Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

“Do you feel the same way about me?” he added quickly.

That was a question that haunted Cindy. Mattheus had asked her that before and she hadn’t been able to respond. Cindy knew she loved Mattheus, but she also knew she didn’t feel exactly as he did. She loved being with him when he was here, but didn’t feel as though she couldn’t live her life without him.

“Can you say that there’s no one that could ever make you as happy as you’d be with me?” Mattheus wanted a response. And he deserved one.

“I love you and am always happy when I’m with you,” Cindy responded, “except when the jealousy comes or you suddenly disappear.”

“I promise I’ll never disappear again like that,” Mattheus uttered, “no matter how I feel. And there may be a thousand guys out there who’d you also enjoy, but when you pick one and take vows, things grow deeper. I know it’s true, Cindy, believe me. It’ll be like planting a tree so it can take root.”

“My love for you is deep, Mattheus,” Cindy wanted to reassure him, when suddenly Mattheus’s phone rang.

“Yeah?” he picked up and listened for a few minutes. “Fantastic, great,” he responded. “Go get him off the boat and bring him in. It’s the final piece and tells us the whole story. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Who was that, Brad?” asked Cindy.

“Right,” said Mattheus. “Our calculations proved right. Val was trying to get off

the island before the cops could get to him. One of the guys I have working the case spotted it and let Brad know immediately. They’re bringing Val in as we speak. Looks like the creep’s completely guilty. Case over, no problem!”

“Val could have been running away for lots of reasons,” Cindy exclaimed. “It doesn’t mean he’s the killer. He could be running from charges for fraud.”

“Nah, it’s deeper than that,” said Mattheus as Cindy’s phone rang then.

Cindy picked it up quickly and it was Eric. “You heard the news?” he asked. “Val tried to escape the island. The police got him just in time.”

“I heard,” breathed Cindy, “but thank you so much for letting me know.”

“Thank you, Cindy, for everything,” Eric declared, “Charma’s being released in a few hours.”

“How wonderful, Eric,” she replied. “You’re an incredible guy. Charma’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky too,” said Eric as Cindy quickly hung up the phone.

“The guy’s madly in love with Charma,” Mattheus repeated, staring into Cindy’s eyes.

“I know,” said Cindy, “but he deserves much better. No good can come of it. Charma’s deep in the life, has lots of customers, and Eric knows each one of them.”

“So, maybe he’ll take her away from it all,” Mattheus suggested. “It’s been done before, plenty of times. And now that Eric’s gone public about it, his life can’t stay the same.”

“No, it can’t,” said Cindy sadly, wondering what would happen to him. “I just want Eric to have the best life has in store.”

“Looks like Charma is what life has in store for him,” Mattheus responded. “What does life have in store for us, Cindy? Another chance?”

Cindy smiled slowly. “Yes, Mattheus,” she whispered, “it absolutely has.”

Mattheus’s old, beautiful, boyish grin returned full force. “Let’s go back up to your room and spend time together then. There’s a thousand plans we have to make and a thousand things I want to tell you.”

*

As soon as Cindy and Mattheus got up to her room, both their phones started ringing off the hook. The news was out about the arrest of Val, and people were rejoicing everywhere.

Loretta’s father Henry was the first call Cindy received, thanking her profusely.

“You did a fantastic job closing in on that guy,” Henry mumbled over the phone, “I can’t thank you enough. Loretta was wrong about you, I apologize for that.”

“It’s alright, it’s fine,” said Cindy. “Loretta’s going through all kinds of hell. She’s confused.”

“You can say that again,” Henry agreed, “but now it’s over. I’ll take her home and get her back on her feet. And don’t kid yourself, she’ll get better, too. The guy who drove her nuts is finally gone.”

Cindy’s stomach clenched for a second. Henry was glad that Pete had been killed.

“We’re gonna start packing to go as soon as the police give us the word,” Henry continued. “I’ve got a bonus for you, too, for all the hard work you’ve done.”

Strangely enough, Cindy didn’t want it.

“I heard your partner came on board at the end, as well. Can’t thank him enough, either,” said Henry.

“It’s our pleasure, Henry,” Cindy remarked, feeling more and more unsettled.

After both Cindy and Mattheus took a few more calls, Mattheus put the phone down and drew Cindy into his arms.