Free Death by Marriage by Jaden Skye

about it. Are you
sure she’s not fantasizing?”
    “I
wondered about that myself at first,” said Cindy, “but the more we talked the
more solid her story seemed. She said their time together was incredible, gave
him something he never had anywhere else.”
    Mattheus
smiled at that. “Guess women like to think that, as well.”
    “Heather
May wasn’t angry with him either, seemed to be suffering because of his death.”
    “So,
the guy played around,” mused Mattheus. “Not so good for Kendra. It could be
more fuel for her motive to get rid of him.” 
    “Or,
it could implicate the mistress,” said Cindy.
    “Could,”
said Mattheus, “but that’s farfetched if the relationship was over. Why would
she want to get rid of him now? This goes more to Paul’s character.  A cheater
lies. Usually they’re good at it. Especially if they’ve had a long relationship
on the side. For all we know this guy could have gotten caught in a web of lies
that finally drove someone crazy. Crazy enough to kill him for it.”
    Cindy
was fascinated, listening to Mattheus spin a web, construct a theory from
nothing much. “You’re good at this,” she smiled.
    Mattheus
smiled back. “So, tell me more,” he said, “how did you meet the gal who owns
the Spa?”
    “Went
to the bar where Paul was a regular.”
    At
that Mattheus looked up at her keenly. “At night? Alone?”
    “Sure,”
said Cindy.
    “You
must have created quite a stir,” Mattheus felt uneasy.
    “Just
business,” Cindy said. “It was crowded and noisy. I have the woman’s card. Her
name is Andrea. She seems to know what’s going on in town.”
    “Talk
to any guys?” he asked rather casually.
    Cindy
smiled.  “A couple, here and there. Why?”
    Mattheus
shrugged and put his fork down.
    “There
was one guy who troubled me though,” Cindy said, suddenly uneasy. “That cop at
the station, Nojo, was there.  He kept staring at me, was rude, threatening.”
    Mattheus’
jaw clenched. He felt agitated by the story. 
    “I
don’t recommend you go to those places alone,” he said in a strained tone. “Wait
for me to go with you. That’s what I’m here for.” The thought of her drifting
around alone in these bars, made his skin crawl.
    “Other
than Nojo, I had a good time. It was useful, meeting Andrea.”
    Let’s
make a plan right now,” Mattheus said.  “He wanted to set up a structure
between them that would make them both comfortable, that would work. “For
starters, I’ll handle the bars and night spots.”
    Cindy
put her coffee cup down.  “If I need to go there, you can come with me, too,”
she acquiesced. “More importantly though, you handle the cops. I’ll speak to
the women, friends and family.”
    “Good,”
said Mattheus. “l will check out Roomey’s alibi today, contact the poker player,
and also get in touch with the police about the cases Paul lost. I’m going to
the police station first thing.”
    “Great,”
said Cindy, “I can’t shake the feeling that someone Paul defended could be
involved in this. How about you?”
    “Anything’s
possible,” said Mattheus. “That’s what’s so fascinating about our work. What
are your next steps?”
    “Before
I go to see the woman Heather May suggested, I want to meet the main players in
the case, particularly Kendra’s daughter, Nell. Kendra mentioned that she’d be
home from school this morning.  How about running over there with me for an
hour, then we’ll go our separate ways.”
    “Sounds
good to me,” said Mattheus. “After that, I also think we should take some time
to visit Paul’s office, meet some colleagues, look around. That’ll give us both
a fuller backdrop of his life.”
     “Great,”
said Cindy. “I want to be completely prepared before I go see that woman. “Heather
May told me that when I met her, I’d find out all I needed to know.”
    Mattheus
pulled back at that one. It was a red light signal. “That’s quite a claim, “he
said.