Death by Seduction (4 page)

“Nobody
down here confesses,” he laughed. “Of course she claims she didn’t do it. What
else is she supposed to say? And for all we know she doesn’t remember. These
girls are on drugs most of the time.”

Cindy
refused to buy into Ron’s confident, easy going attitude. “Did you test Charma
for drugs, or for Pete’s semen?” Cindy kept probing.

“Nah,
nothing like that,” Ron rubbed his head. “We didn’t need to.”

“Why
not?” Cindy was horrified.

“I
told you, we got her fingerprints all over the guy,” Ron repeated. “And we got
the knife she used to stab him. What more do you want?”

“I
want to speak to Charma,” Cindy replied, remembering, once again, how negligent
the police could be down on the Islands, especially about protecting the life
of a prostitute.

“Sure,
go talk to Charma all you like,” Ron agreed. “But it won’t amount to a thing. First
go check the medical examiner’s office and find out more about the dead husband.
That’s a better way to use your time, if you asked me.”

Cindy
suddenly realized that Ron was trying to be supportive. He was telling it as he
saw it, trying to save Cindy heartache.

“Thanks
Ron, thanks so much,” Cindy said appreciatively.

Ron
looked surprised. “Thanks for what?”

“Thanks
for being here, thanks for helping,” she said.

Ron
seemed touched. “Sure, I’m here and I’ll help you. It’s a crazy thing for a
lady to come down and work on this alone. I kind of remembering hearing about
you, that you had some kind of partner, right?”

“Yes,
C and M Investigations,” Cindy filled him in.

“So,
where’s the M right now?” asked Ron.

“He’s
busy somewhere else,” said Cindy.

“That’s
a hell of a partner, if you asked me,” Ron was surprised. “Look, this place is
crawling with drugs, bad money, and lies. If I were you, I’d spend a few days,
and then let the police take over. Tell the wife the police are doing just
fine. It’ll all work out in the long run.”

Cindy
shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she replied. “A life was lost here and
someone is on trial for it. I have to be sure exactly what happened.”

Ron
took a step closer to Cindy. “Listen, this guy’s life was lost long before he
ended up dead here.  People come here every day with their lives lost.  It’s
only a matter of time what happens next.”

Cindy
liked and respected Ron. “That’s a good way of putting it,” she replied.

“Well,
thanks for the compliment,” Ron was pleased. “And do what I say. Don’t knock
your head against a wall.  Go to the beach. Enjoy a swim. Take it easy on
yourself.”

Even
though Cindy would have liked nothing more than to take a swim at the beach,
she headed directly to the medical examiner’s office after she left the
brothel. Fortunately, it was only a short cab ride away.

To
her surprise the medical examiner, Andrew Grone, was ready for Cindy when she
arrived. A balding, middle aged Caribbean man, dressed in white, he greeted her
professionally and invited her into his small office.

“We
have most of the results ready for you by now,” he started out.

Cindy
sat down in his office opposite him. “An open and shut case?” she asked.

Andrew
smiled wistfully. “Is that what the police told you?” he asked.

“Yes,”
Cindy nodded. “They probably say that about most cases, right?”

“Well,”
Andrew paused, “I wouldn’t put it that way exactly. But in this case they’ve
got a lot of evidence. I can see why they’d say open and shut.”

“They’ve
got her fingerprints all over him,” said Cindy.

“Right,”
he replied.“ And her fingerprints on the knife.”

“Where
were the wounds, exactly?” asked Cindy. “What exactly was the final cause of
death? And, what time did he die?”

“Wow,”
Andrew’s eyes opened wide, surprised. “You’re not taking anything for granted,
are you?”

“Of
course not,” said Cindy. “Everything has to line up in perfect order.”

“Don’t
I know it,” Andrew’s voice dropped. “But most cases don’t line up in perfect
order, do they? Not down here anyway. There’s always some strand left hanging
that you can pick away at.”

Cindy
was grateful for his comment. “But the police don’t pick through those strands,
do they?” she asked.

Andrew
leaned his elbows closer to Cindy on the desk. “Most of the time they don’t,”
he conceded. “They’re satisfied with a preponderance of evidence. And sometimes
they can smell the killer a mile away.”

“That’s
where I come in,” Cindy smiled. She liked Andrew and respected his honesty.
“I’m hired to explore at all possibilities.”

“You’re
hired to see if someone else killed this guy?” asked Andrew.

“Absolutely,”
said Cindy. “I’m also hired to see if there were drugs or poison in his body?
Is there a way to tell if he’d ejaculated recently? Has that all been looked at?”

Andrew
leaned a bit back. “There were some drugs in his system, recreational drugs.
Nothing particularly significant. We didn’t check for poison, or to see if he’d
ejaculated. His death was caused directly by repeated knife wounds he suffered
to the neck. Mr. Twain bled out. Time of death was around two a.m.

It
was strange hearing Pete suddenly referred to as Mr. Twain.

“The
claim is that the prostitute stabbed him,” Cindy zeroed in. “Didn’t Mr. Twain scream
out?  How is it possible that no one heard him?”

“That’s
not my purview,” Andrew stopped her questioning in midstream. “Good questions,
though.”

“Have
the police asked or answered these points?” asked Cindy.

“Look,
I’m not here to defend the police,” said Andrew. “I’m just here to tell you
about the condition of Peter Twain’s body. The time of death was around two a.m.
The police were called about 6 a.m.”

“He
was just left lying there bleeding?” Cindy was appalled. It didn’t make sense.

“The
woman in custody, Charma,  could have panicked and ran out before she realized
the extent of his wounds. When she came back later, she found him,” said
Andrew.

“Charma
claims she didn’t do it,” Cindy repeated.

“You’ll
have to take questions like that up with the police. All I can tell you is that
the victim was repeatedly stabbed and died of his wounds,” Andrew really had
nothing more to add.

“Can
you check the contents of his body further?” asked Cindy.

“Not
unless I get a request from the police,” Andrew began pushing himself back from
his desk and then stood up, suddenly finished with the conversation. ”Thanks
for coming and checking,” he said then before turning away. “You’re one tough
gal, that’s for certain.  This guy’s wife must mean business. She certainly
found herself a great detective.”

*

Cindy
left the medical examiner’s office unsatisfied. The visit had actually raised
more questions than she had at first. Cindy wondered about what happened
between the time Pete died and when his body was found. What was Charma’s
alibi? Had it even been checked? This lackadaisical attitude extended through
every aspect of law enforcement down here. They probably saw so many cases 
like this, they did a superficial examination and jumped to a quick conclusion.
It was easier and cheaper that way as well. Most people probably went along
with their conclusions, didn’t even think about taking the system on.

As
Cindy jumped into a cab back to the hotel, she was glad she was down here
investigating. Loretta was right, nothing was what it seemed. There was more
here than met the eye, much more. And for all anyone knew, Loretta’s life could
be in danger as well.

*

Once
back in the hotel, Cindy called for lunch up in her room.  Before she called
Loretta and reported what she’d found Cindy wanted to take some time to
herself. She hadn’t taken time alone since she’d arrived and she badly needed
it. She would change into shorts and a shirt, eat her lunch and then spend the
rest of the afternoon out on the patio looking into Pete’s life. She had to go
through his social media and check emails and it would take time. Usually this
was something Mattheus would be help with. But it was good to be as busy as she
was now though, unable to think much about Mattheus, where he was or how he was
doing.

 Cindy
changed and washed up. Then she ate the crisp salmon, home fries and salad that
was brought to the room.  She ate slowly, savoring each bite, intermittently wondering
whether Mattheus was thinking of her at all?

After
lunch Cindy  decided to check her own emails before investigating into Pete. She
scanned through them quickly, and as she got to the end, despite herself, her
heart missed a beat. There was nothing there from Mattheus. So much for that, Cindy
thought, as she grabbed her laptop and went out on the patio to get to work.

*

It
was warm and moist outside, but good to be outdoors under the sky. Cindy
quickly went onto Pete’s Facebook page. Before she even arrived, Cindy had
Loretta send her Pete’s passwords and access to his emails. Cindy trusted that
Loretta had sent all of them. At least Cindy would start with what she had, if
she needed more she’d ask her.

Pete’s
Facebook page showed an upstanding, handsome, successful guy, in the prime of
life with a beautiful wife and lots of good friends. A pillar of the Midwestern
community he lived in. He and Loretta didn’t have children, so that part of his
life was absent from his page. His time seemed to be filled with sports, travel,
wild life excursions, and community activities.  At most of the community
activities, Loretta was as his side, smiling for all the world to see. At the
bottom of the page there were also photos of endangered species with Pete
standing bravely beside them.

Cindy
tried to remember anything she could about him back in college, but she’d only
met him briefly and it was now a blur. Cindy then flipped onto Loretta’s
Facebook page to see the other part of the marriage. Loretta’s life was spread
out in its glory, filled with many friends, parties, and social activities she
attended, some with Pete, some not. Her well known, wedding gown boutique was
front and center, claiming attention immediately. The boutique catered to those
who could afford a wedding of their dreams.  The caption read, “Come to the
boutique and become the princess on your wedding day that you always wanted to
be.” How ironic, thought Cindy, that Loretta’s own marriage should end with her
husband found stabbed to death in a whorehouse.

Cindy
sighed and turned away from the page, thinking of the wedding venues in Aruba
she and Mattheus had just been searching through. Most likely that phase of
Cindy’s life was now over forever. She couldn’t imagine that she would ever
again need or want a wedding dress of her own again.

Cindy
put her head back and looked up at the sky. Thick, white clouds were passing
overheard, with random birds flying by. From the looks of what she’d seen about
Pete so far, Loretta seemed to have a point. He didn’t look like the kind of
guy who would want or need to frequent prostitutes. He was great looking and
successful. If he’d needed something on the side, he certainly could have had
any woman he wanted.

Cindy’s
phone rang suddenly then, interrupting her thoughts. She picked up grateful to
talk to someone now.

“How’s
it going? What happened in the whorehouse?” Loretta asked. “Did you talk to the
girl?”

“Which
girl, Charma?” asked Cindy.

“Who
else?” said Loretta, irritated. “It’s creepy enough that you actually went
there, I didn’t imagine you’d be spending time talking to the low life girls
who live there.”

Cindy
thought for a second of the girls she’d seen lounging around. It was painful to
see how they were living but they’d seemed friendly and pleasant in their own
way. Cindy hardly thought of them as low lives.

“Charma’s
in custody,” Cindy reminded Loretta then. “She wasn’t there to be spoken to.”

“I
know that,” Loretta’s voice rose. “So, why did you even go there? What was
really the point of it all?”

“We
always go to the scene of the crime first,” said Cindy. “I told you, it’s
routine.”

“So,
what did you find there? What? Tell me,” Loretta insisted in a strident tone.

Cindy
could feel how urgently Loretta wanted to know about the life inside the house
where her husband had been found, and how upsetting it was for her to ask about
it.

“I
saw the room Pete was found in,” Cindy reported and I spoke to a policeman who
was stationed there.”

“Stationed
in the room? Why?” Loretta grew breathless.

“They’re
making sure nothing is moved for now,” Cindy reported.

“What
about the room? What about it?” Loretta sounded agitated.

“It
was a small, musty room. The bed was stripped bare,” Cindy answered simply.

“So,
what was the good of seeing it? What did you find?” Loretta couldn’t let go.

“You
don’t always know what you’ve seen immediately,” Cindy tried to calm her. “You
look around, you absorb details that become pieces of a puzzle that suddenly
fit together later. Sometimes one detail that seemed like nothing when you saw
it, brings light to the entire case later on.”

“Oh
God, oh God,” Loretta started murmuring. “What are you doing right now?”

“I’m
here in the hotel room,” said Cindy calmly, “going over the details of Pete’s
life.”

“What
kind of details? What do you want to know?” Loretta was on the alert. “I told
you to ask me.”

“I
need to know whatever I can,” said Cindy. “How else can I find out why someone
wanted to kill him?”

“Well,
let’s get together immediately then and you can ask me whatever you want,” said
Loretta. “I’ll fill you in better than a hundred pages on the web.”

“Fine,
said Cindy, “do you want to come my room now?”

“No,
I’m sick of being in this hotel,” Loretta became more agitated. “I need to be
outdoors. Pete would never have stayed cooped up in a room. Let’s do something
he would have done. Let’s get out of here and go somewhere else.”

Although
Cindy was momentarily startled, she felt it was a good idea. She didn’t mind
getting out of the hotel herself and seeing more of the island. Beyond that, it
was very likely that she’d learn much more about Pete from Loretta when she was
distracted and they were on the move.

“Where
do you want to go?” asked Cindy, jumping right on board.

“I
don’t care, let’s go anywhere,” Loretta replied. “Let’s go somewhere
interesting and fun. I know, how about doing to watch the Humpback Whales? It’s
a short trip away and they’re in mating season now. It will relax us and Pete
loves doing things like that.”

“That’s
fine with me,” said Cindy.  Loretta was acting as though Pete were still alive,
want to do things they would have done together. It was normal, a defense
against facing the bitter truth of her loss.”

“Great,
let’s  go,” Loretta seemed to cheer up a bit. “I’ll make a few arrangements and
meet you downstairs in the lobby in fifteen minutes. Bring a light sweater in
case it cools down.