Death by Marriage (13 page)

All
the way back to the hotel in the car, Cindy thought about the lie Kendra had
told her. What could it possibly imply? Why did she say she hadn’t spoken to
Heather? What was she really covering up?

Cindy
pulled over to the side of the road, took out her cell phone and put in a call
to Heather. She had to know right away whether Kendra knew about Margot.
Everything could turn on this.

To
Cindy’s great delight, Heather picked up the phone immediately.

“Heather,
this is Cindy” she said.

“Yeah,
hi,” said Heather.

“Thank
you for sending me to that address. It was incredible.”

Heather
seemed disinterested. “Happy I could be of help. Got to go now.”

Cindy
clutched onto the phone. “No, wait a minute, please. Just one second.”

Heather
was in a hurry, “What?” She seemed put upon.

Cindy
got straight to the point.  “Does Kendra know about Margot?”

Heather
was jarred. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

Cindy
was stunned. Heather had been so helpful and forthcoming. Something had
intervened. Someone had gotten to her?

“I
thought you would know, since you knew about Margot.”

“What
has one thing got to do with another?” Heather said. “These are two separate
women with two separate lives. Why would I get in the middle of them? Their
lives have nothing to do with me.” She sounded irritated.

Cindy
was truly startled. “Has someone told you not to talk to me?” she said.

This
only increased Heather’s agitation. “Like who?” she snapped. “I don’t know who
you’re talking to, or what you’re thinking, but I’m asking you to leave me out
of this now! I don’t want you to call me anymore. I gave you a lead.  That’s
it. I’m done now.” And she hung up the phone.

Cindy
sat staring at the phone in her hand. This was another game changer. Someone
had clearly told Heather to back out and shut up. She’d been completely
different when Cindy met her in person.

*

When
Cindy returned to the hotel Mattheus was waiting for her in the dining room,
sitting at a table in the front. Cindy sat down without a moment’s hesitation
and Mattheus looked pleased to see her.

“Whew,”
he said, you look shot from cannon. Did you tell Kendra the new?”

“Yes,
I did,” said Cindy.

“She
reacted badly to it?” He was tapping his fingers on the table, taking every
word in.

“That’s
putting it mildly,” said Cindy. “She screamed and yelled about it, but
something worse happened.”

“What?”
Mattheus sat up straight.

“Kendra
lied to me.”

He
let out a long slow breath. “About what?” he said.

“She
told me she never spoke to Heather. Then, after Kendra left, Nell came in and
told me her mother and Heather spoke frequently.”

“Upsetting,”
said Mattheus.

“That’s
only half of it,” Cindy was speaking quickly, heatedly. She hadn’t processed
any of it yet, and had enough to handle without having her head twisted around
by Kendra. “I then called Heather right after I left to find out if Kendra and
Margot knew about each other. Heather was a completely different person. Wouldn’t
say a word, just brushed me off.”

“Par
for the course,” said Mattheus. “People fluctuate. Sometimes you catch them at
an open moment, or you have to get them to that place. Then they get scared and
close up again.”

““Scared
of what?” asked Cindy.

“Heather’s
probably afraid of being implicated. No one wants to get too involved. Especially
when it’s murder.”

“This
tells me that there’s more going on between Kendra and Heather than I thought.”

“Probably,”
said Mattheus.

“Do
you think Heather told Kendra about Margot?”

“Good
chance,” said Mattheus, “but that won’t do us any good. We need solid evidence.
Gossip between women has a way of turning into smoke. It’s Kendra’s lie that I
don’t like.”

Cindy
suddenly felt exhausted. She pushed her hair back off her face, which was moist
with perspiration.

 
“If Kendra knows about Margot it’s a whole new ball game,” Cindy said.

“Don’t
jump to conclusions,” Mattheus said. “There can be lots of reasons why she
might know and never say a word. Or why she might lie to you.”

Cindy
liked that. She liked the way Mattheus stepped back and let the process have
sway. He didn’t jump to conclusions like she did. Cindy admired the way he’d
give up a theory on the spot as soon as he got evidence that was contrary.

“You’re
a scientist,” Cindy said slowly.

Mattheus
laughed. He seemed to like that. “You could say that,” he said, “scientist of
the mind and heart.”

Cindy
felt more at ease, just sitting here with him, knowing she didn’t have to deal
with all that was happening alone.

“Let’s
go over it all again from the beginning,” he said quietly. “If Kendra lied
about Heather we’re on a whole new path. You know, the police are pretty
convinced it’s her.”

“I
know,” said Cindy, “but I’m not. When I finally told her about the second wife,
she really freaked out. Told me to get out of the house. I don’t think she had
the slightest idea.”

“No
one seems to,” said Mattheus. “I mentioned it to Roomey and his eyes bulged out
of his head. This is shocking to everyone.”

“Heather
May knew though,” Cindy went on. “She sent me to Margot’s house.”

“Right,”
said Mattheus. “And the police are taking the tack that Paul’s death is related
to his having two wives. They feel that Kendra found out.”

 “They
have no evidence.”

“Not
yet,” said Mattheus.

Cindy
and Mattheus looked at each other, as Mattheus shook his head. “It’s amazing
that you found out that Kendra lied, though. This is big. Look at that, you did
it again.”

“Beginner’s
luck,” said Cindy.

“No,”
said Mattheus, “It’s more than luck. You drew this to you. That’s how all good
detectives work. The information they need pulls them to it. There’s a force
out there looking after you.”

Cindy
loved the way Mattheus put things, she loved sitting here with him, the cool
breezes from the ocean, wafting across them as they spoke.  But it was painful
going through this situation. Even though things looked awful for Kendra, deep
within Cindy didn’t believe she’d killed Paul. There was something else,
floating around in Cindy’s mind, though she couldn’t yet say just what.

“I
feel terrible adding to this suspicion about Kendra,” Cindy said to Mattheus.

 “We’re
here to find the truth,” he said.

“But
I don’t think she did it,” Cindy said. “She lied for another reason. Maybe,
even though she suspected it, she was ashamed that Paul actually had an affair,
and was covering it up.”

 Mattheus
reached over and put his hand over hers briefly. “You’re doing a wonderful job.
 You can’t feel bad about what you find.  I’m going to check in with the police
and let them know what we’ve found.”

Cindy
felt agitated. “Don’t tell them that she lied, yet. Give it some time. After
all Kendra hired us.”

“We
can’t conceal evidence,” said Mattheus. “You have to trust that what is right
will happen.”

Cindy
knew that he was right, but she couldn’t trust anything with the police. They
were dying to grab Kendra and string her up.  Cindy felt herself sinking at the
thought of it. Then she looked up into Mattheus’ beautiful eyes. He had a way
of lifting her spirits that she hadn’t experienced for a long while.

Cindy
tried one more time, though. “Listen, Mattheus,” she said, “before you tell the
police that Kendra lied to me, finish checking on Paul’s clients. The answer to
his murder could be there. It’s not fair to keep piling on suspicion about
Kendra until you’ve cleared that up.”

Mattheus
smiled at her broadly. “I love how loyal you are,” he said. “I love that you
don’t give up.”

Cindy’s
heart lifted again.  “If you find just one guy who had a strong motive to kill
him, that could turn things around. Otherwise we’re only tightening the noose
around Kendra’s neck.

“We’re
not tightening the noose, she is!” said Mattheus. “At a time like this, what
the hell right does she have to lie?”

The
minute Mattheus walked into the police station, a low cheer went up.

“Great
work, Mattheus,” Brayton called out. He was sitting at the desk with Nojo,
going over stacks of papers. “Come on over, sit down. This is a damn treasure
chest.”

Mattheus
went over and joined them.

“Who
could ever have imagined the guy had a second family? You would think one would
be enough for any man,” Brayton said as Mattheus sat down.

Brayton
and Nojo laughed. 

“The
other wife, Margot, is a good woman, too,” Brayton continued. “She opened her
home to us, let us go through all the papers we needed.  Looks like she’s a
great mom to the son, too.”

“Can’t
be sure about that,” Mattheus interjected. These guys made up their minds much
too fast.

Nojo
shook his head.  “No, this woman is different from the others. You can see it
right away. Not about to twist you and turn you.”

Brayton
laughed again. “Looks like Nojo’s got a shiner for this dame.”

Nojo
grunted uncomfortably.

“Well,”
said Mattheus “glad you like her, but whatever you see at first, it’s usually upside
down. Here we thought this guy Paul was a regular chap and it turns out he’s
crazier than the rest.”

“You
can say that again,” said Brayton. “Who the hell needs two wives when women
around here are a dime a dozen?”

“Must
have enjoyed the con,” asked Mattheus.

“Big
time,” said Brayton. “Can’t say the guy wasn’t smart though. Did a great job
with the hoods he defended. Got most of them off, too.  I always thought he
enjoyed it too much, though.”

Nojo
snorted. “Don’t know how he got himself a wife like Margot, either. Boy, she’s
gonna help us nail the other one – and good.”

That
jogged Mattheus’ memory. He’d made a promise to Cindy he wanted to keep.

 “Don’t
be so sure about Kendra,” said Mattheus.  “I need more time to find out about
Paul’s clients. I’m not done with my search.”

 “Search
all you want,” Brayton said, “from the looks of things now, Kendra’s the one.
And, what did your other search come up with?  Roomey Burke, who everyone knows
and Silbert Hours, of all people!”

All
the guys started laughing.

“The
best known pimp in these parts. And, where was he when Paul was killed? In bed
with his ladies, all afternoon. We got one after another to vouch for him.”

The
guys laughed harder.

“Alright,
you guys, “Mattheus grinned, moving away. “I’m going to see what I can dig up
now about Paul’s clients.”

“Won’t
be much better than that,” Brayton said.

“Man,
this is a huge waste of time,” Nojo grumbled.

“Time’s
one thing I can’t waste,” Mattheus grinned.

“You
want to make the boys look bad?” Nojo looked at him under a crinkled forehead.

“Hey,
it’s my job, to look in the corners you guys don’t have time for,” Mattheus
said. If something comes up, it’ll make you look good.”

Nojo
laughed. “Want to make me look good? Find me a broad I can take home to mamma.”

Mattheus
laughed out loud. It was hard to imagine that Nojo had a mother who would want
to see his girlfriend.  “One of these days it’ll happen, Nojo.”

“Yeah,
when Paul comes back from the dead.”

Mattheus
went to the computers in the back of the room, sat down at the desk, and opened
one up. He had the password to Paul’s professional files and it wasn’t hard
bringing everything up.  Mattheus searched for a list of the clients who’d lost
their cases in the past two years. Surprisingly, there were only a few of them.
Paul had been a hell of a defense lawyer.

Mattheus
took down the names, addresses and histories of the clients who’d lost. They’d
all been sent to jail. He then looked further at their sentences. Mattheus
wondered again why in hell anyone would defend low lives like these? What did
it say about guys who defended them? Mattheus could never come to terms with
it.  Once he said that to some cops in Grenada and it didn’t go over well.

 “What
in hell are you suggesting?” they’d said. “Everyone’s got a right to a defense.
It’s the law.”

 Mattheus
didn’t say anything, but deep down, he didn’t agree.  There was a natural law
too, that got rid of poison, knew how to wipe it away. Mattheus could smell a
killer a mile away, especially someone who could slit his girlfriend’s throat.
A bastard like that deserves to die.

 Mattheus
scanned the list of Paul’s cases.  Seemed he only lost about five per cent of
them. The rest went off scott free. Clearly, Paul had good relationships with
the cops and judges. Mattheus wondered about the cases he lost. What had
happened?  Most of guys were still sitting in jail. One wasn’t! He popped out
immediately – Salmon Abels, released on probation two weeks before Paul’s
murder. Mattheus let out a long, slow whistle. This was hot - something to
explore. He dug in further, looking up a record of the trial.  Abels had been
accused of slitting his girlfriend’s throat a couple of years ago and went to
jail.  Mattheus was shocked that he’d be let out on probation now. The case was
entirely circumstantial, there was not one piece of evidence linking him to the
crime. And, the case didn’t go to court. Paul had arranged a deal for a lesser
sentence. There’d been lots of questions about what had happened. 

Once
the deal was made, the guy kept saying he’d been hoodwinked into it because he
was scared. He was completely innocent. He blamed his rotten luck on Paul right
from the start.  Once in jail he created a little stir, yelling that he was
innocent, gathering a few public supporters, demanding an appeal.

Mattheus
read further. The case only seemed to have had nuisance value for Paul. He’d
responded to the guy’s pleas a few times, refusing to do the appeal. Paul told
Abels he’d gotten a great deal and would be out with good behavior in a few
years. Paul seemed to know something the guy didn’t know, and something that
didn’t make sense to Mattheus either. He wondered about it. When Paul kept
refusing to appeal, the guy finally found someone else, who got him out on
probation.  And, Noles had been let out on probation two weeks before Paul was
killed!

“Sweet
Jesus,” Mattheus breathed. “It isn’t possible!” Mattheus let out a long, slow
whistle. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This could be the missing link. These
guys got crazy in jail with nothing to do but dwell on the people they thought
did them wrong.

“Hey
guys,” Mattheus let out a holler. “Get over here this second!”

The
shrill urgency in his voice pulled Brayton and others right to him.

“Salmon
Noles,” Mattheus uttered, “convicted killer of Paul’s, let out on probation two
weeks before he died.”

“Coincidence,”
said Brayton, “nothing to get excited about.”

The
guy talked in jail - blamed Paul for it,” said Mattheus.

“They
all got to blame someone,” Nojo said.  “That’s why they end up in jail.”

“I’m
going to check out this dude, face to face,” said Mattheus, eager to get to
him.  

Mattheus
saw Nojo’s eyes turn to slits as he looked at Mattheus. He probably feels my
hate, thought Mattheus. Probably knows how badly I’d like to get my hands on
this guy - teach him a lesson. Mattheus wasn’t ashamed of any of it.  Justice
comes with different faces, he thought. Best when it happens naturally, like a
tiger, stalking its prey.

 “This
is a detour and waste of time,” said Brayton.  “There’s plenty you can help us do
to finish nailing Kendra.”

Mattheus
loved man hunts, circling a trapped criminal, weaving a web, drawing him in. He
especially loved the moment they got him close, so he could look into the guy’s
eyes as he knew his time was up. The blood in Mattheus’ veins began to boil. He
thought of the hunts he’d been on for his wife’s killer, and how they’d come to
nothing. Mattheus had gone round and round again in circles trying to track the
killer down. The guy was sure footed and tricky though, knew each step of his
way, disappeared into thin air. Some said he was hiding in plain sight.
Mattheus didn’t accept any of it.  It took Mattheus a year to stop tracking
him. The guy was still out there, though. Mattheus knew he’d never rest easy
until he was found.

Brayton
scraped his throat and looked at Mattheus, long and hard. “Connecting this
convict to our case is a long shot,” he said. “If you ask me, it’s a waste of
time.”

“Don’t
agree,” Mattheus shook his head hard. “It’s something you got to clear up
before you nail Kendra. Otherwise there’s reasonable doubt.”

“What
kind of doubt?” Brayton snarled, and started tapping the floor with his foot. “It’s
as clear as day. Kendra had to have found out about the other wife. How could
she not have?  She’s one shrewd broad. And there’s got to be evidence out there
proving it. In fact, I’m sure there is.” He looked long and hard at Mattheus.

“Maybe
there is and maybe there isn’t,” said Mattheus, non-committal. If he told them that
Kendra had lied to Cindy, it would be all over in a second. Mattheus wasn’t
ready for the case to close though, and neither was Cindy. There was more to
dig up. They both felt certain of it. And, this escaped convict could be the
missing link. 

 “I’m
going to talk to Salmon Noles,” Mattheus said.

“You’re
one stubborn dude,” said Nojo.

“Better
off staying here, “said Brayton. “We could use anything else you could find on
Kendra. We’re setting up a meeting between her and Margot and having it recorded.
They’re going to lunch.”

 Mattheus
wrinkled his nose. “I’m more interested in Salmon then listening in on two
ladies at lunch.”

Nojo
laughed out loud, but Brayton wasn’t having any part of that.

“We’ve
already talked to Margot. She’s willing to do it, even though it’s not going to
be easy for her.”

 Mattheus
was surprised. Margot hadn’t seemed like a woman who’d be willing to go out of
her way.

“She’s
working with us - wants to find her husband’s killer as bad as we do. She’s
agreed to wear a tape during her lunch with Kendra.”

“Well,
Cindy can step in and handle the ladies,” said Mattheus. “Me,– I want to look
this killer straight in the eye.”

“You
and Cindy each know your place?” said Brayton, edgy.

“That’s
right,” said Mattheus.

“Quite
a team, aren’t you?” said Brayton.

“The
best on the islands,” Mattheus grinned.

*

Mattheus’
heart was beating as he went to the hotel to meet Cindy. He wanted to tell her
about Salmon Noles in person. She was the one who’d pushed him to do it, and
once again, she’d been right.

He
got to the hotel and went out to the veranda, where she was waiting.  It was
cooler than usual, closer to the time the storms were coming.  There were
moments when Mattheus saw Cindy with fresh eyes.  Right now she looked
especially lovely, her hair blowing in the wind. He rushed over and sat down at
her side.

“Get
ready,” he said.

Cindy’s
eyes opened wide.

“I
found a client of Paul’s who’d been sent to jail for murder who was let out on
probation two weeks before Paul was killed.”

Cindy
gasped.

“Not
only that he talked a lot in jail, said he blamed Paul for what happened.”

“My
God,” breathed Cindy, “this could be it.”

Mattheus
watched her tremble as he spoke. It was touching to see how important it was to
her to help Kendra.

“I’ve
told the guys about it,” said Mattheus and I’m going myself to check him out.

“Thank
God,” said Cindy again.

But
Mattheus stopped her. “Not yet,” he said, “don’t get your hopes up. It’s only a
possibility.”  He knew from long experience, it was dangerous to pin your hopes
on anything too soon. And it was easy to do. Too easy to focus in on someone
you thought should be guilty and block everything else out.

“It’s
a strong possibility,” said Cindy, “given his background.”

“We
don’t know that,” said Mattheus.  “It sounds good on paper but you never know
what you have until you meet them in person. He might have an air tight alibi
for all we know.”

Cindy
took a deep breath. “He might. Because the police are going on full force with
their investigation of Kendra. Brayton contacted her about having lunch with
Margot. Cindy said. “Kendra said she’d only do it if I went along.”

“Smart,”
said Mattheus smiling. “She needs protection.”

“At
first Brayton balked,” said Cindy, “but that was the only way Kendra would
agree. In fact, the details of the lunch are being set up right now.”

Mattheus
thought about whether or not he should tell Cindy that Margot would be wearing
a tape. He decided he had to. They were a team.