Death by Request (Caribbean Murder #11)

Tara’s mother, Isabelle got up the moment Cindy and Mattheus entered, came over and graciously extended her hand.

“It’s very kind of you to join us,” she said, her eyes swollen and red. “This is our last good bye to Tara. Owen is beside himself that he can’t be here. And Konrad will joining us in a little while.”

“I’m so sorry about all of this,” Cindy repeated.

“Thank you,” said Isabelle, “come in and sit down. The officials will come out and let us know when it’s over. Eventually they’ll bring Tara’s ashes to us.”

It sounded awful to Cindy.

“I see that your granddaughter is joining us,” Mattheus interrupted the heavy tone, looking over at the thin, desolate girl on the bench.

“Would you like to meet Loretta?” asked Isabelle.

“Yes, of course,” said Mattheus.

“Fine,” Isabelle agreed, “it will be good for her to talk to someone. She never talks to us, that’s for sure. I believe that years ago Loretta got the idea that we were all her enemies, against her in every way. Loretta’s father filled her with that garbage. It was his way of getting revenge on Tara for leaving him.”

“Why did Tara leave him?” Cindy couldn’t miss the opportunity to find out.

Isabelle’s back arched as she thought about it. “He and Tara were ill suited right from the start,” she declared. “Tara was never happy with him, though you couldn’t get her to say so, no matter what he did to her. Tara was not so strong in her earlier years, or so discerning. Finally, she found Loretta’s father cheating on her.”

“Painful,” breathed Cindy.

“Painful in one way, good in another,” Isabelle enjoyed talking about it. “Somehow the awful discovery gave Tara the strength to leave. I was thrilled about it and so was her father. We encouraged her to get away from him and start again.”

“Did Loretta’s father get the daughter in a custody suit?” asked Cindy, still wondering why Loretta had stayed with him.

“No, actually, he did not,” Isabelle exclaimed. “The court awarded them joint custody, but the girl was incredibly attached to her father, wouldn’t let herself be pried away. She carried on so terribly when she was in Tara’s care, begged to be with her father so deeply, that Tara finally had no choice but to let her go.”

“That must have been very painful for Tara,” said Cindy.

“Terrible,” Isabelle agreed. “Thankfully, she met Owen soon after the divorce and had a happy marriage all these years. But somehow they could never have children together. It was a wound Tara had to live with. I believe her work in the orphanage made up for that.”

Cindy’s heart went out to Tara and she wanted even more to speak to her daughter Loretta now.”

“How often did Tara see her daughter over the years?” Mattheus also seemed gripped by the story.

“Very rarely,” said Isabelle, “and in the recent years almost not at all. I have no idea why the girl has turned up now. Must be her father, egging her on. There’s quite a sizable inheritance, you know. Owen took out a large life insurance policy on Tara and maybe her daughter thinks she’s due some of it? I have no idea what she thinks as she barely talks to us at all.”

Cindy looked over at Loretta intensely, eager to go over to her and speak. But just at that moment, the door to the waiting room opened and Konrad walked in. Although he was impeccably dressed and perfectly groomed, he looked unsettled.

“Oh, here’s the hospital administrator,” said Isabelle. “He’s finally getting in touch. I think he expects us to leave after the cremation, this visit must be his good bye.”

Konrad walked over swiftly and stood between Isabelle and Cindy and Mattheus. Obviously something was bothering him.

“How are you, Konrad?” Mattheus tried to break the ice.

“How can I be on a terrible day?” he replied officially, smiling at Isabelle. “I just hope that the family realizes that we at the hospital did all we possibly could.”

Isabelle went along graciously. “Of course we realize that, and we thank you for it.”

Konrad threw a quick glance at Cindy and Mattheus to see how they took Isabelle’s remark. Both of them made no response.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Konrad said then, moving away, “I want to say good bye to Tara’s father as well.”

Konrad went straight over to Ralph, who sat on the couch, his hands clenched into fists.

“It’s just a duty call, that’s all it is,” Isabelle muttered. “Konrad hasn’t come with any news about Owen for us.”

“Introduce us to Loretta now,” Mattheus said softly.

Isabelle nodded and they all walked together in Loretta’s direction.

When Loretta saw them coming towards her, she jumped up and away from her chair, alarmed.

“Loretta, this is Cindy and Mattheus, two private detectives who have come down to investigate your mother’s death,” Isabelle spoke firmly, taking charge.