Death by Seduction
Read Death by Seduction Online
Authors: Jaden Skye
D E A T H B Y S E D U C T I O N
(book #13 in the CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES)
Jaden Skye
About Jaden Skye
Jaden
Skye is author of the #1 Bestselling CARIBBEAN MURDER series, which includes 12
books (and counting). The first book in the series, DEATH BY HONEYMOON, a #1
Bestseller, is now available as a
FREE
download on Amazon
!
Also
in the series are DEATH BY DIVORCE (#2), DEATH BY MARRIAGE (#3), DEATH BY
DESIRE (#4), DEATH BY DECEIT (#5), DEATH BY JEALOUSY (#6), DEATH BY PROPOSAL
(#7), DEATH BY OBSESSION (#8), DEATH BY DEVOTION (#9) and DEATH BY BETRAYAL
(#10). She is also author of the romance A PERFECT STRANGER.
Jaden
has always been fascinated with mystery, wrongful death, lies, deception and
the power of the truth to prevail. Her romantic suspense/mystery novels feature
strong female protagonists who must overcome insurmountable obstacles, and
through them, she seeks to get to the very heart of the nature of justice and
love.
Please
visit
www.jadenskye.com
to find links to
stay in touch with Jaden via Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, her blog, and a
whole bunch of other places. Jaden loves to hear from you, so don't be shy and
check back often!
Books
by Jaden Skye
THE CARIBBEAN MURDER SERIES
DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)
DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2)
DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3)
DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4)
DEATH BY DECEIT (Book #5)
DEATH BY JEALOUSY (Book #6)
DEATH
BY PROPOSAL (Book #7)
DEATH BY OBSESSION (Book #8)
DEATH BY DEVOTION (Book #9)
DEATH BY BETRAYAL (Book #10)
THE TOM’S RIVER SAGA
A PERFECT STRANGER (Book #1)
Tap
here to download Jaden Skye books on Amazon now!
Copyright
© 2015 by Jaden Skye
All
rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no
part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any
form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the
prior permission of the author.
This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for
your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for
respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CONTENTS
Cindy
stared out of the window as Mattheus sat on the leather stool in the hotel room,
drumming his fingers on the small wooden table beside him. The day had turned
cloudy with unexpectedly dark skies closing in on them.
“You’re
not answering me,” Mattheus repeated once again. “Are we getting married, are
we eloping?”
The
endless conversation they’d been having seemed to have no end. Cindy couldn’t
bring herself to respond one more time. Mattheus was on a roll and unable to
hear anything she had to say, anyway. They were not eloping, she never wanted
to elope. That was not the way to start a life together.
Thankfully,
the sudden ring of the phone broke into the tension quickly building between
them.
Cindy
grabbed the phone, “Yes?” she replied, grateful for the interruption.
“Cindy,
do you remember me? Do you?” a breathless woman’s voice was on the other end. “It’s
Loretta Twain.”
The
familiar name rolled around in Cindy’s mind, though she couldn’t place it.
“University
of Wisconsin,” Loretta continued, “Jeb Lavit’s poetry class. We were in it
together, that’s where we met.”
“Of
course, of course,” a strange smile swept across Cindy’s face. It had been so
long since she’d thought of her college days, especially Jeb Lavit’s poetry
class.
“We
loved that class,” Loretta continued.
“I
remember you, Loretta,” Cindy broke in. “How could I forget?”
“Thank
God,” Loretta grew calmer. “I’m so sorry we lost touch, Cindy, I really am.”
Cindy
had lost touch with so many people by now, not to speak of old friends from her
college days. It was actually wonderful hearing from Loretta.
“Do
you remember how we double dated?” Loretta went on now frantically, trying to capture
Cindy’s attention. “Your date was Harvey and mine was Frank? We went to
Gingerman’s Pub.”
The
smile on Cindy’s face grew broader. Of course she’d completely forgotten about
Gingerman’s Pub until this unexpected call. Her college days seemed like
another world, almost a different lifetime. Cindy could barely remember the
person she was then, or what she’d wanted.
“I
remember you, Loretta,” Cindy reassured her old friend, relishing the memory of
the two of them back together in college. Cindy remembered the long walks she
and Loretta had taken on campus and wonderful discussions they’d had about
poetry, love and building a future that meant something. “I’m delighted to hear
from you,” Cindy continued, “but why now?”
“Everyone
back home’s heard about the work you’re doing down here in the Caribbean,” Loretta
managed to continue. “Right now I’m down in the Dominican Republic, too.” Once
again Loretta grew breathless. “I need your help and I need it badly. Oh God,
how did this happen to me?”
“What
happened, Loretta?” Cindy grew nervous.
“Do
you remember Pete?” Loretta’s voice shook.
Cindy
raced through her memory and recalled hearing that Loretta had married her
college sweetheart, Pete.
“The
man you married?” asked Cindy.
“Yes,”
Loretta’s voice dropped to a hoarse whisper then. “He’s been killed. His body
was just found.”
Cindy
felt a long, slow chill. “My God, I’m so sorry,” she responded, suddenly
remembering how desperate she’d felt when she’d found Clint dead on their
honeymoon.
“It
gets worse,” Loretta spoke quickly. “Please, I beg you, come here and help me.
I need you so badly.”
Cindy
took a painful breath. How could it get worse? she wondered.
“The
police say they know who did it,” Loretta rambled, “they say the case is open
and shut. But they’re wrong and I know it.”
Nothing
was ever open and shut, Cindy agreed. The police loved closing cases, much too
fast, usually.
“I’m
in danger, too,” Loretta sounded panicky. “There’s someone out there who hated
both of us and they’ll get me too, if you don’t get them first.”
“How
do you know there’s someone out there who hates you?” Cindy focused sharply,
wondering if Loretta and her husband were victims of stalking.
“It’s
obvious,” Loretta whispered. “When you come down I’ll tell you everything. It’s
too sordid to talk about on the phone. Cindy, please, I don’t want to die.”
Who
could want Loretta dead? Cindy flashed upon her old friend more clearly then.
Loretta had always been popular and in control of her world. She always insisted
that the world around her be orderly and beautiful, just like the poems she
loved so much. Cindy remembered when Loretta and Pete met in her senior year the
deep happiness and relief Loretta had felt about it. Pete was a great catch,
from everyone’s standpoint. He’s perfect for me, Loretta had said, he’ll make
my world safe. Pete had been a finance major, tall, with sandy haired and startling
blue eyes. After he and Loretta got together, Cindy saw less and less of
Loretta. Cindy had taken it in stride; she was used to girlfriends wandering
away when they got into serious relationships.
“Will
you come, will you help?” Loretta insisted. “Will you forgive me for not being
a better friend?”
Cindy
was surprised by her plea. “It’s fine, Loretta,” Cindy said slowly. “Friends
come together and then drift apart. You haven’t been a bad friend.”
“But
will you come? Will you help?” Loretta’s voice was quivering.
“Yes,
I will,” Cindy said emphatically.. “Email me details, and I’ll be there on the
next flight.”
*
“You’ll
be where on the next flight?” Mattheus asked, agitated, as Cindy hung up the
phone.
“That
was an old friend from college,” Cindy started.
And?”
Mattheus muttered as he stood up from the stool and walked closer, hovering over
Cindy.
“And
right now she’s in the Dominican Republic where her husband has just been
killed,” Cindy answered briskly. “For all she knows she’s also in danger.”
Mattheus
ran his hand across his face slowly. “So you just took the case without even as
much as throwing a glance my way?”
Cindy
hadn’t thought about it that way. “I told her I’d help her because she’s desperate,
needs me.
Mattheus
wasn’t having it. “And what about me? I don’t need you? You couldn’t answer my
question about getting married, but you’ve answered hers the moment she called.”
Cindy
felt herself clutching. She and Mattheus were back on the same track again.
“You
don’t want to marry me, do you?” Mattheus’s tone grew sharper. “For God’s sake,
be straight with yourself and me, too. You’re using these cases to push me away!
And, guess what? You’re succeeding!”
Cindy’s
eyes stung with tears. Mattheus suddenly seemed to have turned into a
bulldozer rolling over her.
“I
did answer your questions about marriage,” Cindy insisted. “I told you that I never
wanted to elope, and neither did you. You were thrilled about having a real
wedding. Now everything’s up in the air as things have become more and more desperate.”
“So,
you view me as desperate?” Mattheus was stung.
“I’m
not saying you’re desperate,” Cindy insisted, “but the whole situation has
taken on an urgency that feels desperate to me.”
“I’d
say we have a desperate situation when your family reacts to me the way they
did,” Mattheus fought valiantly. “They want to do everything possible to break
us up. If that isn’t a cause for desperation, what is?”
“So,
rather than work it out, you want to run away, get married, and let the pieces
fall where they may?” Cindy wasn’t going along for the ride.
“I
w
anted
to run away and get married,” Mattheus corrected her. “Past
tense. I can’t say I want to do that now.”
Cindy
felt a long, slow, chill run over her body. “What are you saying, Mattheus?”
“I’m
saying that you can go to your case to the Dominican Republic and have a
wonderful time there, have a wonderful life.”
“You’re
not coming with me?” Cindy suddenly felt heartsick.
“You
don’t get it,” Mattheus murmured. “I’m not spending my life with a woman who
doesn’t care about what’s important to me.”
Cindy
stood up straighter, the shock of Mattheus’s words were seeping in.
“I
thought we both cared about the same things,” she responded.
“It
looked that way in the beginning, didn’t it?” said Mattheus. “We both love
solving murders, but it seems that’s where it ends. I also want a wife who puts
me first, is willing to spend quality time with me and let her work sit on the
back burner at times. I want a woman who really wants to marry me.”
“I
do, I did,” said Cindy silently. “I wanted to marry you in the right time and
the right way, when we’ve worked through difficulties, calmed hurt feelings and
had our feet set on solid ground.”
“Our
feet will never be set on solid ground,” Mattheus retorted. “The ground beneath
our feet will always slide. And when one hurt feeling is solved, another will
rise to take its place. That’s the nature of relationships and the nature of
our work. Can we handle that as a couple? Looks like not.”
Cindy
thought Mattheus was jumping to an extreme conclusion, but maybe he wasn’t. No
matter how hard they tried, they kept getting jammed. Maybe he was right, maybe
it was time to part.
“Alright,”
Cindy began to say slowly.
“No,”
Mattheus suddenly pleaded. “Stay here with me in Aruba. Spend time with me
looking at wedding venues, walking on the beach and tasting wine. Let your
friend find someone else.”
“I
told her I’d come,” said Cindy simply. “I gave her my word.”
“So,
call and tell her you can’t,” said Mattheus. “Tell her another emergency has
come up and you have to handle that first.”
“What’s
the emergency, Mattheus?” asked Cindy, wide eyed. “What has come up that has to
prevent me from helping a friend whose husband has just been killed and who could
very well end up dead, too?”
“Our
relationship is the emergency,” Mattheus insisted. “Right now it’s on life
supports. If you don’t put it first, then we’re all done.”
Cindy
felt a sharp pain in her chest. “That’s a hell of a price to pay to keep a
relationship,” she mumbled, “to leave a friend in a ditch.”
“Maybe
it is,” said Mattheus, “but that’s what it’s gonna cost.”
“To
go against my integrity?” asked Cindy, sadly. “I can’t afford that, Mattheus.
Just can’t.”
“So,
have it your way then,” he shot back, looking at Cindy one more time, before he
turned away and stormed towards the door.
“Wait,
Mattheus, wait a minute,” Cindy called after him.
“No,
the waiting is over. Go make your plans, get a one way ticket to the Dominican
Republic,” Mattheus gasped as he flew out of the room.
