Death by Seduction (7 page)

“Thanks for the
information” she responded.

Henry smiled a
craggy smile then. Obviously, he enjoyed being thanked.

“No problem,” he
said, “ask me anything you want. But don’t ask Loretta. Don’t rub this
nightmare in her face. Let her think her husband loved her, let her think he
didn’t go with the whores, and that she was all he ever wanted.”

Cindy closed her
eyes sadly for a long moment. Henry was trying to protect his daughter in every
way he could. But did it truly help someone to let them live in a dream world
and never face the truth?

“Loretta believes
someone killed Pete and dumped his body in the whorehouse,” Henry went on for
good measure. “Let her believe that all she likes. It’ll help her get over his
death and re-build her life.”

“But she also
wants to know who did it, ”Cindy interrupted. “Loretta’s not going to let the
investigation slide.”

“Sometimes she
wants to know,” Henry broke in harshly, “and plenty of other times she forgets
about it and wants her life to go on again. Down the road she’ll accept that
there was no other evidence and they closed the case by convicting the whore.
Loretta will go forward with her life then, you’ll see.”

Henry’s
suggestion appalled Cindy. “You think Loretta will be able to go forward with
her life when she doesn’t believe her husband’s real killer has been found?”
“I don’t think so,” said Henry, “I know so.  And I know her better than you do.”

*

Cindy and Henry
parted amicably.  He had an appointment to see someone on the police force about
getting his hundred thousand back and Cindy wanted to go back up to the room to
think things over and decide on what steps to take next.

As soon as she got
to room, her phone rang. Cindy bolted, afraid  it was Mattheus calling again.
She looked at her phone quickly, and to her surprise it was not Mattheus, but
her brother in law Frank, calling from the States.

“What’s up? Why
are you calling?” Cindy felt jittery taking the call. She seldom heard from Frank
in the past when she was on a case.

“Cindy, we’re
just calling to say hello,” Frank answered in a warm tone. “Your mother and I
are  thinking of you. How are you doing?”

This was unlike
Frank, usually it was her sister Ann who called to check in. Cindy realized
with a start then that Ann was no longer here, so now her husband was filling
in for her.

“It’s good of you
to call and check in, Frank,” Cindy began to soften. “I appreciate your
concern.”

“Of course,” he
replied, his voice softening as well. “We care about you here, we really do.”

“Thanks, I know
that,” Cindy’s voice dropped, a sense of exhaustion suddenly overtaking her.

“And we feel
awful about what happened at dinner with Mattheus during our visit,” Frank continued.
“I hope we can make it up to you. I hope you and Mattheus will give us another
chance.”

Cindy sighed
deeply. “I’ll give you as many chances as you like,” she responded, “but I
can’t speak for Mattheus.”

“Oh God,” Frank
began to say.

“But it doesn’t
matter,” Cindy cut him off. “Mattheus and I have broken up.”

Silence fell on
the other end. “Broke up?” Frank’s voice faltered.

“Yes, that’s
right,” Cindy replied. “I’m down here on this case alone.”

“Is that safe? Is
that smart?” Frank sounded mildly alarmed.

“Of course it’s
safe,” Cindy answered swiftly. “I’m in touch with the police down here, they’re
helping me out.”

Frank got edgy.
“Did you and Mattheus break up because of your mother and I?”

“No, not because
of you,” Cindy quickly reassured him. “We broke up because it just wasn’t right
between us for the long term. There were things we couldn’t work through.”

“Cindy, I’m so
sorry,” Frank said, and meant it.

“Thanks,” Cindy
replied.

“It’s got to be
rough going, losing a partner again,” Frank sounded sad.

“Yeah, it’s
rough,” Cindy agreed.

“Don’t I know,” he
went on.

Cindy realized
that Frank had to be suffering a lot from the loss of Ann, as well. It was
still so recent.

“I’m sorry Frank,
it’s got to be rough for you as well,” Cindy replied. “It’s been an awful time
for us all.”

“Awful isn’t even
the word for it,” Frank murmured. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to make it
up to your mom.”

“You’re not going
to be able to make it up to my mother,” Cindy was quick on the draw. “Nobody
could. We all have to work these things out on your own. Ann’s death isn’t your
fault, you have to remember that,” Cindy insisted.

Frank grumbled
something Cindy couldn’t make out. Obviously he didn’t agree with that
statement.

“Believe me,
Frank,” Cindy went on, “lots of guys have a woman on the side. Their
girlfriends don’t go and kill their wives, though. What happened to Ann was not
your fault.”

“I never, ever
imagined something like this would happen,” Frank’s voice lifted a bit. “Never.
I loved Ann so much.”

“I know you did,”
Cindy replied. “And Ann knew you loved her too, believe me. “

“What makes you
say that?” Frank’s voice became stronger yet.

“Because Ann was
happy with you, she felt loved and supported. You gave her the life she always
wanted.”

“Thank you,
Cindy,” Frank whispered back into the phone.

“You strayed and
you shouldn’t have,” Cindy continued. “I’m not saying it was right but I’m
saying it happens. And it doesn’t mean you meant any harm to Ann. It doesn’t
mean you didn’t love her.”

“You’re an angel,
Cindy and I never knew it,” Frank breathed. “Ann knew it, though. She loved you
so much, too.”

“I’m far from an
angel, Frank,” Cindy responded. “I’ve just learned a lot these years, more than
I ever wanted to.”

“Yes, you have,
thank you again,” Frank repeated. “I called to check in on you, and here you’re
making me feel like a new person.”

Cindy hung up the
phone feeling better. It was good to realize she still had some family, that
there were those back home thinking of her. She and Frank had not been close
all the years he and Ann were married, but it seemed as though that was
changing now.

Cindy walked over
to the patio and looked outside. The day was misty and cloudy, felt like rain
in the air. Cindy found her talk with Loretta’s father jarring. In many ways he
was implying that Loretta was a child, clinging to her dreams, unwilling to see
the truth about her husband. Cindy had to look further into Pete and Loretta’s
marriage.  Had it truly been all Loretta said it was? Cindy could start by
talking to some of the people Pete worked with down here, get a feel if he were
the kind of guy who would frequent the brothels. If he were, it might even be
possible that the police had the right person locked away.

As Cindy thought
about contacting Pete’s company, there was a quick knock on her door.  Startled
she came in from the patio and walked over to it.

“Open up, Cindy,
it’s me,” Loretta called from outside.

Cindy quickly
opened and saw Loretta standing there flushed.

“I just got back
from the airport with Angela,” Loretta said as she flew into Cindy’s room.

“Angela’s
unpacking now and I wanted to talk to you.”

“Of course,” said
Cindy, closing the door behind her.

“Let’s have it,”
said Loretta. “What did you talk about with my dad?”

Cindy was
surprised at Loretta’s urgency to find out. “We had a lovely breakfast,” Cindy
started slowly.

“No, spill the
beans!” Loretta insisted. “I don’t care about small talk. My father’s great
with small talk, he charms the hell out of all my friends.”

“Your father is
convinced that Pete was killed by Charma,” Cindy felt relieved  to jump right
in. She was sick of small talk herself.

“Killed by the
whore?” Loretta’s cheeks flushed.

“That’s right,”
said Cindy.

“Well, he’s
completely wrong,” Loretta began pacing back and forth.  “What does my father
take me for? A patsy? Does he think I’m the kind of woman who would have a
husband who’d do something like that?” Her eyes spit fire.

“Yes, he does,”
said Cindy, wanting more.

“Well, my
father’s crazy, he’s wrong,” Loretta got into Cindy’s face. “He’s imagining it.
You’ve got to believe me, Pete would never cheat. My father always hated all of
my boyfriends. He always thought every one of them was doing me wrong.”

“Really?” Cindy
was taken aback .

“Yes,” Loretta
zeroed in. “Since my mom died, my father’s whole world revolved around me. He’s
super protective and in his eyes no one can measure up to him, if you know what
I mean?” Loretta winked at Cindy oddly.

“I know what you
mean,” Cindy replied, feeling uneasy.

“I was afraid my
father would say all kinds of bad stuff about Pete,” Loretta continued. “He
did, didn’t he? I have to know the truth.”

“He said there
were good things in your relationship,” Cindy wanted to break it  to her slowly.

“But he bad
mouthed Pete?” asked Loretta, as if her father had committed the ultimate
wrong.

“Your father
feels certain that Pete visited Charma and that she killed him,” Cindy repeated
evenly. “He said all guys cheat.”

“That’s
disgusting,” Loretta eyes were flashing. “I’ll always hate my father for saying
that to you. Maybe he’s talking about himself? Ever think that? Who knows if he
stepped out on my mom or not? I don’t know and don’t want to know. But I know
that never happened in my marriage, not once.”

Cindy was stunned
by Loretta’s fierce determination not to let this point go by.

“Well, if you’re
so positive, then I believe you,” said Cindy.

“You don’t have
to just believe me,” that wasn’t good enough for Loretta. “I called Andy and
asked him to come over and talk to you. He’s one of Pete’s co-workers down here
and friends.”

“Good,” said
Cindy, “I’d love to talk to him.”

“He’ll give you a
better picture,” Loretta went on. “It’s awful enough that Pete is dead, I don’t
want people thinking that he died at the hands of a whore. I couldn’t live with
that,  Cindy.”

“I understand,”
Cindy said. “Tell me where else should I look for answers, Loretta?” Cindy  was
 glad  that they finally they were dealing with the reality of Pete’s death.

“Check the real
estate company Pete was buying the condo from,” Loretta’s eyebrows arched.
“There are definitely guys down there that are shady.”

“Shady in what
way?” asked Cindy.

“I don’t know
exactly how,” said Loretta. “But I know that Val, the guy Pete dealt with
there, definitely had an eye for me.”

“Val came on to
you?” Cindy tuned right in.

“No, not
blatantly, of course,” said Loretta. “But I saw him look me over a few times.
Pete saw it, too. He mentioned it.”

Cindy wondered if
that was what Loretta meant as shady, that a guy came onto her? It seemed
strange.

“Did it bother Pete
that Val looked you over?” asked Cindy.

“Actually, no,
not at all,” Loretta laughed a bit. “Pete knew I belonged to him completely. He
trusted me and I trusted him. We just laughed about it, that’s all. But look
into the real estate company anyway. Pete left them a huge down payment on the
condo. You never know. Could be they wanted more money and he refused to cough
it up?” She shrugged.

“Were you aware
of all Pete’s finances and activities?” asked Cindy.

“Absolutely,”
Loretta replied. “We hid nothing from each other. Nothing at all.”

“Okay, I’ll look
into the real estate company” Cindy replied, “right after I talk to Charma.”

Loretta’s face
flushed again.  “Talk to who? The whore?”

“Yes, the woman’s
who’s accused of killing Pete,” Cindy replied.

“Why in hell
would you bother to go and talk to her?” Loretta didn’t get it.

“Right now she’s
the number one suspect,” Cindy replied. “It’s routine procedure.”

“So what?”
snapped Loretta. “Don’t waste your time.  It’s obvious, she’s being framed.”

“It’s important
to hear her side, as well,” said Cindy.

Loretta stamped
her foot on the floor. “I’d rather you didn’t talk to the whore.”

“Her name is
Charma,” Cindy couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Who cares what
her name is? She’s a whore, isn’t she?” Loretta demanded.

“So what?” said
Cindy, “it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a name.”

At that Loretta
shook her head vigorously, “Whores are the dregs of the earth, believe me,” she
retorted. “They draw men down into hell and wrap their tentacles around them.
They wreck marriages, eat up all the money.  I can’t imagine why in the world
you’re standing up for her?”

Well, they
certainly don’t come to your wedding boutique, Cindy wanted to answer, but kept
her mouth shut. There was no point in upsetting Loretta further, getting side
tracked on this point.

“Do what I say,”
Loretta continued forcefully then, “talk to Andy, Pete’s coworker, and then
investigate the real estate company.“

“I plan to do both,” Cindy complied.

“And forget about talking to the
whore,” Loretta threw in for good measure.

Cindy felt no need to respond. She had
no intention of reporting to Loretta  who she

Would
or would not interview. Of course she would speak to Charma . In fact,
Loretta’s adamant protests made Cindy want to do it all the more.

“When can I speak
to Andy?” Cindy turned the conversation in a direction that Loretta could
tolerate.

“He’ll come and
meet you downstairs in the lobby any time you’re ready,” Loretta said,
seemingly relieved.

“Okay, I can see
him in a few minutes,” said Cindy.

At that Loretta’s
eyes closed. “Thank you so much Cindy, really, thank you. I can’t tell you how
much it means to me that you respect my wishes and respect me.”

“Of course I
respect you,” Cindy went over to Loretta and gave her a hug. “What happened to
Pete doesn’t reflect upon you.”

“It could though,”
Loretta surprisingly began to whimper. “How would you feel if the man you’d
lived with and loved for years ended up killed by a whore?”

“Horrible,” Cindy
whispered.

“You got it,
then,” Loretta breathed. “Horrible, humiliated.”

“And I’d be mad
at him, too,” Cindy continued. “Deep down I’d feel scared that all along he’d
been cheating on me when I thought we were so in love.”

“Deceived to the
core!” breathed Loretta

“Exactly,” Cindy
responded.

“Well, that’s not
my situation,” Loretta’s manner shifted. “I’m not mad at Pete, I’m not scared
he cheated. I trusted him completely and I was right.  Something else happened
to him and that’s why you’re here. You have to help me find out.”

“I’ll do my
best,” Cindy promised, “And you’re lucky you trusted Pete so much. That’s rare
these days.”

At that Loretta’s
eyes filled with tears. It was the first time Cindy had seen her even close to
crying.  It relieved Cindy, made Loretta more human.

“Pete and I had a
rare relationship,” Loretta’s bottom lip started to tremble. “And I needed it
to be that way, precious and rare.  Maybe Pete’s gone now, but I’m not going to
lose my memory of him. I won’t let anyone take that away from me, ever!  Not
anybody, even my father!”

 “I understand,” Cindy
said softly.

“I know you do,”
said Loretta, “that’s why you’re here.  You always were special. I never forgot
you, ever Cindy. That’s why I called you to help.”

Thank you for
calling me,” said Cindy.

Loretta looked up
at her directly then. “Did you trust your partner too? Were you sure you could
trust him and then found out he was cheating on you? Is that why the two of you
broke up?”

Cindy was
startled by Loretta’s question. “No, that’s not what happened,” she said. 
“Mattheus would never have cheated on me.”

Loretta sighed, “Wonderful,”
she said. “So you really do understand how I feel then?”

“Yes, I
understand,” Cindy repeated.

“What happened
between you and your partner?” Loretta grew curious.

“Mattheus and I
saw important things differently,” Cindy slowly said, strangely glad to

be talking about him.
“He was upset that I wouldn’t take time off from cases just to be with him.”

“He wanted you to
put him first?” remarked Loretta as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.

“Over everything else,”
replied Cindy, surprised that Loretta got the picture so quickly.

“Well, of course,
he was right,”  Loretta looked puzzled, “everyone knows that. You have to put
your man first and spend lots of quality time alone together.”

“The work we do
is different though,” said Cindy.

“You could take
off between cases, couldn’t you?” Loretta didn’t want to let go.

“Sometimes you
can,” Cindy replied disconsolately. “But then there can be a rash of
emergencies.”

“Mattheus didn’t
want you to take my case?”  Loretta suddenly got it.

“Your case and
others,” said Cindy.

“Is that why you
broke up? Because of me?” Loretta’s eyes grew wider.

“No, of course
not,” said Cindy. “You had nothing to do with it. It was a pattern we had.  
Mattheus could be volatile, wonderful one minute and selfish the next. Very
selfish.”

“Does he still
love you?” Loretta’s became calmer.

Cindy felt jarred
by the question. “I don’t know, I don’t care. Why should I?”

“Of course you
care, dear,” Loretta replied.

“No, I don’t,”
Cindy insisted. “Or, even if I care, I’m not taking this roller coaster ride with
him.”

Suddenly Loretta
turned into a consummate professional. “Cindy, I’ve seen this happen over and
over at the wedding boutique. The gown is chosen, invitations have been sent, then
comes the last minute fights between the couple. It happens over and over.  They
call me frantically to stop alterations, tell me the wedding’s being called
off.  I never pay any attention to any of it, just ask if they still love each
other. If they do, they can get over last minute nerves.