Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

“What about people Pete worked with?” Cindy focused strongly.

“Pete worked for a financial company that made investments, speculated in real estate, and other things,” Loretta answered. “They have a branch down here, so Pete came down to work fairly often. He had lots of great co-workers. Everyone loved him and he did great.”

“Did you come down here with him on his trips?” asked Cindy, thinking of the booming trade in prostitution.

“Sometimes,” said Loretta, “but I had a life of my own. I was busy with the boutique. I came with him this time because we were buying that condo from, Loori Inc., a real estate development company. Pete knew these guys well. He’d checked into the condo and said it was a great investment. He told my father all about it and my father agreed. It was all set to go.”

“I’ll check into the real estate development company,” Cindy remarked, wondering if they were on the up and up.

“Absolutely,” Loretta agreed. “Check all you want. Talk to everybody. A friend of Pete’s from work, Ed, bought a condo in the development and was thrilled with it. Pete wanted us to spend more quality time together and thought this condo would be the perfect way.”

“Why did you need more quality time together? Was something wrong?” Cindy was quick on the uptake.

“Absolutely not,” breathed Loretta. “Oh God, were we happy, fantastically happy. Pete was my dream come true. We had a wonderful marriage. Ask anybody.”

Loretta looked like a young girl for the moment, the way Cindy had remembered her years ago, in college.

The taxi started to slow down, slipping onto a road that led deeper down towards the peninsula where the whales were mating.

“One thing though, we couldn’t have kids,” Loretta suddenly switched gears as the taxi slowed. “We tried to have kids and we couldn’t. It wasn’t my fault, it was his, low sperm count. Can you believe it?”

“That must have been hard on you,” said Cindy. “Was Pete ashamed of it? Did it make him feel like less of a man?”

“Of course not,” Loretta bristled.

“Did you two consider adopting?” Cindy had to cover every angle.

“I wasn’t interested, Loretta confessed. “I was happy with Pete and with my business. We could have lived a good, full life without kids running around.”

“Did Pete feel that way, too?” Cindy prodded further.

“Not as much as I did. It bothered him that he couldn’t have a son. He once told me that it made him feel like a failure. I told him that was nonsense, that he was perfect just as he was.”

“He didn’t believe that, though, did he?” asked Cindy.

Loretta smiled oddly. “I guess not. Does anyone believe they’re perfect? Does anyone believe they’re even alright? You should see the brides I dress every day, no matter how gorgeous they are, no matter how wonderful the gown is, they always find something wrong.”

The taxi bumped wildly then as the unpaved road grew narrower.

“We’re almost here, we’re almost here,” Loretta turned all her attention to the road then.

Cindy also looked out the taxi window and could see clear, wavy water in the distance.

“Oh God,” Loretta chimed in, “You’re in for a real treat. We’ll get on a boat that’s waiting to take us right to the Whales.”

*

The taxi let Cindy and Loretta off at the edge of the water, besides the tour boat that was waiting. The two of them boarded the boat at the last minute, just before it pulled out. As they sailed into the bay warm air drifted over them. Soon they heard the sound of splashing water and saw the magnificent sight of whales jumping.

“Oh my God, my God,” they’re here,” Loretta called out.

The guy in charge of the boat gave Loretta and Cindy hydrophones so they could listen to the male Humpback’s courting song and witness the incredible displays of flippering, tail lobbing and breaching. It was thrilling. Cindy felt as if she’d been transported into a different world.

“These are the most active species of whale in the Atlantic,” the guy in charge announced to the passengers who were transfixed. “The Humpbacks are all born here. This makes them Dominican citizens. They migrate north to feed but always happily return to their beautiful homeland in the Caribbean.”

Cindy watched Loretta turn into a child, filled with delight, watching the spectacle.

“Pete loved this, we did this a lot together,” Loretta called out to Cindy over the sound of the splashing water.

Cindy thought how ironic it was that the whales returned here for mating. She also wondered if the fact that Loretta and Pete couldn’t have children had caused more of a rift than Loretta realized? This was clearly not the time to go into those questions, though. Loretta seemed to desperately need the momentary relief that this outing was providing. Cindy let herself enjoy it along with her.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Loretta asked over and over. “Aren’t they magnificent?”