Death by Jealousy by Jaden Skye

wanted to answer back,
but suddenly a silence overcame her. Mattheus was definitely not himself, or
maybe he was more himself than ever, showing her a side of himself she hadn’t fully
acknowledged before.  But, for sure, living in a world of suspicion and hidden
motives had taken its toll on both of them. Belief in the goodness of others was
definitely ebbing away. It didn’t have to though, Cindy reflected. There were
plenty of wonderful people with upstanding motives. It was just that wherever she
and Mattheus went, they focused on the dark side, the underbelly of the whale.
    “Mac
is a central part of this investigation. He’s involved with everyone down here
and is a fund of incredible information.” Cindy tried to set Mattheus straight
    “So
it would seem,” Mattheus grumbled.
    “Why
do you dislike him so?” Cindy needed an answer.
    “It’s
visceral,” Mattheus replied, turning and going out onto the patio.
    Cindy
wondered for a moment if she should go out there after him, but decided not to. 
They each needed some space to unwind and process the events of the day.
    Cindy
went into the bathroom and put on comfortable pajamas, pulled her hair back,
brushed her teeth and got ready to go to her single bed. When she came out of
the bathroom Mattheus was back in the room, looking over at her.
    “Guess
we’re roommates for the night then,” he said matter of factly.
    “We’re
both tired,” said Cindy, “we need a good rest.”
    “We
need a lot more than a good rest,” Mattheus complained.
    Cindy
got into bed and pulled the covers up over her.
    “We
need someone who can understand us,” he went on bitterly, “someone who has a
heart for what we’re going through.”
    Cindy
felt like crying, but wouldn’t allow herself to. Was Mattheus was saying that
she didn’t understand him, wasn’t compassionate about his ordeal? If he truly
believed that what good would it do to defend herself?
    Mattheus
turned out the light in the room and she heard him go to the bathroom, come out
and climb into his own bed as well. Cindy’s heart clenched with sorrow. As much
as she wanted to get up out of her bed and join him, something deep within
wouldn’t let her do so.
    Cindy
slept and woke on and off for a few hours. The sound of Mattheus breathing so
close to her was wrenching and dreams about Allie kept her unsettled as well.
Finally, she jumped out of bed, grabbed her laptop, put on a robe and went out
onto the patio. Rather than lay there tossing all night long, she decided to go
through Allie’s email account. Cindy had the passwords she needed and had
planned to do it the next day, but this suddenly seemed like the perfect time.
It would calm her down to go to work and see what facts she could find. The
police had done this already and said there was nothing of interest to be
discovered. Cindy didn’t buy it. Let’s see what I find, she thought.
    At
first there was nothing out of the ordinary. There were tons of emails from
friends excited about the wedding asking about Allie’s dress, the fittings and
the bridal shower. Laura emailed her constantly reminding her of details, where
to be when, whose calls to return. Clearly Laura was not only a Maid of Honor,
she was truly Allie’s best friend.
    Then
Cindy came upon a cluster of emails between Allie and Peter, a few days before
they left for the Island.
    I’m
asking you for the last time ,
Peter wrote. It would mean so much to all of us if you’d say yes.
    It’s
all set, Allie
answered. And we’ve talked a lot about it.
    Vivien’s
bugging me about it every day, wrote
Peter . She’s so hurt not to walk down the aisle with Tad.
    I
already told you how I feel, Allie
answered.
    So? Peter said ,
can’t you just bend a little for this? Let Vivien be a bridesmaid. Do it for me!
    Can
I have my enemy be in my wedding party? Allie wrote back.
    Those
were pretty strong words, thought Cindy.
    Allie’s
not your enemy, Peter
quickly replied . You don’t have