Death by Devotion (Caribbean Murder #9)

“The other kids think all kinds of things but one thing they agree on is not to talk to you. They all got your messages, and decided together that no one’s going to answer. After Andrea met you and Mattheus she told everyone you were the pits.”


Cindy shook her head slowly. “She doesn’t know the first thing about me, Natalie. She has no reason to say that.”

“I know, I know,” said Natalie quickly. “Andrea’s like that, makes up her mind in a second and won’t budge. I always just thought that she didn’t want her father with another woman.”

“Well it’s lucky for her that he was,” Cindy quipped, “because this woman has come all the way down here to help solve the case.”

For a moment Natalie’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s amazing that you’re doing this,” she whispered.

“Thank you,” said Cindy.

“Just amazing,” Natalie went on, “you must love Mattheus very much.”

That comment stopped Cindy cold. “It’s not that I love him, it’s that there’s real trouble here and he needs help.”

“That sounds like real love to me,” said Natalie looking right through Cindy. “No woman would risk her life this way if she didn’t really love someone.”

Cindy took a long, sad breath. Could it be Natalie was right, that she knew more about her than Cindy knew about herself?

“And who did Andrea love?” Cindy picked up the thread of the conversation and put it back where it belonged.

Strangely enough that question seemed to frighten Natalie. She jerked backwards and stopped in her tracks. “Why do you ask that?”

Cindy was surprised. “Why not? It’s a natural question.”

Natalie got up off her stool and then quickly sat down again. It seemed this question upset her more than talking about drugs and sex. Her upset fascinated Cindy.

“Was Andrea in love with someone?” Cindy repeated more insistently. “Who was he?”

“Whether or not she was in love with someone doesn’t have anything to do with the murder,” Natalie answered firmly.

“It might well have,” Cindy was alerted.

“I mean, Andrea had some Johns, she dealt drugs, that’s where there was trouble, not because she might have been in love.”

But Cindy knew that being in love was often where trouble started. It turned things around, made a person feel helpless. Cindy wanted to know more about it.

“Who was Andrea in love with?” she repeated, in a low, friendly tone.

“I’m telling you to look into the drugs and Johns,” Natalie insisted, refusing to answer the question.

Cindy backed off and took a new track. “Did Andrea’s mother know about the drugs and Johns?”

“She knew,” Natalie whispered, nervously. “She knew everything, and she encouraged it.”

Cindy was horrified. “Her mother encouraged Andrea to deal drugs and sleep with guys for money?”

“Andrea and her mom were hard off, it was a rough life for them,” Natalie said softly. “It didn’t make Andrea mad at her mother, though, she did it to help out.”

Cindy wanted to gag. Her natural distaste for and suspiciousness of Petra grew exponentially. This was incredibly valuable information and she was glad she had it before she saw Petra again. A woman who could encourage her daughter to do this, would be capable of anything.

“You’ve been tremendously helpful to me, Natalie,” Cindy said softly.

“Thanks,” said Natalie, “and we have to finish up quick because our friends are coming soon, and they can’t see me talking to you.”

“I’m that bad?” Cindy was taken aback.

“You’re off limits,” Natalie replied. “No one wants you down here snooping around. No one trusts you.”

“Okay, I got it,” Cindy replied. “Thank you for trusting me, Natalie. There’s only one last thing I’d like to know before we finish.”

“What’s that?” asked Natalie, “I’ll do my best.”

“Was Andrea in love?”

Natalie looked at Cindy suddenly as though she were the enemy.

“Why is that such a dangerous question, Natalie?”

“I told you not to go there,” Natalie’s voice grew sharper. “It doesn’t make a difference.”

“To me it does,” Cindy stood her ground.

“I can’t say a thing about it,” Natalie scraped her stool back from the bench then. “It would hurt Andrea if I did. I totally promised her I wouldn’t and I won’t. I refuse.”

Just then a bunch of kids about Andrea’s age all came in together, looking around for a table.

“Oh my God, our friends are here, early,” Natalie breathed. “Make believe you don’t know me. Look away. I don’t want them to know we were talking.”

Cindy quickly looked away as Natalie jumped off the bar stool, and greeted them as if she’d just arrived as well.

One of the crowd, a guy of about seventeen, with tattoos over both arms, took a step forward, looked over at the bar and peered at Cindy. It was as if he was trying to make out where he’d seen her before.

Cindy met his gaze as his jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists. She got up from the bar then and walked past him, to the door, as if nothing at all were happening. As she walked she felt his hard gaze on her the whole time.





Chapter 12