Death by Desire (Book #4 in the Caribbean Murder series) Read online

  To her surprise, her response irritated him.

  “Right now, nothing is understandable,” he replied in a clipped tone. “That’s why both of you are here.”

  Cindy knew it was par for the course for family members to be filled with sudden anger and exasperation. She tried to take it in stride.

  At that very moment, a tall, lanky, beautiful young woman with long, chestnut hair, dressed in white shorts and a T shirt, walked up to the Senator and put her arms around him.

  “Mom heard that they’re here, dad,” the young woman said.

  “This is my elder daughter Winnifred,” the Senator commented.

  “Mom wants to see Cindy immediately,” Winnifred threw Cindy a glance. She seemed calm and poised, like her father. Her younger sister had been killed three days ago, Cindy thought, and she’d had some time to take it in. Now she was probably trying to give the family strength, to normalize things.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Winnifred,” Cindy said.

  “Wynn,” the young woman replied, tossing her long hair back over her well framed shoulders. “Thanks for coming.”

  A tall, slender, very handsome young man walked over to join them, then. He had a shock of blonde hair, piercing hazel eyes, an aquiline face and was dressed impeccably in shorts and an expensive T shirt. The young man had an intelligent air about him as he stood there looking deeply at both Cindy and Mattheus.

  “This is Tad,” the Senator said, “Tiffany’s fiancée.”

  Tad nodded silently.

  Cindy had seen photos of him, but it was shocking to see him in person.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” said Cindy.

  “That’s good of you,” said Tad. “We’re all glad you’re here.”

  The Senator took a deep breath. “This has been a total nightmare for Tad,” he said slowly.

  “I can only imagine,” said Mattheus.

  “Tad was the last to see Tiffany alive,” the Senator quickly filled them in. “Inevitably, he’s become the main suspect. It’s routine, of course. They look always look at those closest to the victim. As of now they have no idea who did it, so, they grab onto whatever seems logical.”

  “Murder is never logical,” said Mattheus.

  “So true,” the Senator warmed to him. “And there’s absolutely no reason to suspect Tad. He and Tiffany were together for almost two years. He’s become a part of our family. We all love him.”

  “We’ll go over this in great detail,” Mattheus said, taking every word in. He also gazed at Tad, who seemed like the very last person in the world who could ever commit such a crime.

  “Dad,” Wynn broke in then, “mom is waiting.”

  “Of course,” the Senator snapped to attention. “Show Cindy to mom’s cabin right away. We don’t want to keep her waiting another minute.”

  Cindy noted a condescending tone creep into the Senator’s voice when he mentioned his wife, as if he were talking about a difficult child.

  “You take Cindy to see mom,” he said to Wynn, “and in the meantime, I’ll fill Mattheus in, introduce him to family and friends.”

  “Fine,” said Wynn, motioning for Cindy to follow her.

  Cindy looked over at Mattheus, who nodded.

  “I’ll be waiting for you here,” he said.

  The Senator looked at Cindy piercingly for a moment before she left.

  “Remember, you can’t take everything my wife says literally,” he said. “She’s not in a normal state of mind.”

  “How can you say this in front of Tad?” Wynn murmured to her father, blushing.

  Tad stood there expressionless though, as if he could not absorb what was going on. He seemed to be in shock as he looked intermittently at Cindy, then Mattheus. Finally, he simply stared over their shoulders, out to the ocean, then way beyond that to the sky.

  “Tad’s part of the family,” the Senator, replied to his daughter, “and I don’t want Cindy misled. Your mother is not in her right mind now.”

  “Who is?” said Wynn.

  “That’s enough for now,” said the Senator, curtly.

  “I’m sorry dad,” Wynn replied, “this is excruciating for us all.”

  “Excruciating,” Tad murmured then, his head dropping down. Then he looked up slowly staring up at the sky, which was filled with clouds drifting peacefully, on what otherwise could be called a beautiful day.

  CHAPTER 3

  Cindy followed Wynn up the narrow, winding staircase to the second floor of the yacht. The wooden floors were polished, the freshly walls painted white, and the door to each cabin along the hallway trimmed in beautiful, ivory molding. Cindy felt as though she could have been walking along a hallway in an exclusive hotel.

  “My mother’s cabin is at the far end,” Wynn said as they walked in that direction. Cindy wondered if her mother and father had separate rooms.

  They got to the mother’s door and Wynn knocked on it tentatively.

  “We’re here, mom,” she said.

  “Come in.”

  Cindy heard a soft voice call back, as Wynn opened the door.

  Inside, the cabin was different from what Cindy expected. It was large, airy and well appointed, with a double bed covered with a crocheted bedspread, comfortable chairs, a white wooden bureau, little tables, and large windows overlooking an outdoor balcony, which stretched out over the ocean. Clearly, Wynn’s mother had lived a grand life, beautifully cared for.

  She did not get up as Cindy and Wynn walked in. Instead, she, sat in one of the chairs, wrapped in a silk, burgundy bathrobe. Her dark hair was pulled back tightly and she wore no makeup at all. Her face was expressionless and she seemed older than the Senator, but it could just have been her state of grief.

  “Close the door,” she said, as they walked in. “Now you can go downstairs with your father,” she said to Wynn. “Leave me and Cindy alone.”

  Wynn seemed surprised. “I’d like to stay,” she said softly.

  “There’s no reason for you to stay,” her mother ordered. “Your father needs you. Rori needs you. Go, right now.”

  Wynn shrugged and walked to the door, casting a long glance at Cindy over her shoulder.

  “Rori doesn’t need me now or ever,” she replied as she walked out the door.

  “This has all fallen on her head and I’m sorry about it,” she said as soon as Wynn left the room. “But she’s always been the strongest of all. Everything falls on her head and she manages it.”

  Cindy walked closer, took a chair and pulled it closer to where she sat.

  “How do you do, I’m Meryl O’Connell,” she said.

  “I’m pleased to meet you and your husband,” Cindy replied.

  “My husband -,” Meryl smiled, “Don’t let him fool you. He makes a terrific impression, but it’s just a front.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Cindy.

  “Richard pretends to be strong,” Meryl continued, “He’s strong in the Senate, he’s strong in his views. He’s tough with negotiations, but otherwise, he’s dying inside.”

  “I’m very sorry,” said Cindy.

  Meryl stopped a moment and truly looked at her.

  “I’ve heard wonderful things about you. You worked wonders in those other cases.”

  “I did my best,” said Cindy. “And I was fortunate.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Meryl asked. “If you’re not fortunate this time? Are you putting me on warning? Taking my last little bit of hope away?”

  “That’s not what I meant,” said Cindy.

  “Failure is not an option here,” Meryl said, suddenly a strict taskmaster. “I need to know what happened to my daughter. I need to know who did it and why!”

  “Of course you do.”

  “I refuse to go on without it.”

  “I understand full well,” said Cindy.

  “Don’t pacify me,” said Meryl, “Treat me with respect. I deserve it.”

  Despite her sharp tongue, Cindy liked her, felt ba
dly for her. Unlike the others on the boat, Meryl seemed to be coming undone. There was nothing she was hiding inside.

  “Do you want a drink before we start talking?” Meryl turned and reached for a bottle of cognac that was on the table besides her. When Cindy looked at her closely, she realized that she’d been drinking since early that day. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy.

  “I’ll skip the drink for now,” said Cindy.

  “Well, I’m taking some,” Meryl poured the cognac into a glass.

  “I need to know whatever you can tell me,” Cindy jumped in. “Maybe you can drink that later on, after we talk?”

  “I’ll drink it now and also tell you whatever you need to know.”

  “Fine,” said Cindy, “let’s start with your telling me exactly what happened. We only have bare bones information so far.”

  “Because the police are trying to keep it secret,” Meryl snapped. “They’re more worried about terrifying the tourists than protecting them from a killer on the loose, or getting justice for my daughter, who’s lying on the beach, cold.”

  Cindy stared at her. Did she truly believe that? Of course the body had been removed from the crime scene days ago. But time hadn’t passed for the mother.

  “Can you tell me some details about the crime,” said Cindy, trying to keep her focused.

  Meryl shook her head. She didn’t seem to be up to much.

  “My husband has all the details of the case. He’ll tell them to your partner. I heard you have a handsome partner, Mattheus, and that the two of you make a dashing team.” Meryl lifted her hand to her hair and brushed it lightly. “You’re creating quite a sensation, you know. People have been looking forward to seeing who the two of you are. There have been quite a few articles about both of you.”

  Despite herself Cindy flushed. It was strange to think of herself as a couple or part of a team. She viewed herself as a widow, a single woman with a working partner at her side.

  “There are many questions I have about the crime,” Cindy wanted to stay on course.

  “Don’t worry, my husband will tell your partner whatever you need to know.”

  “I also want to hear what happened from your point of view. Everyone sees it differently,” Cindy said.

  “So, suddenly I matter now?” said Meryl.

  “You don’t matter usually?” asked Cindy.

  “Not to my husband, not anymore,” Meryl’s jaw jutted out as she raised the cognac glass to her lips.

  “He got what he wanted from me, beautiful daughters, a wonderful home. After that, he lost interest, left me alone most of the time.”

  “Is there some way this is connected to your daughter’s death?” Cindy asked quietly.

  “Of course not,” said Meryl. “It’s just background information. Something the world out there has no idea of. Everyone thinks we’re the perfect couple, a wonderful family. Not one blemish to be found. People scrambled to be invited to the engagement party. An A list event, I’m sure you know.”

  “That’s what I heard,” said Cindy.

  Despite herself, Meryl smiled, remembering the evening.

  “The party was beautiful, fantastic. Everyone was invited,” She seemed breathless at the memory of it. “People came from all over. We brought many of Tiffany’s friends with us down on the yacht. That’s why we did it over Christmas vacation, when everyone would be around. Many of her friends have families with homes down here. They come to St. Bart’s regularly, especially during the Christmas holidays. These kids have grown up together, year after year.”

  Cindy got the picture of an entire world gathering to celebrate this glorious event.

  Meryl continued, her eyes shining briefly, “this engagement was a long time in coming. We were all hoping for it. Tad’s wonderful, was top in his class in Princeton.”

  “What about Tad’s parents?” Cindy suddenly thought of them.

  “Tad’s parents have a villa down here as well. Tad came down on the yacht with us, and then he and Tiffany were planning to spend a few days at his parent’s home after the party.”

  Cindy made a note to meet and interview them.

  “They must be going through hell,” she said to Meryl.

  “Definitely high anxiety,” Meryl responded.

  “Have you spoken with them? Are you all in touch?” Cindy asked.

  “Briefly,” said Meryl. “They’re not exactly the chummy kind. They prefer staying alone with each other and their daughter, Cissy. Of course I can understand that. You don’t share your sorrow with everyone.”

  “Of course not,” said Cindy. But something about the relationship between the two families sounded distant.

  “Seems your families were not very close?” Cindy probed gently.

  “Close enough,” Meryl bristled. “What difference does it make? Tiffany and Tad were marrying each other, not the families. He and Tiffany had an incredible future together. They’d been going together for two years. We were all waiting and hoping. They finally did it, and now, this!”

  “What was their relationship like?” asked Cindy.

  “In the beginning they were on and off, like most kids. It took Tiffany time to realize how wonderful he was. But I realized it right away. And I always knew that they would get married. I felt it the day they first met. So did her twin sister, Rori.”

  “Tell me more,” Cindy said quietly.

  “Richard and I have three daughters,” Meryl went on. Tiffany has a twin sister. Did you know that?”

  “Yes, I heard it, but I haven’t met her yet,” said Cindy.

  “You will. You’ll meet her, you’ll meet everyone. But Rori is nothing like Tiffany. I’ll tell you that up front.”

  Meryl stood up. To Cindy’s surprise she was taller than she appeared in the chair. She walked over to the photos on the wall and motioned for Cindy to come look at them.

  “This is Tiffany,” she said, pointing to a large photo in the middle.

  Cindy saw a dazzlingly beautiful, blonde young woman smiling out at her. She wore a gorgeous Calypso, silk, midnight blue, original gown, with shimmering sequins.

  “We shopped for that dress for a long time,” Meryl said. “It made her eyes more blue, if possible.”

  In the photo Tiffany’s long hair fell around her shoulders and her eyes shone unsuspectingly. Tiffany stood there at the peak of her beauty, at a day which heralded the beginning of a glorious new chapter in her life. Her piercing blue eyes almost looked alive now.

  “She has her father’s eyes,” Meryl went on. “Tiffany was his favorite. Of course I would never say that to anyone else.”

  Beside the photo of Tiffany on the wall, hung another photo of an identical twin. Cindy stared at it. It would have been hard to tell the difference between them, except that the other twin was dressed in a short red satin, halter dress. She wore her hair exactly the same way as Tiffany, but her eyes had a different, defiant look.

  “That’s Rori,” said Meryl. “As different from Tiffany as night from day. I always told them apart easily, but now everything has changed. When I look at Rori, I see Tiffany.”

  “That must be very difficult,” Cindy said.

  “They’re opposites actually. And of course, they were never really close enough. Not like I’d hoped twin sisters would be.” Meryl took another long sip of her cognac. “Don’t hate me,” she said then. “You’re looking at me as though you hate me.”

  “Why would I hate you?” said Cindy.

  “What kind of mother lets her daughter die?”

  “How did you let her die?”

  “I don’t know,” Meryl started sobbing. “I should have stayed with her every minute. They found her at the beach, you know, stabbed.” It was more than Meryl could bear. She started sobbing heavily. “Nobody is supposed to know about the condition of the body,” she managed between sobs. “They’re keeping it secret. It’s all the evidence they have so far.”

  Cindy got up and brought her some tissues that were o
n the small table near her bed.

  “There’s only one real link to the crime,” Meryl’s eyes opened wide. “It’s the necklace I gave her when she was sixteen. It was beautiful, amber, with a special design I made just for her, set in the middle in red rubies. They ripped it off her after she was killed. She never took it off. The murderer did it. I’ll show you a picture of it later.”

  “Did you show the police?” asked Cindy.

  “Yes, I did. They’re searching for it.”

  “Did Tiffany have on anything else on that was valuable?”

  ““It wasn’t because of theft,” Meryl started sobbing again. “The monster stabbed her over and over before she died. What a horrible way to die. Why? And right after her engagement to Tad.”

  It was horrible. Cindy shuddered. “They didn’t find any DNA under her fingernails? She didn’t fight back.”

  “That’s the most awful part,” Meryl got quiet suddenly. “There was no sign of a struggle at all.”

  “How could that be?” asked Cindy.

  “You tell me,” Meryl’s eyes flashed. “She let him kill her. She just succumbed.”

  Cindy’s mind started spinning. What would cause someone not to fight back? Was Tiffany on drugs, was she in her right mind?

  “Do you have any ideas at all about who could have done this?” Cindy had to ask.

  To Cindy’s surprise, Meryl perked up.

  “Yes, I do,” she answered briskly, her lips pursing closed. “I think it was due to jealousy. Someone got so jealous they couldn’t stand to see Tiffany happy. It could have been someone at the party, even. Otherwise, there was no reason for it. Everyone loved Tiffany. She was funny, thoughtful, generous. Not like Rori. Rori’s spoiled and always has been. And everyone knows it.”

  “Who could have been so jealous of your daughter?” Cindy asked.

  Meryl leaned closer to Cindy. “Tiffany’s ex-boyfriend, Shane. Tiffany insisted that we invite him to the party, even though they’d broken up. She’d stayed friends with everyone she ever dated. So, Shane came to the party with his new girlfriend, but he didn’t take his eyes off Tiffany, not for one second. A lot of people noticed it. I noticed it, so did Wynn. She commented on it to me.”