Текст книги "Death by Request"
Автор книги: Jaden Skye
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D E A T H B Y R E Q U E S T
(book #11 in the CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES)
Jaden Skye
About Jaden Skye
Jaden Skye is author of the #1 Bestselling CARIBBEAN MURDER series, which includes 10 books (and counting). The first book in the series, DEATH BY HONEYMOON, a #1 Bestseller, is now available as a FREE download on Amazon!
Also in the series are DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2), DEATH BY MARRIAGE (#3), DEATH BY DESIRE (#4), DEATH BY DECEIT (#5), DEATH BY JEALOUSY (#6), DEATH BY PROPOSAL (#7), DEATH BY OBSESSION (#8), DEATH BY DEVOTION (#9) and DEATH BY BETRAYAL (#10). She is also author of the romance A PERFECT STRANGER.
Jaden has always been fascinated with mystery, wrongful death, lies, deception and the power of the truth to prevail. Her romantic suspense/mystery novels feature strong female protagonists who must overcome insurmountable obstacles, and through them, she seeks to get to the very heart of the nature of justice and love.
Please visit www.jadenskye.com to find links to stay in touch with Jaden via Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, her blog, and a whole bunch of other places. Jaden loves to hear from you, so don't be shy and check back often!
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)
DEATH BY DEVOTION (Book #9)
DEATH BY BETRAYAL (Book #10)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
Tap here to download Jaden Skye books on Amazon now!
Copyright © 2014 by Jaden Skye
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This Book was purchased by moggins.
If you did not get it from a moggins post then the person who uploaded it is a leech.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 1
As the plane zigzagged across the sky, Cindy gripped Mattheus’s hand and closed her eyes. It was incredible being back with him again on their trip down to Jamaica. It was also shocking to be on a new case so quickly after her own sister Ann’s murder. Cindy’s head spun as the plane rocked back and forth. It was amazing to Cindy that she’d been able to jump in, mobilize, take Ann’s case and actually find the killer. Cindy wondered what Ann would think about her going forward so quickly now with another case. But, what else could she do? Cindy had thought of returning to her cottage in Oyster Bay with Mattheus, but the place was drenched in memories. She and Ann had spent so much meaningful time there together that Cindy couldn’t bear being there without her now. She wasn’t ready to face either the memories or the visitors that would crowd in. She couldn’t stand the thought of receiving endless condolences, looking at sad faces or trying to make sense of something that was senseless at its core. Oddly enough, Cindy felt stronger and safer here on the plane with Mattheus, focusing on how she could help the next victim of crime who was suffering as much as she had.
“We’ll be landing in about half an hour,” Mattheus leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Are you awake? Are you ready?”
Cindy smiled. Mattheus was being extra solicitous. She liked it. He couldn’t get over the fact that the second Cindy heard that Ann had been killed she’d jumped on the case. Most women couldn’t have done something like that.
“You’re different, you’re special, you have a gift for this work”, Mattheus had said to her over and over.
Cindy had enjoyed hearing that. It was wonderful having Mattheus at her side again, validating who she was and what mattered to her. Cindy also had to admit that she did have a gift for the work; she loved investigating crimes, digging the truth out, putting an end to dangerous deceptions. The work was healing for her. When Cindy was on a case it soothed the endless ache inside her heart that had ever gone away after Clint was killed. Now, Ann. How else could she live through this?
“Cindy, do you hear me?” Mattheus whispered a bit louder now. “I asked if you were ready?”
Cindy stirred in her seat. It felt lovely hearing Mattheus whisper to her.
“I’m ready,” she replied, opening her eyes and looking at him. He was leaning over her, his handsome rugged face close to hers. His beautiful eyes looked at her lovingly.
“Were you sleeping?” Mattheus gently brushed her moist hair back from her forehead.
“I’m awake,” Cindy replied. “Just mulling over the details of the new case.”
“You never stop, do you?” asked Mattheus.
“No, I don’t, I can’t,” Cindy replied.
“There’ll be plenty of time for going over the case,” he stroked her forehead slowly.
“There’s never plenty of time, and you know it,” Cindy answered playfully, sitting up.
“Sometimes there is,” Mattheus replied. “This new case is different. The suspect’s already been arrested.”
“So what?” That didn’t mean much to Cindy. So many times the main suspect was just a convenient cover for the real culprit. “Besides, “she went on, “the main suspect’s the one who called us down to help. We’re working for him, remember?”
“Of course I remember,” said Mattheus. “But I’m not so sure what we can do. The Chief of Police told me it’s a clear case cut of euthanasia. Owen helped his wife die. For all we know he could have thought it was an act of mercy.”
“Let him speak for himself,” warned Cindy. “He may have a completely different take on it. Besides, when have we ever believed any Chief of Police?”
“This time is different,” Mattheus continued. “There’s clear cut evidence. And, it’s not like we have to hunt down a killer on the loose.”
“You never know,” Cindy murmured. Usually Mattheus didn’t have as much contact with the police up front as he’d had this time. As soon as the Jamaican police discovered that Owen Danden, the main suspect, had hired C and M Investigations, they’d called Mattheus to fill him in. This was a high profile case and the last thing the police wanted was more lurid publicity. Owen was a rich, powerful, well connected real estate developer and mogul. The police clearly wanted Cindy and Mattheus on their side.
“The police are trying to disarm you,” Cindy told Mattheus as he took a few calls from them before they left for Jamaica.
“Nah, they’re saving us time, filling us in,” Mattheus protested.
It didn’t feel good to Cindy right from the start. She didn’t need the police to call and go over details that had already been made public. The case had garnered lots of attention, was all over the papers and TV. As soon as Cindy and Mattheus were hired Cindy read all about it carefully. Two months ago, Owen Danden was on vacation in Jamaica with his beautiful wife Tara, of twenty years. They were celebrating their anniversary on the water in a boat, happy and laughing, when huge gusts of wind blew up from nowhere. According to the papers, the boat went crazy, started shaking, tipping, and suddenly Tara fell overboard. As Owen tried desperately to steer the boat away from his wife, the gears locked and the edge of it hit her in the head, again and again. Owen shouted for help, but by the time he’d pulled her out of the water, Tara was alive, but not responding. An all-out SOS call went forth and both Owen and Tara were soon airlifted to the Ranges Hospital.
The Ranges Hospital was a beautiful, private, international hospital, located nearby on top of a nearby cliff. Tara was immediately placed in the ICU, in a special section for coma patients. The prognosis was guarded, they all had to wait and see now how she would progress. Would she wake up? Would she live the rest of her life in a vegetative state? Beside himself, Owen stayed glued to his wife’s bedside for two months, attending to her every need, waiting for her to open her eyes and speak to him. Cindy read the story in the paper over and over.
“The paper said that Owen never left Tara’s bedside,” Cindy reminded Mattheus now. “How did he get from that to being suspected of killing her at the end?”
“He got tired, exhausted,” Mattheus answered bluntly. “That kind of vigil takes an incredible toll.”
Cindy’s nose wrinkled. “Too simple,” she replied.
“Euthanasia is complicated,” Mattheus insisted. “In some places it’s not even considered a crime.”
“But it is in Jamaica,” Cindy reminded him, “and Owen was smart. He had to realize that. Besides, how can we be sure it was euthanasia?”
Mattheus shook his head slowly. “So far as I’ve read nobody has questioned the way Tara died. She died by a lethal substance put into her IV.”
Cindy didn’t go for that, either. “If Owen wanted to kill her,” Cindy said quickly, “he could have just had them pull the plug. That’s involuntary, passive euthanasia, withholding treatment or life support. It’s not as serious as actively killing someone.”
“But a lethal substance could be quicker, less painful,” Mattheus disputed it. “Maybe Owen didn’t want to see his wife suffer dying slowly like that.”
“But if Tara was in a coma,” Cindy mused, “she wouldn’t feel anything anyway.”
“You never know,” said Mattheus. “I’ve read all kinds of things about people in comas.”
Cindy had read a great deal about it as well. Some claimed that people in comas could hear everything being said. There were even cases of people coming out of comas and reporting conversations around them, word for word. The idea of that frightened Cindy, made her think of her sister, Ann. Had Ann been aware that she was dying, what was the last thing she’d heard before she died?
“There are too many unknown variables,” said Cindy. “We’re going to have to stay very grounded and careful with this case.” She ran her hands through her hair then, tying it neatly at the bottom of her neck. Cindy wanted to feel pulled together as they’d be landing soon. Owen had sent a car to the airport to meet them. Cindy and Mattheus would take the car, go to their hotel, check in and then immediately head to the scene of the crime at the hospital. The police were there already, expecting them.
“I love our being back together,” Mattheus said as he watched Cindy straighten her hair. “I love tackling new cases with you.”
Cindy leaned towards Mattheus. “Me, too, I love it,” she said.
“I can see us doing this forever and ever,” Mattheus whispered.
“So can I,” Cindy answered. “And, hopefully, we can do other things, too.”
“Lots of other things,” Mattheus grinned. “We have our whole life before us.”
A loud voice over a microphone interrupted them then. “Prepare for landing, buckle your seat belts.”
Cindy caught her breath. “My God, we’re here already?” The flight had taken no time.
“It’s good, it’s all good,” Mattheus smiled. “Let’s go for it, let’s go for everything.”
Cindy felt a wave of warmth and appreciation for Mattheus as they leaned back, buckled up and got ready to descend. Where in the world would Cindy be without him now? She had no idea.
*
The plane glided to an easy landing. Cindy and Mattheus got off, picked up their luggage and walked to the front of the airport where the car Owen had sent was waiting for them. As they walked, Cindy breathed the sweet, balmy air, and enjoyed the beautiful palm trees that welcomed visitors from near and far. To her surprise, Cindy was relieved to be in Jamaica, felt at ease here. As she and Mattheus got into the car and drove off to their hotel, she felt ready to start on a new case again.
Mattheus’s mind was not on the case right then though. “Great place for a honeymoon,” he said, edging close to her.
Cindy couldn’t respond. The idea of having another honeymoon was startling. And the realization that her sister Ann would not be at her second wedding felt like a terrible blow.
“Jamaica looks like a great place for everything,” Cindy replied simply.
“I took the liberty of getting just one room for us at the hotel this time,” Mattheus said softly as the car sped quickly along the highway. “Is that okay?”
Cindy smiled at the boyish look in his eyes. “Yes, it’s okay,” she said softly, relieved at the thought of being close to Mattheus and sleeping in his arms all night long. At this point, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter 2
After quickly checking into the beautiful Sands Hotel, Cindy and Mattheus planned to go to their first destination, the crime scene at the Ranges Hospital. They wanted to personally inspect the room Tara Danden had died in.
The Sands Hotel well situated, equally distant from the hospital, police station and center of town. It was one of the most luxurious hotels on the island and Owen had reserved the grand suite on the top floor to make their stay as comfortable as possible.
“Not necessary, not necessary,” Mattheus muttered as he and Cindy stepped into the elevator with the bellman.
They arrived at their suite and the bellman opened the door and dropped their bags inside.Cindy looked around at the magnificent surroundings. The room was filled with exquisite antique furniture, paintings and plants. Huge windows looked out at the sprawling ocean and sky.
“This wasn’t necessary,” Mattheus repeated.
“It’s fine,” Cindy assured him, “Owen’s just letting us know that we’re important to him.”
“It’s all just a distraction,” Mattheus was irritated by the grandeur. “What’s this guy thinking? This is not a party, it’s a murder investigation. We’re not here to join the rich and famous. We have to stay focused on his wife’s death.”
“We always stay focused,” Cindy replied as Mattheus tipped the bellman. “Let me freshen up from the plane trip and then we’re off to the hospital.”
Cindy went into the marble bathroom, splashed cool water over her face, brushed her long, wavy hair until it felt smooth and manageable. She freshened her makeup and then looked in the mirror for a long moment. The face that looked back out at her was different now, older, more worn. The ordeal she’d just been through had certainly taken a toll. Despite Cindy’s rose lipstick and suntan, a deep sorrow was etched into her skin. Would it ever leave her? Cindy had no idea.
“Are you tired? Do you need to rest?” Mattheus was calling to Cindy from outside, obviously eager to get going.
Despite herself Cindy smiled. She liked the fact that once Mattheus started on a case he wouldn’t let himself be held back by anything.
“No, I’m good to go. I’ll be there in a second,” Cindy called to him. Mattheus energized her and inspired her and she inspired him as well. They were a great combination and she knew it. She was tremendously grateful for him now.
Cindy walked out into the main room, ready to go.
“God, you look beautiful,” Mattheus declared, as if seeing her for the first time.
“You always look beautiful to me, Cindy. No matter how many times I see you, I’ll never get over it.”
Cindy smiled, went closer and hugged him. “Okay, beautiful or not beautiful, time to go,” she said, “the crime scene is waiting for us.”
*
It was a short taxi ride to the Ranges Hospital, which was situated on the top of a cliff, up a winding hill. As you drew closer you could hear the waves below beating the shore. Internationally known and tremendously expensive, the Ranges hospital was beautifully designed, filled with light, sun and views of the now turbulent ocean. When wealthy residents or visitors to Jamaica got injured or ill, this place was a haven for them. It was totally different from most of the other hospitals on the island, which were sprawling, crowded and often dirty.
“Come up here often?” Mattheus asked the driver as they were almost at the hospital entrance.
“Once in a while I take visitors here from the Sands Hotel or the Villas,” the driver sneered. “Don’t see too many of my kind of folk up here, though. And, most of the other hospitals on the island aren’t something to write home about, either.”
Mattheus bristled, “Sorry, fella, I really am,” he said. “It’s a dumb, lousy situation.”
Cindy put her hand on Mattheus’s arm to calm him down before they entered the hospital. Mattheus had an aversion to the wealthy which surfaced abruptly from time to time. Occasionally, Cindy even wondered if Mattheus enjoyed seeing the dark side of wealthy people’s lives. It validated something for him.
“Let’s start out on the right foot, Mattheus,” Cindy said as they got out of the cab and walked to the grand entrance. “We’ve got to stay neutral and clear.”
“You’re right,” Mattheus stopped and nodded. “You keep me straight, Cindy and I love that.”
Cindy squeezed his hand as they walked through the main door and entered a long marble foyer with very high ceilings. Then they went over to the reception booth where a beautiful young, Jamaican woman sat smiling at them.
“C and M Investigations,” Mattheus said to the young woman the moment they approached.
The dazzling smile left her face quickly and she looked down.
“We need to go to Tara Danden’s Room,” Mattheus continued.
“The crime scene?” the young woman asked, looking up.
“Right,” said Mattheus simply.
“I’ve been told you’d be coming,” the young woman spoke so softly now it was hard to hear. “Go to the third floor, Section 222. The room’s on the right, behind large, folding doors. There’s a sign that says no visitors permitted, the police have roped the area off.” She threw a fleeting glance at Cindy, a look of fear flickering across her eyes. “I thought the case was solved,” she murmured.
“It’s okay, we’re only here to help,” said Cindy as the young woman’s smile slowly returned and she motioned for them to proceed.
As Cindy and Mattheus walked their footsteps echoed along the highly polished floors. Then they stepped into an elevator which was filled with soft, cloying music. Everything was arranged to completely disguise the fact that they were in a hospital. The place seemed like a posh rest home, a place people went to recover, far from their everyday lives.
As Cindy and Mattheus stepped out onto third floor Cindy saw huge palm plants placed along the elegant hallways and the doors to the rooms all shut tight. A nurse or two glided by softly with no sense of urgency, illness or concern.
As the young woman had told them Section 222 was hidden behind large, opaque, folding doors with pictures of butterflies on the panels. Mattheus pulled the folding doors to the side, and as they entered the room Cindy saw yellow strips, cordoning off the area. Two beds, which were now empty and perfectly made stood side by side, and a local policeman sat in a chair beside one bed, half asleep.
Cindy and Mattheus walked through the yellow strips and into the room noisily, waking the policeman up.
“Whoah there,” he started and then rubbed his eyes.
“C and M Investigations,” Mattheus announced abruptly.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve been expecting you,” the cop answered hastily, pulled his phone out of his side pocket and put in a quick call. “Yeah, they’re here,” he grunted into the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell them.”
Cindy took in every detail in the room as she waited for him to end the call.
“Sorry about that,” the cop said gruffly. “Gets pretty damn tiring, sitting here alone, hour after hour. The Chief of Police and a few others will be down here right away to talk to you. Sorry I was dozing off.”
Cindy smiled at him, she liked him. “No problem,” she said. “It’s pretty quiet for a hospital.”
The cop seemed to appreciate her comment. “You can call it a hospital, if you want,” he grunted, “some other floors, maybe. But this section here is dead, if you know what I mean.”
“You mean people die here,” Mattheus responded, looking around.
“Most of them do,” the policeman replied. “This is where they put the ones on the way out, anyway.”
“Are patients put here after severe accidents or illness?” Mattheus questioned.
“Nah, then they go to another floor to be worked on,” the cop continued. “They’re brought here when there’s nothing left to do for them.”
“Like a hospice?” Cindy commented.
“Not exactly,” the cop continued, “they’re still alive in a hospice, they can talk to you, get pain medication. They come here when they’re in a coma! On the way out.”
“Some people recover from comas,” Mattheus interjected quickly.
“Some do, not most,” the cop replied quietly. “The doctors play the odds, it’s a waiting game.”
Cindy felt her stomach clench. All of life was a kind of waiting game, she thought, waiting for news, waiting for love, waiting for the sun after a terrible rain. Some people waited for things that never happened and for people who would never return.
Just then the folding doors opened and two more policemen entered. A tall one introduced himself quickly.
“Captain Eric Holder, Chief of Police,” he said to Mattheus, extending his hand forcefully. “I’m the guy you’ve been talking to on the phone.”
Mattheus stepped forward and shook his hand quickly, seemingly glad to meet him.
“Mattheus, of C and M Investigations,” he replied. “It’s good to finally meet you in person.”
Eric smiled as the two men took each other in.
“This is my partner Cindy Blaine,” Mattheus immediately included Cindy.
Eric looked at Cindy for the first time. “Pleased to meet you,” he said formally. “This is my assistant, Kevin Watt,” he motioned to a policeman beside him. Then he turned to the cop who’d been on duty. “Everything okay here, Baron?”
Baron looked at him quizzically. “Same as ever. Everything’s perfect, what could go wrong?” he replied.
Eric walked deeper into the room, motioning to Mattheus to look around. “All fingerprints have been taken and the space has been dusted for forensic evidence a few times. Nothing unexpected or out of order has been found. If you want you can sit down on one of these chairs,” he offered.
Cindy and Mattheus sat on the frail chairs beside the empty bed where Tara had died.
As Cindy looked around she had to agree that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except the strange pallor that filled the air, a dense feeling of sorrow and heaviness. Otherwise, every speck of dirt, mess or life had been swept away by now.
“Why are you so convinced Tara’s death was a result of euthanasia?” Cindy broke into the stiff silence and started questioning. Eric had spoken with Mattheus on the phone, but not with her. She wanted to hear what he had to say for herself.
Eric looked momentarily thrown off guard. “There’s no question about whether or not Tara’s death was euthanasia,” he replied high handedly. “No one has disputed that point at all.”
“I am,” said Cindy.
Eric didn’t like that. “The initial medical examiner’s report showed a lethal substance in the patient’s body,” he reported tartly. “There was no way it could have gotten there except by someone putting it into her IV.”
Cindy pondered that a moment. “There was no other way she could have died?”
“The full medical report will be here in a few days,” Eric continued, “but as soon as we had this initial information there was no question left about the manner of death.”
“Was the patient ever awake at any time throughout her ordeal?” Cindy asked. “Had she ever expressed her wishes?”
That question stopped Eric Holder cold. He stared at Cindy strangely. “The patient was in a coma. She didn’t come out.”
“How can you be certain about that?” asked Cindy.
“If she’d woken up, we’d all have known about it,” Eric Holder became ill at ease.
“Sometimes they wake up and no one even realizes,” Baron said under his breath, looking deeply at Cindy.
“What’s that you said?” asked Cindy, wanting him to say it more loudly.
“I said sometimes they do wake up,” Baron repeated more loudly. “Then they go right back in, so the people around them don’t realize they’ve been awake because they can’t say anything.”
“That’s crap, Baron, and you know it,” Eric objected.
“There’s stuff we don’t know, Chief, lots of stuff,” Baron insisted.
“Some Jamaicans are very superstitious,” Eric turned to both Cindy and Mattheus.
“Very religious,” Baron corrected him.
Eric shut his eyes a moment, as if to block Baron out. “Some believe strongly in spirits and things like that,” he directed his comments to Mattheus. “Some don’t even believe a person really dies, they think their spirit goes somewhere, or hovers around.”
Baron grinned softly.
“But we’re not priests here, Baron, we’re cops,” Eric growled. “You’re messing with facts, creating confusing.”
Cindy stood up. “No, he’s not,” she broke in, “he’s bringing up interesting considerations. You’ve got a man in jail now for murder and there’s a lot to find out before you can pin this on him.”
Eric got up as well. “So, what are you saying?” he confronted Cindy, face to face. “We should try to find out if the patient is still alive somewhere, if her spirit is floating around?”
Eric’s brusque manner hurt Cindy. It also made her wonder about Ann. Was she totally gone forever, or was her spirit still here on a new journey now?
Eric’s assistant, Kevin Watt, got up then and calmed the atmosphere. “It’s a fair question Cindy’s asking, Eric,” Kevin said. “She just asked if Tara ever woke up during her coma. It happens. People wake up, sometimes even say a few words and then go back to sleep.”
“What difference would it make if she did?” Eric asked. “There was a deadly amount of toxins in her blood. They didn’t get there by themselves.”
“Why are you so convinced that Owen is the one who did it?” Cindy held her ground.
“Owen was with her night and day. He slept in the room, never left the beside,” Eric continued quickly. “He had opportunity.”
“Who else was with her?” Cindy didn’t like Eric and he obviously didn’t like her. He wanted someone to go along with him, acknowledge his facts as absolute.
“Tara’s nurse, Alana was with her,” Eric answered, “and Dr Padden, head doctor on the case checked in a few times a day. Other than that, only family can visit coma patients and each for only a small amount of time.”
“Is Tara’s family down here in Jamaica?” Cindy went on, determined to find a weak link in his story.
“They are,” Eric answered, monosyllabically, looking over at Mattheus for support. “They came down soon after the accident.”
“Where are they? We need to see them,” Mattheus quickly agreed.
Eric Holder shook his head. “This is the last thing I expected,” he muttered. “There’s no reason in hell to suspect anyone in her family. Every single one of them is going through hell.”
“Just want to know who they are,” Mattheus repeated, “and where they’re staying now.”
“They’re staying at the Villa Owen rented when he and Tara came down for vacation,” Eric replied. “Tara’s mother and father are here, her sister Jenna and brother Hank, as far as I know. All of their visits with the patient were totally supervised.”
“But how can you be sure it was Owen who did it?” Cindy wouldn’t stop.
“When we looked a little further, we found out that Owen just happens to be the recipient of his wife’s huge insurance policy,” Eric’s face grew red. “So, not only did he have opportunity, but plenty of motive as well. It was enough to detain him.”
“Why would the money make a difference to him?” Cindy retorted. “He’s rich as hell.”
“The rich always need more money,” Eric’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Cindy. “It’s never enough. The more they have, they more they want. Didn’t you know that?”
Mattheus stood up and got between Cindy and Eric. “I didn’t hear that Owen was going to receive a huge life insurance payout,” he said. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Why should I have had to?” Eric replied. “The evidence in Tara’s body speaks for itself.”
“But the evidence didn’t tell you how it got there,” Cindy interrupted.
Eric threw a half desperate look at Mattheus. “I didn’t know you guys were going to make it hard for us,” he murmured.
“We’re down here to do a job,” Cindy interjected. “All kinds of questions need answers before you can prosecute a man for murder.”
Eric looked at the floor disgruntledly. Clearly, he wanted this over with. “This case created a stir when Tara had the accident two months ago, and it’s creating a bigger stir now,” he said. “It doesn’t look good for anyone.”
Baron got up suddenly then, went to the window, and looked out.
“Where the hell are you going, Baron?” Eric jumped at him heatedly.
“Going to the window, Chief,” Baron replied.
“What the hell are you looking at?” Eric’s face flushed.
“Looking, just looking,” Baron muttered back. “There are answers out there somewhere, the heavens know more than any of us mortals here on earth.”
“Oh brother,” Eric growled, “oh brother. You’ve been sitting in this room for too long, it’s gotten to you.”
“Cases like these are never simple,” Baron drawled slowly, turning to Cindy and giving her a wink.
Chapter 3
After Cindy and Mattheus left the hospital the very next stop was to the jail to meet Owen personally and hear what he had to say. Eric insisted upon accompanying them, at least up to the interrogation room. After that they had the right to speak to their client in private. Baron stayed on guard in the hospital room and Kevin joined them in the back seat of the car.
“Owen’s gonna tell you all kinds of things,” Eric said as they drove to the jail. “Be careful, he’s charming as hell and convincing. Con men always are.”
