Death by Devotion (Caribbean Murder #9)

“Where exactly were you when Cain was killed?” Cindy needed to know.

“I was on the other side of the Island,” Andrea finally relented. “I was with friends there.”

“People saw you?” Cindy asked.

“Yeah, of course, I’m not exactly a ghost,” she said.

“What side of the Island?” Cindy continued, “where?”

“On the rich, fancy, side of the Island,” Andrea replied, haughtily. “At an expensive bar.”

Cindy immediately realized that Andrea must have been there on business, with a John. That’s why she couldn’t give out details. Cindy decided to plunge into the heart of the matter, unafraid.

“You were there with a John?” Cindy asked casually, as though it didn’t matter at all to her.

Andrea took great offense, though. “No, he wasn’t a customer! He was someone who cares about me.”

Those words flashed through Cindy, reminding her of her interview with Natalie, how nervous Natalie had become when they’d spoken about Andrea being in love.

“Is he someone you’re in love with, Andrea?” Cindy asked penetratingly.

Andrea stood up, agitated. “No,” she breathed fitfully, “he’s someone who’s in love me! It’s possible that someone could be in love with me, you know, even though you can’t imagine it.”

“Of course I can imagine it,” Cindy stood up as well, and reached out for her.

“You’re a beautiful, young woman Andrea, and I can certainly imagine a man loving you.”

“A wonderful man? A rich, white guy?” Andrea smiled broadly.

“Definitely, why not?” said Cindy.

“After all, my father is a white guy,” Andrea murmured.

“Yes, he is,” said Cindy slowly. Obviously, Andrea had found someone who reminded her of her long, lost father. “But white or not, there are lots of wonderful guys down here, aren’t there?” Cindy continued, wanting to hear more about Andrea’s love life.

At that Andrea laughed coarsely. “There are plenty of guys down here, some are okay, and plenty are not.”

Cindy decided to turn down a new road. “What about your mother? How does she feel about this guy who loves you?”

Andrea’s eyes narrowed and she clammed up then. “You keep my mother out of it.”

“How does she feel about him?” Cindy continued, “that’s all I want to know.”

“It doesn’t matter how she feels about him,” Andrea was adamant. “He belongs to me

and that’s that.”

Cindy was fascinated. “Has your mother met him? Does she know him, Andrea?”

“What the hell difference does it make?” Andrea began to yell. “You have something against my mother? You’re jealous of her, you want to pin her into a corner, because she and my dad got a thing going again?”

Cindy felt her body go cold. “Got what going?” she could barely ask.

“Since my dad’s gotten down here the two of them have been together constantly,” Andrea whispered, a smile creeping along the edges of her mouth. “They’re remembering what they meant to each other, what brought them together in the first place.”

Cindy had no idea if this were true, of if Andrea were fantasizing. What brought Petra and Mattheus together in the first place? Cindy wondered. Nothing, just a one night encounter. At least that’s what Mattheus had said. Cindy wanted to burst Andrea’s bubble.

“What about the guy your mother brought to jail with her when she came to visit you?”

“What about him?” said Andrea. “He’s an old friend.”

“Was he the one who beat you in jail, Andrea?” Cindy wasn’t mincing any words. “Did he want to shut you up?”

Andrea looked shocked. “You heard about the beating?” she asked.

“Yes, I heard,” said Cindy. “And I want to know who did it. Was it your mother’s recent boyfriend?”

“Definitely not! He’s not her boyfriend and my mother had nothing to do with the beating at all,” Andrea stiffened up.

“Who was it, then?” Cindy demanded.

“That’s enough,” Andrea began backing away.

“You’ve got to tell me, it will help me find the murderer,” Cindy begged.

“You’re not gonna find the murderer, Andrea whispered intensely.

“You know who it is?” Cindy stared at her boldly.

“No I don’t,” Andrea insisted. “But there are plenty of people on this Island who wanted Cain dead - a big list of them. The cops know who they are, too. It’s easy to blame me. I’m convenient, that’s why no one looks into my alibi. But I’m sure the truth will come out, it has to, it always does, sooner or later.”

Cindy was stunned by Andrea’s comment and by her strange confidence that truth would prevail.

“I’m going to look into your alibi, Andrea,” Cindy promised, “but you have to tell me more. Where were you exactly? Who were you with?”

“I can’t tell you,” Andrea said softly.

“But it’s going to save your life,” Cindy was amazed.

“I still can’t tell you,” murmured Andrea.