Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

Cindy could barely breathe. The case had suddenly turned a corner. An autopsy would be performed, the investigation would deepen. More police would be brought in.

“Where are you now?” Mattheus demanded.

“I’m at the pool with Mac,” said Cindy.

“Mac? Why him?” A taut silence fell between Cindy and Mattheus.

“He arrived as I was talking to Tad and Vivien,” said Cindy.

“A likely story,” breathed Mattheus. “He arrived or he’s been watching you from afar? Tracking your every move?”

“That’s crazy Mattheus,” Cindy was agitated. “And where are you?”

“Digging into the computer. I got clearance to scan Peter’s personal email account. There’s plenty to see here, too.”

“Emails from Vivien?” Cindy was right on it.

“No, emails from Allie, hundreds of them, asking where he was, what he was doing and with who? She was warning him if he didn’t cut it out, she didn’t know what she would do. We’ve got a whole new picture of her.”

“Allie was stalking him?”

“Pretty close,” said Mattheus, “at the very least she was pulling in the net. In the emails she’s going crazy, suspecting him of everything.”

Despite what Cindy had heard about Allie’s suspicions, she was shocked that it had gotten this bad.

“Didn’t the police see these emails?” asked Cindy.

“They said they didn’t think it meant a thing - had no bearing on the case.”

It was easy enough to call Allie a stalker, say she was going crazy, but did Peter give her a reason to be jealous like that? Cindy wondered.

“What about emails from Vivien?” Cindy shot back. “There had to be plenty of them.”

“You’re obsessed with Vivien,” Mattheus breathed.

“I’m obsessed?” Cindy was furious. “How about you? I happen to know you’ve spent plenty of time alone with her and haven’t said a thing about it to me.”

“Who told you that, Mac?” Mattheus started fuming.

“Yes.”

“That guy wants to drive a wedge between us as sure as night is night and day is day,” Mattheus shot back. “The question is, why? I’m coming down to the lobby immediately. Get inside and meet me there. More police are arriving at the hotel in a few minutes. This is all over the news, causing a commotion. People at the festival can’t talk about anything else.” Then he hung up.

“Poor Allie, poor Allie,” Mac’s voice was shaky as he simultaneously shut off his phone.

“I’m sorry, Mac,” Cindy offered.

“How am I going to tell Peter we’ve found her?” Mac murmured. “He held onto hope for so long.”

“Tell him the mind plays all kinds of horrible tricks on us,” Cindy said.

“That’s a lousy thing to say,” said Mac.

“And also tell him that Allie’s alive somewhere else now, watching all of us from a different world.”

*

Cindy didn’t want to go back to the lobby and speak to Mattheus right away. The hotel and the Island were crowded and this news would only draw more curiosity seekers. She needed to be alone with her thoughts, take a walk near the water, have a moment to realize the enormity of what had taken place. The sudden appearance of Allie’s body came as a shock to Cindy. She wanted to say good bye to her. Even though she hadn’t known Allie personally, she felt a connection with her after all these days. In the back of her mind Cindy realized she’d also been hoping that somehow, somewhere, they’d find her alive. It was painful to see a young life lost, especially the day before her wedding. Cindy also felt a responsibility to Allie’s family and loved ones. She knew she could ease everyone’s suffering so much by finding out exactly what happened and making sure that justice was served.

Rather than go back to the lobby, Cindy slipped out of the hotel and went down to the edge of the water. It was cold out and windy and the waves were high and strong. Clearly the turbulent seas had tossed Allie up to shore right in the midst of the festivities. How awful that she’d been found by a stranger, in the middle of the celebrations, dancing for joy. Life and death intertwined - the timing was strange though, and Cindy wondered what to make of it.

Cindy walked at the water, thinking of Allie, and also of her own husband Clint. He’d died in a similar way, though his body had washed up sooner. Cindy remembered the pain of finding him there, the finality of it, the unrest that wouldn’t leave her alone. She also remembered her unending resolve to find out the truth. That determination had kept her going not only then, but through all the cases that followed since then.

As she walked some seagulls flew across sky making odd formations. They dipped down, then flew higher, then dipped down again, circling around as if in a dance. It almost as if they were trying to get Cindy to notice them, to show her that patterns in nature could not be ignored. Nothing was left hidden forever. At the perfect time, under the perfect conditions, everything inevitably became clear.

*

When Cindy returned to the hotel lobby, Mattheus was in a whirl.