Death by Marriage Read Online Free Page A

poor jerk’s out working late, or out of town on a case. But that’s beside
the point now. What I’m asking is how come the day he was killed his daughter
didn’t come home?”
    “She
could have had her reasons,” said Cindy.
    Nojo
closed his eyes completely. “Everyone has their reasons,” he said. “But do they
add up? Or are they just building a noose to hang themselves in?”
    Cindy
didn’t like him.  She felt that he lived off these tragedies, expected them,
practically hoped for them.
     “And
besides that, the daughter Nell is weird,” Nojo continued. “I asked her where
were you that afternoon? She said she stayed late in school to study. You even
getting the drift of this bullshit? Now this fish is starting to stink worse
than before.” He turned to Cindy. “One piece of crap after another.”
    “Why
wouldn’t she be studying late in school?” Cindy asked.
    “Not
something she usually does! And no one happened to see her there either.”
    Brayton
took a long breath. So did Mattheus. None of it looked good.
    “She’s
covering for the mother. It’s obvious,” Nojo belted out.
    Nothing
felt obvious to Cindy. She refused to go along with easy, snap conclusions.
    “You
want another detail?” Brayton was joining in. “We found out that Kendra bought
an incredibly expensive ruby necklace, about a week before the murder.  And
what happened to it? You can’t find the piece anywhere in the house. When we
showed her the receipt for the sale, she swore she put the necklace in her
house safe.  When we opened it, there’s nothing there. She said she had no idea
what happened to it. And why’d she even buy it for?  She wouldn’t tell us. It
doesn’t add up. None of it does.”
    “No,
it doesn’t,” Mattheus agreed.
    “It’s
all circumstantial,” said Cindy. “So far I haven’t heard any direct link
between Kendra and the murder. Do you have any evidence or DNA?”
    Nojo
stood up at that, and hovered over Cindy.  “We put plenty of criminals down on
this island, with less circumstantial evidence than this.”
    Cindy
shivered.
    “You
got some better ideas?” Nojo’s tone was becoming threatening.
    Mattheus
stood up between them. “We’ve been called down here to investigate,” he said. “We’ve
got to look at everything.”
    “Like
what?” Nojo’s eyes narrowed into slits again.
    “Paul
was a criminal lawyer,” Cindy spoke up. “Was there someone he defended who
might have had a grudge against him? A case he lost? Someone who got sent to
jail?”
    “That’s
a good point,” said Mattheus.
    “Nah,”
said Nojo, “this guy knew what he was doing.  He had a great reputation. His
clients loved him.”
    “But
someone might not have,” said Cindy. “Did you check any cases he lost? The
person might have felt ripped off.  Might have spent time sitting in jail
dreaming of revenge?”
    “I
hate it when women think they know everything,” Nojo muttered under his breath.
    Brayton
bit his lower lip. “Not a bad idea,” he seemed a little embarrassed not to have
thought of it himself. “Okay, we’ll look into it.”
    “I’ll
give you a hand with that,” said Mattheus.
    Brayton
looked up at him, grateful.  “This guy you got here,” he said to Cindy, “is a 
good guy.”
    “I’ll
second that,” said Nojo.
    Cindy
felt at a loss as to what to say.  She didn’t have Mattheus, they worked
together.
    Mattheus
stepped in easily, to smooth everything out. “We’re business partners,” he said
to the guys. “And I’m equally lucky. Cindy’s a terrific partner.”
    Cindy
felt grateful, but uneasy as well. She’d stumbled into a male world here that had
no room for her. That’s fine, she thought. Mattheus will handle this part, and
I’ll take on other aspects of this crime. There’s more than enough to go
around.
    “Before
we check in to our hotel,” Mattheus said, “We’d like to look over the crime
scene.”
    “No
need for it,” said Nojo, haltingly.