Cindy didn’t mind his saying so at all, In fact she enjoyed Mattheus’s reaction, loved having him see the many different aspects of her. “Just dressing for the occasion tonight,” she quipped lightly.

“Well, we have to have many more occasions like this. I feel like I’m going out with a brand new person.”

“It’s still me,” Cindy laughed softly.

“Not that who you were wasn’t wonderful also,” Mattheus quickly filled in.

“Well, that’s a good thing to hear,” Cindy murmured as she reached for her little silver evening bag. “It’s good to shake things up a bit and see what comes of it. We’ll get more information out of the people we meet tonight that way, too.”

Mattheus walked over and put his arm around Cindy. “Information or no information,” he said, “I’m thrilled to be your date for the night.”

“Is that all you are, my date for the night?” Cindy played coy.

“I’m your date for tonight and every night, forever more, from here on in,” Mattheus grew emotional.

Cindy was thrilled to hear it, but didn’t want to go into it further then. Despite the dazzling club they were going to, they had to remember what they were going there for.

*

The Scopus Club, one of the most elegant clubs in Jamaica was situated behind bright lights, overlooking the city. A trendy, expensive, well known night spot, it attracted tourists from all over the world. Along with Reggae music, dancing and dinner there were rooms upstairs for private parties as well.

As soon as they arrived Cindy and Mattheus were greeted by a valet at the door and immediately ushered upstairs to the Flamingo room on the second floor. The yearly party for the Ranges Hospital was being held there.

The Flamingo room which was full by now was decorated to the hilt with huge bouquets of flowers, buffet tables of food and live music playing. A well dressed, elegant crowd milled around, talking to one another, congratulating each other and generally enjoying the evening. As soon as Cindy and Mattheus entered, a tall, attractive, well dressed Jamaican man in his mid-forties walked over. He appeared to be on the lookout for them.

“Cindy and Mattheus?” the Jamaican man said, glancing approvingly at Cindy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Konrad Dalskin, hospital administrator.”

“Thank you for having us here with you,” Mattheus replied.

“Of course,” Konrad said pleasantly. “You chose a perfect time to come to town. This is our yearly party, a time to thank and honor those who’ve contributed to making the Ranges Hospital the wonderful, well known medical facility it is.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” said Mattheus as Cindy looked Konrad overly closely. He was definitely an impressive figure, both his voice and demeanor commanded attention.

“The Board of Directors are seated at the table over near the window,” Konrad continued, “I’ll see to it that you are introduced to them all. We’ll also be having speeches tonight and good press coverage. It’s an important occasion.”

“Thanks for including us,” Mattheus seemed impressed.

Cindy wasn’t impressed though. The party was clearly a PR event, a way to garner public opinion and raise funds. She didn’t guess that this wouldn’t be the time or place to speak to any of the guests about Tara’s death.

“Will some of the nurses be present?” Cindy asked, just to make certain.

“No, of course not,” Konrad smiled, a bit condescendingly. “Why do you ask?”

“I wanted to speak to them as well,” she said.

Konrad’s face wrinkled. “You can speak to them at the hospital, if you care to. They’re always available, we’re not hiding anything.”

“Thank you,” said Mattheus.

Cindy wondered why Konrad would even have that idea. She’d never said anything about their hiding anything.

Konrad turned to Mattheus then. “When the boating accident took place it was on the front pages of the news for days. It was a relief when people finally began to forget about the unfortunate patient laying in a coma in our hospital, waiting to die. This isn’t exactly the kind of news tourists want to read about when they’re down in Jamaica on vacation.”

“No, of course it isn’t,” said Mattheus, siding with Konrad and currying favor.

“Finally, she passed. We thought it was over and now this!” Konrad seemed exasperated. “As soon as Owen was arrested for euthanasia the story flared full force again and the reporters are now on it double time. We don’t need this kind of publicity. It doesn’t sit well with anyone, the public or the private donors that keep our hospital going.”

“I can certainly understand that,” said Mattheus.

“So many questions erupting now about the way Tara died,” Konrad muttered.

“Difficult,” murmured Mattheus, trying to egg him on.

“The sooner the case is closed, the better for us,” Konrad insisted. “What else do you need to finish it up?”

Clearly, Konrad thought that Cindy and Mattheus were working with the police and would be able to get hold of some evidence the police didn’t have.

“We were brought down to Jamaica by Owen,” Mattheus told Konrad frankly. Mattheus never let half-truths or mistaken impressions linger. Cindy never failed to be proud of Mattheus’s honesty.

Konrad looked taken aback. “Oh, I didn’t know that,” he murmured. “I thought the police brought you in to nail the case shut.”

“No, we were hired by Owen,” Mattheus repeated.

“So, the two of you are working for the devil?” A little smile playing around the edges of Konrad’s mouth.

“What do you mean by that, exactly?” Mattheus bristled. “How is Owen the devil?”

“The guy’s super rich, super slick, super hungry, super, super everything,” Konrad grumbled. “I know a type when I see it.”

“You know Owen personally?” Cindy intervened. Konrad had a way about him that put her off.

“I just know him from the time he and his wife have been here in the hospital,” Konrad said, “he never left her room for a minute.”

“That sounds like a good thing to me,” said Cindy.

“Sounds like it, doesn’t it?” Konrad echoed back, “but the police don’t think so. They arrested him anyway.”

Cindy felt protective of Owen. “There’s no direct evidence linking him to the lethal substance though, is there?” she asked.

“Whoah there, wait a minute,” Konrad became flustered. “Don’t go throwing words like that around. Yes, they found toxic substances in the patient’s system, but who says it came from a lethal substance in her IV? There’s no direct proof of that either.”

“That’s right,” Mattheus chimed in. Mattheus obviously didn’t want to break the bond he was forming with Konrad.

“But there’s no direct proof that Owen did it either,” Cindy took another tack.

“Not yet, but I’d hoped there would be,” Konrad took a step back, examining Cindy adversaraily. “Actually, I thought that’s why you guys came down.”

“We came down to find out who killed Tara,” Cindy remarked in a clipped tone.

“That’s easy enough, isn’t it?” said Konrad. “The boat accident did it. The hospital just kept her alive.”

Cindy wouldn’t let him slide out of it so easily, though. “The patient’s life did not end naturally, there were lethal substances found in her system.”

“It was only a matter of time anyway,” Konrad murmured to Cindy, taking a step closer to her.

“And someone took time into their own hands,” Mattheus intervened. “According to the law -.”

Konrad interrupted him swiftly. “I know all about the law,” he proclaimed, “in fact I’m in charge of running this hospital and observing all of them.” Then he spotted someone at the Board of Directors Table and waved to him. “Please excuse me, I have to speak to everyone here tonight.” Konrad walked away then abruptly, leaving Cindy and Mattheus alone in the middle of the room.

“What was that?” asked Cindy, feeling as though a whirlwind had blown around her.