Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

Come downstairs and meet me for a few minutes alone when you get a chance. It’s important. I’ll be down in front of the hotel, waiting. Mac.

The text had been posted about an hour ago. Cindy wondered if he were still there. Obviously Mac had some important information for her. It was a good idea to go. Cindy needed to get away for a few minutes to unwind, anyway. She decided to put a little microphone on her to record her conversation with Mac, prove to Mattheus it was all business.

“I need to take a little walk,” Cindy said to Mattheus, as she clipped on the mike. “It’s late, we’re exhausted and it will be good to clear my head.”

“Go,” said Mattheus, “get a grip. Clear your head. Do what you have to. Just don’t make me look like an idiot, please.”

“I never meant to make you look like an idiot,” said Cindy, as she put the sweater over her shoulders. “In fact, I think you’ve done a wonderful job.”

Then she opened the door and walked out into the hallway, eager to hear what Mac had to tell her, and relieved to be on her own.





CHAPTER 19


Cindy walked to the front of the hotel in the dark, misty night. She looked up and down the wide street, but Mac wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He’d probably waited for her and left, she thought, wondering why he hadn’t actually called to speak to her directly. Hurricane season was just beginning and Cindy could feel a shift in the strength of the winds. She decided to take a short walk, then come back and see if Mac returned. Or, maybe she’d check at the desk and see if he’d left a message for her?

She turned away from the hotel and walked across a small path, out to the street. It was wonderful to be alone for a few minutes, drifting wherever the mood prompted her go to. She realized how cooped up she’d been feeling and how absorbed with nothing but the case. Cindy suddenly realized that Ann and Frank were back at the hotel. It probably would have been nice to stop in and see them. But right now, she really just needed to clear her head. Not only was the case complicated, her relationship with Mattheus was becoming more and more of a source of anxiety and confusion for her as well. Was there truth in what he’d said? Was she running away from love? It didn’t seem so to her. In fact, she felt a great desire to be close to someone again, it just had to be the right person.

At this moment Cindy had no way of knowing whether or not Mattheus was or ever could be the right person for her. She knew he was still coming off the shock of both having found his wife’s body and discovering the truth about her. Of course it would take time for him to digest all that. Was Cindy being impatient, she wondered? Had she become selfish? It was something she’d dreaded her whole life long.

Cindy turned a corner and walked along the edge of a narrow street out towards the pier. She loved heading towards the water, feeling the wide expanse of space and energy flowing around her.

As she walked closer to the edge of the pier Cindy suddenly felt a shadow drawing closer behind her. Someone was there, following her. Could it be Mac? Startled, she spun around. In the darkness she saw two hooded figures approaching stealthily, at top speed. Cindy screamed for a second wrapped in fear as they closed in.

“Help, help,” she started to yell as they circled around her, ramming their hands over her mouth and eyes. The darkness and pressure grew intense. Cindy gasped and squirmed for all she was worth

as they lifted her by the legs and started running, hauling her away like a sack of potatoes. She had trouble breathing, began to feel dizzy. Where were they taking her? Would she ever get away?

She heard the ocean lapping and their feet hitting what sounded like a wooden ground, as they ran more quickly.

“Here,” one of them grunted as they rushed up what sounded like a plank.

“We got her,” the other said, victorious, once inside.

Where was she? Her head was spinning and her whole body ached.

“Get going,” a man’s voice called out then, and Cindy heard the motor of a boat start up.

Mattheus, Cindy called out in her mind, Help me, Find me!

But as the boat took off in the dark, choppy waters, Cindy felt it was too late. These guys had been lying in wait for her. Had Mac had set her up? Had she been a total idiot? Did she deserve what lay in store?

“You can let her go now,” a man’s voice said calmly, after they boat had been going for a few minutes. The voice was familiar but Cindy couldn’t place it.

The guys took their hands off her eyes and her mouth.

“I’d rather she watch us dump her overboard,” the voice said calmly. “Let her find out what happens to women who make trouble down here.”

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