealousy, except between Allie and Vivien.

“Jealousy’s a powerful, rotten emotion,” Mattheus spoke under his breath.

Cindy couldn’t help feeling that Mattheus was talking about himself.

“Why would these people be jealous?” Cindy probed further. “They all have what they need.”

“But it’s never enough,” Mattheus whispered, “don’t you know? The more you have the more you want.”

The discussion had taken on a strange tenor and despite herself, Cindy’s heart began pounding. She wanted to change the mood between them, take a break.

“Did you have dinner yet?” she asked, determined to take things in a different direction.

“Hungry as hell,” said Mattheus, relenting, when suddenly, their hotel phone rang.

They both looked at the phone as though an intruder was pushing its way between them.

“Take the call,” Mattheus grumbled, “looks like the day isn’t over yet.”

Cindy picked up. “Yes, we’re both here,” she said professionally.

Mattheus perked up and listened.

“Let me ask Mattheus if he’d like to do that?” she said. “Well, I don’t know. Let me ask him.”

Then she turned to Mattheus. “Mac wants to know if you and I would like to join him for dinner downstairs in the restaurant?”

“Not particularly,” said Mattheus, tapping his foot on the floor.

“He said he wants to talk to both of us, “said Cindy.

“We don’t have much choice then, do we?” said Mattheus. “Tell him we’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Before going down to dinner, Cindy slipped into the bathroom to freshen up and changed into a silk, flowing, mauve dress. She brushed her long, wavy hair, and let it loose over her shoulders. Then she chose a lovely coral necklace, and sprayed on some of her favorite lilac perfume for a finishing touch. When she walked out of the bathroom, Mattheus looked up and his eyes opened wide.

“Wow,” he said, “you grow more beautiful day by day. You come more and more into your womanliness.”

Cindy flushed.

“I wish we could erase what happened and start fresh,” his voice now had that boyish quality Cindy so loved.

She walked closer to him and extended her hands. He took them in his.

“We can’t erase what happened,” Cindy said in a soft tone, “but we can learn from it Mattheus, then we can start fresh.”

Mattheus grinned.

“Let’s learn tonight,” he murmured, “let’s start fresh right away.” Then he pulled her to him, in a long, powerful embrace.

*

Cindy and Mattheus met up with Mac in the main restaurant of the hotel, The Swann. It was large, formal and elegant, with reservations required. Each table had fresh flowers and candles, and a huge, dimly lit, crystal chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, throwing soft light over them all. The moment Cindy and Mattheus arrived, the Maitre D’ guided them to the table Mac was sitting at, not far from the bar.

Mac stood up to greet them, looking at Cindy admiringly.

“Really grateful you two decided to join me,” he said immediately. “Everyone at the wedding is talking about you guys. You both made a huge impression.”

Mattheus pulled out the chair for Cindy then, and she sat down. The two guys sat down after she did.

“What kind of a huge impression did we make?” Mattheus asked, surprised.

“The groomsmen liked you a lot,” Mac offered.

Mac showed no response.

“They all had a good feeling that you’d get their buddy off the hook.”

“Appreciate that,” said Mattheus formally, putting up a wall between himself and Mac.

“And, I already told you how the bridesmaids felt about you,” Mac continued to Cindy.

“When did you tell her that?” asked Mattheus, quick on the draw.

Mac gave Mattheus a long, calculated glance that took him completely in.

“When we had drinks and appetizers out in the lounge,” Mac replied.

Mattheus’s jaw clenched as he scrutinized Cindy. “How come I didn’t hear about that?” he asked.

“We haven’t had time to fill each other in,” Cindy replied tartly. She didn’t like being taken to task by Mattheus, especially in front of a stranger.

“Cindy did a terrific job,” Mac continued, almost as if he were egging Mattheus on. “The girls loved Cindy. Vivien even mentioned it to me.”

“Interesting,” Mattheus mumbled.

“Vivien thought the world of you, too,” Mac spoke to him pointedly. “She couldn’t stop talking about you. Said you were an amazing guy.”

Cindy’s breath caught short in her throat.

“Seems like good news spreads fast,” Mattheus commented, throwing Cindy an off handed glance.