Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“You didn’t speak to the police?” asked Cindy, surprised.

Gloria shook her head. “Alana and the head nurse did. But police and reporters don’t bother with the aides.”

“It’s their loss,” said Cindy.

“You can say that again,” said Gloria, “cause I was in the room a lot. And aides know things that even the family don’t.”

Cindy bit into her sandwich feeling ravished and tremendously sad.

“When you work with coma patients, you see lots of things,” Gloria took a big spoonful of soup and grinned at Cindy, exposing a missing front tooth. “I’m sure you know that Owen never left the room. It became annoying to the nurses. He was normal when there were visitors, but when visitors were gone he became weird.”

“How?” Cindy was transfixed.

“Owen kept saying how beautiful Tara was once and that she’d never be beautiful again. Sometimes he’d say it right close up to Tara’s ear. It bothered Alana a lot. One day she told the idiot to cut it out. Alana said Tara was still beautiful and always would be. Owen shook his head and kept repeating that it was finished now, Tara would never be beautiful again. It was depressing as hell.”

“Sounds like he was devastated by the accident,” said Cindy, trying to make sense of it. “He couldn’t stand to see what had become of his wife. You don’t think he actually helped her die, do you?”

“Not at all,” Gloria muttered. “Just another sickie with a lot of money and no brains. If you ask me, I believe someone in the family did it.”

“Who did it and why?” asked Cindy, fascinated.

Gloria lifted the bowl of soup to her mouth and finished it all in one gulp. “I always tried to cheer up the family when they came to visit. I tried to tell them how Tara was doing, but none of them would give me the time of day. They didn’t want to hear a word I said. And I had important information, believe me”

“What information?” Cindy began to feel afraid.

“A few times I saw Tara open her eyes late at night and look around the room,” Gloria whispered in a grating tone. “She was here, she was back, I told them. But they wouldn’t listen.”

“They probably thought it was just a reflex,” Cindy uttered.

“No, it wasn’t a reflex,” Gloria was adamant. “I told them I even heard her speak.” Gloria began breathing heavily, “but not one asked me what Tara said. And her stupid father brushed me away like a fly.”

“It scared them,” Cindy exclaimed, “it didn’t make sense.”

“But at least they should have asked what their daughter said,” Gloria insisted. “Anyone who cared would have asked that.”

“What did Tara say?” asked Cindy, terrified to hear.

“Tara told me she wanted to die,” Gloria whimpered. “She said, let me go, let me go, I beg you. I heard her like we’re speaking right now.”

“What did you say to her, Gloria?” Cindy was totally caught up.

“II didn’t know what to answer. So, I just said, when the time is right honey, when the time is right.”

Cindy shivered all over. “Who else did you tell this to, Gloria?”

Gloria flushed, elated that someone finally took her seriously. “I told it to Alana, I told it to Owen. I even told it to Dr. Padden. No one cared a thing about what I said. They just kept Tara hooked up to the tubes and machines, hanging onto life. Then I finally told Tara’s daughter.”

“Who?” Cindy was aghast.

“Tara’s daughter, Loretta,” Gloria repeated, her eyes narrowing.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t know Tara had a daughter,” Cindy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “No one said a thing about that.”

“Yeah, Tara had an estranged daughter, Loretta, from a marriage before Owen,” Gloria was thrilled to be sharing the information. “No one talks about Loretta, it’s like she doesn’t even exist. But I talked to her. Loretta went to live with her real father a long time ago and left the whole, sick family behind. Then she read about the accident and came back to see her mother one more time.”

“Why didn’t anyone say anything about Loretta?” Cindy still couldn’t get over it.

“It doesn’t matter why,” Gloria grew more heated. “I sat with Loretta the night before Tara died and told her what I’d heard her say.”

Cindy felt chilled to the bone. “How did Loretta react?”

“She really listened to me, too,” Gloria went on. “She was the only one who did. In fact, she asked me to tell her over and over.”

Cindy froze from head to foot. Could Loretta hold the key to Tara’s death? “Where is Loretta now?” Cindy’s heart was pounding.

“I have no idea,” said Gloria, “but I’m sure she’ll be staying around for the cremation. She told me she wanted to be here for that. The cremation will be in a day or so, as soon as the final medical report is in. “

“Gloria, I can’t thank you enough for this,” Cindy grabbed her hands.