Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“Sure fooled me with that one,” he exclaimed. “Thought for sure I had two honey birds in the car.”


He turned back to the road and drove slowly along winding roads, which became more and more manicured as they approached their destination, the Grand Hotel. The hotel was one of the best resorts on the island. As they drew close, Cindy could see the sprawling buildings that were surrounded by trees, verandas, and a long, walking path leading directly to the ocean. The light breeze that blew in through the taxi window had the delicious smell of warm, salty water. Cindy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It felt so good to be back down in the Caribbean again.

“Great spot,” the driver commented. “Lots of rich folks come here for weddings, too. Not usually during the Batabano Carnival though.”

“What’s the Batabano Carnival?” Mattheus was interested.

The driver started laughing, “Wait and you’ll see for yourself. It starts a couple of days from now and the place fills up like you can’t believe. Thousands of locals and visitors pour into town to see the parades and be in them. There’s music, floats, costumes, dancing, singing! It’s a party you’ll never forget.”

“Sounds like Mardi Gras,” Mattheus commented.

“The hotels are all gonna start filling up, too,” the driver went on, excited.

If all had gone well, the wedding would have been over before the festival, Cindy thought. Perhaps the family expected the guests to stay on and enjoy themselves afterwards. What a crazy time for the bride to go missing.

The taxi pulled up to the front door of the hotel and Mattheus and Cindy got out as a bellman came for their luggage. They tipped the driver and walked the few steps into the hotel.

The lobby was a vast, open space filled with designer sofas, chairs, cocktail tables and large paintings of the Island on the walls. Suntanned guests, elegantly dressed in expensive pastels, sat at the cocktail tables, sipping drinks, and charming one another. Cindy, dressed in a beige linen summer suit, shook her long hair loose over her shoulders, trying to fit into the décor.

As they entered Cindy immediately saw a few policemen standing at the desk. She and Mattheus both stopped at the same moment, and looked over at them. It seemed as if the police had been waiting for them. One of the cops nodded at Mattheus, who went right over to greet him.

Cindy stayed where she was and took it all in. The calm of the afternoon had not been ruffled. There was no sign that something awful had happened here. There was no crime scene cordoned off, or sense of danger. Cindy looked over the guests in the lobby carefully to see if anyone else seemed to be aware of their arrival. No one was. Everything went on as usual, as if it were simply another beautiful day to luxuriate in on the balmy Island.

Cindy turned and watched Mattheus speaking with the policemen at the desk. Mattheus was especially good at connecting with law enforcement. He had a way of becoming one of the boys immediately, privy to their information. Cindy had seen him do this before. It usually helped if she stayed back at first. When Mattheus introduced Cindy as his partner, it often created a sense of discomfort, having a woman detective appear on the scene. That would probably be even more true here than other places, thought Cindy.

The Cayman Islands were a British overseas territory and there was a formal sense about the place. Even though the Islands were considered a low crime environment, that had been changing the past few years. Gang crime had been increasing dramatically, and this was a well-known haven for money laundering and tax evasion shelters. Blue collar crime was the hardest to pin down, thought Cindy. She remembered how confusing it had been when she’d discovered who her husband’s killers were. It was the last thing she’d expected.

Finally, Mattheus looked up and saw Cindy watching him. He motioned her over, and she walked slowly to where they were.

“This is my partner Cindy Blaine,” Mattheus introduced her to the two cops who seemed interested to meet her. “Cindy, this is Douglas and Lance.”

Cindy nodded to both of them. They were tall, clean shaven, nice looking and professional.

“Very pleased to meet you,” said Lance.

Douglas quickly turned to Mattheus. “We’ll catch up with you later, after you get settled. You can meet us in Room 3 - Mezzanine. The hotel has given us the room to use to interview the wedding party, family and friends. Kind of them.”

“Convenient,” Mattheus nodded.

“We heard that you’re holding the groom,” Cindy interjected.

Both policemen looked at her surprised.

“Heard that from whom?” asked Douglas.

“His mother,” said Cindy.

“The woman who called you in on the case, no doubt?” Douglas bit his thin upper lip. “Of course we can’t officially hold Peter, “he quickly continued. “We can, however, bring him in daily for questioning and strongly recommend that no person of interest leave the hotel.”