Death by Marriage (2 page)

Cindy
braced herself as the sea plane dove in low for a landing. The vast stretch of
shimmering blue green water beneath them stretched out forever, calm,
reassuring and beautiful.  Cindy spotted a small boat, in the distance, waiting
to take them to shore.

Mattheus
had spent the plane ride going over his notes on the case. Cindy had spent it
looking down at the water below.

“Her
name is Kendra,” Mattheus reminded Cindy as the plane flew closer to shore. “The
wife. She’s greeting us herself. A little unusual, but interesting. She must be
extremely eager to meet you.”

Cindy
turned and looked at him. His beautiful eyes were focused on her. But Cindy
merely nodded all business at the moment.

It
was a little awkward between them now, flying off into this business
partnership, knowing so little about one another. It was one thing, Cindy
thought, to do fabulously together on one case--but another to sustain their
connection. Mattheus had left his job on the police force without hesitation.
He’d been thinking about it for a while. He told Cindy he was ready to take on
his own cases.  And, he thought it was a great idea to have a male and female
detective agency; each would bring a different point of view and relate better
with different people.  

Cindy’s
stomach suddenly fell as the plane began to descend without warning. She’d
never landed on the water before, or felt the movement of the plane so
intimately. It reminded her of the water rides she used to go on as a kid in
the amusement park.

As
they landed, and floated on water, Cindy felt as if she were back in the
amusement park, or in a dream. The plane bobbed gently for a few minutes until
the small boat rode up to the plane.

Cindy
and Mattheus got up and went to the exit, then slipped out of the plane onto
the boat.  Mattheus got out first and reached his hand out for Cindy who held
it tight for a few seconds.  Once safely on the boat, she let go.

Mattheus
laughed. “We did it. We’re here.”  He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying both the
landing and having Cindy beside him. It was a short boat ride to the shore and
felt good to be on water, in the strong heat of the day.  As they got closer
Cindy could see a small group of people clustered together, waiting for them to
arrive.

As
the boat pulled up, Mattheus and Cindy got out and a tall woman, with long
chestnut brown hair, rushed over. She was in her fifties, slender, with large
blue eyes, dressed in a paisley sun dress, with several colored bracelets on
her wrist.

“Finally,
you’re here,” the woman breathed.

“Kendra
Johnson?” Matthew stepped forward.

She
looked at him briefly and then turned and put the full force of her attention
onto Cindy.

“I
read about the amazing work you did on Grenada –and also in Barbados,” she
said. “I’m so thrilled you chose to come down here and help me.”

“Glad
to meet you,” Cindy said.  She was eager to get to know Kendra, but also wanted
to keep things simple, not foster unrealistic expectations.

Kendra
looked quickly back and forth between Cindy and Mattheus then, confused for a
moment.

“We’re
a team,” Cindy said. “C and M Investigations.” 

“Well,”
Kendra said, “there’s plenty to investigate.”

Cindy
was glad Mattheus was with her. She could feel how they balanced each other,
kept Kendra’s aggression at bay. 

Kendra
seemed uneasy. “But I’m glad you’re here. It’s urgent.”

 “It
must have been a terrible time for you,” Cindy said.

“Must
be? It still is,” Kendra replied, rattled.

“These
things have a way of going on and on,” said Mattheus.

Kendra
looked at him briefly with appreciation, but turned once again to Cindy.

“I’d
like to take you home with me now,” she said. “We can talk better there. I have
a car waiting.”

“Great,”
said Cindy.

“There’s
a lot to do before hurricane season,” Kendra went on hurriedly, as she led them
to the car. “We only have a couple of weeks to go. Once the storms come,
everything is impossible, things get put on the back burner, buildings are
boarded up and evidence gets washed away. Criminals get away with everything
then.  I’ve seen it happen.”

Cindy
remembered that Kendra’s husband was a criminal lawyer and that she had to know
very well how the system worked.

“I’ve
also seen the way the police here can zero in on one person and not bother
about looking at anything else,” Kendra added. “It makes it easier for them,
doesn’t it? They get their suspect and hound them until they crush them to a
pulp.” She smiled then, an odd, bitter smile, and ran her hands through her
hair. Obviously she was completely frazzled from the ordeal she was going
through.

An
expensive car was waiting at a curb. The three of them got in and drove along
winding curvy roads, then through a bustling built up town, filled with
tourists, locals, palm trees, and low buildings.

“Our
home is at the other end of the town,” Kendra said, as they all fell silent and
looked out the window. “The police have scoured it day after day. I’m not sure
exactly what they’re looking for. I ask them but they don’t tell me. That’s why
I hired you, to intercede with them for me, be an advocate. I want you to turn
over every piece of unexamined evidence that I know is lying around. Find the
real killer. Whoever it is, they’re out there in plain view, walking around
like nothing happened. I’m paying you half up front and the rest when it’s over.
And, there’ll be a big bonus on top of it when the killer’s locked up in jail.”

Cindy
was struck with her vehemence. But Kendra had every reason to be unnerved, she’d
been the main suspect since her husband was found. And she had to deal with the
loss of him, on top of that.

“They
keep going over my home,” Kendra said fitfully. “There’s nothing to find there.

We
lived a good life. We were happy. He was a good man. No one in our home had
anything to do with this. No one knows anything about it.” Her voice rose as
she repeated these words, which Cindy imagined she had said again and again. To
no avail.  The papers reported that she was still the chief suspect.

Despite
herself, Cindy shivered as she remembered her friend in Grenada, Dalia
constantly telling her how happy she and her husband were, and what a good man
he was. Cindy tossed her head to clear her mind. She had to realize that each
situation was different. She had to give this woman a chance. Kendra and Dalia
were different.  It was dangerous to create suspicion so quickly based on
something that had happened before. And it was easy to do, Cindy realized.

“It’s
easy to miss a piece of evidence,” Mattheus said, “or to even realize that
something’s important. When you check and re-check, suddenly something hits
you.”

“Well,
there’s nothing in my home,” Kendra repeated in an abrasive tone.

Cindy
moved closer to Kendra in the car. “They have to believe that there’s something
in your home that will lead them to the killer.  It’s routine to investigate the
family and next of kin,” she said kindly.”

There
was something about this woman, though, that drew doubt to her. It would be a
challenge to find out who Kendra truly was and what had really gone on.  And
Cindy would.

The
car drove through the business section quickly, past the buildings and open
malls, up one hill and down another, to a neighborhood of private homes, facing
out onto the ocean. The car pulled up in front of a beautiful, white stucco
house, with perfect gardens in the front and a huge open porch surrounding it.

“Here
we are,” said Kendra.

“What
a beautiful home,” breathed Cindy, taking in the grandeur.

“It
was
a beautiful home,” said Kendra, bitterly. “For many years. Now it’s
being invaded by the whole world.”

Cindy
was about to say something, but looked over at Mattheus who shook his head. He
was letting her know that she should back off. There was no need to soothe
Kendra – they were stepping into a tangled situation, and had to allow
everything to be revealed.  Cindy appreciated Mattheus’ experience, and his
sensitivity. She caught his eye and smiled at him. He smiled back as they got
out of the car and walked to the front door.

Kendra’s
home was decorated lavishly, with large antique vases, huge plants, expensive,
furniture and amazing paintings covering the walls.

“Paul
loved fine art,” Kendra said, as Cindy looked slowly around. “He was a
connoisseur of everything– art, food, antique vases.”

“You
have a wonderful collection.”

“Paul
earned it. He worked hard. He did well.” Kendra sat down on the couch then, as
if the wind were suddenly knocked out of her. “And look how he died.
Horrifying.”

Cindy
took a deep breath and sat down beside her on the couch.

A
housekeeper appeared, bringing a pitcher of water and glasses.

“Thanks
Maggie,” said Kendra. “Please ask our guests what else they’d like and bring it
here for them.  And bring me a Marguerite, please.” Then she tossed a quick
look at Cindy and Mattheus.  “Of course I never started drinking so early in
the day, but with this incredible tension, what else is there to do?”

“Before
you start drinking, we need you to talk to us,” Cindy said.

“What
more can I say? Seems as if every detail has been leaked to the papers.”

“You’re
the main suspect because of the insurance policy?” Mattheus started the
questioning.

“So
they say,” said Kendra. “Paul took the policy out about three months ago. Bad
timing, to say the least. We had another policy before that for years, but
suddenly Paul wanted to upgrade it. So, now I have a huge insurance policy on his
life and it’s creating complete turmoil. Why would I kill him for money? I have
plenty of money, I have this house, and I have my own tour business.”

“Is
that the only reason you’re the suspect?” Mattheus continued.

Once
again, Kendra turned to Cindy, looked at her plaintively.

 “Is
that the only reason? It’s enough, isn’t it? But, of course, there are always
other matters as well. It’s easier to talk about those with a woman, though,”
Kendra said.

“I
understand,” said Cindy. “Do you want Mattheus to leave the room?”

“No,
he can stay here if he wants. But I’d rather talk to you. I’ve been dealing
with men for too long now – mostly, they don’t have a heart.  Some even enjoy
seeing us women suffer. More than you would imagine.”

Mattheus
flinched. “I’ll take a walk on the grounds for a little while so the two of you
can talk to each other.”

“Thanks,”
said Kendra, dismissively.

Mattheus
left and Cindy moved closer to Kendra. 

“What
do you want to tell me?” Cindy asked gently.

“I
didn’t do it. Why would I? Besides the damn insurance policy there’s no motive
anyone can find. Paul and I were happy. We did well together. We came down to
the island separately, years ago. We met and fell in love right away. God knows
why. Things look different when you’re young. Anyway, we decided to make the
island our home. Paul was a brand new lawyer, I was an art major, and decided
to give tours of the island and paint. It was a lovely life. I enjoyed it. I
loved living here. We built a family, had two daughters. All was going well.”

“Someone
had some reason to kill him, though,” Cindy said softly.

Kendra’s
eyes filled with tears. “Who?”

“I
have no idea,” said Cindy. “You’ll have to fill me in more on his life.”

“Nobody’s
asked who I thought might have killed him,” Kendra said in a hushed tone. “All
they’ve kept asking me is about our marriage, and where it went wrong. It didn’t
go wrong. I keep telling them that.”

“Never?”
asked Cindy.

“A
marriage is a marriage. It had ups and downs. We grew to understand each other.”

Kendra’s
eye started twitching. “He was human like anyone.  He had his flaws. They weren’t
a crime. He didn’t deserve to die for them.”

“What
kind of flaws?” Cindy pursued it.

“Paul
enjoyed hanging at the bars for drinks after work. It relaxed him.  At first I
didn’t think it was a big deal. I still don’t. But over the years, he did it
more and more. He needed time away.”

“You’ll
tell me which bars?” said Cindy.

“Of
course, I’ll tell you. But so what? He had a stressful job, defending criminals
and handling a damn lot of them, too. So, he’d have a drink to unwind. Is that
so terrible?”

“Of
course not. But I need to know more about his habits.”

Margaret
came in with the tray carrying coffee and Marguerites.  Kendra quickly reached
for her drink, but Cindy stopped her.

“Later,”
Cindy said.