“I’m sorry to put it so harshly,” Cindy remarked.

“It’s okay,” he finally murmured. “The truth is the truth and we’ve got to find out who did it. I’ve had plenty of time to think this over and I’ve come up with a few different ideas.”

Cindy was tremendously relieved that they could engage with him so directly, that he was so involved and would be of help. “Yes?” she asked intensely.

“Firstly,” Owen continued, “I think it could have been one of the local nurses down here who hate the rich. Could have been a totally inside job.”

Cindy was startled by the thought of it.

“It’s a good possibility, too,” Owen insisted, speaking in a conspiratorial manner. “One night my eyes were closed as I was resting in the chair near Tara. The main nurse, Alana, must have thought I was asleep. Another nurse on the floor, Betty, dropped into the room, and the two of them started talking. Neither of them had any idea that I heard every word they said.”

Owen paused and looked at Cindy and Mattheus to make sure they were both listening.

“Go on,” said Cindy, unable to contain her curiosity.

Owen grimaced and continued. “Alana said it was a sin to keep Tara alive so long like this, hanging between two worlds. Tara’s spirit needed to leave, but her selfish husband wouldn’t let her go, was hanging onto her for dear life. I was shocked to hear that, believe me.”

“What did the other nurse reply?” Cindy was spellbound.

“She agreed, said the rich don’t have any feelings, all they care about is money and power. They don’t know God is watching them.”

“Oh dear,” said Cindy.

“Did you report this conversation to the police?” Mattheus stepped in.

“I tried, but was cut down flat,” Owen said. “They said it was all hearsay, I had no proof of it, so it didn’t amount to anything.”

“They didn’t interview Alana or the other nurse?” Cindy was horrified.

“Not that I know of,” Owen replied. “Once they found poison in Tara’s blood, and learned that I was going to inherit lots of money it was all they needed to hear.”

“An easy way out for them,” Cindy remarked.

“And for the hospital, too,” Owen insisted. “It’s privately owned and run; they don’t need trouble like this. It could take them right down.”

“You think the hospital is in collusion with the police?” Mattheus asked.

“Could be,” said Owen. “You’ve got to check into all of it.”

It all made sense to Cindy, perfect sense. There was definitely a lot of work to do and Cindy wanted as many leads as possible.

“What about Tara’s family?” Cindy took the discussion in a different direction now. Owen hadn’t said a word about them yet. “Your wife’s family is here, they visited her, they also had opportunity.”

Owen threw his head back then, suddenly empowered. “Absolutely,” he commented. “Thank God, someone’s finally bringing them up.”

“The police didn’t talk to Tara’s family?” Mattheus seemed surprised.

“Sure they talked to them,” Owen spat out, “the family sobbed and cried and carried on the way they always do, and the police believed every word they said.”

“What did they say?” Mattheus was insistent.

“They carried on about how much they loved Tara, how great she was, what a horrible loss. What the police didn’t realize is that this family knows how to put up a terrific front. Behind their front, they love to keep secrets. You never really know what they’re thinking of you, in fact it changes day by day. You’re as good as your last gift to them,” said Owen bleakly.

“How did the family feel about you? Cindy wanted more.

“Who the hell knows, really?” said Owen. “I was the sugar daddy, gave them everything, so naturally they were nice enough on the surface. But once in a while, Tara’s creepy brother Hank let something slip that made me feel different.”

“Like what?” Cindy was fascinated by everything about Owen. He was eloquent, smart and unafraid to face life as it was.

“Hank once said that Tara’s father, Ralph, was pissed with me. Ralph felt lousy that I took Tara away from the family and gave her more than he ever could,” Owen replied.

“There was rivalry there,” Mattheus commented.

“Yeah, at first I just thought there’s rivalry everywhere, isn’t there?” Owen replied.

“Some places more than others,” Mattheus replied.

“Well, there’s rivalry in this family big time, though you’d never know it,” said Owen.

“What about your own family, Owen?” Cindy broke in. “Where are they? Did they come down here as well?”

“I don’t have a family,” Owen replied, looking at Cindy strangely. “Tara was it, she was everything. I was orphaned when I was nine. Raised by an aunt who’s dead now. I earned everything I have in life on my own, built my kingdom from scratch.”

“Whew, that’s impressive,” said Mattheus. “So, Tara’s family was your family, too.”

“I guess you could call them that,” said Owen. “Tara always said they were my family, but in all truth, I never bought into it. There was always this weird barrier between us. And look, now, is one of them fighting to get me out of jail? Not one of them.”

“They’re not speaking against you either,” Cindy commented.

At that Owen jumped to his feet. “Of course they aren’t, because there’s nothing bad to say. I took great care of Tara and of them. Even her stupid, weak father knows it. When all of his crazy business deals fell apart, who put him back on the map? I did. I was right there to step in and make things right.”

“I’m sorry,” said Cindy suddenly, filled with pain at the thought of Owen’s life.

Owen grasped onto Cindy’s feelings for him and looked at her with gratitude.

“Finally someone gets it,” he replied. “Cindy, you’ve got to get me out of here, you’ve got to.”

I will, said Cindy to herself.

“I didn’t hurt my wife. I don’t deserve this!” Owen’s voice grew more piercing.

“We’ll do our very best,” Mattheus calmly replied.

“I hope it’s good enough,” Owen wailed.

“It’s more than good enough,” Cindy replied forcefully. “We never leave any stone unturned.”

Chapter 4

When the interview with Owen was over Cindy and Mattheus took a cab back to the hotel, exhausted. The late afternoon sun was softer by now and, thankfully, a cool breeze had risen. It had been a long day with lots to process. Neither Cindy nor Mattheus had stopped for a bite of lunch either.

“We can order food up to the room, or go to one of the restaurants in the hotel,” Mattheus suggested, taking Cindy’s hand as they drove along.

Cindy felt like laying down and resting, but knew they needed to go over what they’d heard and divide tasks between them.

“We’ll do better sitting up, outdoors,” Cindy replied, happy to have Mattheus’s hand in hers. “There’s a lot to go over.”

“You can say that again,” Mattheus agreed. “Not time to get too cozy upstairs. We might forget about everything and just be happy together.”

Cindy smiled and put her head on Mattheus’s shoulder. “I’m tired,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be very happy later on, but right now we’ve got a lot ahead of us to plan.”

“Once we’ve made our plans, how about an early evening swim to refresh us?” asked Mattheus.

Cindy loved the idea. “How about later on tonight?” she picked up on it, a twinkle in her eye. “A moonlight swim could really hit the spot.”

“I can’t think of anything better,” Mattheus crooned, “a moonlight swim alone with you in the Caribbean waters.”

Cindy felt Mattheus’s excitement, but for now wanted to stay focused on the case.

“Do you feel optimistic about the case?” Cindy changed the topic as the taxi swerved sharply towards their hotel.

Mattheus seemed surprised. “That’s an odd question coming from you,” he said. “I always feel optimistic about solving a case, and so do you.”