Death by Marriage (5 page)

Now,
they went to the dining room out on the veranda, overlooking the bay and ordered.
The moment the waiter left, Mattheus immediately picked up where they left off,
discussing the case.

“I
think the best idea is for us to split up,” Mattheus said immediately.

Despite
herself, Cindy’s stomach lurched.

“In
the morning we’ll go in different directions.  This way we can cover twice as
much ground.”

The
waiter brought their wine on a tray made of pink seashells.

Mattheus
immediately raised his glass for a toast.

“To
the beginning of a wonderful business,” he said. “May we help all those we come
into contact with.”

“I’ll
drink to that,” said Cindy, raising the glass to her lips slowly, enjoying the
coolness of the drink. Then she suddenly looked up and saw Mattheus’ eyes
gazing into hers. Their glance touched and held for a moment and then they both
quickly looked away.

“What
do you plan to investigate in the morning?” Cindy asked, bringing them both
back to focus.

Matthew
seemed to appreciate it. “Thinking of running over to St. Croix,” he said. “The
police reports and Kendra mentioned that Paul spent time on St. Croix, both on
business and at the casinos. I thought I’d check out the casinos first. They
could be a treasure trove of information, especially if he was a regular.  And
from the looks of the reports, the police didn’t spend much time doing that.”

“Great
idea,” said Cindy.

“And
you?” Mattheus asked.

“I’m
going to visit the bars he hung out at. Kendra said she thought he might have
had a mistress. It’s an important thing to look into next.”

“Very
important,” said Mattheus, draining the glass of wine quickly. “You have the
name of the bars?”

“Yes,”
said Cindy.

Mattheus
leaned back and then frowned for a moment. 

“Something
wrong?” asked Cindy.

He
shook his head lightly.  “No, of course not. I just don’t love the idea of you
hanging at these bars here alone.”

Cindy
was startled and smiled.  She loved Mattheus’ protectiveness, but this was a
murder case they’d come down to solve. Who said it would be easy? Who said it
would be safe?

  
Mattheus was relieved to be getting away from St. Thomas for a couple of days.
He needed time alone. He wasn’t used to being with someone as much as he’d been
with Cindy these past few days. It took some getting used to. Not that there
was anything wrong with her. Far from it. She was beautiful, graceful,
considerate, smart as hell, anything a guy could wish for. That made it even
rougher.

These
past few years since Shelly’d died, he’d learned to be live on his own and like
it – perhaps he’d become too independent. It had served him well though and he
wasn’t exactly sure why he’d decided to mess with the life he’d been living. He
did know though that he’d been running out of steam, doing the same thing, over
and over, on the police force. He’d always wanted his own agency. When Mattheus
met Cindy, the pieces just started coming together. He felt if he didn’t act on
it right away, she’d go home and slip away from him.

Mattheus
took a deep breath now as he boarded the little plane over to St. Croix. It was
a good move to go there. The guy who’d been killed had spent a lot of time on
St. Croix. – especially in the casinos. It was virgin territory for the
investigation. Mattheus was a little surprised that the police hadn’t covered
that ground more carefully, but he knew how investigations down on the islands
went - slow and easy - everyone took their time. More than that, once they had
a suspect they usually zeroed in on that. It was easier, more efficient.  The
guys on the police force down here were always characters. For a second he
thought about not boarding the plane, but going back to check in on Cindy. That
was nuts. They were down here as partners. She could hold her own. She’d come
down alone to Grenada. Hell, she’d even solved her own husband’s murder in
Barbados by herself, way before they’d met.

The
plane lifted easily and took him across the beautiful waters to the neighboring
island. He could see some boats out already, dotting the seas, people jumping
off them, snorkeling. Life down on these islands could be like a dream --
unless you woke up suddenly and found someone lying in a pool of blood.

The
plane landed in Turtle Lake, close to the casino Paul used to gamble in. It was
a well-known spot which drew all kinds of visitors, tourists and regulars.  The
place was open around the clock, day and night blending into one.

 Before
he went to the casino, Mattheus spent time on the island walking around,
getting something to eat, picking up the paper, letting the time go by. The
people he needed to talk to at the casino wouldn’t be there until later.  As he
walked, he rolled the facts of the case over in his mind. So far, it didn’t
look good for Kendra. But the question of how she got Paul into the alleyway
bothered Mattheus. It bothered everyone.  If she killed him there, it would had
to have been an impulsive killing, in the heat of rage.  If it was
pre-meditated, she could have found a quieter, less flashy place. So far no
weapon had been found either, though they’d searched her place from top to
bottom. Of course she could have buried the knife.

Mattheus
needed more information about her, about Paul, their life together. At first
glance she seemed to be a tough, arrogant woman, not someone you’d naturally
have sympathy for. The papers presented a picture of a good life and perfect
marriage. These picture perfect marriages irritated him. He didn’t believe them
for a second. No marriage was perfect, and when it pretended to be, trouble
always lay ahead.

 When
the time came, Mattheus walked over to the casino and went in the front door.
Then he headed for the restaurant to fill up with black coffee.

There
were all kinds of people floating around inside, some bleary eyed, some sullen
looking, others staring blindly at the slot machines. Mattheus began drifting
around, then went to a dealer and mentioned Paul’s name.

“You
know the guy?”

“Sits
over there,” the guy motioned to a table off at the side of the room for poker.
“He’ll probably be in, in an hour or two.”

“Not
today,” said Mattheus.

The
guy looked up at him.

“When
did you last see him?” Mattheus continued.

The
guy shrugged. “He’s here all the time. I don’t keep a record.  Probably last
saw him a day or two ago.”

Mattheus
grimaced. The harsh lights in the casino blurred the distinction between night
and day.  It was easy to lose track of time.

“He
was killed a week ago,” said Mattheus, waiting to see how he would respond.

The
dealer’s jaw hung open. “You’re kidding me!”

“It
was in all the papers.”

The
dealer backed off. “Don’t get much chance to look at the papers these days.
Jesus Christ.”

“You
knew the guy?”

“Everybody
knows him. He’s been a staple in this place for years. Who the hell killed him?
And for what?”

“That’s
what I’m trying to find out,” said Mattheus.

“You
a cop?”

“Detective.
Specially called in on the case.”

“Jesus,
sweet God,” the dealer muttered. “I’ll tell you one thing, there was absolutely
no reason to take this guy out. He was a fair guy - paid his debts. Never tricked
a soul.”

“You
sure about that?” Mattheus looked at him quizzically.

“Of
course I’m sure.”

 “I
need the truth,” said Mattheus.

“Then
get away from me and get the hell over to that table there. It’s where he sat.
The guys over there played with him. I just saw him in passing.”

Mattheus
knew he’d been harder on him than necessary. But bum leads wasted time, and
pissed him off. So many people pretended they knew it all, couldn’t bring
themselves to just say they had no idea what was going on.

Mattheus
ambled over towards the table where the guy said Paul hung out. It was medium
size, and situated in a half lit section of the place. There were about five or
six others sitting there, looking at their cards. Rolls of green, red and
yellow chips were piled in front of all of them. As soon as Mattheus sat down,
the dealer immediately looked over at him.

 “I’m
a friend of Paul’s,” Mattheus remarked loudly.  Everyone at the table put their
cards down and looked up at him.

“What
kind of friend?” the dealer asked, right away.  He was a short heavy guy, who
was half bald, with hanging jowls.

“I’m
here to help him,” Mattheus said.

“Too
late for that,” the dealer said gruffly.

The
guy sitting next to Mattheus, poked Mattheus in the ribs softly, as if to say,
shut up.

He
was a tall and thin with red hair, big eyes, and bit the corner of his lip.

“The
guy was killed a couple of weeks ago, week ago,” the dealer continued, as a
pall fell over the table.

“Any
idea who?” Mattheus jumped right in.

“If
I knew that I’d be right at the police,” the dealer thumped his short hand on
the hard table. “He was one of us. No one here did it.” And he looked at
Mattheus with fire in his eyes.

“There
was no reason for it.”

“There’s
never a reason to die,” said Mattheus.

“Yeah,
but there’s always a reason when it’s murder,” the dealer retorted.

“Someone
had something against him,” Mattheus wouldn’t let up.

“No
one I knew,” the dealer insisted. “He lived his life straight up.”

The
guy next to Mattheus poked him again. Mattheus turned his attention to him.

“Hi,”
said Mattheus to him, extending his hand. “Mattheus King.”

“Roomey
Burke,” the guy looked over and took Mattheus hand.

“Okay,
deal,” someone else at the table called out. The conversation was over. It
seemed like they’d all been through this for a while now and wanted to move on.

“Mind
giving me a minute or two?” Mattheus asked Roomey. “We could sit over there and
talk.”

“Sure,”
said Roomey, and put his cards down. “A minute or two.”

“Deal,”
one of the guys at the table insisted.

Roomey
and Mattheus got up, walked a few feet to a lounge with some comfortable
couches and chairs, and sat down.

Roomey
was a strange mixture of elegance and anxiety. Out of place here, Mattheus
thought. “You knew him well?”

“Very,”
said Roomey.

Mattheus
looked at more carefully and wondered why. What could they have had in common?

“It
was a shock to everyone,” said Roomey. “Especially me. I talked to him almost
every day.”

Mattheus
was surprised to hear that.  This could be an important find. “You’re a lawyer,
too?” Mattheus asked.

“Architect.
We both live in St. Thomas and spend a couple of days here during the week.
Takes the pressure off, to a degree.”

“Suppose
it does,” said Mattheus.

“I
knew him well. I know the family,” Roomey continued.

This
guy had to be a treasure trove of information, Mattheus thought.

 “Police
say the wife did it,” Mattheus was curious what his reaction would be.

Roomey
smiled a strange, pained smile. “That’s ridiculous,” he said definitively. “She’s
innocent.”

“You
sure?”

“She’s
a terrific woman,” his eyes flared a bit.

“How
do you know that?”

“Just
take it from me.”

“I
can’t just take it. I need solid information,” Mattheus mumbled, but loud
enough so he could hear him.

Roomey
obviously didn’t like being pressed. He pulled back a little and tapped his
fingers against each other.  “What are you? A detective of some kind?”

“Yes,”
said Mattheus.

“Really?” 
Roomey’s eyes opened at that. “Thought you were a reporter or something,
possibly a family member who flew in to help. None of them even came to the
funeral, you know. Paul and Kendra both have family back in the states who
wrote them off years ago, when they got married and settled here.  He never
even introduced her to his family. That’s probably why they moved away in the
first place.”  Roomey said bitterly. “You can’t blame them.”

No,
you can’t, Mattheus thought. That was a lousy deal, no family coming down to
the funeral. No family standing up for Kendra either.  Lots of people who’d
settled down here on the islands had some kind of story like that. Mattheus
wondered if that was why Roomey was down here as well.

“Help
me out with this,” Mattheus said.

“I’ve
become like family to them now,” Roomey said softly. “Kendra’s beautiful,
smart.” His face flushed as he spoke.

Mattheus
looked at him intently. . “Why are the police pouncing on Kendra?” Mattheus
asked.

“To
avoid looking further,” Roomey said. “I’ve seen it happen over and over.
Especially down here. It’s easy, next of kin - especially with a big insurance
policy.”

“Are
they focusing on her to cover something up?” Mattheus asked.

“Could
be,” said Roomey.  “I hadn’t really thought of that.  It can be pretty corrupt
down this way.  Paul and Kendra had money, position, a beautiful daughter.
People get weird about all that.”

“Weird
enough to kill?” asked Mattheus.

“All
kinds of idiots floating around, who knows what they were thinking? Could be
someone got jealous? Or maybe had a vendetta with Kendra?”

Mattheus
wondered what they would have a vendetta with Kendra about, but let Roomey keep
talking. 

“Look,
I’m not the detective. You are,” Roomey said. “I stepped over here because I
wanted to help out.”

“I
appreciate that,” said Mattheus. “Would you give me your card so we can keep in
touch?” Mattheus said. “Seems like you have lots of answers.”

Roomey
had no problem with that. He gave Mattheus his card quickly. “Got plenty of
questions, too,” he said.

 “Before
I go now,” said Mattheus, “is there anything else you can think of? Any little
detail at all?”

Roomey
still looked troubled.  “Well, there is one thing,” his voice dropped an
octave, and it was hard to hear. “There was a private poker game each week
between a bunch of us fellas, high stakes. Much too high, if you know what I
mean.” He smiled unevenly, his face going out of whack. “Paul loved the game.
He was good too, much too good if you asked me. That guy had the brain of an
eel, slipping inside of cracks and corners, able to figure anything out. That’s
what he lived for. Beating the odds.”

“He
lost a lot?” Mattheus was fascinated.

“Just
the opposite,” Roomed smiled again. “He cleaned up almost every time.”

“Cheated?”

“Nah,
I told you, he had the brain of an eel.”

“So,
why the hell did you guys keep playing with him?”

Roomey
licked his lips. “The thrill of the game. It was worth it.  I could afford it,
but another guy couldn’t. He was in debt to Paul, big time. He just couldn’t
stop playing. His debt kept growing. Paul liked lording it over him, having the
guy cringe around him.  Made Paul feel powerful.”