Death by Temptation

by Jaden Skye

  “What makes you think Kara’s here?” Rowley became excited.

  “Why else would you be here?” Cindy retorted.

  “Why would you be here?” Rowley countered fast. “No one told me you were coming.”

  Cindy gained her footing immediately. “What do you mean no one told you? Who told you to come here, anyway?”

  Rowley remained stalwart and silent.

  “Answer me, Rowley, this isn’t a game.” Cindy felt deep anger rising. “There’s a manhunt going on, the police are searching for you now. You disappeared without a word.”

  Rowley seemed unaffected. “I received a call to come here, and I listened,” he mumbled. “The person told me not to tell anyone, just to leave immediately and follow directions. Or else Kara would be harmed.”

  It was a plausible story, but Cindy didn’t buy it. The timing was off. Rowley had left right after Cindy had shown him a photo of Kara and Shane. How likely was it that someone would call him just then?

  “Who called you and told you to come here?” Cindy persisted.

  “I don’t know, his voice was garbled,” Rowley shot back. “He promised to take me to Kara, though.”

  “Was it a ransom call?” asked Cindy.

  “He didn’t say anything about money,” Rowley replied.

  Cindy knew she should give Rowley the benefit of the doubt, but something was off and she felt it. At the very least, she wasn’t getting the whole story.

  “How long have you been waiting here?” Cindy continued. “Not since you left?”

  “Why all these questions, Cindy?” Rowley was suddenly unnerved. “I’m not the suspect. In fact, it’s you who have to answer some questions! What are you doing down here? It’s you who could be making trouble for me! They said not to tell anyone.”

  Cindy heard Felix chortling in the background then. What did he find so funny? Cindy found it disturbing. She decided to jump in and take a huge step then. Rowley’s answers were far too slick. She had to shake Rowley up, push his buttons, break through his exterior and see what was really churning inside. It was fair game for her to do it, too. After all, this was an emergency and all bets were off.

  “You left right after I showed you the photo of Shane and Kara,” Cindy dug in.

  Rowley looked at her blankly. “So?” he replied.

  Cindy knew it was her right to create any kind of scenario that would lead Rowley to tell her the truth, no matter how much it stretched the truth.

  “So, a lot more information has come out since you left,” Cindy continued, waiting to let her words sink in.

  Rowley refused to react.

  “There’s someone down here who’s told me lots more about you,” Cindy lied, hoping he’d take the bait.

  “Who?” Rowley asked calmly.

  “How well do you know Jenna, Shane’s best friend?” Cindy continued.

  “Not at all.” Rowley started getting antsy. “Why would I know her?”

  “Jenna’s down here, Rowley, and she told me, point blank, that you and Shane knew each other.” Cindy kept fishing.

  “That’s ridiculous!” Rowley’s voice rose in dismay. “How dare she say that?”

  “Your game is up, Rowley.” Cindy pulled out all the stops. “Jenna gave us evidence. You lied to the police!”

  Rowley became distraught. “I didn’t lie, exactly.” The words poured out on top of one another. “Shane was Kara’s friend, not mine. I never could stand her.”

  “But you knew her, you met her.” Cindy was breathless. “Isn’t that right?”

  “It’s right, it’s right,” moaned Rowley.

  “And you told the police you didn’t,” Cindy repeated, victorious.

  “Kara met Shane in the shelter,” Rowley burst out forcefully. “Kara helped Shane a lot and they got close. Kara wasn’t supposed to get close to the inmates. They warned her not to and so did I. But she wouldn’t listen, just got close to Shane anyway. Then Shane did a favor for Kara and got her some drugs.”

  “Some favor,” said Cindy. “So, Kara did drugs?”

  “Nothing much, just at parties and stuff.” Rowley’s voice was now shaking. “I begged her not to, believe me. And I told her to stay away from Shane a hundred times.”

  “But Kara didn’t listen to that either, did she?” Cindy pressed on.

  Rowley’s eyes squinted. “Kara didn’t listen to anyone. But it wasn’t such a big deal in the beginning. Who doesn’t do some drugs?”

  “It got worse?” Cindy pushed him. “Kara needed more and more?”

  “No, nothing like that,” Rowley objected. “Kara didn’t need more, Shane did. Shane kept pushing Kara to find her connections. Pushing her to meet me.”

  “Why?” Cindy was startled. “Shane was dealing?”

  Rowley was taut and harrowed now. “I said no a lot of times, but Shane wouldn’t stop. The damn bastards got their claws into her and wouldn’t let go.”

  “Who?” Cindy asked. “The drug ring?”

  “Right,” Rowley snapped. “They found out I was a famous surgeon and wanted Shane to get me dealing back in the States. That’s how they do it, find an entry way and never let go.”

  “Shane was their entry way to you?”

  “Exactly,” Rowley muttered. “She came to see me over and over and each time I refused. Finally, I told her that if she came again, I would call the police.”

  “That didn’t go over well,” Cindy commented.

  “I couldn’t care less, I didn’t care less.” Rowley’s voice got louder, reverberating in the thick air. “But Shane wouldn’t let go, she couldn’t. God knows what she owed them. When Kara wanted to come down to St. Lucia for our honeymoon, I told her I didn’t want to. We knew Shane came down here often. Kara said it didn’t matter. Shane promised she’d leave us completely alone. And Kara always wanted to come to St. Lucia. She kept saying one thing had nothing to do with the other.”

  “Was Kara further in to the drug ring than you knew?” Cindy was stunned by the information.

  “No, she wasn’t,” Rowley insisted, rolling his hands through his messy hair. “Drugs weren’t such a big thing for her, she didn’t care about them.”

  “What did Kara care about, Rowley?” Cindy took a tiny step closer.

  “She cares about me, she loves me.” Rowley’s voice turned into a strange cry.

  “Where is she now, Rowley? Where is she?” Cindy demanded.

  “That’s what I have to find out,” Rowley finally wailed.

  “Why did you lie to the police, Rowley?” Cindy wanted to shake him. She believed what he said but also knew there was more, much more.

  “I had to, I had to.” Rowley was practically retching. “If they realized I knew Shane, it would have been all over the papers. My life would be over. My practice would be ruined. I worked too hard to let that happen. Believe me, this isn’t my fault. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “Obstructing a murder investigation is a crime,” Cindy murmured. “Withholding evidence.”

  “Go to hell, Cindy,” Rowley yelled then. “Are you crazy? Whose side are you on?”

  “You withheld incredibly important information in the search for your wife.” Cindy wouldn’t let up. “For all we know, it could have saved her life.”

  Rowley bent over then as if punched in the gut, pressing his hands along the sides of his head.

  “Kara’s alive, she’s well, they’re bringing me to her,” he started howling. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m the victim here, not the bad guy.” Then he broke into sobs.

  Cindy took a few steps away and let him sob. She had to remember what she was doing here, what was needed now. Immediately, she grabbed her phone to reach Mattheus again. Not only did she have to tell him that she’d found Rowley, but he had to know exactly where she was.

  This time the minute the phone rang, Mattheus picked up immediately. “My God, Cindy, my God, where are you?” He sounded completely anguished.

  “I’m in th
e rain forest basin, here with Rowley,” Cindy answered.

  “What?” Mattheus yelled. “What? Why in hell didn’t you let me know where you were going? I’ve been going through hell trying to reach you. For a while we even thought you could be missing as well!”

  “I tried to call before but your phone didn’t pick up,” Cindy spoke firmly, trying to quiet him down.

  “We can pick up your exact location from your phone’s pings,” Mattheus said quickly. “Believe me, we’ll be there as soon as we can!”

  “Who’s we, Mattheus?” Cindy asked, relieved.

  “I’m with Abe and Darrin, and two other cops you don’t know. This case is on high alert again. My God, Cindy, my God, when I thought you were missing, I didn’t know how I could live. I didn’t want to.”

  “I’m fine, Mattheus,” Cindy said slowly.

  “Are you really, really? Are you telling me the truth?”

  “Get here fast,” Cindy said then. “Not only do we have Rowley, we’re close to finding Kara as well.”

  CHAPTER 22

  After Cindy hung up the phone she turned back to Rowley, who had returned to crouching on the floor of the porch.

  “Get up, Rowley,” Cindy demanded. “It won’t do you any good to curl up and hide.”

  Cindy felt a light hand tapping her shoulder then. She turned abruptly and Felix was behind her, pointing into the distance once again.

  Cindy swiveled around and saw two people arriving in the distance. They walked quickly, without hesitation. As they grew closer, to Cindy’s alarm, she saw Alfred and Jenna approaching. Someone else was also walking behind them too, taking steady, slow steps in the moonlight. How did they know she was here? What was going on?

  “Alfred,” Cindy uttered, amazed, when they arrived. “Jenna?”

  Alfred stared at Cindy, equally shaken. “What are you doing here, Cindy? What?” he exclaimed. “You weren’t invited.”

  Felix chortled once again in the background.

  Jenna tried to take a step toward Cindy, but Alfred held her back.

  Cindy was disturbed by his comment. “This is my case, where else should I be? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I thought you were helping me.”

  “Of course I’m helping you, but having you here is not necessarily helpful,” Alfred hissed. “I never told you to come to this place. I had orders to come here with Jenna, that’s all.”

  Right then the person who had been walking behind Alfred and Jenna emerged in the flickering light. To Cindy’s horror, Santos stood there grinning, taking it all in. She didn’t know whether to be relieved to see him or terrified.

  “Santos?” Cindy uttered.

  “Alfred’s right, no one invited you here, Cindy,” he spoke in a low, heavy tone. Then he threw a quick perturbed glance at Felix.

  Cindy knew she had to protect both of them. She wanted to tell Santos that he was the one who had invited her. After all, he’d given her the photo, hadn’t he? Didn’t he expect her to trace it? She couldn’t say that out loud though because Santos had warned her not to tell anyone. What kind of a game was he playing with her, anyway? Had Santos arranged to have all of them gathered here?

  “Did you hear me, Cindy?” Santos asked in a threatening tone. “I said no one invited you here.”

  “I did receive an invitation to be here.” Cindy flared up. She had no intention of letting him intimidate her. “I received a gift, Santos. It was a photo of a woman curled up in a hut. I needed the location, so I found it. I believed the person who gave me the gift wanted me to find her. Otherwise, why would he give me the photo at all?”

  Santos smiled slowly, his teeth shining in the light. Then he turned to Rowley, who was still crouching.

  “Stand up and be a man,” Santos demanded of him.

  Rowley slowly untangled himself. “I am a man, I will always be a man.” He sounded stricken.

  “Who made the call to Rowley?” Cindy emerged from the shadows, deciding to take on her rightful position here. She couldn’t let Santos silence her.

  “I made the call,” Alfred piped up unexpectedly.

  “At my command. I told Alfred to call him.” Santos stepped in, moving closer to Cindy.

  “Why?” Cindy turned fully to Santos then, her heart beating wildly. “Is Kara alive? Do you want her husband to see her?”

  Santos’s eyes turned into slits, beaming. “You go too far, Cindy, you don’t know where to stop.”

  “I stop when my case is solved,” Cindy uttered.

  “This puts you in great danger,” Santos warned. ”Especially in St. Lucia alone.”

  Strangely enough, Cindy didn’t feel endangered at all. “I am not alone, ever,” she remarked. “When you do what’s right, there’s help waiting in every corner. I see that now.”

  Santos seemed to like that, and quieted down. “Come closer, Rowley,” Santos insisted then.

  Rowley took another step in their direction and all at once saw Jenna standing there.

  “Jenna?” Rowley called in a strained tone.

  “Alfred told me to come,” Jenna answered, agitated. “Shane is dead, she was killed. My best friend is gone.”

  Rowley lunged off the porch toward Jenna in a flash.

  “How could you have told Cindy about me and Shane?” he went at her. “You promised never to say a word.”

  “I didn’t tell her,” Jenna jumped back. “I kept my promise to you and Shane.”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Rowley grabbed Jenna by the shoulders.

  “I didn’t.” Jenna’s voice got louder. ”I swear I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “How many times did I tell you and your crazy friend to leave me alone?” Rowley demanded, pressing Jenna’s shoulders hard.

  “I swear by my life, I never told Cindy. I just gave her the photo of Kara and Shane,” Jenna cried out with alarm.

  Rowley swiftly pushed her to the side and lunged toward Cindy. Like a drunk he leered in Cindy’s face.

  “You made this up?” Rowley yelled. “Did Jenna tell you I knew Shane?”

  “No, she didn’t.” Cindy swerved out of his reach. “I made it up to get the truth out of you. And I got it.”

  “You trapped me!” Rowley howled, stretching his hands out to grab at Cindy.

  Santos stepped in quickly, blocking Rowley’s move.

  “Nobody touches Cindy, ever,” he declared. “I will kill anyone with my own hands that tries.”

  Rowley looked terrified as Santos raised his hands toward Rowley’s neck.

  “I’m not going to hurt Cindy, I’m not going to hurt her,” Rowley whimpered. “I just want to find my wife. Is she still alive?”

  “Yes, your wife is alive,” Santos declared, “and she wants to see you.”

  A stunned silence fell over the group.

  “Oh my God, oh my God.” Rowley fell over, trembling.

  “The guys kidnapped your wife to give you a push,” Santos went on. “They wanted to scare you.”

  “To force me to deal drugs?” Rowley breathed.

  “Exactly,” Santos declared. “But one thing they did wrong that still bothers me. They did not ask for my approval.” Cindy saw his hands curl into fists. “Nobody kidnaps a young woman without first asking Santos.”

  “Who did it?” Cindy breathed hard.

  Santos turned toward Cindy intensely. “That is no business of yours, my dear! Who it was doesn’t matter. When you do something like this and you’re not told to, you won’t be around for very long anyway.”

  Cindy heard Felix chortling softly in the background. Santos smiled along with him. Suddenly Cindy realized that Santos had to have known she was here. Holly probably told Santos that Felix had brought her. Santos must have come now to look after her. Cindy felt a swift and deep wave of appreciation.

  “Why would someone take it upon themselves to have Kara kidnapped?” Cindy asked Santos quietly, knowing that one way or another he would give her some kind of answer now.

  “I
t could have been someone who failed in their mission.” Santos’s voice became resonant. “Someone who tried to get Kara’s husband into the ring. Could be she had a debt she was paying, and the person she owed wouldn’t let her off the hook.”

  “You’re talking about Shane?” Cindy said, startled. There was no one else Santos could have been referring to. Shane had been on a mission to get Rowley to deal drugs. “Shane arranged to have Kara kidnapped?”

  “I’m not saying the person meant this kind of harm.” Santos became indefinite. “Maybe this person always planned to get Kara out of hiding, once they got her husband to say yes to the ring.”

  “Kara was a pawn.” Cindy looked at Santos.

  “What else?” He shrugged. “A stupid pawn.”

  Rowley cringed. “Kara was not stupid, she tried her best. She loved me.”

  “It was never meant to go this far, was it, Santos?” Cindy saw it all clearly then.

  “Of course not,” Santos growled. “It was never meant to happen at all. So, of course, Santos will bring the wife back, now.”

  A moment of silence fell upon them all. Santos was going to take them to Kara, release her. Did Kara have any idea that they were close by? The idea of seeing her alive once again was a shock to all of them. But there was more, and Cindy felt it.

  “The person who had Kara kidnapped must have contacted the husband after the wife disappeared,” Cindy mused out loud. She was on a roll, the skies were parting. Shane had to have arranged this, but was convinced that Rowley would agree to deal. Kara would be let free then.

  “Of course the husband was contacted,” Santos chimed back. “The person who had Kara kidnapped contacted him immediately afterwards and told him if he didn’t get involved with the ring, his wife would be killed.”

  Cindy shuddered from head to toe.

  “That’s not true, it’s not true.” Rowley started sobbing.

  “It is true.” Alfred glared at Rowley. “You know it’s true, I know it’s true.”

  “Get the hell out of my life,” Rowley practically spit at Alfred.

  “I’m the one who’s bringing you to Kara and you’re spitting at me?” Alfred voice grew piercing. “I’m the one who’s been searching for her night and day. Who’s the one who really cares about Kara? You tell me.”