Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“You can say that again,” said Mattheus, slowly absorbing the information. “We’ll have to talk to Owen about this. And we have to talk to Loretta immediately. Where was she when we met the family?”


“They were obviously hiding her,” Cindy exclaimed.

“Or, maybe she just refused to meet us?” Mattheus suggested.

“I doubt that,” said Cindy, “because Gloria also told me that Loretta was the only one in the family who was willing to listen to what Gloria had to say. Gloria told the whole family she had important information and they just brushed her off.”

“What did Gloria have to say?” Mattheus was puzzled.

“I don’t know if she’s crazy,” Cindy continued, “or if she has her finger on something.”

“Could be both,” said Mattheus. “Crazy people can still see things that are right on. What did Gloria talk to Loretta about?”

Cindy didn’t know exactly how to tell Mattheus. She wanted to prepare him for what came next.

“The hospital’s a strange place and naturally, some of the people who work there seem a little far out,” Cindy started easing in gently. “I’m glad you’re not going to just discount Gloria as crazy.”

“Continue,” Mattheus said.

“Everyone has a different opinion about Tara’s death,” Cindy continued. “The head nurse gave me the party line, though she let me know that she herself doesn’t have a problem with euthanasia.”

“It’s her right to believe what she likes,” said Mattheus.

“Yes, of course,” said Cindy. “And a young guy, Skip, who covered the desk told me there’s a group of workers at the hospital who get together and pray for patients who’ve been in a coma for awhile.”

“Really? said Mattheus. “That’s interesting. But what did Gloria tell Loretta? Why are you holding back?”

Cindy felt odd repeating it to Mattheus, but knew he had to hear it.

“Gloria told me that she saw Tara open her eyes several times at night. She also heard Tara speaking.”

Mattheus sat up straighter, “Speaking to who, to Gloria?”

“I know it’s far out,” said Cindy. “I know people imagine all kinds of things watching someone close to death.”

“You’re hesitating, Cindy,” Mattheus was adamant. “What did Gloria hear Tara say?”

“Tara said she wanted to die, to please help her die,” Cindy repeated, suddenly feeling waves of despair wash over her.

“Oh boy,” Mattheus exclaimed. “Is Gloria delusional? She thought she heard Tara ask to die? Did Gloria also think she should honor Tara’s request, or get someone else to do so?”

“It wasn’t like that,” Cindy broke in, defending Gloria.

“What was it like?” Mattheus stood up swiftly. “Could be Gloria is a psycho who got others to follow her lead?”

“No,” Cindy cried out, distressed. “Don’t people ever wake up from comas and speak?”

“Gloria got to you, too,” Mattheus breathed.

“Not at all,” Cindy stood up as well. “I’m just telling you what she said.”

Mattheus started tapping his hands against his thighs, as he usually did when trying to make sense of something difficult that suddenly came his way.

“Whether or not Gloria really heard Tara speak, is not necessarily the main thing,” he finally said. “Did she report this to the police?”

“No,” Cindy commented. “The police didn’t question her.”

“Well, they should have,” Mattheus grunted. “We’ve got motive for the euthanasia right there. For all we know Gloria was involved in it, felt she was honoring Tara’s wishes.”

“Maybe,” said Cindy, “but I don’t get that feeling. Gloria said that Loretta was very interested in what her mother said. She made Gloria repeat it again and again.”

“If that’s true, it speaks to possible motive for Loretta, too,” Mattheus spoke intently. “But we have no idea if any of it is true.”

“It’s all completely circumstantial,” Cindy replied. “It’s all hearsay, nothing more. Could it possibly create enough reasonable doubt to free Owen?”

Mattheus was obviously mulling over that question himself. “You read my mind,” he responded. “How often did Loretta visit her mother in the room?”

“I don’t know that yet,” said Cindy. “When I speak to Tara’s nurse Alana she’ll tell me more.”

“Why haven’t you spoken to her already?” Mattheus seemed surprised.

“She called in sick today,” said Cindy. “The head nurse, Beatrice, said that was unusual for her. Beatrice thought that someone told Alana we were here and she didn’t want to speak to us.”

Mattheus grimaced. “That’s not good,” he muttered. “There has to be a reason why Alana’s avoiding us.”