Death by Marriage (9 page)

Before
they jumped into the cab Cindy called  Kendra and said they’d be coming for an
hour or so. They wanted to talk to Nell. Kendra said she didn’t much see the
point in that, but it was as good a time as any to do so. Nell was home for the
day, up in her room.

They
got the cab in front of the hotel, and as they drove to Kendra’s, Cindy looked
out of the window. She’d known Mattheus was coming back to St. Thomas that day,
but hadn’t expected him to show up at breakfast like that. Since they’d arrived
on the island, Mattheus had shown so many different sides to him, she didn’t
know what to expect next. Back on Grenada he felt like a rock to her, constant,
caring, dependable. Now he seemed skittish at times, even eager to get away
from her.  She couldn’t help compare him to Clint, who had been fully available
when he was around. Cindy’d never felt he wanted to run away.  The sense that
Mattheus was unsettled, made her feel insecure. Of course, their company didn’t
have to last forever. If it didn’t work out, Cindy could always go home.

When
Cindy and Mattheus arrived and rang the doorbell, Kendra opened the door
immediately. She wore beige slacks and a linen shirt, with a matching necklace
and bracelet. Her long hair was tied back from her face.  It struck Cindy as
odd that a woman whose husband had been murdered such a short time ago, would
be so perfectly groomed.

“Come
in,” said Kendra somewhat officially. 

Cindy
and Mattheus came in and looked around for Nell.

“Nell’s
in her room,” said Kendra. “She’s studying. The kids have off from school for a
few days for exams. The police spoke to her quite a bit in the beginning. I don’t
know what she can possibly add now.”

“We
just wanted to meet the whole family,” said Cindy. “It won’t take long.”

Kendra
sighed. “It all adds up, though. Half an hour here, an hour there.”

It
sounded as if she resented their being there. “We want to do a thorough job, “said
Cindy.

Kendra
interrupted, “thorough or not is one thing. Finding the killer is something
else. How in the world can Nell lead you to that?”

“You
never know what one off handed comment leads to,” said Mattheus, “especially
from someone close to the victim.”

“Do
what you have to,” said Kendra. “Nell,” she called loudly then, her voice
bouncing off the high walls. “Come downstairs.”

No
answer.

“She’s
probably deep on her Facebook page,” Kendra smirked. “That’s about all these
kids study these days, who’s saying what to who? Nell -” her voice rose with a
sharp timber.

Cindy
heard a door open upstairs. She looked up and saw a young, tall, slender woman
come down. She had  long, dark hair, a sculpted face and extremely intense
eyes.

When
the young woman got down the stairs, she paid no attention to her mother, but
came right over to Cindy and said “Hello, I’m Nell.” 

“Glad
to meet you Nell,” said Cindy.

“I’m
glad to see you finally managed to extricate yourself and come downstairs,”
Kendra quipped. “Whenever she’s home, Nell practically lives in her room these
days. She never has a second to spend with me.”

“This
has been a horrible strain on our mother,” Nell said to Cindy abruptly. “You
have to help the authorities realize that she’s had absolutely nothing to do
with this crime.”

Kendra
looked at her oddly. “I’ve told them that already,” she said. “That’s why they’re
here.  I believe they’ll help.”

Cindy
looked over at Nell, who suddenly turned sullen. “Nothing I say makes any
difference,” she said.

“We’d
love to hear more from you, Nell,” Cindy said, breaking into the thick tension
that had formed. “Let’s sit down a moment.”

Nell
shot her mother a quick look and then went with Cindy and Mattheus to the
couch. Kendra started to join them as well.

“We’d
like to talk to Nell alone,” said Mattheus.

Kendra
was offended. “Why?”

“People
can talk more easily when they’re alone,” he said. “It won’t take very long.”

“This
is not a matter of time,” said Kendra. “What could Nell possibly say that I can’t
hear? You’re working for me, after all.”

Nell
looked down at the floor.

“Would
you like me to join you?” Kendra asked Nell pointedly.

Nell
did not respond.

“It’s
better this way,” Cindy said gently.

“Have
it your way,” said Kendra, irritated, and stalked out of the room.

When
she left Nell took a deep breath. “My mother has moods, she always had. And now
it’s particularly tough for her.”

“You
don’t get along so well?” asked Cindy.

“Up
and down. She’s hard to take. I was closer to my father.”

“I’m
sorry,” said Cindy. “You must miss him very much.”

Nell’s
eyes suddenly closed.

“Is
there anything at all you can tell us?” Cindy asked in as gentle a voice as she
could. Nell was odd and interesting. At moments she was extremely alert, and,
then, at other moments remote, as if a cloud had descended upon her.  

“I
have no idea who killed my father, “said Nell, finally, opening her eyes
slightly.  Her face flushed as she spoke. Just saying those words were painful
for her.  “I don’t even want to know who did it.  I want to wake up and find
out it was all a bad dream.”

“It
wasn’t a dream,” said Cindy.

“How
do you know?” said Nell. “People can live their whole lives and then something
happens and their whole life turns into a dream.”

“That’s
what happened to you?” asked Mattheus.

“None
of it’s real,” said Nell.

Cindy
and Mattheus looked at each other. Cindy didn’t want to push too hard. This was
so new and fresh for Nell, it would take months for her to make sense of it.
And clearly, she didn’t have the kind of relationship with her mother that
would support her through the process.  Yet, oddly enough, she didn’t seem so
alone. There was a strange strength about her.

“I’m
more like my dad,” Nell said then from out of nowhere. “We understood each
other very well.”

“How
wonderful that you had that,” said Cindy.

“He
didn’t let anything knock him down,” her eyes opened wider and she seemed to
get strength, just thinking about him. “Once he said, Nell, no matter what the
world dishes out, remember one thing, honey. You can always find a way out of a
tough spot. There’s always another street to walk down, there’s always an
answer waiting.”

Mattheus
seemed impressed. “Quite a guy,” he said.

Nell’s
face lit up briefly.  “He was a great guy – he was different,” she said.

“It
must have been a powerful force that took him down, “said Mattheus.

Nell
recoiled. “I don’t know what happened,” she shook her head.

Cindy
got up from the couch and walked over to her. It was enough. She didn’t want
Mattheus crashing through Nell’s defenses all at once.  She needed them now.

 “In
a little while the storm season’s starting,” Nell went on, out of nowhere.

“And?”
asked Cindy.

“All
the tourists leave the island. Only the hard core remain. We board up our homes
and get ready to wait out the storm inside. My dad always loved hurricane
season. He and I boarded up the house together, year after year.”

“Who’s
going to board it up this year?” asked Mattheus.

“No
one,” said Nell, smiling oddly. “Maybe this year the storm will just tear the
whole house apart.”

*

“There
was no reason to grill her like that,” said Cindy, when she and Mattheus had
left the house. “You were too tough on her.”

“I
had to be,” said Mattheus. “when they’re rattled they say things they wouldn’t
otherwise say. Things just come out.”

“What
about her?” said Cindy. “She’s a kid who’s lost her dad.”

“I’m
sorry for her,” said Mattheus, but I don’t forget what I’m here to do. I wasn’t
hired to be a therapist. Neither were you. We have a big job to do and not much
time to do it. Beyond all that, there’s a murderer on the loose. You never know
when they’ll strike again, or who?”

The
way he said it gave Cindy a chill.  She hadn’t taken in the fact that right
among them, close by possibly, the murderer could be lurking, waiting to
pounce.

“You’re
right,” she said to Mattheus then. “Right and wrong at the same time.”

He
looked at her quizzically.

“We’ve
got to find the killer, but we’ve got to take care of the others too. Paul wasn’t
the only victim. His whole family was as well.”

“Point
well taken,” said Mattheus, as he looked at Cindy, his eyes filled with
respect. “That’s why it’s good to have both a male and female on the case.
Nothing gets overlooked.”

“I’m
going to spend some more time here with Kendra,” Cindy said.

“Great,”
said Mattheus. “In the meantime, I’ll run over to the police station and look
up some information I need. Then we can meet up and take a look at Paul’s
office, in about an hour. Okay?”

“Okay,”
said Cindy. Everything was okay and not okay. Not only was she finding out more
about the case, but also about Mattheus. There were definitely moments when he
scared her. Who had she really ended up here with?

Before
Mattheus went to the police station, he called some of his buddies back on the
force in Grenada, to check in and let them know what was going on.  They were
thrilled to hear from him, as usual, and suggested he check out Roomey’s alibi
before taking another step. Guys who hung around casinos needed to be vetted
right away.  Mattheus agreed. And, when was he coming back to Grenada, they
wanted to know? It wasn’t the same place without him.

The
calls to the guys back home gave Mattheus energy, boosted his spirits and
resolve. They’d become like a little family, and Mattheus missed having them
around.  But he also enjoyed the adventure of starting his own enterprise. And
he enjoyed doing it with Cindy, who surprised him over and over with her keen
intelligence and strength.

After
he hung up he headed to the police station, to use the computers there to check
on Roomey further.  There was no one at the back desk yet, and he had his pick
of places to work at. He quickly opened a computer and brought up what he could
find on Roomey. The more he read, the more impressed he was. Not only did
everything about him seem legit, but he was a well-respected architect, with
big clients to his name. Easy to see why the guy could afford to lose at a high
stakes poker.

 Then
Mattheus dug up the name of the organizer of the design show Roomey said he was
at to give him a call and find out exactly when Roomey arrived, and how long he
stayed.

  
Roomey’s alibi checked out completely. Not only was he at the show, he got
there early and stayed until it closed. Something he did every year,
apparently. After it was over, he went out with a few people for a light
dinner. He went with a group of old timers, who came to the show year after
year. Some of the people at the dinner included Andrea from Salon B, a couple
of guys who sponsored the program, and Heather May.  Mattheus found it
interesting to see her name pop up again. But, of course, this was a relatively
small island and the people who lived here had to know each other. He wondered
briefly what kind of relationship Roomey had with Heather, and made a note to
ask Cindy to explore it. Mattheus also wanted to see Roomey again, catch a
drink with him, find out more about Kendra and about Paul.

Okay,
thought Mattheus, one down and another to go. He now wanted to check out the
guy in the high stakes poker game. Just as he was about to go back into the
computer, the door to the station opened and Brayton came in and immediately
spotted Mattheus in the rear.

“Hey,
what you doing back there?” Brayton hollered, as he came over to join Mattheus.

“Checking
out Roomey and some other guys.”

“You
don’t let up, do you?”  Brayton said, approvingly. “Too bad we don’t have you
on our force, down here.”

Mattheus
grinned.  It felt good having the team around him, surrounded by guys who
valued him.  Mattheus was one of a twin, and his brother had been the star in
everything, got all the attention, growing up.

 “No
reason to bother checking out Roomey,” Brayton said as he sat down. “Could have
told you about him before you started to look. He’s an old timer on the island.
There’s no reason to suspect him of anything.  Roomey and Paul had been friends
for years.”

 “Was
there was ever anything floating around about Roomey’s relationship with
Kendra? Mattheus asked.

Brayton
laughed. . “Roomey’s not exactly a lady’s man. The furthest thing from it. The
guy keeps to himself around the ladies. They don’t like him much, and he doesn’t
really take to them.”

“Did
he take to Kendra?” Mattheus pushed on.

“What
are you dreaming up?” Brayton looked at Mattheus as though he were a little
crazy. “We’ve got enough on Kendra, we don’t need this. When you get desperate
for clues you can fish in places where nothing bites,” he said. “Doesn’t do any
good to make up crazy stories.  In fact, it’s downright dangerous.”

“You’re
right,” Mattheus agreed. “Then he told him about the high stakes poker game
Paul had been involved in.

Brayton
was taken aback. “Now, that’s something to chew on. Don’t know how we didn’t
hear about that. Find the guy who was indebted to Paul and bring him in to
talk.”

Mattheus
had his name; it would be an easy matter to check him out right away.

“What
else you got?” asked Brayton.

“That’s
it for now,” said Mattheus. “More on the way.”  He was looking forward to
hearing what Cindy would bring him next as well. .  Mattheus realized how much
he trusted her ability to tune into unexpected clues and run into people who
were able to steer them where nobody else had thought to go.

“Well,
it’s great to have you around,” said Brayton, scraping his chair back on the
floor to get up. “Feel free to use anything you need here to help, and let me
know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Appreciate
that,” said Paul, really meaning it.

Brayton
went back to his office, and Mattheus dove back into the computer, searching
for information on Silbert Hours, the guy in the poker game. His photo came up
right away, a sleazy looking fellow with long curly hair, wearing a few gold
chains.  His records said he owned a massage parlor on the south side of town.
Mattheus wondered if it had anything to do with Andrea, and Salon B. He read
further and saw that Silbert’s place was far away. The guy looked so scraggly
Mattheus wondered where he got his money from. His massage place was probably a
front for something, Mattheus thought. Nothing else much came up about him. He
had no police record, no bankruptcies. Mattheus quickly wrote down his address
and  the phone number of the parlor, and planned to pay him a visit there.

Just
as he was writing down the information, Mattheus felt someone come and stand
behind him, looking over his shoulder. Mattheus turned and looked up. It was
Nojo.

“What’s
that address you’re writing down?” asked Nojo.  

“A
guy named Silbert Hours.”

Nojo
grinned. “Damned if you don’t get the craziest information. What in hell has
this case got to do with him?”

“You
know the guy?” Mattheus was surprised.

“Everybody
knows Silbert House,” said Nojo. “A pathetic loser if ever there was one.”

“He
runs a massage parlor?” said Mattheus.

Nojo
laughed out loud. “Yeah, yeah, tell me another. “He sells the ladies – for a
fistful of dough.”

Mattheus
listened. It made sense to him.

“And
he gets a big piece of the pie. That massage parlor rakes in more than you can
imagine.”

That
explained where this guy got his money for the high stakes game.

 “I
want to find out where he was when Paul was killed,” Mattheus said.

“Oh
brother,” Nojo snorted. “Silbert Hours never goes out in the daylight. It hurts
his eyes. You want to find out where he was that day? You’ll have to ask the
ladies and their customers.”

“You’re
sure about this?” asked Mattheus.

“Positive.”

“I’m
still going to check it out.”

“Enjoy
yourself,” said Nojo. “It’s as good an excuse as any to get a freebee.” And he
laughed and laughed so hard that Mattheus had to get up and walk away.

“And
just remember,” Nojo yelled after him, “that nothing on this island’s free!
There’s a price to pay for everything! Those ladies there are vicious. They’ll
rip your heart in two.” Then he laughed and laughed again so hard that it
sounded like an old caw had gotten trapped in the rafters of the house, and was
struggling to get free.