CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

The ride to the hotel in the Cayman Islands was breathtaking. The taxi wound its way along perfect roads, bordered by palm trees, groves, sweet-smelling flowers. As they drove Cindy looked out the window at some of the most diverse flora and fauna of the world.

“That’s the national tree, the Silver Thatch Palm,” the driver, an old Jamaican guy, announced proudly, “ever see anything like it?”

“It’s gorgeous,” Cindy murmured approvingly.

“Not only that,” he quickly added, “We’ve got mangrove forests, banana orchids, and our fantastic Cayman Parrots to please you.” Then he turned around, looked at them and grinned, displaying a few missing front teeth.

“We’ve got a regular tour guide here,” Mattheus said in a low tone.

“You’re gonna love the sugar and sand beaches,” the driver continued. “And, your hotel is right on Seven Mile Beach – some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world.”

“Thanks for the run down,” said Mattheus.

“My pleasure,” he went on. “You guys are sweet. I saw that the minute you got into my cab. Nothing like those slick business guys I usually get. I said to myself these two got to be honeymooners, for sure.”

Cindy’s heart stopped a second when he said that. She’d been down to Barbados with Clint for her honeymoon. This was far from that.

“We’re down here for work,” Cindy quickly made the correction.

The old driver turned back to look at them again. He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

“Sure fooled me with that one,” he exclaimed. “Thought for sure I had two honey birds in the car.”

He turned back to the road and drove slowly along winding roads, which became more and more manicured as they approached their destination, the Grand Hotel. The hotel was one of the best resorts on the island. As they drew close, Cindy could see the sprawling buildings that were surrounded by trees, verandas, and a long, walking path leading directly to the ocean. The light breeze that blew in through the taxi window had the delicious smell of warm, salty water. Cindy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It felt so good to be back down in the Caribbean again.

“Great spot,” the driver commented. “Lots of rich folks come here for weddings, too. Not usually during the Batabano Carnival though.”

“What’s the Batabano Carnival?” Mattheus was interested.

The driver started laughing, “Wait and you’ll see for yourself. It starts a couple of days from now and the place fills up like you can’t believe. Thousands of locals and visitors pour into town to see the parades and be in them. There’s music, floats, costumes, dancing, singing! It’s a party you’ll never forget.”

“Sounds like Mardi Gras,” Mattheus commented.

“The hotels are all gonna start filling up, too,” the driver went on, excited.

If all had gone well, the wedding would have been over before the festival, Cindy thought. Perhaps the family expected the guests to stay on and enjoy themselves afterwards. What a crazy time for the bride to go missing.

The taxi pulled up to the front door of the hotel and Mattheus and Cindy got out as a bellman came for their luggage. They tipped the driver and walked the few steps into the hotel.

The lobby was a vast, open space filled with designer sofas, chairs, cocktail tables and large paintings of the Island on the walls. Suntanned guests, elegantly dressed in expensive pastels, sat at the cocktail tables, sipping drinks, and charming one another. Cindy, dressed in a beige linen summer suit, shook her long hair loose over her shoulders, trying to fit into the décor.

As they entered Cindy immediately saw a few policemen standing at the desk. She and Mattheus both stopped at the same moment, and looked over at them. It seemed as if the police had been waiting for them. One of the cops nodded at Mattheus, who went right over to greet him.

Cindy stayed where she was and took it all in. The calm of the afternoon had not been ruffled. There was no sign that something awful had happened here. There was no crime scene cordoned off, or sense of danger. Cindy looked over the guests in the lobby carefully to see if anyone else seemed to be aware of their arrival. No one was. Everything went on as usual, as if it were simply another beautiful day to luxuriate in on the balmy Island.

Cindy turned and watched Mattheus speaking with the policemen at the desk. Mattheus was especially good at connecting with law enforcement. He had a way of becoming one of the boys immediately, privy to their information. Cindy had seen him do this before. It usually helped if she stayed back at first. When Mattheus introduced Cindy as his partner, it often created a sense of discomfort, having a woman detective appear on the scene. That would probably be even more true here than other places, thought Cindy.

The Cayman Islands were a British overseas territory and there was a formal sense about the place. Even though the Islands were considered a low crime environment, that had been changing the past few years. Gang crime had been increasing dramatically, and this was a well-known haven for money laundering and tax evasion shelters. Blue collar crime was the hardest to pin down, thought Cindy. She remembered how confusing it had been when she’d discovered who her husband’s killers were. It was the last thing she’d expected.

Finally, Mattheus looked up and saw Cindy watching him. He motioned her over, and she walked slowly to where they were.

“This is my partner Cindy Blaine,” Mattheus introduced her to the two cops who seemed interested to meet her. “Cindy, this is Douglas and Lance.”

Cindy nodded to both of them. They were tall, clean shaven, nice looking and professional.

“Very pleased to meet you,” said Lance.

Douglas quickly turned to Mattheus. “We’ll catch up with you later, after you get settled. You can meet us in Room 3 - Mezzanine. The hotel has given us the room to use to interview the wedding party, family and friends. Kind of them.”

“Convenient,” Mattheus nodded.

“We heard that you’re holding the groom,” Cindy interjected.

Both policemen looked at her surprised.

“Heard that from whom?” asked Douglas.

“His mother,” said Cindy.

“The woman who called you in on the case, no doubt?” Douglas bit his thin upper lip. “Of course we can’t officially hold Peter, “he quickly continued. “We can, however, bring him in daily for questioning and strongly recommend that no person of interest leave the hotel.”

Cindy’s eyebrows raised. “It’s still a missing person case though, isn’t it?”

Douglas threw her a hostile glance and turned on his heel away.

Lance quickly stepped into the conversation, “Of course, formally, we have a missing person’s case. At the moment the body has not been recovered. But by now, that’s just a formality. No one expects to find her alive. What are the chances that the victim swam up from the depths and landed safely on shore? Highly unlikely, I’d say. And the bigger question would then be, where did she escape to, from whom and why?”

Cindy was interested to hear them refer to Allie as a victim. Did the police feel she was the victim of an accident or of a crime?

“Authorities have scoured not only the waters, but every inch of the Island by now,” Lance continued. “It’s common not to find the body in a scuba diving accident. There are all kinds of predatory fish that live under the waters, tangled plants, moss, reefs. Parts of the body could have gotten separated, something stranded here or there. I don’t mean to be graphic -,” and he gave Cindy a narrow smile.

Cindy did not smile back. She felt uneasy listening to him.

“Of course the families are grieving and frightened,” Lance continued. “That’s to be expected. It’s a bit unusual to call private detectives in, though. We have the best reputation for police work in all of the Caribbean.”

“It’s not personal,” Cindy said directly to him. “I know the groom’s mother.”

“Interesting,” replied Lance. “Well,” he said to Mattheus, “we’re glad you’ve arrived. I’m going back up to the Interrogation room now. Come and join us when you’ve unpacked.”

“We will,” said Mattheus, “and thanks for everything.”

The hotel room was unexpectedly beautiful, luxurious, a super deluxe suite. There were burgundy silk bedspreads with gorgeous hand painted throw cushions on it. Under the marble tables were exquisite rugs, and large open windows overlooked the sand. Their luggage had already arrived and was neatly placed in one corner. On a large table in the center of the room, was a bouquet of fresh flowers and a gift basket awaited them filled with fruit, wine and candies. The only thing missing was rose petals on the floor. Except for the two single beds, they could certainly have been entering a honeymoon suite.

“To what do we owe this honor?” asked Mattheus letting out a low whistle as he took it all in.

Cindy went over to the gift basket. There was a small note besides it and she opened it up.

We cannot thank you enough for joining us here and helping. We’ve done all we can to make your stay pleasant. Please make yourself comfortable and then let us know when you have arrived. We are most eager to have you meet everyone here. Edward McPharlen.

Edward McPharlen was Dana’s husband, Peter’s father. Clearly he’d arranged all of this

.

A well-known financier, who worked both in the States and down here on the Islands, he would certainly know just who to contact to arrange the perfect amenities.

“How well do you know this McPharlen guy?” Mattheus asked, taken aback by their quarters.

“The McPharlens were good friends of Clint’s family for years,” said Cindy. “I met them a few times in passing. They were actually guests at our wedding. Edward, the father has a fine reputation. As I recall he’s an upstanding guy, sponsors one of the biggest charities on Long Island.”

Mattheus kept looking around, taking it all in. Cindy was surprised that it made him so uneasy.

“They’ve sure got lots of money to spread around,” Mattheus murmured. “These guys can have weddings wherever they like, invite hundreds of guests - it doesn’t mean a thing to them.”

“Yes, they’re wealthy,” said Cindy, “but they’re also generous. His money helps many people.”

Mattheus clicked his tongue a few times and turned to Cindy, “We really don’t know anything about how he operates,” he said. “For all we know somebody got jealous of him – very, very jealous.”

Cindy watched Mattheus’s eyes roam around the room and wondered if it was himself he was talking about. Was he was jealous of this wealth?

“Do you begrudge Edward his success?” Cindy asked directly.

Mattheus looked over at her, stung. “I wouldn’t say I begrudge anybody anything,” he said abruptly. “But there are plenty of people out there who could live for years on half of what this wedding cost – the wedding that never took place, after all.”

Cindy didn’t like Mattheus’s comment. She felt strangely unnerved by it. Her wedding to Clint had taken place, but they’d never had a chance at their marriage either. Mattheus himself had come from more modest circumstances than she had, but none of it meant a thing to her. Cindy hadn’t seen this side of Mattheus before so clearly. But then again, they’d never been faced with this kind of lavishness before.

“Why don’t you call this Edward guy and tell him we’ve arrived?” said Mattheus briskly.

“Don’t you want to change from the trip or shower?” asked Cindy.

“No, I’m ready to go right to work,” Mattheus said.

Cindy could see he was getting revved up again. It saddened her for a moment. She’d hoped they’d have even a little time together, even just to stand on the balcony and look out at the sea.

“Okay,” she said in a clipped tone, and picked up the phone to call Edward McPharlen and tell him they were ready to go.