Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) (6 page)

“First
settle in,” Sean continued, “then give me a call.”

Mattheus
looked out of the window during the exchange, the muscle in his jaw clenched.

Mattheus
was sullen as he and Cindy left the police station. Cindy knew her interaction
with Sean had upset him, and to top it off, Sean had kept him out of it. It was
probably due to the Police of Chief’s instructions. Cindy realized that she had
a lot more to learn about what Mattheus had done to cause the distrust the
police felt towards him.

“Where
to now?” Cindy asked as they walked down the street, looking for a cab. “It
wouldn’t hurt to get into my room and throw my bag down.” Mattheus had not yet
mentioned which hotel she was staying at. “Is the place I’m staying at nearby?”

Mattheus
looked glum. “I booked a cheap hotel near my daughter’s home,” he replied. “I
got a room for you down the hall from me.  It’s safe and clean. Hope that will
be okay.”

“It’s
fine,” said Cindy quickly. It made no difference at all to her right now
whether the hotel was fancy or cheap.  All she needed was a room to, rest,
re-group in, and be able to get to work.

“The
place is the best I could find in the neighborhood,” Mattheus quickly added.

“After
all, everyone in the Caribbean doesn’t consort with the rich and the famous, or
even want to, believe it or not.”

Cindy
wasn’t sure what had prompted that, but Mattheus was definitely back on his old
resentment of the rich.  It didn’t take much to turn him back to his favorite
themes. Cindy didn’t want to get caught up in it now, just decided to change
the topic.

“I’m
sorry about your daughter,” Cindy said gently then, wanting to get back on
track.

The
sincerity of her tone changed the mood abruptly.

“Thank
you,” said Mattheus, looking down. “I appreciate that, I really do.”

Cindy
took a deep breath. “I need to get all the details.”

“You
will,” said Mattheus, “I’ll fill you in on everything when we get back to the
hotel.”

Mattheus’s
tone turned so flat and lifeless then that Cindy stopped a moment and looked at
him. He certainly wasn’t himself at all. This entire situation had shaken him
badly. Cindy could feel the great weight of it upon his shoulders, bearing down
on him.

Feeling
Cindy’s concern Mattheus looked back up at her and then grew agitated.  It was
as if there were something he wanted to say, but couldn’t.

Cindy
knew him well enough to know what he was thinking without his saying a word,
though.

“Is
there something you think we should do before we go back to the hotel?” Cindy filled
in for him.

“We’re
a few blocks away from Petra’s house,” Mattheus seemed nervous about it.

Cindy
perked up. “Andrea’s mother? Your girlfriend?”

“Andrea’s
mother,” Mattheus exclaimed. “Petra hasn’t been my girlfriend for fifteen
years! And in fact, she doesn’t really want anything to do with me now.”

“I
didn’t mean it that way,” Cindy backtracked. “Don’t bite off my head. I’m not
implying anything, just trying to get it all straight.”

“Petra’s
going through hell. It wouldn’t hurt to stop in and speak to her,” Mattheus
repeated. “We’re right here.”

Cindy
could feel Mattheus’s genuine concern for Petra. It touched and unnerved her at
the same time.  It was unsettling that Mattheus still had feelings for Petra,
but also good that he could feel compassion for the terrible situation she was
in.

“I’d
love to go meet Petra,” Cindy said, meaning it fully. “Do you have to call her
first and tell her we’re coming?”

Mattheus
shook his head. “No, she won’t pick up her phone, hasn’t gone out of the house
since her husband was killed. She’s totally shocked and also terrified for
Andrea. Keeps saying that her daughter’s a goner now, too. Friends and
neighbors have been coming over, bringing her food, talking to her.”

“Have
you gone, too?” asked Cindy.

“Of
course, I have,” Mattheus replied.  “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t
come down here to Anguilla.” He threw Cindy an odd side glance.

“You
don’t know that for sure,” Cindy remarked quickly. “Andrea and her stepfather
had a long history before you ever came on the scene.”

“Well,
I do know that Petra definitely needs me now. I belong there,” he said.

“It’s
a lot losing a daughter and husband at the same time,” Cindy sympathized.

At
that Mattheus looked over at her with a flash of his old, fighting spirit back.

“Who
says Petra’s lost Andrea?  Sure, there’s evidence against Andrea, but far from
enough to close the case. There’s plenty of other possibilities for who could
have killed Cain.  He had a past, and I heard plenty of people wanted him dead.
This has got to be investigated thoroughly.”

“I
know, I know,” Cindy tried to calm him. “That’s why I’m here.”

*

Cindy
and Mattheus turned the next corner. It was getting late and through the fading
light Cindy looked at the thick trees and bushes that lined the streets. They were
overgrown and wild looking, as though they hadn’t been tended to for years.  It
was eerie to walk under them and the odd shadows they cast along the streets.  

Cindy
and Mattheus walked up a hill and then down a winding, curvy road, to a street lined
by simple, flat houses, standing close to each other.

“The
second house in the middle of the block is theirs,” Mattheus said, as he led
Cindy to the narrow, framed door. A light was on inside, but otherwise the
house seemed empty and quiet.

Mattheus
knocked once loudly, and then pushed the door open.

“Petra
never locks it,” he said as they walked into the foyer.

A
sense of oppression overcame Cindy as she walked into the space. The foyer was
messy, crowded with shoes and scarves and the feel of death reeked from every
corner.

“Petra
hasn’t been taking care of things since this happened,” Mattheus continued as
they walked through the clutter into the living room. When they entered the
room was empty, except for paper plates with old food on it, some paper cups
and a few towels strewn around.

As
Cindy looked around, a woman’s voice called out from the next room. “Who’s
there?”

“It’s
Mattheus,” he quickly responded.

“The
day’s over, get out of here,” the woman’s voice called back in a low tone.

“Petra
always says that,” Mattheus turned to Cindy. “She says it to everyone, then she
comes around. She’ll walk out in a little while. No matter what she says I
think it’s a good idea for her to meet you. And for you to meet her, too.”

It
was more than a good idea, it was crucial. Cindy knew they had to talk, she
just hadn’t expected to meet her so quickly. Petra held the keys to a lot of
what had happened. It was an important visit and Cindy wished she’d had more
time to prepare for it. .

As
Mattheus had predicted, a woman now came ambling out into the room. Her long,
curly hair was messy, strewn over her face, and she wore loose, cotton pants
and an oversized faded shirt with blue peacocks all over it.

The
woman stopped when she saw Cindy and stared at her dully.

 “Who
the hell is this now?” she mumbled, rubbing her hands over her face, looking
through half closed eyes.

“Petra,”
Mattheus took a few steps forward, “this is my partner, Cindy Blaine.”

Petra
stood taller at that and quickly opened her eyes. “Now you got a partner?” she
suddenly seemed interested.

“Mattheus
and I work together as detectives,” Cindy quickly filled her in.  She didn’t
want Petra getting any wrong ideas, or Mattheus throwing up smoke screens
between them.

Petra
took a step closer, and even in the hazy light, Cindy could see that she’d once
been a beautiful woman. She probably she still was when she was put together. Right
now, though, she seemed so disarrayed, Cindy couldn’t decide if she were on
drugs, or just still reeling from shock.

“So,
you came all the way down here to meet me?” Petra asked in a slurry tone.

“I
came down here to find out who killed your husband,” Cindy replied.

Petra
shut her eyes quickly and then opened them in a flash, suddenly looking like a
caged tiger.  This woman wasn’t on drugs, Cindy decided, just in an altered
state of mind.

“So,
you’re gonna be the big hero? Petra turned on her. “Think a lot of yourself,
don’t you?”

“I’m
not a hero, just do my job,” Cindy replied unmoved. She had no intention of buying
into Petra’s act or letting her manipulate her.

“What
makes you think that you can find out who killed my husband?” Petra seemed
undaunted.

“It’s
my job” Cindy repeated.  “I’ve found out things like this before.”

“Yeah,
I heard, you’re famous or something,” Petra sneered. “The police told me.”

None
of this was relevant and Cindy wasn’t getting side tracked. “How come you’re
not thrilled I’m down here?” Cindy countered. “Don’t you want the killer of your
husband to be found? Cindy suddenly felt as though she were putting Petra on
warning.

Petra
threw back her head and laughed, startling both Cindy and Mattheus.

“I
love it how you folks from the States come down into our territory and try to
take over, acting like we’re all idiots. You’re so smart, eh? You think you ever
can know what’s really happening down on the Islands? Well, you can’t, and you
never will.”

“Don’t
you want us to know?” Cindy stared in Petra’s eyes, which seemed distressed and
sly at the same time.

Petra
looked at Cindy with disgust. “You couldn’t know if you tried, honey. Not when
you’re all pretty and fancy, like that.”

 Cindy
wondered why Petra disliked her so intensely? Was it really because Cindy was
down here from the States, or because of her relationship with Mattheus? Did
Petra secretly want him back again for herself? Why wouldn’t she? And, in all
this time, Cindy hadn’t heard her say one word about Andrea. Her daughter was
locked up and Petra didn’t seem to give a damn.

“I
would think you’d be happy I was here to get your daughter out of jail,” Cindy
tossed out at her.

“If
I thought you could help my daughter, I’d be happy,” Petra, edged closer to
Cindy, as if wanting to take her on. “But they got Andrea locked up. The system’s
made of steel. Their minds are all made up.”

Cindy
didn’t buy it. Was it just convenient for Petra to believe her daughter didn’t
have a chance?

“What
do you think happened to your husband, Petra?” Cindy confronted her directly.

To
Cindy’s surprise Petra suddenly began trembling. Mattheus stepped closer to her
to comfort her, but she jerked away. Clearly she had no love for him, either.

“What
happened, Petra?” Cindy wouldn’t let up. “You know more than you’re saying.”

“Whatever
the bastard got, he deserved it,” Petra suddenly hissed, between trembling lips.

“I’m
not denying that,” Cindy took a step closer to her. “But did Andrea do it?”

“Never,”
Petra howled. “I refuse to believe that, I refuse.” Then she looked at Cindy
oddly.

“I
heard your husband beat her,” Cindy kept going.

“He
beat me, too. So what?” Petra kept howling. “Doesn’t mean a damn. Doesn’t mean
he didn’t love both of us.”

That
stopped Cindy completely. What kind of insanity was this?

“A
guy can beat you and love you,” Petra was now running her shaky hands through
her messy hair. “It happens all the time here – we understand it. Not you, not
from where you come. Up in your world, everything’s all clean and pretty. But
deep down underneath, no one gives a damn about each other. I’d rather get beat
up and know someone cared.”

Cindy
threw Mattheus a hurried glance. He was staring, transfixed at Petra, taking in
every word she said.

“You’re
right, you’re right,” Mattheus echoed, “we get beaten up in all kinds of ways.”

Petra
didn’t hear a word Mattheus was saying though, just turned and pointed at him.

“This
never would have happened,” she yelled, “if you hadn’t come back down here. Who
asked you to come? Who needed you? You got Andrea worked up in a crazy way.”

“How?”
Cindy was fascinated.

Petra
turned to Cindy then. “He made my daughter think she finally had someone to
protect her, a real father. But it’s not so easy to have that, is it?” Petra tossed
her hair away from her face. “And look how he protected her!  Cain’s blood was
all over her and now she’s sitting in jail.”

“I
told you I’m getting Andrea out,” Mattheus shouted, outraged.

“Yeah,
yeah, tell me another,” Petra let loose. “You said lots of things to me years
ago and you’re saying them again now. But did anything you said ever come true?”

“Give
me a chance,” Mattheus pleaded.