Free Death by Deceit (Book #5 in the Caribbean Murder Series) by Jaden Skye

a tall, dark, good looking, muscular guy. Too good looking for his own
good, thought Mattheus. The guy was dressed in prison garb, his head held high.
    “Anthony Freeway,” the warden said.
    Mattheus bolted, stood up and stared at him,
baring his teeth.
    “Ring the bell over there when the interview’s
done,” the warden said, “and we’ll come back and get him.” Then he left.
    Mattheus couldn’t take his eyes off this guy.
This was the guy Shelly had slept with, lived with, chosen over him. Why? The
guy seemed strangely comfortable being here, too. That surprised Mattheus and
irritated him.
    “Sit down,” Mattheus hissed, taking charge.
    Anthony went around the table and took the seat
opposite Mattheus. For a second, they sat absolutely still, staring at each
other. 
    “You’re looking at Shelly’s husband,” Mattheus spit
out.
    Anthony closed his eyes a second.
    Open your lousy, rotten eyes, bastard, Mattheus
thought. Don’t try to pull something like this on me. 
    Anthony kept his eyes shut tight.
    “Law enforcement! Detective on the case,”
Mattheus threatened. He wanted to see the guy flinch. Anthony didn’t. “Did
Shelly tell you about me? Did she tell you she was married?”
    Anthony opened his eyes and stared a long time.
Now this seemed hard for him, too.
    “Answer me, you rotten bastard,” Mattheus felt
his blood begin to boil.
    “No, she didn’t,” Anthony said sadly.
    “I don’t believe you.”
    “I didn’t know a thing about you,” Anthony
said, finally, not a word all these years.”
    Mattheus felt completely side swiped. He didn’t
know why.
    “Look man, I’m really sorry,” said Anthony,
lurching back in his chair.
    Mattheus was even more thrown off.  An apology
was the last thing he’d expected. “Sorry about what?”
    Anthony shook his head, “I’m truly sorry you
have to go through something like this.”
    “Like what?” Mattheus’s voice rose and he felt
his body clenching. “Don’t talk in riddles to me, man.”
    “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not my fault. Give
me a second, man. I didn’t know Shelly was married. I had absolutely no idea.”
    Mattheus felt the blood drain from his face.
“Shelly lied to you, too?”
    “Looks like it,” said Anthony.
    Something about this guy caught Mattheus.
Something in his tone, in his voice, disconcerted him. “Okay, talk,” Mattheus
said.
    “When I met Shelly, she was living down here
alone, a free floating woman, if you know what I mean,” Anthony went on.
    “No,” Mattheus felt, heat rising. “I do not
know what you mean!”
    Anthony shook his head harder. He seemed to
feel really sorry for Mattheus. “I mean Shelly had her own place, her own
friends, her own ways, like every other single woman.”
    “I don’t believe a word of it,” Mattheus snarled.
    “If I’d known about you, man, it would have
been different,” Anthony said. “After they found her body, the police told me
that she’d gone missing from New Orleans. I was just as shocked as everyone
else. Believe me, I had no idea.”
    “You guys lived together and didn’t talk about
her life?” Mattheus wasn’t buying it.
    “Sure, we talked. She told me all kinds of
things. I have no idea if I can believe any of them, now,” said Anthony,
shaken.
    “She never mentioned me?” Mattheus repeated
insistently.
    “She didn’t man, not once,” Anthony mumbled
under his breath.
    Mattheus wanted to lunge at him, but then
pulled back. Something again in the tone of his voice – Mattheus had to listen.
    “I didn’t hurt her, I swear it,” Anthony cried
out, in deep, sudden pain.
    “But she’s dead,” Mattheus proclaimed loudly.
    Anthony’s eyes glazed over. “I know it, I know
it.” His head fell into his hands. “You don’t think I want the killer found? I
do. I loved her, man.”
    “You loved my wife?” Mattheus was shaken,
watching him.
    “I loved Shelly,” Anthony repeated in a broken
voice.
      “Everyone saw the two