Free Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) by Jaden Skye Page B

air.”
    Cindy
put her coffee cup down. “Who’s the snake here, Sean?”
    He
grinned oddly, obviously enjoying every second. “There are lots of them around,”
he commented. “And mostly they’re camouflaged.  It’s easy to step on one and
get bitten. But watch out, their poison is deadly. One bite and you’re gone.”
    Cindy
felt the urgency in what he was saying. “Tell me what you guys have on the
case,” she jumped right in.
    Sean
leaned even closer.  “Everyone’s a suspect,” he said.
    Cindy
shivered. “Who? Andrea? Petra?”
    “Keep
going,” said Sean.
    “Not
Mattheus?” Cindy’s mouth got dry.
    “Sure,
why not?” asked Sean.
    “You
guys enjoy collecting suspects?” she asked. “No one left out?”
    “You
can’t believe Mattheus could be involved?” Now Sean was questioning her.
    “I
can believe anything, if I have enough evidence,” Cindy replied swiftly. “What
do you have on Mattheus?”
    “Not
much,” Sean leaned back a bit. “He’s just a loose cannon who was heard
threatening Cain the day before he was killed. Hell, the guy came down to rescue
his daughter and found this creep was beating her. That’s plenty of motive, isn’t
it? Any decent guy would want to take the creep out.”
    “It
sounds that way,” Cindy had to agree, “but Mattheus would never kill anyone.  He’s
not capable of it.”
    Sean
stopped and stared long and hard. “You’re still in love with the guy?”
    “No,”
Cindy said bruskly. She said it and meant it. “I’m definitely not in love with
him, but I know him well. He’s my partner and friend. We’ve worked together.”
    “At
the police station you said the two of you were about to get engaged,” Sean
jumped on it.
    “Yes,
we were about to get engaged. But we’re not now,” Cindy defended herself.
    “How
long ago was that?” Sean was keen and kind at the same time. Nothing would slip
through the cracks with him.
    “Did
you come here to interrogate me?” Cindy felt unsettled.
    “No,
I didn’t, not at all,” Sean toned it down. “I just want to point out that it’s
inevitable that you would still have feelings for him. So, you can’t trust what
you think of him now. Those kinds of feelings blur everything.”
    “Not
always,” said Cindy.
    “Always,”
Sean echoed. “No one can see straight when they’re in love. Or, for a long time
afterwards, either. Falling in love messes up the works. Boy, does it, ever.”
    Sure,
falling in love messed things up, as far as solving crimes went, but Cindy also
thought of Ann’s words then.  Life wasn’t just about solving crimes. There was
a bigger picture. People needed love, they deserved it.
    “I
thought Mattheus and I could do both,” Cindy said quietly, “be in love and
solve crimes at the same time.”
    Sean
smiled warmly, “You could have, as long as the crime you were solving involved
someone else.”
     “So
what are you saying?” she asked.
    “I’m
saying Mattheus can’t be ruled out,” Sean replied intently.
    Cindy
felt a knife go through her heart at the thought that Mattheus could be
implicated. “But he didn’t do this,” she insisted.
    “I
hope you’re right,” Sean replied. I really do, but I also need clear evidence –
there’s a lot more to investigate.”
    Cindy
was impressed. Sean had thought a lot about things and wasn’t satisfied
    with
second hand answers.  He wasn’t willing to take the party line, either. He knew
what he was doing, was smart and strong.
    “You’re
right on target,” Cindy responded, “your arguments are air tight.”
    “They
should be,” said Sean slowly, “I didn’t go to law school for nothing.  I’m a trained
lawyer, used to prosecute cases.”
    Cindy
was surprised, but it made perfect sense. Sean wasn’t anything like the other
police officers. “Why did you give up the law?” she asked him.
    “Who
said I did?” Sean grinned. “I’m on it daily, without being stuck in an office. Wading
through papers was