Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (14 page)

That
was way more than Petra could bear. “Get out of my house this minute,” she
yelled.

“Calm
down, Petra,” Mattheus put his hands on her shoulders then.

“This
bitch just accused me of killing Cain,” Petra put her head on Mattheus’s
shoulders, sobbing.

“Never
said that,” Cindy retorted, watching her closely. “I just asked if you were
protecting someone. I never said it was you.”

Petra
just kept sobbing for a long while though on Mattheus’s shoulder, as he stood
there, helpless and distraught.

*

Cindy
waited for Petra’s sobbing to die down and for her to move her head off
Mattheus’s shoulder.

“Get
her out of here, get her out of here,” Petra finally said to Mattheus as her
sobbing died down.

 “It’s
probably a good idea for you to step out and give Petra some time to calm down,”
Mattheus said to Cindy in a sad tone.

Cindy
felt Mattheus needed time to calm down as well, and absorb all he’d learned
about his daughter.

“That’s
fine,” Cindy said, unabashed. “I’m going to the jail to speak to Andrea now.”

“Not
a good idea,” said Mattheus.

“No,
it’s not,” Petra insisted.

“It’s
the next step for me,” Cindy remarked calmly. “How about you, Mattheus?”

“And
after I leave here I’m going talk to the guys,” Mattheus filled Cindy in.

Cindy
stood there a moment, taking one last look around the room before she left. As
she scanned the place more closely, to her surprise she saw a photo in a frame
sitting on an end table that hadn’t been there before.  The photo was of a
stocky, handsome, Caribbean man about the same age as Petra.

“Who’s
that?” Cindy asked casually, before turning around to go.

“Who?”
Petra answered, getting up from the couch and quickly grabbing the photo.

Mattheus
got up, followed her, took the photo from her, and opened his eyes wide.

“Who
is he, Mattheus?” Cindy asked again.

“It’s
the guy who accompanied Petra on her visit to the jail,” Mattheus answered
disconsolately.

“He’s
an old friend, my neighbor,” Petra insisted.

 “You
put a framed photo of a neighbor up in your living room?” she asked.

“She’s
after me,” Petra hissed and turned to Mattheus. “And she’ll use anything she
can get.”

Mattheus
looked down at the photo again. “Must be a pretty good friend,” he agreed, “to
be on display like this.”

Petra
grabbed the picture away from Mattheus then. “Yes, he is,” she snapped. “So
what?”

The
second Cindy got out of the house, before she even hailed a cab to the jail,
she called Sean, on his emergency phone number.

“What’s
wrong?” he answered instantly.

“It’s
not an emergency,” Cindy started, “but I need your help.”

“You’ve
got it, always,” Sean breathed into the phone.

“I’m
taking a cab to the jail now to speak to Andrea. I want you to come with me,”
Cindy said in a husky tone.

“Why
now? What’s up?” Sean was right on it.

“I’ll
tell you when I see you,” said Cindy.

“That’s
a deal,” Sean replied.

*

Sean
was waiting in front of the jail when Cindy’s cab pulled up and ran to the door
to open it.

“What
happened?” he asked urgently.

Cindy
took a deep breath. She was partially sorry that she’d called him on his
emergency number, but also glad that he’d responded so quickly and was here
with her now.

“I
had a terrible meeting with Petra,” she said, “that woman freaks me out.”

“That’s
it?” Sean sounded let down.

“Petra
said maybe Andrea was better off in jail,” Cindy continued, “she said that maybe
she was safer there.”  

“Maybe
she is,” Sean echoed.

 “What
are you talking about? That’s crazy,” Cindy was amazed by his response.

“I
just meant that Andrea needs time to cool off,” Sean continued, “she can be
volatile, says one thing and then contradict herself a minute later.”

“You
think Andrea did it, don’t you?” Cindy turned to him pointedly. Petra wasn’t
even dimly on Sean’s radar, and Cindy wondered why.

Sean
looked away. “I’m not sure who did it,” he said slowly, “there’s a good chance
that Andrea did, but I have something to tell you, too. The medical examiner’s
report just came in. “

“Oh
my God,” said Cindy, “when?”

“About
an hour ago,” Sean continued. It showed from the autopsy that the time of death
was most likely a few hours before Andrea was caught on the scene.  Her
fingerprints are on the knife, but there are someone else’s fingerprints there,
too. They’re trying to find out who. So far, they don’t match anyone in the
files.”

“That’s
huge,” said Cindy.

“It’s
something,” Sean had to agree, “but it’s inconclusive, doesn’t prove anything.
Andrea’s alibi is vague, hasn’t been corroborated. And the fact that there are
other fingerprints on the knife just suggested she may have had someone with
her to help with the killing.”

“Have
you guys checked her alibi?” Cindy quickly asked.

“We’ve
asked around,” Sean answered, vaguely.

“I
need to speak to Andrea myself, right now” Cindy went on. “Actually, I called
to take you up on your offer to come with me when I meet her.”

“Of
course,” Sean nodded his head. “It’s a good idea for you to speak to her.  I
imagine she’ll like you once she gives you a chance. And you’ll get the bigger
picture when you have a chance to talk to her, as well.”

“Thank
you, Sean,” Cindy said, relieved, putting her hand on his arm.

Sean
took her hand into his then, quickly. “Any way I can help you, I always will,”
he replied, quietly.

Cindy
took a deep breath. On the one hand it felt wonderful having him beside her,
offering support. On the other hand, she felt as if she barely knew him at all.
 Her thoughts drifted to finding Mattheus at Petra’s house and how painful that
had been. She hadn’t said a thing about it to Sean, because he disliked
Mattheus enough as it was. If he found out that Cindy found him at Petra’s it could
certainly add to his suspicion that Mattheus had motivation for getting rid of
Cain.

“Let’s
go into the jail now,” Sean gave Cindy’s hand a little pull. “I told the guys
on the force you were coming, and I guessed you wanted to see Andrea, too. It’s
all arranged.”

*

Sean
let Cindy’s hand go as they walked down the narrow hallway to Andrea’s holding
cell.

“You
wait here,” Sean stopped at the waiting section, “and I’ll go in and bring
Andrea out.”

“Is
she expecting me?” Cindy was surprised as she took a seat at the narrow table.

“I
informed her that she might have a visitor soon,” Sean replied, as he left to
get her.

*

The
waiting space was small and stuffy, and the old fan that whirred above, made a
low, creaky sound. The fact that Cain had died earlier in the day, before they
found Andrea there, at a time she claimed to be with others, certainly made it
even more important to investigate her alibi. And what about the other pair of
fingerprints on the knife? Once they found who they belonged to, the case would
really open up.

 In
a few minutes Sean walked out with Andrea beside him. Dressed in loose overalls
and an old T shirt, her hair sprawled around her face, she looked somewhat
frightening.

“Her?”
Andrea barked, the minute she saw Cindy.

“You
remember me, Andrea?” Cindy asked, as Sean had her sit down opposite Cindy.

“Of
course I do,” Andrea practically snarled. “You think I have amnesia? I told my
dad to leave you home.”

“And
he did,” Cindy replied. “He came down here to be with you without me.”

“So
why are you here now?” Andrea looked bitter, as she sat down and rocked back
and forth in her chair.

“I
came down to help,” said Cindy, less intimidated, as she got used to Andrea’s
demeanor.

“Oh
yeah, I bet. You think I’m dumb? You think I was born in a rabbit’s horn?”
Andrea replied. “Why would you do want to help? One reason only - to get my dad
away from me. To bring him back home with you.”

“Not
at all,” Cindy replied evenly, showing no reaction to Andrea’s accusations. “I
came down because your father asked me to. He wanted help getting you out of
jail. I came down because he cares so much about you.”

Andrea
stopped rocking and looked up at Cindy directly for the first time.

“He
cares about me? You got to be kidding! He’s got you believing that too?”

“He
cares about you, Andrea,” Cindy said staunchly. “What happened in the past was
when he was young. He’s a different person now.”

“And
how would you know that? You can’t say he’s different, because you didn’t know
him then.”

Andrea
was definitely determined to squash everything Cindy had to say.  Then, to
Cindy’s amazement, Sean leaned forward and reached out for Cindy’s hands. Cindy
looked at him confused, but he winked. Then she remembered, it was part of the
plan they’d constructed. They would get Andrea to think that Sean was the person
Cindy cared for now. That would make Cindy seem like less of an enemy, and
perhaps Andrea could open up.Cindy gave Sean her hands and smiled at him
warmly. It felt soothing to have her hands in his.

Andrea
watched what was happening, astonished.

“Cindy
and I are now working together,” Sean said to Andrea in a soft voice, then.

Andrea
had no idea what to make of it.

“We
just received more news, too, Andrea,” Cindy then continued. “The results of
the medical examiner are in. Cain died earlier in the day, when you said you
weren’t even there.”

“I
wasn’t,” Andrea loudly exclaimed.

“And
we also found two pair of fingerprints on the knife,” Sean joined in. “One was
yours and another belonged to someone else.”

Andrea
stood up a second and then quickly sat down.

“Who
was the other person there, Andrea?” Cindy quickly asked.

“What
the hell are you getting at?” Andrea’s seemed confused.

“We
need to investigate your alibi thoroughly,” Cindy replied quickly. “We need
details.  Why were your fingerprints found on the knife?”

Andrea
snapped to attention for a second and spoke loudly, “I told them already. When
I got there I found Cain dead, lying in a pool of blood. I leaned over and
tried to do CPR, so I got his blood all over me. When I couldn’t get him back,
I looked around and saw the knife. I picked it up and held it for a second. I
wasn’t thinking, I was terrified, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t kill
him, I swear I didn’t. I could never kill anyone.”

For
a swift flash Cindy completely believed Andrea. “My God, how awful,” Cindy
breathed.

Stunned
that someone took her seriously, Andrea looked at Cindy dazed. “It was awful,
it was horrible, horrible,” then she covered her face with her hands. “I told
the police that already, but no one believed me. No one cared. No one checked
on the alibi.”

“Sean
told me they checked it,” said Cindy softly.

“Don’t
believe it,” Andrea moved closer to Cindy then, conspiratorially. “They’re liars.
They want to blame me.”

Sean
stood up slowly at that point.  “Listen,” he said, “I think it’s best for the
two of you to talk alone. Andrea will probably feel more comfortable with that.”

Andrea
flashed a look of fear at him. “When have you guys ever cared about how I was
feeling?”

Sean
did not respond, but moved back from the table, then turned and walked out of
the room.

“Don’t
believe him,” Andrea said swiftly to Cindy. “Don’t let him sweet talk you. He’s
one of the cops, acting nice for his own reasons. But it’s all an act.  I know
how these guys operate. Nobody wanted to hear about my alibi.”

“Well,
I want to hear it,” Cindy said quickly. “I really do, Andrea.”

Andrea
pushed her hair back from her face then. “I was with friends all afternoon,”
she repeated hollowly.

“That’s
great,” said Cindy, “where were you?”

“What
difference does that make?” Andrea pulled back.

“It
makes a difference,” said Cindy, “because we have to get your friends to say
they saw you. We need eye witnesses.”

“The
police won’t believe my witnesses either,” Andrea quickly replied. “They’ll
find something wrong with each one of them.”

“Where
exactly were you when Cain was killed?” Cindy needed to know.

“I
was on the other side of the Island,” Andrea finally relented.  “I was with
friends there.”

“People
saw you?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah,
of course, I’m not exactly a ghost,” she said.

“What
side of the Island?” Cindy continued, “where?”

“On
the rich, fancy, side of the Island,” Andrea replied, haughtily. “At an
expensive bar.”

Cindy
immediately realized that Andrea must have been there on business, with a John.
That’s why she couldn’t give out details. Cindy decided to plunge into the
heart of the matter, unafraid.

“You
were there with a John?” Cindy asked casually, as though it didn’t matter at
all to her.

Andrea
took great offense, though. “No, he wasn’t a customer! He was someone who cares
about me.”

Those
words flashed through Cindy, reminding her of her interview with Natalie, how
nervous Natalie had become when they’d spoken about Andrea being in love.

“Is
he someone you’re in love with, Andrea?” Cindy asked penetratingly.

Andrea
stood up, agitated. “No,” she breathed fitfully, “he’s someone who’s in love
me! It’s possible that someone could be in love with me, you know, even though
you can’t imagine it.”

“Of
course I can imagine it,” Cindy stood up as well, and reached out for her.

“You’re
a beautiful, young woman Andrea, and I can certainly imagine a man loving you.”

 “A
wonderful man? A rich, white guy?” Andrea smiled broadly. 

“Definitely,
why not?” said Cindy.

“After
all, my father is a white guy,” Andrea murmured.

“Yes,
he is,” said Cindy slowly. Obviously, Andrea had found someone who reminded her
of her long, lost father. “But white or not, there are lots of wonderful guys
down here, aren’t there?” Cindy continued, wanting to hear more about Andrea’s
love life.

At
that Andrea laughed coarsely. “There are plenty of guys down here, some are
okay, and plenty are not.”

Cindy
decided to turn down a new road. “What about your mother? How does she feel
about this guy who loves you?”

Andrea’s eyes
narrowed and she clammed up then. “You keep my mother out of it.”
“How does she feel about him?” Cindy continued, “that’s all I want to know.”

“It doesn’t
matter how she feels about him,” Andrea was adamant. “He belongs to me

and
that’s that.”

Cindy
was fascinated. “Has your mother met him? Does she know him, Andrea?”

“What
the hell difference does it make?” Andrea began to yell. “You have something
against my mother? You’re jealous of her, you want to pin her into a corner,
because she and my dad got a thing going again?”

Cindy
felt her body go cold. “Got what going?” she could barely ask.

“Since
my dad’s gotten down here the two of them have been together constantly,”
Andrea whispered, a smile creeping along the edges of her mouth. “They’re
remembering what they meant to each other, what brought them together in the
first place.”

Cindy
had no idea if this were true, of if Andrea were fantasizing. What brought
Petra and Mattheus together in the first place? Cindy wondered. Nothing, just a
one night encounter.  At least that’s what Mattheus had said. Cindy wanted to
burst Andrea’s bubble.

“What
about the guy your mother brought to jail with her when she came to visit you?”

“What
about him?” said Andrea. “He’s an old friend.”

“Was
he the one who beat you in jail, Andrea?” Cindy wasn’t mincing any words. “Did
he want to shut you up?”

Andrea
looked shocked. “You heard about the beating?” she asked.

“Yes,
I heard,” said Cindy. “And I want to know who did it. Was it your mother’s
recent boyfriend?”

“Definitely
not!  He’s not her boyfriend and my mother had nothing to do with the beating
at all,” Andrea stiffened up.

“Who
was it, then?” Cindy demanded.

“That’s
enough,” Andrea began backing away.

“You’ve
got to tell me, it will help me find the murderer,” Cindy begged.

“You’re
not gonna find the murderer, Andrea whispered intensely.

“You
know who it is?” Cindy stared at her boldly.

“No
I don’t,” Andrea insisted. “But there are plenty of people on this Island who
wanted Cain dead - a big list of them. The cops know who they are, too.  It’s
easy to blame me. I’m convenient, that’s why no one looks into my alibi. But I’m
sure the truth will come out, it has to, it always does, sooner or later.”

Cindy
was stunned by Andrea’s comment and by her strange confidence that truth would
prevail.

“I’m
going to look into your alibi, Andrea,” Cindy promised, “but you have to tell
me more. Where were you exactly? Who were you with?”

“I
can’t tell you,” Andrea said softly.

“But
it’s going to save your life,” Cindy was amazed.

“I
still can’t tell you,” murmured Andrea.

“So
how can the truth come out?” Cindy zeroed in.

“It
just does, by itself. I believe that, I always did. And I always believed that
one day I’d meet my true father and we’d all be together again - him, my mother
and me. And see, it’s happening, isn’t it?”

Cindy
felt a deep pit in her stomach. She could understand and relate to how Andrea
felt. Everyone always wanted their original family to be together. Did Andrea’s
wish have something to do with why she wouldn’t give Cindy information?

“Andrea,”
Cindy decided to plunge in again, “this person you were with on the other side
of the Island, is it the one who loves you? Do you love him, too?”

Andrea
smiled.  “I have no idea what love is,” she mumbled, “and from the looks of it,
neither do you.”

Cindy
felt oddly stung. “I know what love is,” she tried to defend herself.

“Really?
Are you in love with my father?” Andrea jumped on it.

“Not
anymore,” breathed Cindy.

“You
were?” Andrea asked.

“Yes,
I was,” said Cindy plainly, “your father and I were going to get engaged.”

Andrea’s
face turned sour. “You can’t get engaged to him, he doesn’t belong to you. He
belongs to my mother.”

“He
was with your mother sixteen years ago,” replied Cindy, “and only for a short
while.”

“So
what?” said Andrea, “he had a child with her, didn’t he? That links them
forever, whether you like it or not.”

Cindy
stopped at that. There was truth in what Andrea was saying. In an odd way, the
bond between Mattheus and Petra was stronger than between her and Mattheus.

“Well,
it doesn’t matter,” Cindy went on quietly, “your father and I have broken up
now.”

“Because
of me?” asked Andrea, sharply, looking ill at ease.

“No,”
said Cindy, “because you’re right. The bond caused by family ties is deepest of
all. Even if the family hasn’t seen each other, or been together for years.”

“So,
you’ll find someone else then,” Andrea said, suddenly comforting. “How about
Sean?  I saw how he was looking at you. He definitely seems to be in love.”

Cindy
smiled seeing Andrea now concerned about her. The little act between Sean and
Cindy had made an impression, done its work. Andrea definitely believed that
Cindy and Sean had something going.

“Sean
and I just met each other,” Cindy replied, “but I do like him very much.”

“That’s
good,” Andrea seemed relieved, “that’s fabulous, love works in crazy ways.”

At
that moment Cindy heard footsteps coming down the hallway towards them. It had
to be Sean returning. The time allotted for the interview must be coming to a
close. Cindy was sad about it. She had grown to like and admire Andrea and
wanted to spend more time with her.

 Sean
re-appeared then and Andrea laughed out loud when she saw him.

 “See,
speak of the devil and he’s right here,” she said.

“The
devil, me?” Sean looked surprised.

“Cindy
and I were just talking about you,” Andrea took pleasure in teasing. “I asked
Cindy if she was in love with you?”

Sean
seemed taken aback and a touch embarrassed. “And what did she say?” he asked, trying
to be playful.

 “She
said she liked you very much,” Andrea babbled, thoroughly enjoying the
exchange. “And, frankly, I’m glad about it, because my father is definitely
going back with my mother. It would be a real shame, if Cindy were left with no
one.”

Cindy
shivered. Andrea was masterful in playing one off against the other.

“Mattheus
is going back with Petra?” Sean asked Cindy, amazed.

“That’s
what Andrea’s wants, it’s what she hopes for and dreams of,” Cindy replied.