Death by Jealousy (Caribbean Murder #6)

“Why’d you go diving in those conditions?” Mattheus asked immediately.

“I’d been down in worse conditions,” said Peter quickly. “Allie and I love diving, and we needed time alone together, badly. You can’t imagine the pressure that was building! There were so many people, plans, arrangements. She was getting really nervous and so was I. We’d barely gotten to see each other since we got down. It was becoming overwhelming for Allie.”

“And how about you?” asked Mattheus.

“I wouldn’t say I was overwhelmed,” said Peter slowly, “but I knew we needed to get away for a while. I didn’t like seeing her nervous like that. She kept saying strange things like we should have eloped. Once she even asked if I wanted to run away from her? I told her I didn’t. I promised her I never would.”

“Weddings can certainly become crazy,” said Cindy. She remembered her own wedding with Clint, how little time they’d had alone before it, how she’d hungered for the honeymoon, when they’d be away from it all.

“Why did Allie ask if you wanted to run away from her?” Mattheus zeroed in. “Was the relationship shaky?”

“Not at all,” said Peter, “but sometimes she thought it was. I always had to reassure her.”

“And you did?” Mattheus was focused.

“Of course,” said Peter, “all the time. Actually, a friend suggested to Allie that we go for the dive to unwind. She thought it was a great idea. We always got closer under the water, playful, relaxed. Heck, there’s the no way you can think of your problems when you’re swimming near coral reefs and fishes.”

“Sounds beautiful,” Cindy murmured.

Peter’s eyes lit up momentarily. “Beautiful is putting it mildly,” he said. “There was no reason not to go. The wind didn’t start getting rough until about an hour before we left. I really didn’t think it made such a big difference.”

“Who suggested that you two go for the dive?” Mattheus asked intently.

“I have no idea,” said Peter.

“Allie didn’t tell you who?” Mattheus wouldn’t let it alone.

“No, she didn’t, and I didn’t ask her,” said Peter, “what difference does it make?”

“Everything could make a difference,” Mattheus replied, “any little detail. You never know what.”

Peter grabbed the glass of water on the table and drank it down quickly.

“You’re an experienced diver?” Mattheus went on.

“Very, and so was Allie,” Peter replied.

“You both checked your equipment before the dive?” Mattheus continued.

“Absolutely,” said Peter. “It was perfect. We were all set to go.”

Peter seemed clear and steady as he spoke, even with all the pressure he was obviously feeling.

“You heard that they found trouble with the air gauge?” Mattheus wasn’t holding back.

Mattheus was being combative and Cindy didn’t understand why.

“I just heard about the air gauge a little while ago,” said Peter, shaking his head. “I don’t understand it. That never happened to me before. Everything looked like it was in perfect order. Look, I loved Allie. There was no reason in the world for me to do anything to her. None at all. I spent all my time trying to make her happy. Anyone here can tell you that. Look at the gifts I gave her, she had the most beautiful jewels of all her friends.”

Mattheus looked down at the floor as he rubbed his foot back and forth. “That’s not necessarily the way to make a woman happy,” he said.

Cindy flinched at Mattheus’s bitterness.

“I made Allie happy in all kinds of ways,” Peter insisted, “we loved each other or things would never have gotten this far. I never would have married her.”

“You didn’t marry her,” Mattheus reminded him sharply.

Mattheus was being cruel. It wasn’t necessary. Cindy didn’t like it.

“We were as good as married,” Peter fought back. “You can talk to anyone of her bridesmaids, they’ll tell you how happy she was.”

Mattheus shook his head slowly. “Women are strange creatures,” he said in a low tone, “one minute they’re happy, the next they’re gone. Go figure it out.”

“I’m sure you loved Allie,” Cindy interjected, “nobody is questioning that.”

Peter looked at her gratefully and Mattheus eased up a bit then.

“If someone at the wedding could have possibly wanted to harm her, who do you think it would be, and why?” Mattheus asked bluntly.

“No one,” Peter answered sharply.

“There was no one who wanted to harm her? No one who could have been jealous of all those jewels?”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Peter. “Her friends were close to her for years, and were happy for her.”

“As far as you know,” Mattheus inserted.

“Allie was proud of those jewels. The first one she showed them to was her mother. It made her proud of herself in her mother’s eyes.”

“Her mother wasn’t proud of her otherwise?” Mattheus was quick on the draw.