Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

“Who?” asked Cindy fascinated.

Alana ignored the question, “And, I wouldn’t call it killing her,” she went on, “because who could say she was even really here in the first place? She went back and forth.”

“Back and forth from where?” A long, slow chill crept up Cindy’s spine.

Alana stared at Cindy. “Back and forth to wherever we go to when our time here is over. When patients are very sick or in a coma, they go back and forth. Everyone knows it, and I see it all the time,” said Alana. “It’s no big deal. When patients can speak, sometimes they’ll tell you that their departed relatives are waiting to greet them when they leave. Some even tell you the day they’ll be leaving.”

Cindy’s stomach clenched and a flash of tears filled her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” asked Alana concerned.

“My sister just died,” Cindy said in a small voice. “She was murdered.”

“My God,” said Alana, “I’m so sorry,” and she extended her hand. “She’ll be back for you when your time comes, honey. Just be a little patient.”

Cindy quickly regrouped, not wanting to take this off on another track. “Tell me more about Tara’s family, please. You were with them for a long time. Do you think one of them did it?”

“Anything is possible,” said Alana. “The father couldn’t stand to see her laying there like that, her mother wanted her to keep going. The sister and mother seemed pretty close, but the sister has a weird husband. He only came to visit once, didn’t want his wife spending so much time with her sister. I heard him say, let whatever happens, happen, Jenna. It’s no business of yours. Tara brought this on herself.”

“How did Tara bring it on herself?” Cindy asked startled.

“I think he meant because she lived such a rich, fancy, lifestyle, going out on private boats and stuff like that.”

“He was jealous?” asked Cindy.

“He was selfish,” Alana corrected her. “But who knows? I only saw him there once, as I told you.”

“How about Tara’s brother, Hank?” Cindy was eager to hear more.

“He’s a lost kind of guy,” Alana commented. “He sat in the corner most of the time and didn’t talk to anyone. You could see he loved Tara, though. Once when everyone was gone and Owen was in the bathroom, I saw Hank get up and go over to Tara’s bed and stroke her forehead gently. Then I heard him tell her he was there for her, and wouldn’t let anything bad happen.”

“Anything else you heard or saw?” asked Cindy. “Anything that made you wonder?”

Alana put her coffee mug down and dug her elbows onto the table. “The daughter,” she said softly then, almost inaudibly.

“Tell me,” Cindy breathed.

“Tara had a daughter, Loretta, who showed up out of the blue. No one in the family liked her, hardly bothered with her at all. When she came to the hospital she sulked around and wouldn’t say a word to Owen. Seems like she hated him.”

“I wonder why?” said Cindy.

“Actually,” Alana went on, her voice getting stronger. “I heard Loretta yelling at Tara the day she died. She was at the edge of Tara’s bed and yelling, wake up and look at me! I have something I want to tell you! She said that Tara had better do it fast because time was running through her fingers. It freaked Owen out. He jumped up, grabbed Loretta and escorted her right out of the room.”

“Awful,” Cindy breathed.

“I’ve seen stuff like that before,” Alana insisted. “Nerves get strung in a situation like this. Everyone in the family blames each other. Who knows what Loretta wanted to tell her mother?”

“She’s not a suspect though, is she? “Cindy questioned.

“No, of course not,” said Alana. “How can they possibly ever find out who actually put the stuff in Tara’s IV? They can’t. It’s all circumstantial. Let them suspect whoever they want. Owen will get off at trial. It’ll all die down. This is just a stupid circus.”

Cindy had to muster her strength to go forward with the next question. “How about you, Alana? I heard you were fired from another nursing job because of patient negligence.”

Alana looked stunned, as if Cindy had suddenly thrown cold water over her face. She jumped up, her eyes flashing. “How did you hear that? Who told you?”

“It doesn’t matter who,” said Cindy.

“It does to me,” Alana shot back. “It matters a lot. Did Konrad tell you?”

“No, he didn’t,” Cindy assured her quickly.

“I don’t believe you, Konrad must have told you. Nobody else knows,” Alana seemed beside herself.

“I promise you, it wasn’t Konrad,” Cindy jumped up as well.

“You’re lying to me, lying! And I thought he loved me, I really did,” Alana started rubbing her face, wildly.

“I promise you I’m not lying,” Cindy yelled. “You’ve got to believe me. Just tell me what happened at your other job? Why were you fired?”