by Jaden Skye
Cissy turned white. “My God, I was afraid of it, I was afraid.”
“You were afraid of it?” Mattheus said, his face contorting, “and you didn’t say a word?”
“I couldn’t, I couldn’t,” Cissy was trembling.
“And what if he killed someone else?”
“He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t,” Cissy kept trembling.
“Once they get a taste of blood, they’re gone,” said Mattheus, “they do it again and again.”
“Not always,” Cissy tried to defend him.
“He just tried to kill me,” Cindy edged in between. “He was going to choke me to death.”
Cissy looked as if she was going to faint.
“Where would your brother go if he’s on the run?” Cindy demanded.
“I’ll show you,” said Cissy, the blood draining from her face. “I know his favorite spot on top of a mountain. He goes there when he’s upset. He goes there when he’s lonely. He goes there when my father is hating his guts.”
“Take us there this second,” said Mattheus.
“I will,” said Cissy.
CHAPTER 22
Their car flew over the roads, up the hills, across a little bridge that covered a ravine and straight up a hill then, leading to a mountain top. On the way there Cindy called the police to let them know where they were headed. They’d already mobilized and were on the way.
“We’re on it! Full point alarm out,” Tomas said.
“Full point alarm out,” Cindy repeated, so Mattheus could know what was going on.
“He’s done,” muttered Tomas, heatedly then. “This guy hasn’t got a chance. Bulletin out. It’s a manhunt! We’re circling the mountain.”
Cindy gasped. She felt terrified for Tad and for all of them, hunting a person down as if he were an animal.
“They’re all on the way,” Cindy whispered hoarsely. “He hasn’t got a chance.”
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Cissy started sobbing. “My brother couldn’t help it. Give him a break. He was driven to it. My father wouldn’t let up. He kept saying she was a whore.”
“What break did he give Tiffany?” Mattheus barked, as he drove single mindedly, obsessed.
“She was sleeping with Frances,” said Cissy.
“Does that mean she deserved to die?” Cindy asked.
“Should I call my parents?” Cindy started sobbing again.
“Not yet,” said Cindy, putting her hand on Cissy’s arm.
“I bet this wasn’t the first time your brother killed,” Mattheus commented as he drove fiercely to the destination. “The murder was too carefully planned – no fingerprints or evidence of any kind.”
“What are you saying?” asked Cissy, trembling.
Mattheus stared her for a second and then turned right back to the road.
“I’m betting your brother killed before,” Mattheus was cornering her.
Cissy got stone silent.
“You keep something from us,” Mattheus was furious, “and you’re an accessory to the crime.”
“He killed little animals when he was little,” Cissy said in a tiny voice. “He and my dad would bury them in the backyard. My father said Tad had been hunting, but it made me nauseous. He killed people’s pets. I always begged him never to do it again.”
Cindy’s body trembled from head to foot.
“Your mother knew about it?” asked Cindy.
“Yes,” Cissy answered blankly. “She knew about everything but didn’t do a thing.”
“So, who’s the real killer here?” Cindy said, shaken. “It’s complicated, it’s complicated.”
“Not as complicated as you think,” muttered Mattheus. “I’m gonna get this guy if it’s the last thing I do.”
They were there a few feet now from the top of the mountain. The car slowed down, drove up and parked behind a cluster of trees.
“Okay,” Mattheus got out and yanked on Cissy’s arm.
“Show us exactly where your fantastic brother goes to hide.”
They walked a few feet up a hill which led to the top of the mountain. It had gotten a little cooler, with a small breeze that arose. Tad was there on the highest plateau, standing with his arms out in the air. The gendarmes and two other cops had gotten there already. Cindy was startled to see Hanuah among them. All of them were circling the mountain, and Tomas had a megaphone. There was no way Tad could ever escape.
Cindy, Mattheus and Cissy arrived and stood beside them. A few minutes after that, the Senator arrived with Rori.
“Alright, you’re cornered,” the megaphone shouted. “Come down peacefully, or we’ll shoot.”
“Don’t let them shoot, don’t let them shoot,” Cissy was clinging to Cindy.
“Come down now, or else,” the megaphone insisted.
Tad stood there, as if made of stone. He tossed his head back as they spoke, letting the breeze wash over him.
“Are you coming down?” the megaphone called mercilessly.
“Never!” Tad finally shrieked back.
“Help him, please,” Cissy begged.
“We’re coming up then,” the megaphone shouted.
Cindy walked over to the cops. “Give me a crack at this,” she said. “I know him. I can talk him down.”
Hanuah looked at her between half closed eyes, unable to meet her gaze. He must have been involved in my mugging, Cindy thought. I could have died like Tiffany. He’s no better than Tad.
“Give me the megaphone,” Cindy demanded, furious then. “I got him to this point, and I have a right to talk him down off the mountain.”
Tomas handed the megaphone over to Cindy.
She put it to her mouth immediately.
“Tad, this is Cindy. “Come down. You’ll be taken care of.”
“You lied to me,” he shrieked. “You lied! All of you bitches, bitches, roll a man over in bed and then throw him into the mud.”
“I never lied to you, Tad. You lied to me.”
“That’s all you bitches live for, throwing a guy into the mud.”
Cindy shook her head slowly. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of Tad.”
She heard Cissy sobbing in the background.
“Your sister’s here too, she wants you to come down.”
“My sister’s a pig, like the rest of them,” Tad shrieked back. “You want me to come down? Alright, I will,” and in a suddenly flash, he raised his arms higher like a terrified bird and flung himself down off the mountain, spinning through the air and then crashing heartlessly onto the stone below.
When they got to him, he was face up, in a pool of blood, unmoving, staring mindlessly into the hot, empty summer sky.
CHAPTER 23
Cindy and Mattheus’ plane left for the States without them on it. No one would let them leave. Along with the shock and grief caused by the suicide, there was great relief that the killer had been found. Cindy and Mattheus were thanked, honored, congratulated, not only by the police, but the Senator, his family and even Petrovich joined in. They had done incredible work, all agreed. A dinner on the Senator’s yacht was planned to officially honor them.
Before the dinner, the Senator pulled Mattheus to the side.
“Before you go home,” he insisted, “you and Cindy have to take a few days as my guest, anywhere you like on the island. You need to time to relax, rest up, enjoy.”
Mattheus had accepted the invitation immediately, and the Senator had arranged for an adjoining suite for them at a luxurious, private villa-hotel, on a secluded beach.
“We can use a few days to unwind,” Mattheus said to Cindy, when we told her about the invitation.
Cindy agreed. She certainly needed to relax and process everything that had gone on. The sight of Tad jumping and then laying there dead on the ground would never leave her mind. She thought about it over and over. Was there anyway she could have prevented him from jumping? What could she learn from this? Would any of it ever make sense?
During the dinner on the
yacht, the Senator, his family, and Petrovich made little speeches, offering thanks.
At the end, Mattheus stood up to talk.
“All of our success was only due to Cindy’s amazing bravery,” Mattheus said.
Public acclaim as last thing Cindy wanted at the moment. Not only was she exhausted, she was heartsick at how it had all come to an end. There were no winners, here, Cindy felt. There was only the satisfaction of knowing she’d prevented another killing from taking place. Someone else’s life had been spared.
After the dinner was over, the Senator arranged for a car to take Mattheus and Cindy from the yacht to their new hotel.
Once in the car, Mattheus put his arm around Cindy.
“I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you,” he said.
Cindy put her head back on his shoulder. It felt wonderful resting there. His shoulder was strong and comforting.
“You’re the most important woman in the world to me,” Mattheus whispered into her ear.
Deeply touched, Cindy lifted her face and looked into his eyes. They were warm, open and filled with a depth of caring she’d never seen before. She moved closer to him then, turned her face upwards, and suddenly, their lips met. The world spun around and Cindy melted into a moment more beautiful and fulfilling than anything she’d ever expected or hoped for.
“We belong together forever,” Mattheus breathed as they drew apart.
Cindy looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
“What does forever mean?” she whispered.
“Forever starts right where we are,” Mattheus smiled, “and means we walk together through all the years.”
Cindy smiled. She loved the way he had of putting things.
He smiled with her, looking boyish and playful, filled with anticipation.
“Can’t wait to get to the hotel,” he murmured.
Neither could Cindy.
“Let’s forget about the adjoining rooms,” she whispered, as they drew together in a passionate embrace, one that both of them had been waiting for, longer than they’d realized.
NOW AVAILABLE!
DEATH BY DECEIT
Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series
TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD DEATH BY DECEIT ON AMAZON NOW!
In DEATH BY DECEIT (BOOK #5 IN THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES) Cindy and Mattheus, finally together, prepare to take time off and live together—when a stunning upset in their relationship tears them apart. Cindy flies home to New York, resigned to never work as a detective—and never see Mattheus—again.
And then a shocking phone call comes out of the blue: it is Mattheus. A new body has turned up. Cindy at first refuses—until he tells her who it is: his wife. They finally found her, on the shores of Key West. Brutally murdered, they suspect, by an abusive boyfriend.
Mattheus’ world is upside down, and Cindy has no choice but to fly back down to the islands and help him uncover what really happened. Why did she turn up now, after so many years? How did she turn up in Key West, so far from where he’d last seen her? Why had she never contacted him? Who was she dating? And have the police caught the right man?
Their investigation takes them deep into the underworld of Key West, a gorgeous, idyllic place where the locals gather to watch the sunset every night with an evening drink. It is an enchanting place—but as Cindy learns, it is also a place with a dark underbelly. Cindy prods deeper into the murder and her investigation takes her into the world of an abused woman’s shelter. Soon, she is convinced the police have the wrong man. She and Mattheus, thrown together again, reconsider their feelings for one another. But there may not be time: Cindy finds out too much and comes in danger herself. As the murder hits too close to home, it may be too late for them both.
Books #6--#8 in the series are now also available!
TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD DEATH BY DECEIT ON AMAZON NOW!
Books by Jaden Skye
THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES
DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)
DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2)
DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3)
DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4)
DEATH BY DECEIT (Book #5)
DEATH BY JEALOUSY (Book #6)
DEATH BY PROPOSAL (Book #7)
DEATH BY OBSESSION (Book #8)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
Tap here to download Jaden Skye books on Amazon now!
Please visit Jaden’s site, where you can join the mailing list, hear the latest news, see additional images, and find links to stay in touch with Jaden on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and elsewhere:
www.jadenskye.com