Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“My God,” said Cindy.

“I called Peter right away and asked him to come over and talk,” said Mattheus.

“Did he come?” Cindy was aghast.

“Absolutely,” said Mattheus. “He came right away. Peter’s a straight up guy. He wanted to help in any way he could. He said he’d had a meeting with Tad before Allie died, to let him know about the deposits and withdrawals.”

“Money laundering in the firm?” breathed Cindy.

“Possible,” said Mattheus. “Not sure yet. We have to trace those deposits and withdrawals, see where the trail leads. Peter will help us. He didn’t want to say anything until he was positive. Before Allie died Peter told Tad. He was about to tell his father and Mac, but wanted to run it by Tad first.”

“What was Tad’s reaction?” Cindy asked briskly.

“Tad’s a hard guy to read,” said Mattheus.

“How about Mac?” Cindy continued.

“I don’t think Mac knows yet,” Mattheus replied. “I’m not sure about Edward. My guess is he doesn’t know yet either.”

“So, why does Edward want us out of here so fast?” asked Cindy. “What’s the sudden rush?”

“Good question,” said Mattheus. “Could be Tad just told him. Maybe Tad wanted to protect Peter from having to tell his father about it. Especially now with what Peter’s going through.”

“You think Tad is that protective of Peter?”

“Tad’s Peter’s right hand man. He’s been his friend for years, always second to him. He’s Peter’s cushion.”

Cindy stood up and started walking back and forth. She didn’t like Tad, but there was no reason for it, just a visceral response. She couldn’t let that get in the way of her thinking this through carefully.

“When I took Vivien to dinner, I tried to find out more about the relationship between Tad and Peter,” Mattheus continued.

Cindy stopped pacing and looked over at him. Mattheus had stepped to the door of the balcony and was gazing out over the horizon.

“What did you find about them?” Cindy asked intensely. All of this new information was like a shot of adrenalin for both of them.

“Not much,” said Mattheus, somberly. “They all keep a united front. Make it look like a pretty picture.”

Suddenly, those words struck Cindy like a bolt of lightning – a united front. Was it possible that Tad had been using Vivien as a decoy to split her and Mattheus up, confuse them, muddy the investigation.

“Oh my God, they’ve made a fool of you,” Cindy suddenly breathed into the dark night air.

“What are you saying?” Mattheus seemed startled.

“What if Tad and Vivien have been working together, and he used her as a decoy to make you feel good, turn you on, and create a rift between us?” said Cindy.

“Ridiculous,” Mattheus said bitterly, obviously insulted.

“It’s a distinct possibility,” Cindy continued. “The more diversion they create, the less we check in with each other, the more trouble we get into, the harder it is to see what’s really going on.”

“You’re going way out on a limb,” Mattheus insisted.

“No, I’m not,” said Cindy. “Tad got Vivien to pull at your heart strings. You fell for it, it was all an act.”

“It wasn’t all an act,” Mattheus suddenly pleaded, “Vivien needed me.”

Cindy was startled by his response. Obviously Mattheus craved being needed. And, he had feelings for Vivien, more than he realized.

“Those kinds of people play on our needs,” said Cindy.

“How would you like it if I said that to you?” Mattheus turned it back on her then. “What if I said Mac was used as a decoy to make you feel young and beautiful again, to get between us?”

The thought of it jarred Cindy, but what was worse was the bitterness in Mattheus’s tone. Her

suggestion about Vivien had hurt him and he was trying to get back at her now. They obviously needed time to collect themselves and calm down. Otherwise they would never find the connection between the drugs, flow of cash in the company, and Allie’s untimely death.

Cindy turned, ran into the room, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Why don’t you answer me?” Mattheus insisted.

Cindy couldn’t say a word.

“See what I mean, you just run away right when we’re in the middle of something!” Mattheus’s voice got louder.

“I’m just trying to calm down a moment,” said Cindy.

“Jesus,” Mattheus ran his hands over his face, “we’re here to solve a murder. We don’t have time to calm down, collect ourselves, heal wounded feelings.”

“We can’t solve the case if we don’t,” Cindy said.

Even though she was exhausted, she had to get out of here for a little while. She grabbed a sweater that was lying on the bed next to her cell phone. Cindy glanced at the cell phone quickly. To her surprise there was a text message waiting for her.