“No, but it’s certainly possible,” Mattheus continued. “It’s not that Rod feels so bad about Shane, either. It’s Kara he’s focused on.”
Cindy took exception to that. “Why doesn’t Rod feel bad about Shane? She’s also a young woman, she also has a father somewhere who will be devastated when he finds out.”
“Of course, of course,” Mattheus quickly corrected himself. “Nobody’s saying it isn’t a tragedy for Shane’s family. It’s just that Shane is one case, and Kara’s another. You can’t expect Rod to feel bad for the entire world.”
Cindy didn’t know what to make of Mattheus’s comment. It wasn’t like him at all. Somehow he’d gotten deeply under the influence of his old friend and it was affecting his own feelings and behavior. Cindy shuddered. Even though Rod was going through a tragedy, she didn’t like anything about him or the effect he had upon Mattheus.
*
When they arrived at Darrin Frank’s office, a young man with dark hair sat there looking turbulent and grim.
“Come in,” Darrin said as Cindy and Mattheus appeared in the doorway. “Sit down here.” Darrin motioned to two chairs close to the desk the young man was seated at. “This is Vinny Jezze, Shane’s boyfriend.”
Vinny threw a quick, distraught glance over at Cindy and Mattheus, then looked away. He was handsome, intense, and obviously agitated. Cindy felt badly for him.
“We thought you’d want to be here when we questioned Vinny,” Darrin went on. “If there’s anything you need to ask, please feel free to do so. Vinny’s already given us his alibi, and it’s completely checked out. He and Shane were in the casino the night before she turned up dead. Lots of people saw him. They saw her there too, until about eleven o’clock. After that, people still saw him there at the tables, but not her.”
Vinny ran his hands through his thick, wavy hair.
“So, where was Shane after eleven p.m., Vinny?” Darrin started the questioning.
“I don’t know,” Vinny spoke in a nervous tone. “We always played different tables and did different things all night along. I had no idea she wasn’t still around.”
“That’s been confirmed,” Darrin said then to Mattheus and Cindy.
“When did you realize Shane was gone?” Mattheus joined right in.
“Not until it was time for us to leave, around six in the morning,” Vinny answered glumly.
“You guys didn’t usually leave until six in the morning?” Mattheus’s voice became round around the edges.
“That’s right, we played all night long and slept most of the day.” Vinny picked up on Mattheus’s attitude and became antagonistic as well.
Mattheus took him on, readily. “You were the last one to see her alive?”
Vinny glared at Mattheus. “No, I wasn’t. Some people at other tables saw her playing just before eleven. Last I saw her was around ten.”
Mattheus looked up fast at Darrin, who nodded quickly, confirming Vinny’s response.
“You spoke to those people?” Mattheus asked Darrin.
“Yes,” Darrin replied. “Nothing was out of order, it was normal for her to be there at that time. She seemed fine to everyone.”
“So, who in hell was floating around the casino?” Mattheus flared up. “Who could have grabbed Shane? The same person who grabbed Kara, maybe?”
“Speculation,” Darrin flung back.
“All kinds of people float around the casino.” Vinny jumped on it. “But there’s plenty of security, too. Shane was a pro, she knew her way around. She wasn’t someone you could just grab. She would have made a commotion, shouted for me.”
“But the place was so noisy, how could you hear her?” Mattheus confronted him.Agitated, Vinny stood up quickly and then sat down again. “If someone grabbed her, you just bring him to me, and he’ll never stand up straight again,” he exclaimed. “I’m begging you guys, let me go find him. I’ll take care of it for you, rip him limb from limb.”
“You can help us more by staying calm,” Darrin said to Vinny. “Tell us all about how else you and Shane spent your time. Who was Shane in contact with? Who had something against her or against you?”
“I swear to you, no one.” The color drained from Vinny’s face. “Everyone loved Shane, she was fantastic, smart, strong, loyal, and she’d been through a lot.”
“What?” asked Darrin.
“Everything,” said Vinny. “Life isn’t easy for anyone, is it?”
“We can’t get hold of her parents,” Darrin continued. “Why not?”
“They couldn’t care less about Shane.” Vinny was practically growling. “They moved all over the country since she was a kid. First they’re here, then there. Right now they’re in Europe. Shane hadn’t spoken to them for months. There’s no way they’ll be coming down here any time soon.”
“How long were you guys dating?” Darrin zeroed in on him.
“Year and a half,” said Vinny. “We were gonna get married as soon as her divorce was done. It was gonna be soon.”
“How many times was she married?” Darrin looked quizzically at Vinny.