Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

“So are the police coming here now?” Cindy still felt confused.

“I guess there’s more they have to tell us, or maybe more they want to know,” Eric said.

“Are you going to tell them what Val just told us?” asked Cindy.

“Of course I am,” Eric responded. “Why would I withhold important information from them?”

“Because you don’t know it’s true,” Cindy replied. “Rumor is one thing, facts another. Val didn’t say there was proof of the exchange.”

“Val gave us the guy’s name though, Lou Gran,” Eric said quickly. “We can give that name to the police.”

Although she didn’t want to tell the police about it yet, Cindy liked Eric’s honest and fearless way.

“Look, it’s good that things are heating up,” said Eric. “There’s pressure being placed on the cops and finally they’re taking action. They heard we’d be here and they don’t want to waste any time.”

Eric looked over then, and quickly got up out of his seat. “Here they are now,” he said to Cindy.

Cindy looked up and saw two policemen approaching their table. She looked a little closer then, and to her total horror, Mattheus was there, walking with them.

“Oh no,” breathed Cindy.

Eric stopped cold, “Mattheus?” he exclaimed.

“Yes, it’s him,” said Cindy, in pain.





Chapter 20


It was a shock for Cindy to see Mattheus walking towards her. He actually looked wonderful, suntanned and toned in navy linen slacks and a plum summer shirt. She flinched.

Mattheus stopped short when he got close to the table, glanced at Cindy and then at Eric, confused.

“This is Eric, an attorney on the case,” Cindy quickly introduced them. “He’s been helping me.”

Thankfully, Eric stood up and extended his hand to Mattheus, who took it as they shook hands. Cindy didn’t recognize either of the two cops who stood close behind Mattheus, surrounding him like a hedge.

“I heard you’ve been in touch with a lot of the players on the case,” Eric took the lead, to Cindy’s delight.

“That’s right, I have,” Mattheus answered promptly. “I’ve been concerned about Cindy working down here alone.”

“That makes sense,” said Eric.

Mattheus looked back and forth between Cindy and Eric again and then at the restaurant.“ Quite a lovely place to spend the evening in,” he remarked.

“A favorite spot of mine,” Eric commented.

“Now I see Cindy hasn’t been alone, after all,” Mattheus added.

Mattheus’s comment made Cindy feel like a child who’d been found doing something wrong. She didn’t like it.

“No one’s ever alone when they’re on a case,” Cindy spoke up pointedly, trying to put things in their rightful place. And nip Mattheus’s jealousy in the bud. “One way or another there are always others who want to help.”

“Of course that’s true,” said Mattheus, really looking at Cindy for the first time.

“You guys look uncomfortable,” Eric piped up then, looking over at the other cops as well. “Why don’t you all sit down at the table? I’ll arrange the seats for you.”

As Eric got up and arranged the seats, Cindy was struck with his graciousness and how beautifully he was handling things. Then she reminded herself that he certainly knew the ropes. Not only was he a top attorney but head of a large law firm as well.

Mattheus and the other two policemen took their seats.

“What can we do for you?” Eric started the conversation again.

“We?” asked Mattheus, throwing a pained glance at Cindy. “Are you two a team now?”

“We are not a team,” Cindy spoke up quickly, hiding her embarrassment. “As I said Eric is an attorney on the case and we are having dinner here in order to go over current findings.”

“Sounds very official,” Mattheus retorted.

“We understand someone from the real estate company came to speak with you tonight?” One of the other two cops broke into the conversation.

“Yes, that’s right,” Cindy took the lead now. “Val.”

“We spoke to that guy already,” the other cop remarked.

“Val had more information for us tonight, though,” Eric took over. “He told us that the reason he had no record of the down payment was that Pete never gave him one. Loretta gave the down payment to someone else in the company. All cash.”

“Oh brother,” the first cop said, “you got to be kidding me! That changes everything.”

“You’ll give us the name of this other guy?” the other cop asked.

“Definitely,” said Eric.

“How much of a down payment?” asked Mattheus, focusing now on Cindy.

“A hundred thousand dollars,” Cindy remarked.

Mattheus shook his head swiftly. “That’s not a down payment, it’s something else. Where did Loretta get the money from?”

Despite his previous comments, Cindy felt a sense of relief going over the details with Mattheus. His solid manner and clear observation helped her get herself back on track.