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

“Where are you?” Loretta asked right away. “Dad and I are downstairs in the outdoor restaurant in the Greens, having breakfast.”


“Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right there,” Cindy breathed.

*

The Greens was a beautiful, outdoor restaurant in the hotel. It overlooked a rolling golf course that seemed to go on for miles. The moment Cindy stepped into the restaurant, Loretta stood up from the table she and her father were seated at and waved.

Cindy walked over quickly, noticing how full the place was despite the early hour. As she approached Loretta’s table, her father, a tall, muscular, well-dressed man with short dark hair and a square, carved face, stood up to greet her.

“Thank you for coming so quickly to help my daughter,” he said, extending his large hand. “Henry Dodd.”

Cindy shook his hand politely and smiled. “Cindy Blaine, “she replied, “and I’m happy to be of help,”

“Your name is familiar,” Henry shook his head, “I’ve been wondering if I remembered you from Loretta’s college days,” he said as he held out a chair for Cindy to sit on.

Cindy looked over at him more carefully. He seemed totally unfamiliar to her.

“Do you remember me?” Cindy asked, as she took her seat and he pushed her chair in.

“To be honest I don’t,” Henry replied as he sat back down. “Those were hard years for me.”

Cindy knew that he was referring to the sudden loss of his wife in a car accident.

“Yes, I realize that,” she said, as Henry motioned for the waiter to come over so Cindy could order breakfast.

Right after Cindy ordered a cheese omelet and coffee, Loretta pushed her chair back. “Listen, I am so sorry, but I have to go now,” she said. “Angela’s plane is arriving in half an hour and I told her I’d meet her at the airport.”

“That’s fine,” said Henry, “you go pick Angela up, and I’ll stay here with Cindy.”

“Thank you, you’re a doll,” Loretta said breathlessly, blowing a little kiss to her father. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t rush on the roads, drive safely,” her instructed as she twirled around for a moment and quickly departed, leaving Henry and Cindy at the table alone together.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Henry said, not taking his eyes off Loretta as she left the restaurant.

“Yes, it’s amazing, the way she’s holding up,” Cindy looked over at him.

“Don’t kid yourself,” he replied, his voice promptly lowering. “I heard her crying into her pillow way into the night. Loretta knows how to cover up and be strong. She has since her mother died. I taught her how.”

“You did a good job of that,” Cindy remarked as a delicious hot omelet was placed before her.

“I did a good job of lots of things,” Henry was pleased with Cindy’s comment. He smiled as he lifted the coffee pot on the table to pour her a cup of coffee.

“And right now you’re being quite being brave as well,” Cindy went on, wanting to learn more about this man she was having breakfast with.

“Of course I’m brave,” he answered gruffly. “What good would it do for Loretta to see me fall apart? I want to give her a feeling of normalcy, to know that life goes on.”

That made sense, of course, Cindy thought as she ate the wonderful breakfast. But things weren’t normal at this time and it was important to recognize that as well. Part of being brave was also acknowledging the pain and grief you were feeling and expressing it. Cindy needed to break through this wall of false appearances that both Loretta and her father had so carefully constructed and lived behind.

“Who do you think killed Pete?” Cindy asked then, abruptly changing the tone of the conversation.

Henry was startled. “Well, I didn’t think there was any question about that,” he replied, staunchly.

His response confused Cindy. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“The police have said it’s an open and shut case, haven’t they? All the evidence is in,” he remarked.

“Some evidence is in,” Cindy acquiesced. “One can always look further.”

“One can always look further with everything. There’s a point when that’s counterproductive, of course,” he replied. “I was told that it was clear that Pete died at the hands of the whore.”

Cindy recoiled. Henry had such a look of disgust on his face, as though Charma were a rag Pete had found somewhere that could be easily thrown away.

“I realize that Loretta refuses to believe that Pete was killed that way,” Henry went on forcefully. “That’s why you’re here. Loretta began to freak out when the police began to question her about Pete. She insists that Pete would never cheat, let alone visit a whore.”

“She knows her husband,” Cindy breathed.

Henry grinned oddly. “I don’t know how much she really knows about Pete, or about anybody, for that matter. Loretta could never really face everything squarely.”

“What do you mean?” Cindy was fascinated.