Death by Marriage (Caribbean Murder #3)
Jaden Skye
PROLOGUE
He lay there alone, along the back alley of a narrow street that wound through the marketplace in St. Thomas, dipped in a pool of red blood. For a long while, no one noticed. The street he lay on was not well traveled, and the few people who passed through it walked around him.
As the sun rose, bringing the heat of the day, merchants began opening their shops, and shoppers taking their first tentative steps. Suddenly, a shriek broke through the quiet. The shriek sounded fiercely, like the call of a bugle, for a long, long time.
People came running. An island woman, walking through the alley, had stepped on the man. Hands over her eyes, she could not stop shrieking. The dead man’s bulging eyes stared back out at her, only adding to her terror.
“Why me? Why did I have to find this? Lord, Lord!” she screamed, “Have mercy! Mercy!”
The crowd closed in, peering.
“Who is it? Who is it?” they demanded.
But by now his face was so distorted, it was almost impossible to say.
CHAPTER 1
Cindy and Mattheus sat on the veranda of the Grande Hotel, in Grenada, under the palm trees, going over details of the case. They sipped tall lemonades, as the afternoon light faded and soft ocean breezes drifted over them. It had been a long, tiring day. Cindy knew she would have to make a decision quickly, and had grappled with it all afternoon.
Things were moving too quickly, though. She felt caught in a whirlwind that didn’t give her any time to catch her breath, to make wise choices. She had to remind herself that she’d only come down to the island to help Dalia, an old friend, who’d frantically called for help. Dalia’s husband had gone missing and she was devastated, and there had been no way Cindy could say no.
It had been a couple of months since then, an intense, crazy time, which only became more so when Dalia’s husband turned up dead on the beach. When Cindy was the one to finally discover the killer, she had been all over the papers again. Cindy didn’t want the notoriety. But calls came in for her from all over.
Mattheus tilted his head back, tapping his fingers on the table. It was something he did when he was trying to think things out clearly, Cindy had come to learn. He’d gathered lots of information on the new case, but he’d been half an hour late to their meeting, something unusual for him. Cindy had waited for him uneasily, going over everything that had gone on between them since they’d met about two months ago.
She had tentatively agreed to form a private detective agency with him. It was at a moment when she’d felt a particular connection both with him and the work. But what did she really know about him, she now wondered? He was on the police force when they’d met and he’d been a wonderful help in her friend’s case. But people on this island got too close too quickly, and no good ever seemed to come out of it.
Cindy took a long, deep breath. She had both looked forward to seeing Mattheus this afternoon and also felt unnerved about it. Partially, she just wanted to run away, go back to life as she knew it in New York, before her own husband, Clint, had been killed. It had only been months since Clint was gone. She felt odd now spending such intense time with another man.
“I know you can do a great job with this case,” Mattheus continued, his voice full of conviction.
“Mattheus,” Cindy interrupted.
He stopped tapping his fingers and looked straight at her, his beautiful, clear eyes quieting her racing mind.
“It’s natural to be scared,” he said.
“That’s not it,” Cindy replied.
Surprisingly, Cindy did not feel scared of tackling another murder. Actually, she felt invincible at the thought of taking another case on. It was that feeling of power and service that drew her to the work. It made her feel more of who she really was.
“What is it?” Matthew asked, a small smile curling at the edge of his mouth.
“It’s a huge choice to start an entirely different life,” she said.
“Yes, it is,” he answered calmly, “but sometimes a new life chooses us. And you’re not the only one. It will be a new life for me, too.”
He looked up at her fleetingly, then looked away.
“I’ve gathered articles and reports about the case. It’s fascinating,” he continued, switching focus. “Kendra, the wife, called after reading about you in the paper. She sounded desperate. Said she wants a woman detective on the scene, someone who’ll understand her point of view.”
Cindy perked up.
“There aren’t too many of them down here on the islands,” Mattheus cocked his head to the side. “Especially as thoughtful and as smart as you.”
Cindy smiled.
“And daring,” he added, “and beautiful.”
Despite herself Cindy laughed. “You’re buttering me up.”
“I’m speaking the truth. I’ve been thinking about our new company.”