Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“Go on,” said Mattheus, irritated.

“I called the best doctors in,” Owen continued. “There was nothing they could do, but keep her comfortable and wait. I was sure she’d recover, positive.”

“I’m sorry,” Cindy repeated.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too, but what good does it do me now? After Tara died, things went from bad to worse. The papers jumped in then and now they’re having a field day with me.”

“There’s serious evidence against you,” Mattheus commented, abruptly changing the tone.

A look of fear flickered across Owen’s face and quickly subsided.

“Really? What evidence? As far as I can see there’s nothing.”

“For starters,” Mattheus went on, “they found toxic material in your wife’s body. She did not die of natural causes; someone put a lethal substance into her IV.”

“I heard that, of course,” Owen remarked. “But why do they think it was me? It’s preposterous. There’s absolutely no evidence that I would ever do something like that. I have no history of any crime or foul play.”

“Secondly,” Mattheus continued unemotionally, “you’re the beneficiary of your wife’s huge life insurance policy.”

“They’re grabbing at anything they can find, don’t you see that?” Owen cried out. “I have no need for the money, none at all.”

“Why did she even have such a large policy?” Cindy asked deftly.

“We took it out for her brother and sister,” Owen answered quickly. “Neither of them have the resources we have. We thought that if God forbid Tara ever passed before they did, it would be a good support for them.”

“But you’re the beneficiary, not them,” Mattheus commented.

“Just a formality,” Owen exclaimed. “Tara trusted me to give them the money in careful payments so they wouldn’t squander it. Neither of them are any good with money. Tara worried about them. The policy was no secret, she told her sister and brother that she’d taken the policy out about six months ago.”

“But what were the chances anyone would collect on this for a very long time?” Mattheus continued. “Tara was a young woman. There must have been other ways she could have helped them.”

“There were,” Owen insisted, “and she did. She was good to them, she was generous. We gave them large gifts all the time.”

“Did you tell this to the police?” Cindy questioned.

“Of course I did,” Owen insisted, “they just listened blankly and couldn’t care less.”

“I can see why not,” Cindy interjected. “These are inconvenient facts.”

“I like that phrase,” Owen replied, leaning closer towards Cindy. “You’ve got it right. If the facts are inconvenient, they’re just dropped down here.”

“Everywhere,” Cindy murmured, as her eyes and Owen’s locked again.

“Inconvenient or not, facts will surface,” Mattheus insisted. “They’ll stand up for you, build a solid case.”

“What other facts do you have that we don’t know about?” Cindy continued quickly. She liked Owen and believed him completely, was proud to be working for him.

Owen’s eyes brightened. “Plenty,” he started, talking heatedly, relieved to finally be heard. “I don’t know if you know this, but another woman died at the Ranges Hospital unexpectedly, a few weeks before Tara did.”

“Was she also in a coma?” Cindy felt a chill go through her.

“No, she had just recovered from surgery, was doing well and about to be released,” said Owen. “Then, suddenly, she died out of nowhere.”

“Did you mention this to the police?” Mattheus joined in.

“Sure,” said Owen, “they claim the cases were completely unrelated. Said the other woman died of a sudden blood clot that went to her brain.”

“Okay,” said Mattheus, “that’s got to be verifiable.”

“But, blood clot or not, I’m not so sure it was unrelated,” Owen wouldn’t let it go. “The woman was young and healthy, like Tara. There was no reason for a sudden blood clot to go to her brain. I’d say check the damn nurses at this hospital.”

“That’s a leap,” said Mattheus grimly, “these things happen, especially after surgery.”

“That’s not a good enough answer,” Owen’s eyes began glowing. “The records should be checked carefully to see exactly what happened to the other patient. Check it and follow the course of her recovery.”

Cindy made note of that. “What else?” she asked. “What do you think happened to Tara? Who do you think killed your wife?”

Owen’s face suddenly sagged at the notion of his wife having been killed.

“I’m sorry to put it so harshly,” Cindy remarked.

“It’s okay,” he finally murmured. “The truth is the truth and we’ve got to find out who did it. I’ve had plenty of time to think this over and I’ve come up with a few different ideas.”