Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“Thanks for including us,” Mattheus seemed impressed.

Cindy wasn’t impressed though. The party was clearly a PR event, a way to garner public opinion and raise funds. She didn’t guess that this wouldn’t be the time or place to speak to any of the guests about Tara’s death.

“Will some of the nurses be present?” Cindy asked, just to make certain.

“No, of course not,” Konrad smiled, a bit condescendingly. “Why do you ask?”

“I wanted to speak to them as well,” she said.

Konrad’s face wrinkled. “You can speak to them at the hospital, if you care to. They’re always available, we’re not hiding anything.”

“Thank you,” said Mattheus.

Cindy wondered why Konrad would even have that idea. She’d never said anything about their hiding anything.

Konrad turned to Mattheus then. “When the boating accident took place it was on the front pages of the news for days. It was a relief when people finally began to forget about the unfortunate patient laying in a coma in our hospital, waiting to die. This isn’t exactly the kind of news tourists want to read about when they’re down in Jamaica on vacation.”

“No, of course it isn’t,” said Mattheus, siding with Konrad and currying favor.

“Finally, she passed. We thought it was over and now this!” Konrad seemed exasperated. “As soon as Owen was arrested for euthanasia the story flared full force again and the reporters are now on it double time. We don’t need this kind of publicity. It doesn’t sit well with anyone, the public or the private donors that keep our hospital going.”

“I can certainly understand that,” said Mattheus.

“So many questions erupting now about the way Tara died,” Konrad muttered.

“Difficult,” murmured Mattheus, trying to egg him on.

“The sooner the case is closed, the better for us,” Konrad insisted. “What else do you need to finish it up?”

Clearly, Konrad thought that Cindy and Mattheus were working with the police and would be able to get hold of some evidence the police didn’t have.

“We were brought down to Jamaica by Owen,” Mattheus told Konrad frankly. Mattheus never let half-truths or mistaken impressions linger. Cindy never failed to be proud of Mattheus’s honesty.

Konrad looked taken aback. “Oh, I didn’t know that,” he murmured. “I thought the police brought you in to nail the case shut.”

“No, we were hired by Owen,” Mattheus repeated.

“So, the two of you are working for the devil?” A little smile playing around the edges of Konrad’s mouth.

“What do you mean by that, exactly?” Mattheus bristled. “How is Owen the devil?”

“The guy’s super rich, super slick, super hungry, super, super everything,” Konrad grumbled. “I know a type when I see it.”

“You know Owen personally?” Cindy intervened. Konrad had a way about him that put her off.

“I just know him from the time he and his wife have been here in the hospital,” Konrad said, “he never left her room for a minute.”

“That sounds like a good thing to me,” said Cindy.

“Sounds like it, doesn’t it?” Konrad echoed back, “but the police don’t think so. They arrested him anyway.”

Cindy felt protective of Owen. “There’s no direct evidence linking him to the lethal substance though, is there?” she asked.

“Whoah there, wait a minute,” Konrad became flustered. “Don’t go throwing words like that around. Yes, they found toxic substances in the patient’s system, but who says it came from a lethal substance in her IV? There’s no direct proof of that either.”

“That’s right,” Mattheus chimed in. Mattheus obviously didn’t want to break the bond he was forming with Konrad.

“But there’s no direct proof that Owen did it either,” Cindy took another tack.

“Not yet, but I’d hoped there would be,” Konrad took a step back, examining Cindy adversaraily. “Actually, I thought that’s why you guys came down.”

“We came down to find out who killed Tara,” Cindy remarked in a clipped tone.

“That’s easy enough, isn’t it?” said Konrad. “The boat accident did it. The hospital just kept her alive.”

Cindy wouldn’t let him slide out of it so easily, though. “The patient’s life did not end naturally, there were lethal substances found in her system.”

“It was only a matter of time anyway,” Konrad murmured to Cindy, taking a step closer to her.

“And someone took time into their own hands,” Mattheus intervened. “According to the law -.”

Konrad interrupted him swiftly. “I know all about the law,” he proclaimed, “in fact I’m in charge of running this hospital and observing all of them.” Then he spotted someone at the Board of Directors Table and waved to him. “Please excuse me, I have to speak to everyone here tonight.” Konrad walked away then abruptly, leaving Cindy and Mattheus alone in the middle of the room.