Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“Do you think Peter got rid of Allie?” Mattheus jumped in.

“Absolutely not,” Jared yelled. “It’s not in his bones. When we finally got Peter up, I thought he was going crazy. He kept crying and begging me to go down and help him find Allie. I dove back down with him and we looked and looked. He was shaking like a leaf, in complete shock. The guy refused to come up without her then. I had to practically drag him back up with me. When we surfaced, I called the cops and Coast Guard immediately.”

“If Peter didn’t do it, maybe someone else might have decided to do it for him?” Cindy chimed in.

Jared’s face got pale at the mention of that. “That’s disgusting, it’s lousy, it’s horrible! I have nothing else to say. Go talk to his close friends!”

“We’re trying,” said Cindy.

“So, why ask me?” Jared stepped back, “I’m just the guy who took them out on the boat that horrible night.





CHAPTER 9


After they left the shop, Douglas and Lance drove them back to the hotel. They were all silent as the truck bumped along the roads.

“Lots of guys have rocky relationships,” Lance said as they drove. “Their partners don’t go missing though. One thing has nothing to do with the another. There’s no evidence that Peter ever abused Allie in anyway. Just the opposite if you asked me. Sounds like he put up with a lot.”

“Sure does,” agreed Mattheus.

“The Islands are filling up for the next few days, “Douglas commented stiffly. “We’re going to be busy overseeing the festival right now.”

“Calling a halt to the investigation?” asked Mattheus.

“Not a halt, just a breather,” he said. “At this point things are going cold. It’s a missing person case. They can take years and years to unravel.”

“Tell me about it,” said Mattheus under his breath. No doubt he was thinking about the years he’d spent searching for his wife.

The truck pulled up in front of the hotel. “Keep us updated about what you find,” Lance remarked as Cindy and Mattheus stepped out.

“Will do,” said Mattheus and he and Cindy walked up the road leading to their hotel.

Mattheus reached out and took Cindy’s hand then. It felt good having her hand in his suddenly.

“Let’s take a walk before we check back in with the guests,” Mattheus said. “The hotel’s gonna be packed and there’s a hiking trail about half mile away. We can use a few moments to ourselves.”

“Good,” Cindy agreed, as they turned at a juncture and took another road which led, off the hotel grounds, to a hiking trail in the interior of the Island that was a known haven for wild birds.

*

Cindy was excited to be with Mattheus, away from the hotel. The Cayman Islands interiors were a fascinating world with incredible beauty of their own. As they entered the hiking trail, the trees that greeted them were beautiful, shimmering in the breeze. Cindy stopped and gazed at the opulent plant life, mesmerized. Down further wild banana orchids were growing unabashedly. She had never seen anything like it.

“Let’s sit here on this rock,” Mattheus said as they walked a bit further, into the mangrove forest.

It was wonderful to be here with Mattheus, back in nature. As always being in nature restored Cindy’s sense of balance and order, helped her feel closer to Mattheus again. It struck Cindy then that Allie must have felt the same way with Peter going diving with him deep under water that night.

“We’ll probably see the Cayman Parrot,” Mattheus said as he helped Cindy get onto a flat part of the rock. “They’re all over the place. I know how much you love Parrots,” and he smiled at her winningly.

The two of them sat close to each other for a few moments then, not saying much else.

“This is a lousy case,” Mattheus said after a few minutes.

Cindy was surprised, “Why?”

“Dana and Edward are holed up in their suite now, and Allie’s parents won’t come out of their room to talk to anyone. I find that odd.”

“They’re in shock, they’ve got to be grieving. It’s their daughter, it was her wedding.”

“And the crowd is not very appealing,” Mattheus continued. “Lots of spoiled, rich people.”

“There are plenty of fine rich people,” said Cindy. “I liked what I saw of Peter and I liked the women in the wedding party. Dana and Edward are good people, too.”

“You see what you want to about everyone,” Mattheus commented. “It’s amazing you’re so good at your job.”

Cindy bristled. “What does that mean?” Things were feeling so good between them, and then Mattheus had to throw a barb, push her away, disturb the moment.

“You like to see the best in everybody and then when something else about them comes out, you don’t take it well,” said Mattheus.

Cindy knew he was referring to their relationship. “You’re speaking about us?” she asked.

“That too,” he commented.