by Jaden Skye
“Certainly does,” agreed Cindy.
“Actually, Bat is here too,” Kiera went on. “He’s over there on the couch in the corner. Bat hung with us during the storm and talked to everyone, trying to find out what he could about Sparks’s death.”
“I’m glad he did that,” said Mattheus. “We’ll check in with him later. And where’s Benita?”
“Benita’s back in her hotel with Gregg,” Kiera replied. “This is too much for her at the moment. You know Benita is volatile.”
“Yes, I know,” said Cindy. “Is Pete here, too?”
Kiera paused a moment, startled. “Yes, he is.” Kiera caught her breath. “So much has happened so fast. We’ve been hanging out together for a while now.”
“Good for you,” said Cindy. “I remember you told me that Sparks wanted you to be happy, to be with someone you cared for.”
Kiera smiled wanly as her face clouded. “Do you think this would have made Sparks happy?” Her voice dropped.
“I don’t know,” said Cindy, surprised by Kiera’s hesitation. “What do you think?”
“That’s actually why I’m even down in Belize,” Kiera continued. “Sparks wanted me and Pete to reconnect. Sparks was special that way.”
“Very,” said Mattheus.
“I can’t wait to meet Pete,” said Cindy, suddenly feeling eager to speak to him.
“He’s over there near the bar, I’ll introduce you,” said Kiera, pointing to a tall, craggy-looking, suntanned movie star, leaning over the bar in a white summer jacket.
“Wow. Quite a catch,” said Cindy.
“That’s what everyone says,” whispered Kiera, “and still, he seems to like me. If you want to know the truth, we’ve been inseparable.”
*
As soon as they arrived at the bar, Kiera nestled up to Pete and he seemed delighted to have her there. Pete had flashing eyes, brilliantly white teeth, and thick wavy hair. He immediately put his arm around Kiera, as if declaring ownership.
Cindy and Mattheus, a few steps behind her, watched it all unfold.
Finally, Kiera turned toward them. “This is Cindy and Mattheus from CM Investigations,” Kiera informed Pete.
Duly impressed, Pete turned their way. “What brings you on our rocky boat today?” he smoothly jested.
“It’s hardly a secret,” Mattheus answered, annoyed by his question.
“Of course, I know. So sorry.” Pete immediately changed his tactic. “We’re all horrified by what happened to your best man.”
Cindy was struck by the fact that Pete was so clearly aware of their relationship to Sparks.
“You knew Sparks well, didn’t you?” Mattheus commented, as he took a step closer to Pete.
“We all did,” Pete deflected. “Sparks touched so many lives.”
Mattheus wasn’t going along with him, though. “I mean Sparks worked for you, didn’t he?” Mattheus went forward professionally.
“Yes, he did.” Pete became more formal as well. “And he did a wonderful job. I appreciated your friend completely.”
“My friend has now turned into the victim in a homicide.” Mattheus’s voice took a threatening tone. Clearly, he didn’t like Pete referring to Sparks that way.
Pete bristled. “Of course, we are all aware of that.” His tone took on an equally dissonant timbre.
“Why did you hire a security company?” Mattheus plunged onward. “What did you need to be guarded from?”
“Nothing in particular,” Pete answered glibly.
At that moment, another young woman with short dark hair, standing at Pete’s other side, angled over to him. Kiera flinched a moment, but Pete handled it beautifully.
“These lovely ladies flock around me like moths to a flame.” He flashed the young woman a quick smile and deftly turned back to Kiera. “But Kiera and I are thrilled to be back together again.”
Kiera seemed to love that. Cindy found the comment peculiar.
“I didn’t know you were back together.” Cindy picked right up on it.
Pete’s face puckered. “Actually, Kiera and I dated in the past.” He then gave her a flashing smile. “The timing wasn’t right then.”
“And it is now?” Mattheus was clearly trying to corner Pete.
“So far, so good,” Pete chuckled, as Kiera broke into a lovely smile.
Cindy felt a visceral antagonism quickly growing between Pete and Mattheus.
“Can I talk with you alone?” Cindy asked Pete then, not wanting him to withdraw or resist their questions.
Pete seemed relieved. “Certainly,” he offered.
Kiera clung onto Pete’s arm tightly. “I’m coming too,” she added quickly.
“I’d rather Pete and I talk alone,” Cindy objected. “I’ll get him back to you in a few minutes.”
The smile quickly left Kiera’s face. “Pete and I have no secrets from each another,” she insisted.
“Now, you don’t know that, do you?” Pete joked.
“Well, I’d hoped we didn’t.” Kiera pouted.
“Let me go talk to Cindy,” he answered, “and I’ll come back and tell you every word that we said.”
Kiera had no choice but to back away.
Grateful, Cindy followed Pete as he led her to a quiet corner along the edge of the deck.
“Your partner has a short fuse,” Pete said to Cindy as soon as they were alone. “It was a good idea for you to dump him.”
“I didn’t dump him.” The thought of it sickened Cindy. “I just wanted to talk to you alone. Mattheus is under a great deal of pressure right now.”
“Nah, your partner’s got a short fuse.” Pete smiled charmingly at Cindy, enjoying the encounter. “Okay, shoot, what’s on your mind?”
“I need to hear whatever you can tell me about Sparks.” Cindy went directly to the heart of the matter. “Why did you hire him? Was there friction between the two of you? Was there friction between him and anyone you’re aware of?”
Pete nodded, seeming to like Cindy very much. “I hired Sparks because I need to be protected from the public glare. My reputation is worth millions and all kinds of people make moves on you when you rise to the top. They have things against you that you never knew about, including many scheming women who love to blackmail rich guys.”
Cindy was startled by the distaste for women Pete expressed. “Did some woman ever try to blackmail you?” she asked.
“Never,” he replied. “But this is a world of pythons we live in. Sparks made sure there was a fence around me wherever I went and that my image was protected.”
“That makes sense.” Cindy nodded.
“And he did a great job,” Pete added for good measure.
“So I’ve heard,” said Cindy. “Was there anything or anyone in particular you were worried about, though?” Cindy didn’t want to let it go at that.
“No one in particular,” Pete repeated, “but as I said, it’s a garden of snakes that we celebs live in. Just look around the boat and you’ll see.”
Cindy couldn’t dispute what he said. There certainly was a feeling on board of games and trickiness. “Who on this boat should we be looking at?”
Pete blanched. “On this boat? No one in particular. But there is someone down in Belize now, who I would talk to as soon as I could.”
“Who?” Cindy was all over it.
“Go talk to a guy named Wess,” Pete practically whispered. “He’s staying at the Tolders Hotel, not far from your place. It’s a little-known hotel for the very wealthy.”
“I heard about it,” said Cindy.
“Wess has a huge vendetta against Sparks,” Pete spoke hurriedly. “And there’s no reason for him to be down here in Belize now. None at all. Wess started stalking Sparks as soon as he got out of jail, a little while ago. What a nightmare for Sparks. From what I heard Wess was never that far away from him.”
Cindy felt a sense of urgency to speak to Wess.
“Bat mentioned that he saw Benita saying hello to Wess at
the airport,” Cindy mentioned, digging for more. “Did you hear anything about that?”
“I didn’t,” Pete remarked. “But it wouldn’t surprise me. Benita and Sparks knew that Wess was always somewhere a few steps behind. Sparks even told me he was sorry for the guy, he had pity for him. I never quite knew why. If I were you I’d go talk to Wess immediately.”
“Thanks so much, Pete.” Cindy flushed. “This is really helpful.”
“You bet. Let me know what you find out,” Pete added. “Sparks didn’t deserve this. He was a good man. We all miss him and we always will.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The moment Cindy and Mattheus got off the yacht, she told him everything Pete had said.
“I don’t like that guy,” was Mattheus’s first response.
“I could see that. You made it very obvious,” Cindy replied. “But it doesn’t matter what you feel
about him. Pete’s part of that crowd and he knows what he’s talking about. He’s a great source of information.”
Mattheus wasn’t listening to a word Cindy said. “It’s easy to see why Kiera hangs all over him,” he continued, “but I hope someone will tell her that she’s just making a fool of herself.”
“Mattheus, did you hear what I said?” Cindy tried to pull him back on topic.
“Yeah, I heard every word.” Mattheus spun to the main point. “You were saying we should
contact Wess immediately. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that.”
Cindy was surprised by the extent of Mattheus’s reaction to Pete. “What didn’t you like about
Pete?” she finally asked.
“He’s the kind of guy that loves turning on the charm and luring women into his world,”
Mattheus answered. “And it worked with you, didn’t it? There was no reason for you to go off with him alone.”
Cindy smiled to herself. It was strangely comforting to feel a flash of Mattheus’s old jealousy. It let her know that he was returning to himself again.
“Mattheus,” Cindy replied, “I went to talk to Pete alone because the tension between you
was getting in the way. But, charming or not, in the long haul, Pete can’t hold a candle to you. No one can.”
Despite himself, Mattheus grinned.
“Come on, let’s go get a cup of coffee,” Cindy added as they walked along, passing a small roadside café.
“A cup of coffee would be perfect right now,” Mattheus agreed. “After that we can go talk to Wess.”
It was beginning to grow overcast again as Cindy and Mattheus entered the café, which was a simple place, practically empty now. A few small wicker tables and chairs were scattered around and in the corner a television was on, broadcasting the news.
A local waiter brought coffee quickly along with a basket of fresh croissants.
Cindy smiled at Mattheus. “You know, I’m actually flattered that you’re still jealous now and then,” she said.
Mattheus ate his croissant quickly. “I wasn’t jealous of Pete,” he countered. “I just don’t trust anything about him. He’s too slick for my taste. I don’t like those kinds of guys.”
“I’ve noticed,” said Cindy, drinking the delicious, hot coffee which was filled with rich cream.
All of a sudden the TV got louder then, reporting breaking news.
“Police have just taken a suspect into custody in the brutal murder at the beach in Belize. The suspect, a member of the Weelies gang, was just released from jail. He was picked up running away on the Great Southern Fork Road.”
“Angua,” Cindy breathed. “They’ve nabbed him.”
“Good for them.” Mattheus nodded.
“Another example of the excellent work of our police,” the TV reporter went on.
“Watch,” said Cindy, “they’re going to try to close the case fast now.”
“We’ve got to get right down to the station,” said Mattheus, “and talk to the suspect ourselves.”
“They’ll never let us,” Cindy replied.
“They will if we tell them we have other possible suspects and are working with the US Embassy now,” Mattheus replied.
“But we’re not working with them, are we?” asked Cindy.
“Maybe not directly,” said Mattheus, “but I’ve gotten clearance from them to work on the case and talk to anyone we want.”
“But we don’t have other possible suspects either, do we?” Cindy balked.
“We have persons of interest,” Mattheus declared. “In fact, we have quite a few of them.”
Cindy wasn’t sure who he was talking about. “Who?” she asked.
“Anyone who needs to be questioned further is a person of interest,” Mattheus barreled on. “I’m not letting the cops close the case without being positive they got the right guy.”
That was fair enough. Cindy felt that way too. “Okay, let’s get down to the police station immediately. After that, we’ll talk to Wess.”
*
The police station was surrounded by reporters, tourists, a few locals, and sightseers of all kinds. Cindy and Mattheus had to make their way through the crowd to squeeze into the station and up to the officer at the information desk.
“I’m here to talk to Chief Mark Watson,” Mattheus declared as soon as he got the officer’s attention.
“And who are you?” the officer replied, looking at Mattheus strangely.
Mattheus pulled out his card and introduced himself. “We have US Embassy clearance here,” he continued, as the officer begrudgingly picked up the phone to notify the chief’s office.
After a taut silence, the officer nodded to Mattheus. “Okay, go on in. The chief’s in his office upstairs, waiting. But he doesn’t have much time.”
Mattheus grabbed Cindy’s hand and pulled her down the hallway. The minute Mattheus knocked at the chief’s door, it opened and Mark Watson stood there scowling, looking pissed.
“Why the hell am I seeing you guys again here?” he said gruffly.
“We have clearance to work on the case now,” Mattheus replied.
“So I heard.” Watson didn’t like it, seemed to be taking it personally.
“Cindy and I heard about Angua,” Mattheus continued. “We want to talk to him ourselves.”
“Would you really?” Watson sneered.
“We also have two persons of interest to tell you about,” Mattheus continued, trying to butter him up.
“Go to hell.” Watson stamped his foot. “I told you idiots to stay out of the case and out of our way. I couldn’t care less about the supposed persons of interest you trumped up.”
“Sparks was my friend,” Mattheus growled back at him. “He was going to be the best man at my wedding.”
“We’re taking care of the case just fine.” Watson backed down a bit. “Who are your suspects anyway? Some of the idiots on that celebrity yacht?” A quick look of fury flew across Watson’s face.
“Could be,” said Mattheus.
“Well, forget about it.” Watson took a step closer to Mattheus, as if he were about to grab his shoulders and shake him. “The world on that boat is a quagmire and you don’t know the first thing about it. We’re not talking to any of them.”
Cindy was startled. Were the police in the pockets of the celebs, granting them special privileges?
Mattheus stared hard at Watson. “We’ll see about that,” he muttered loudly. “But first, let us talk to Angua.”
“What the hell for?” Watson’s face got red then. “Angua can be vicious and kill again if we let him loose. Everyone knows he killed Sparks both for money and position in the gang.”
“I want to be sure you got the right guy,” Mattheus uttered.
“Yeah? And how exactly will you be sure of that?” Watson practically spit in Mattheus’s face. “You don’t know the lay of the land here.”
Mattheus’s voice got louder. “Well, I’m sure gonna find out,” he growled.
The two men paused and took each other in.
“I’ll make a deal.” Watson finally backed down. “Ten minutes with Angua and you two leave us alone!”
“Ten minutes is a start,” Mattheus muttered.
“Don’t be stupid,” Watson responded harshly. “Ten minutes is a big deal. We’re going out of our way for you.”
“Thank you,” Cindy jumped in then. “We definitely appreciate. Ten minutes is a wonderful start.”
*
Chief of Police Watson had a flunky in the office take Cindy and Mattheus over to the jail in the back where Angua was being held. As they walked down the narrow, winding corridor Cindy felt as though Angua’s fate had been sealed.
“This is a perfect setup for the cops,” Cindy whispered to Mattheus.
Mattheus agreed. “Let’s talk to Angua first and see where we go from there.”
The officer who was leading them stopped at a steel door on the right, jammed his shoulder on it, and a thin, taut officer opened it fast.
Cindy and Mattheus went inside a dark room, which had a small, cracked light shining from above. Inside sat a short, squat Caribbean man, leaning over a table, looking distraught.
“You have ten minutes to talk to Angua,” the guarding officer said, as Angua’s head shot up and he glared at Cindy at Mattheus with swollen eyes.
“Thank you,” said Cindy as the officer backed away, leaving her and Mattheus alone with the ex-con.
Mattheus went right over to the table and sat down across from Angua. Cindy stood for a moment at the door looking at Angua and Mattheus, who were locked together in a moment of anguish.
“I didn’t kill that guy,” Angua mumbled from the bottom of his throat. “There was nothing in it for me.”
“You’re being set up?” asked Mattheus plainly.
Angua’s head rose higher. “You got it, mister.”
“Are the guys in the gang giving you up as bait?” Mattheus continued.
Shockingly, Angua smiled, displaying small, ragged teeth. “The gang’s giving me up as a way to keep the cops off their neck,” he said. “I told the cops I had a real alibi and not one of them asked for it. Make sense to you?” Angua’s smile turned into a leer.