Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

Cindy got up, showered, put on fresh white linen slacks, a lovely lemon shirt and threw a light sweater over her shoulders. Then she pulled her hair back and tied it gently. It wasn’t even eight thirty yet. This was a new day and despite all that had gone on, she felt refreshed and ready to tackle whatever came next. The first thing on the agenda was that she and Mattheus were going to the Dive Shop with the police today. Once dressed, Cindy, texted Mattheus, asking him where he was and when they were leaving.

Mattheus answered immediately. I’m downstairs in the coffee shop with Douglas and Lance, the two officers we met originally. They’re personally taking us to the Dive Shop. Get down here as soon as you can. You may have a hard time seeing us - the place is getting crowded – people are pouring in for the festival, tomorrow. You’ll find us at the first table near the window.

Cindy remembered the Batabano festival that was about to start. It would be a Mardi Gras with floats, booths, dancing, singing. All to celebrate finding the traces of a turtle. The crowds and commotion could make it harder, though, to find the traces of a girl lost at sea.

*

The ride to the Dive Shop only took about fifteen minutes. It was actually nice to see Douglas and Lance, who piled Cindy and Mattheus into their little truck and drove them there.

“We combed every inch of the Dive Shop right at the beginning,” Douglas said. “Jared Flay owns it. He’s a seasoned diver and diving instructor.”

“He’s the one who took them out on the boat, right?” Mattheus was checking.

“Yes,” Douglas answered. “They all knew each other for years. Jared had taken Peter and Allie out many times. As soon as this happened, we talked to him. There was absolutely nothing out of order. The guy couldn’t believe what had happened, said there was absolutely nothing different about this dive.”

“Except that it happened right before the wedding,” Cindy chimed in.

“So?” asked Lance, giving her an oblique glance. “What does that imply? Did you find something?”

“There are lots of guests who came down here for the wedding,” said Cindy, “one of them could have had a motive to get Allie out of the way.”

“A good motive and ten cents will buy you a cup of tea down here,” said Douglas promptly.

“Everyone’s got some kind of motive. We’re looking for hard evidence.”

“Exactly,” Lance seconded the opinion. “So far there’s not even a body. Without a body it’s all speculation. For all we know she’s alive somewhere. There’s no case.” Lance was adamant.

“Did Peter and Allie usually go diving alone?” Cindy asked.

“Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends - it varied,” Douglas joined in. “They were both certified so whatever they wanted to do was fine.”

“We’d like to look around anyway,” Mattheus finally supported Cindy.

“That’s why we’re going,” Douglas remarked, “I mean, heck, you never know what could drift up from the sea.”

“Or, what’s hidden in some corner,” Cindy added, as Lance looked at her out of the corner of his eye and the car bumped over the rocky roads.

The Dive Center was located at the end of a long road, right near the water. They drove up to a medium sized wooden building, parked the truck and got out. As they walked inside you could smell the water and see the ocean spread out in front, with a boat moored a few feet away. Inside, air tanks were lined up against a wall, along with diving vests and fins. Big photos of fish were hung on the walls along with a few spears. Behind a counter a young woman in her late twenties with sandy hair was talking to some customers who wanted to book the next dive. Next to her stood a muscular guy, with big shoulders and a permanent sun tan, whose eyes looked a little bleary, as though he’d been up late, drinking last night. Must be Jared Flay, thought Cindy.

The guy looked up as soon as they came in, walked out from behind the counter right away and stuck out his hand.

“Jared Flay,” he announced looking at Cindy and Mattheus.

“Pleased to meet you,” Cindy replied.

“Let’s go over here to talk,” he said, ushering them to a far side of the shop, away from the customers, out of earshot.

“It’s terrible what happened,” Jared looked straight into Mattheus’s eyes, “how can I help you?”

“We’d like to look around,” Mattheus said.

“Absolutely,” said Jared. “The cops looked around already, but you’re welcome to look as much as you like. Can you tell me exactly what you’re hoping to find?”

“When we find it, we’ll know,” said Mattheus.

Lance nodded appreciatively at that comment.

“Tell me about your place,” Cindy interrupted. “I hear it’s one of the best Dive Shop’s on the island.”

At that Jared’s face lit up. “Sure is,” he said, “we’re proud of it too. The East End of the Island offers world class diving. We’ve got incredible coral reefs, wall diving and custom build dive boats waiting at the end of the dock. We’ve also got an award winning dive staff so we provide both safety and adventure. Something like this never happened before at our place.” His face looked drawn for a moment.