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

“Horrible,” Cindy whispered.

“You got it, then,” Loretta breathed. “Horrible, humiliated.”

“And I’d be mad at him, too,” Cindy continued. “Deep down I’d feel scared that all along he’d been cheating on me when I thought we were so in love.”

“Deceived to the core!” breathed Loretta

“Exactly,” Cindy responded.

“Well, that’s not my situation,” Loretta’s manner shifted. “I’m not mad at Pete, I’m not scared he cheated. I trusted him completely and I was right. Something else happened to him and that’s why you’re here. You have to help me find out.”

“I’ll do my best,” Cindy promised, “And you’re lucky you trusted Pete so much. That’s rare these days.”

At that Loretta’s eyes filled with tears. It was the first time Cindy had seen her even close to crying. It relieved Cindy, made Loretta more human.

“Pete and I had a rare relationship,” Loretta’s bottom lip started to tremble. “And I needed it to be that way, precious and rare. Maybe Pete’s gone now, but I’m not going to lose my memory of him. I won’t let anyone take that away from me, ever! Not anybody, even my father!”

“I understand,” Cindy said softly.

“I know you do,” said Loretta, “that’s why you’re here. You always were special. I never forgot you, ever Cindy. That’s why I called you to help.”

Thank you for calling me,” said Cindy.

Loretta looked up at her directly then. “Did you trust your partner too? Were you sure you could trust him and then found out he was cheating on you? Is that why the two of you broke up?”

Cindy was startled by Loretta’s question. “No, that’s not what happened,” she said. “Mattheus would never have cheated on me.”

Loretta sighed, “Wonderful,” she said. “So you really do understand how I feel then?”

“Yes, I understand,” Cindy repeated.

“What happened between you and your partner?” Loretta grew curious.

“Mattheus and I saw important things differently,” Cindy slowly said, strangely glad to

be talking about him. “He was upset that I wouldn’t take time off from cases just to be with him.”

“He wanted you to put him first?” remarked Loretta as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.

“Over everything else,” replied Cindy, surprised that Loretta got the picture so quickly.

“Well, of course, he was right,” Loretta looked puzzled, “everyone knows that. You have to put your man first and spend lots of quality time alone together.”

“The work we do is different though,” said Cindy.

“You could take off between cases, couldn’t you?” Loretta didn’t want to let go.

“Sometimes you can,” Cindy replied disconsolately. “But then there can be a rash of emergencies.”

“Mattheus didn’t want you to take my case?” Loretta suddenly got it.

“Your case and others,” said Cindy.

“Is that why you broke up? Because of me?” Loretta’s eyes grew wider.

“No, of course not,” said Cindy. “You had nothing to do with it. It was a pattern we had. Mattheus could be volatile, wonderful one minute and selfish the next. Very selfish.”

“Does he still love you?” Loretta’s became calmer.

Cindy felt jarred by the question. “I don’t know, I don’t care. Why should I?”

“Of course you care, dear,” Loretta replied.

“No, I don’t,” Cindy insisted. “Or, even if I care, I’m not taking this roller coaster ride with him.”

Suddenly Loretta turned into a consummate professional. “Cindy, I’ve seen this happen over and over at the wedding boutique. The gown is chosen, invitations have been sent, then comes the last minute fights between the couple. It happens over and over. They call me frantically to stop alterations, tell me the wedding’s being called off. I never pay any attention to any of it, just ask if they still love each other. If they do, they can get over last minute nerves.





I tell everyone it’ normal. Just remember why you decided to get married in the first place.”

Cindy shivered. Loretta was giving her heartfelt guidance just after her own husband had died. “Thank you for that, Loretta,” said Cindy quietly.

“Do you love Mattheus? Does he love you?” Loretta asked again, repeating a tried and true formula. “If you love each other, take my advice. Don’t let anything get in between you. Not lies, not rumors, not families or disappointment. There’s nothing more important than having a beautiful marriage, like the one Pete and I had.”

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