Death by Marriage Read Online Free

bay.
    “The
widow requested a woman detective to work with her on her case,” Mattheus
continued.
    “The widow ?” Brayton laughed in a mocking tone. “Wouldn’t exactly call the
little wife a widow.”
    “Why
not?” Mattheus asked at once, alerted.
    “Let’s
all go in and sit down,” Brayton said, nodding in Cindy’s direction, inviting
her to join them as well. “There’s a lot to cover.”
    He
led them and a few other cops down through a long hallway, into a meeting room,
with a round table, ceiling fan and huge coffee machine in the corner, with
paper cups piled near it.
    Brayton
went over to the coffee maker and began pouring coffee into some cups.
    “You
take yours with or without milk and sugar?” he asked Cindy first.
    “Milk
and sugar,” said Cindy.
    “I’ll
have mine black, “Mattheus said.
    Brayton
came back with the coffee and the tall, muscular cop, went to a file, yanked it
open and pulled out some papers. Then he came back to the table and sat beside
them. Two other cops joined them around the table as well.
    They
all sat quietly for a moment and drank their coffee until Brayton broke the
silence. “This lady isn’t exactly what we call a grieving widow. From the way
things look to us now – we got the killer.”
    Cindy
breathed in swiftly. Shocking, she thought. Case closed in their minds.
    “Show
me what you have,” said Mattheus.
    Brayton
ruffled through some papers with one hand and he gulped more coffee with the 
other.
     “Okay,
here’s what we got. As you probably know, the hubby took out a two million
dollar insurance policy in her name, just three months before he got killed.”
    Mattheus
raised his eyebrows. “We heard. That’s a lot of cash.”
    “Just
three months before,” the big muscular, cop chimed in. “Tell me why?”
    “Good
question,” said Mattheus.
    “But
why would she be so stupid to kill him such a short time after?” asked Cindy
asked. “It’s too obvious.”
    The
big, muscular cop closed his eyes until they were almost slits and peered at
Cindy.
     “Nothing
is obvious to someone who gets it in their minds to kill,” he muttered. “They
all think they can do anything they want and no one will catch them. I know
these killers inside and out. They think they got a right to snuff out a life
at the drop of a dime. It gives them a thrill.”
    Brayton
laughed a little. “Nojo has his theories. He’s a great cop, almost never wrong.”
    Nojo
seemed to like that. He cocked his head to the side. “I can smell a killer ten
miles away.”
    “Sounds
like you think the case is closed,” Cindy took him on.
    Nojo
grinned. “Your little lady has got a feisty nature,” he said to Mattheus.
    Mattheus
shook his head. “She likes to hear all the details.”
    Cindy
didn’t like being spoken of as a little lady.  She realized that Mattheus was
standing up for her, but she could do it for herself as well.  This crazy cop,
Nojo, made her uneasy. He seemed to have a vendetta.
    “Okay,
what else do you have?” Mattheus wanted to move forward.
    “No
alibi,” Nojo broke in. “Time of death was about 5:30 p.m. Where was she then?
This is what will get her! She said she was at home. Really? This was a working
lady. Every other day she was out at work, leading tours of the island. How
come this particular day she was home?  She said she didn’t feel well, had bad
dreams all night before. I bet she did.”   As Nojo spoke his mouth grew wet
with saliva. He tasted victory and an easy one at that.
    “What
else?” asked Cindy, impatient.
    “Hold
on a minute, and listen,” Nojo said. “Did anyone see her at home that day? “No
one.  Her housekeeper was off for the day. Convenient. Her daughter didn’t
happen to come home after school.   She decided to spend the afternoon away.
Very, very convenient. It doesn’t take an idiot to know that none of this adds
up.”
    “And
where’s the husband at that time, usually?” asked Mattheus.
    “Usually
the