Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (3 page)

After
everyone had left, Ann and Cindy were sitting on bed talking and Cindy told Ann
about Al’s offer.

 “This
is a fantastic, amazing offer,” Ann said, her eyes getting big.

“There’s
no way I can make up my mind about it overnight,” Cindy replied.

“Just
go meet the guy,” Ann insisted, “let him know you need a little think to think
about it.”

“Maybe?”
said Cindy.

“Maybe?”
Ann was astonished. “This is too good to pass up. I remember all the years
growing up, you always dreamt of having a column of your own.”

“That
was then,” said Cindy.”There’s no reason for me to trust Al.  He was involved
with sending Clint that photo before the wedding, do you remember?”

“I
do now that you’ve reminded me,” said Ann. “But what has that got to do with
anything now?”

“Who
knows?” shrugged Cindy. “Why would Al be so interested in setting this up for
me?  It really doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re
becoming paranoid, Cindy,” Ann looked horrified.

“No,
just careful,” Cindy replied. “There’s a web of strange relationships here in
Cove Bay. Al’s close to Clint’s family. They couldn’t stand me from the
beginning, never wished me well.”

“Marge
told me she wants to straighten that all out,” Ann interrupted.

“I’m
not so sure,” said Cindy. “Why would she? She’s tricky, you know that.”

“Cindy,”
Ann put her hand on Cindy’s arm, “this is not a case you’re investigating. This
is life, people can be trusted. They aren’t all criminals. Being a detective is
making you paranoid.”

“There’s
a fine line between being paranoid and being smart and vigilant, Ann.  You have
to consider all the angles.”

“That’s
a terrible way to live,” Ann breathed, “not trusting anyone.”

“Of
course I trust - when my trust has been earned,” Cindy quickly replied.

“Well,
thank God I’m not on your list of suspects,” Ann grinned, trying to break the
tension that was forming.

Cindy
smiled back. “Of course you aren’t, but we don’t really know Al, do we? How do
we know he’s not setting me up?”

Ann
got up from the edge of the bed. “Cindy, it’s just an interview with a guy at
the paper. Go check out the situation yourself. Take time to think it over. If
they really want you, they’ll give you the time you need to make a decision.  For
all you know, it might be something you’d love to do.”

There
was no arguing Ann’s logic, there never was. But Cindy still felt hesitant.
Suddenly she thought of Mattheus and wondered what he was doing right at that
moment. By now he’d probably arrived in Anguilla. Had he met up with his
daughter or her mother yet?  Cindy wondered what it would be like for him,
seeing the woman again he’d had a child with, after all these years.  Although Cindy
definitely didn’t want to go forward with Mattheus, it was hard to imagine never
seeing him again. She thought of his handsome, suntanned face and the picture of
her walking with him on the sandy beaches flashed through mind. She thought of
the excitement they always felt tackling a new case together. The two of them
had been good in so many ways, despite the endless ups and downs.

“If
I took the job it would be the end of my time in the Caribbean,” Cindy said, musing
out loud.

Ann
looked at Cindy closely then. “The job at the paper would mean that you’d be based
in New York for now, that’s all,” she said.

Cindy
swallowed hard. It was too much to decide all at once.

Ann
tried to soften things.  “You’d be here for as long as the job lasted,” she
went on. “You’d make new friends, take on new challenges. Who knows, you might
even like it better than being away from your entire family all the time?”

Cindy
felt a moment of remorse, but let it slide.

“You
could always return to the Caribbean, if you had to,” Ann was doing her best to
cover all bases.

“That’s
true,” said Cindy.

“You
might not ever have to, though,” Ann went on, hopeful. “For all you know you
might meet a wonderful guy and settle up here. The two of you might have
children. You’ve always wanted children. I always thought you’d be a wonderful
mother, Cindy.”

Tears
filled Cindy’s eyes. She’d always thought so too. She remembered how she and
Mattheus had been recently talking about having a family, how wonderful that
had felt, how

badly
she’d wanted to have a child with him. She’d also dreamt of having a family
with Clint.  Neither had worked out. She couldn’t go through this again.

Cindy
looked straight into Ann’s eyes then.  She could see that Ann only wanted the
very best for Cindy, and to have her dear sister close.

“Of
course it’s true, Ann, anything can happen,” Cindy said, wanting to ease her
sister’s feelings. “Who knows who I could meet?”

Ann
snapped that right up. “You could be happy here Cindy, finally settle down.
Then you might not be so addicted to living in the Caribbean and putting
yourself into danger over and over solving horrible crimes.”

“It’s
not an addiction,” Cindy protested.

“What
is it then?” Ann was insistent.

“I’m
needed there,” Cindy responded. “I know the terrain, and the ways people
operate. It’s complicated, a tangled web. On the surface it looks beautiful, but
you can’t imagine what goes on underneath, on winding streets and in hidden
corners.  It can be truly dark and dangerous.  People get killed and no one
cares.”

Ann
wouldn’t have any of it, though. “That’s not why you stay down there,” she was
exasperated. “You stay in the Caribbean to re-live what happened with Clint. You
feel responsible for it and want make it right, again and again.  You feel it’s
up to you to bring all killers to justice. It doesn’t make sense.”

“It
makes perfect sense,” said Cindy. “I am responsible for justice, so are you and
everyone else.”

“But
I don’t spend my time hunting down killers,” said Ann. “I live a normal life
and do what I can to help when a situation presents itself. You actively go
hunting.”

“And
I like doing it!” said Cindy, feeling a rush of pride, thinking of the exquisite
triumph of the moment when the true culprit in a case was revealed and taken
into custody. There was nothing like it. It was as though the world, which had
been out of kilter, was suddenly set straight again. Someone wrongly accused,
was often set free. The pain of a family eased, fear dissipated. It was like
watching the sun come out after a horrible storm.  If Cindy was addicted, it
was to that moment, to feeling she’d set things right in the world once again. “I
like it, Ann, I really do,” she insisted.

Ann
let out a long, troubled sigh. “Cindy, in your mind you’re getting revenge on
Clint’s killer again and again.  I’m telling you, it’s an addiction.”

“That
minimizes what I do. It offends me,” Cindy protested. “Someone has to step
forward and bring justice.”

Cindy
jumped up off the edge of the bed then and started walking around the room, to
release the tension that was forming. As she moved about her eyes fell upon the
small, bible that Pastor Mallord have given her when Clint died. It was still
there, where she had left it.

Cindy
paused, went over and picked the bible up. It was comforting to hold it. She
opened the pages randomly, and her eyes fell upon the following words:

What
does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your God?

“
Look at this,
Ann,
”
Cindy started
reading aloud,
“
look what is
required of me -.
”

Ann
jumped up from the edge of the bed then, as well.
“
Please, Cindy, stop it,
”
she begged.
“
I understand you
want to do good. I appreciate that, really. But, please just go for this
interview tomorrow. All it is is an interview. Give it a try.
”

 Cindy
saw how upset she was making her sister. She put the Bible down.

 “Alright,”
she relented. “Don’t worry about me, Ann, please. I’ll go for the interview, I’ll
talk to the guy.”  

“You’d
be a fool not to go,” said Ann, “there’s lots of ways of bringing justice. You
could do more to help with a column, for all you know.”

*

 Before
Cindy went to bed that night, she sat on her bed and thumbed through the pages
of the Bible. It was good to be here and difficult, too. She couldn’t stop
thinking of Mattheus and what he was going through.  During this time they’d
become real partners, always covering for each other, seeing something the
other overlooked, guarding each other from danger. Of course there was no
danger Mattheus was up against now, just an emotional reunion with a long lost
child that he’d abandoned years ago and wanted to make things right with now.
There was something noble about that, Cindy mused, as her eyes grew heavy with
sleep. Even though his departure had hurt terribly, there was something about
it that she could respect.

Enough,
she finally said to herself as she closed her eyes, lay down, turned out the lights,
and wondered why she was really here and what the next day would bring.

The
flight to Anguilla was easier and quicker than Mattheus expected. It was
strange being down here alone, without Cindy, though. As he boarded the plane
he had a moment of remorse, wondering if he should have left so quickly, chasing
after his daughter. He’d been so overwrought after seeing her again that he
hadn’t even stopped to consider whether he should have talked things over with
Cindy first.  But Andrea was the daughter he’d abandoned at birth, and the
shock of seeing her suddenly when she was fifteen, had really rattled him. And
what did this have to do with Cindy? Nothing. Besides, Andrea had made it
clear, in no uncertain terms, that she already had a mother. She didn’t want
anything to do with Cindy, thank you. One mother was enough.

As
Mattheus took his seat on the plane and popped his suitcase into the overhead
compartment, he wondered where Cindy was at that moment. She’d told him that
things between them were finished, she was going back to New York. Mattheus shook
his head. Things had been finished between them before and they’d worked it out
somehow. He had no doubt that Cindy would calm down and come to her senses. She’d
realize what a strange and shocking situation he’d been thrust into. And it was
all because of Cindy, anyhow. She was the one who’d insisted that Mattheus look
up his long, lost daughter. When Cindy had found out about Andrea, she was the
one who was afraid the situation could come between her and Mattheus later on.

Mattheus
settled in his seat and rubbed his face with his hands. If truth be told, it
wasn’t bad being alone for a while, either. Cindy wasn’t exactly the easiest
person to be with all the time. She could be difficult, moody at times, even suspicious
of him. Mattheus closed his eyes. The flight would only take about half an
hour. He couldn’t wait to get there.  At their meeting, Andrea had said that she’d
always wondered about him. She wanted to get to know her father, she needed to.
And, to his great surprise, Mattheus had been filled with longing to know her as
well. This beautiful young woman was part of him, his flesh and blood.  How
could he say no?  And beyond that, from what Andrea had told him about her
life, Mattheus sensed trouble. Did Cindy expect that a father would leave his
daughter in a dangerous situation to fend for herself?  If Cindy was dumping
him because of that, let her. She couldn’t be the woman he’d thought she was
then, after all.

*

As
soon as Mattheus landed, he had a taxi take him to the East End of the Island. Andrea
lived in a local village with her mother and new stepfather, Cain, an ex con.
That didn’t sit well with Mattheus.  And, what about Andrea’s mother, Petra?  To
be completely truthful, Mattheus hardly knew her at all, just remembered her as
a young, sexy, excitable woman. It had been a quick encounter between them
years ago, meant nothing. He hadn’t seen her for about fifteen years. Mattheus now
wondered how he could have so successfully put this all out of his mind for so long.
Perhaps Cindy had been right after all. Perhaps it would have eventually come
back to haunt him. Better to handle it now than later, for sure.

“First
time in Anguilla?” the taxi driver asked as they drove out of the airport onto
the highway. “Most people go to the West End. Better hotels and shopping there.”

Mattheus
grunted.

“But
it’s all gorgeous,” the driver continued, “in fact, we’re known as one of the
most beautiful islands in the Caribbean.”

Mattheus
was definitely not in the mood for small talk. “Yeah, it’s gorgeous,” he
agreed.

Encouraged,
the driver kept talking. “Look out of the window and you’ll see that the island’s
covered with dry bushes and plants. We’re sitting on a coral base and have
coral reefs all around.”

“Great,”
Mattheus mumbled incoherently, hoping to shut him up.

“The
incredible, bright, white sand beaches are something,” the driver went on. “The
tourists can’t get enough of it here.”

Mattheus
wanted to tell the driver that he wasn’t a tourist, he was a father coming to
claim a child he hadn’t known her entire life. The guy went on describing the
beaches and restaurants, the fishing expeditions. Mattheus just closed his
eyes, waiting to get to the small, nondescript hotel that was near his daughter’s
home. He’d booked a room there so he could walk to Andrea’s place, and she
could easily visit him.

When
they drove up to the hotel, the driver looked at Mattheus surprised. “This is where
you’re staying?” he said.

“I
like it simple,” said Mattheus, as he paid the fare and gave the guy a generous
tip.

*

Without
wasting a minute, Mattheus quickly checked in and unpacked. Then he stopped to
decide if he should call ahead first, or just arrive unannounced at Andrea’s
home. It would be better, he decided, to just show up, walk right in, and see
what life there was really like.

Mattheus
hailed a cab which took him to the address she had given him. It was a small,
thatched house in a local settlement about a mile away. Kids were playing in
the street, dogs were barking and as they were at the edge of a bird sanctuary,
big birds flew overhead.

Mattheus
walked to the door and knocked on it hard.

“It’s
open,” a voice called out. “Come in.”

Mattheus
stiffened a moment and then pushed the door open and walked in.  First he
stepped into a narrow hallway that led to a living room with sloped ceilings,
and a glass door leading out to a small garden in the rear.

“I’ll
be there a minute,” the voice called again from down the hallway. It wasn’t
Andrea’s voice either. Mattheus wondered if it were her mother, Petra. God, how
she would handle seeing him again, all of a sudden, after fifteen years?
Obviously, she’d been expecting someone, or she wouldn’t have said to just come
in. Uneasy, Mattheus shifted back and forth and waited.

In
a few minutes, a beautiful, sensuous Caribbean woman in her mid- thirties,
dressed in a casual native, cotton dress, with her hair piled on top of her
head, and big, hoop earrings, walked into the room. When she saw Mattheus
standing there, she stopped cold and stared.

“Who
the hell?” she said, frightened.

Mattheus
took a few steps in her direction. “There’s nothing to be afraid of Petra,” he
said, quietly.

“You
know my name?” that scared her even more.

 “Andrea
told me your name.” Mattheus replied.

“Andrea?
You’re lying,” she uttered.

“I’m
not. I’m Mattheus, Andrea’s father. Did she tell you about me?”

The
woman blanched. “It’s not possible,” she exclaimed.

“It’s
true. I’m Mattheus.”

“Like
hell you’re Mattheus,” Petra refused to believe it. “He disappeared, left me
flat.”

“He
didn’t mean to,” said Mattheus, despite himself. “He was a young kid, didn’t
know what he was doing.”

“He
knew exactly what he was doing,” now Petra grew angry. “It was a night of fun
and then it was over. I was the one left with the baby, not him.”

“Didn’t
Andrea tell you I was coming to see all of you again?” Mattheus asked quickly.

“What
the hell do you mean, again?” the woman practically spit at him. “You haven’t
seen her since she was born. You haven’t been here, ever. There’s no reason for
us to meet now.”

Mattheus
took a step away. Petra’s hatred for him was palpable. He’d had no idea she’d
been harboring anger like this.

“I
came to see my daughter,” Mattheus corrected himself.

“Oh
really?” Petra came a step closer.  “Just like that? What makes you think you
can step back into her life all of a sudden, after all these years?”

“Because
she wants to see me,” Mattheus haltingly replied.

Petra
was having a hard time getting her mind around this. “Were you here for her
ever? Did you do one damn thing to help me out all these years?” she
spluttered.

Mattheus
felt his gut twisting. He had no answer.

Petra
took his silence as confession. Her voice grew louder and more shrill. “You
think you’re coming to take my honey away from me now? You’re gonna bribe her
with money or something?”

“Nothing
like that,” Mattheus started to say, when Andrea herself, suddenly appeared in
the doorway. She was dressed in shorts and a long sleeve T shirt, with a beach
cover over it.

Her
eyes were wide with amazement as she watched Mattheus and her mother arguing.

“Mom,
I heard you shouting, and came down to see why,” Andrea finally interrupted,
walking into the room.

Petra
turned to her daughter in a frenzy. “Did you invite this bastard down here to
see us?”

“Hold
on a minute,” said Mattheus then, his anger beginning to build.

“I
did invite him,” Andrea replied, “but I never thought he’d come.” Andrea’s eyes
fastened onto Mattheus and stayed glued to him, then. There was shock and
disbelief in them, but also happiness.

“Well,
I did come,” Mattheus responded quickly.  

But
Petra was having none of it. “What the hell do you mean you invited him?” her
voice grew raspy as she turned to Andrea full force. “How dare you invite him without
asking me?”

 “I
have a right to invite anyone I like,” said Andrea, turning into the sassy self
she’d been with Mattheus.  “After all, he’s my dad, isn’t he? You told me about
him for years.”

Mattheus’s
heart clenched. He could only imagine what Petra had told Andrea about him.

 “Yeah,
you told me he was coming,” Petra breathed, “but I never thought the idiot
would  turn up.”

“Why
not? He tracked me down on his own. I told you I saw him up in St. Martin.”
Andrea was good at calming her mother down.

“But
why did he track you down? Why now?” Petra became more and more nervous.

“Who
cares why?” Andrea was standing firm.  “He found me, didn’t he? And I told you that
he did. I told you I met him.”

“Baby,
I thought you were dreaming or something,” Petra’s voice got softer. “I know
you always wanted to see your real dad and I thought you were making up a story
so you’d feel better about your life.”

“That’s
a huge insult,” Andrea burst out. “What do you take me for, some kind of nut?”

Mattheus
wanted to get closer to Andrea, but stood fixed to the spot. Then he suddenly heard
footsteps coming down the hallway closer to them.

“Oh
God,” that’s got to be Cain,” Petra looked nervous.

The
footsteps stopped at the doorway and a big, heavy, rough looking Caribbean guy,
dressed in baggy jeans and a dirty red shirt, entered the room. 

“What’s
this, a cat fight?” the guy demanded. “I heard the yelling all the way back in
the yard.”

“It’s
nothing, Cain, nothing at all,” Petra’s voice became trembly as she tried to
make light of it.

Cain
then suddenly spotted Mattheus. “Who the hell is this?” he growled.

“Never
mind,” Petra spun around towards Cain, giving Mattheus a frightened look over
her shoulder.

Cain
held out his hands, stopping Petra from getting any closer.

“Hold
on, you didn’t answer me.  I asked you a question,” he said in a menacing tone.

Alerted,
Andrea quickly stepped in between them. “Mattheus came to see me, I invited him
here,” she informed Cain sharply.

“Mattheus,
who?” Cain smirked, looking Andrea up and down slowly. “Looks like you got all
ready to see this dude, too.”

“No
I didn’t. He surprised me,” Andrea snapped.

 “Oh
really?  You’re telling me this old guy came here just to see you?” asked Cain.

Mattheus
wanted to lunge at the guy and knock him around, but he forced himself to stay
steady. To his great relief Andrea held her ground.

 “I
told you, I invited him here,” she repeated to Cain.

“Shut
up, you’re making it worse,” Petra exclaimed to Andrea.

“Making
what worse?” Cain grabbed Andrea’s elbow then, shoving her roughly to the side.

“Ow,”
Andrea called out as he thrust her to the side.

That
did it. Mattheus flew over and put his arm around Andrea’s shoulders to steady
her. Then he turned to Cain and grabbed him by the collar.

“You
better back off or I’m gonna knock you to pieces and throw you through the
window,” Mattheus growled.

Cain’s
jaw fell opened. “You know who you’re dealing with Mister?”

“I
know all I need to know,” Mattheus growled back.

Cain
pushed Mattheus away from him. “Who the hell you think you are?”

“Oh
good Lord, why are you letting this happen?” Petra called out. “Tell me why?”

“You
better back down,” Mattheus said to Cain, furious, “or I’m taking you in.”

“Taking
me where?” Cain grinned strangely, showing a row of small, broken teeth.