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

*

Cindy wondered for a moment if it was a good idea for her to go to Taylor’s room without letting anyone knowing where she would be. She thought of calling Ron and telling him, but she’d promised Taylor she wouldn’t say a word. Sooner or later lies had a way of getting found out and breaking a promise certainly wasn’t the way to start a new relationship.

As Cindy was wondering what to do, her cell phone beeped letting her know she’d received a text. She opened the phone and looked down at it.

Where are you now? Where are you going?

Ironically, it was from Mattheus. How strange, thought Cindy, arriving at a moment like this. Cindy put the phone down, her hands a bit shaky. If Mattheus were here it would be a simple matter to interview Taylor. Mattheus would know where she was going and would cover her back. It was difficult not to grab the phone and text back, telling Mattheus what was happening right now. But Cindy resisted doing that. Taylor was only a few steps down the hall, and she couldn’t imagine any reason he’d want to do her harm. Without waiting another moment, she decided to go right to Taylor’s room, and see what she could find.

*

When Cindy walked into Taylor’s room it was dark, messy and filled with smoke and half used coffee cups. The blinds were shut closed and all kinds of papers were strewn across the floor. Piles of notebooks lined the table adding to the disarray.

“I heard there was a detective on the case,” Taylor said as soon as Cindy walked in the door.

Cindy looked at him and was surprised. Despite the fact that Taylor was rumpled and dressed in old clothes, her was strikingly handsome with large, intense, blue eyes that followed her every move.

“I’m truly sorry about your loss,” Cindy started, wondering where the rest of Pete’s family was?

“Sit down,” Taylor motioned to a chair, that was covered with magazines.

He accompanied Cindy to the chair and before she sat down, tossed the magazines onto the floor. Then he pulled up a chair close by.

“My brother didn’t deserve to die,” he said heavily.

“Of course not,” Cindy murmured.

“He gave the bitch everything she ever wanted,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed as he spoke.

“You mean Loretta?” Cindy was taken aback by the vehemence with which he spoke. “Who else?” asked Taylor. “You think Pete was a ladies man? He was not. The little wife

spun him around her little finger, like a toy.”

Obviously Loretta’s distaste for Taylor was completely mutual.

“Did you ever talk to Pete about Loretta?” Cindy was curious to hear more.

“Sure I did, all the time,” Taylor mumbled. “But the guy couldn’t hear a thing I said. “A woman can do that to you,” he grimaced.

“You’re not married yourself, are you?” asked Cindy.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Taylor became immediately offended.

Cindy had wondered if Taylor was basically a woman hater, though she wouldn’t say that to him.

“Tell me more about your brother’s marriage?” Cindy tried to get the conversation back on track.

“I couldn’t stand her, ever,” Taylor started, rubbing his hands on his legs. “Pete fell for Loretta the minute he saw her. Maybe it was because he never had much luck with girls. Other than that, I never could understand why.”

“That’s rough,” said Cindy. “It’s hard to have someone in the family marrying a person you don’t like.”

“Yeah it’s rough,” agreed Taylor, “but to his credit, Pete was strong. He never let it get between us. A weaker guy might have though. Lots of wives break up family relationships.”

“That’s true,” agreed Cindy. “How else was Pete strong?”

“In the long run it didn’t matter that he was strong,” Taylor went on, “a lousy marriage can take a toll on anyone.”

“It certainly can,” Cindy agreed, “it took a real toll on your brother?”

“Did it ever,” Taylor pronounced.

Cindy wondering if Taylor was referring to the fact that Pete went to see prostitutes.

“It’s awful where they found him,” Cindy tried to get closer to that question.

“Everything’s awful about this lousy story,” Taylor got up suddenly and went to the get a can of beer. “Who cares where they found him though? The awful part is that he’s gone. He didn’t deserve to die.”

Cindy wanted to ask Taylor what he thought happened, but he didn’t seem stable enough to take on that question directly, yet.

“I’m down here checking the records,” Taylor offered on his own as he sat back down beside Cindy. “I’m going over the books.”

Cindy was surprised. “You have access to Taylor’s private finances?” she asked.

Taylor looked Cindy up and down harshly. “Pete was my best bud, not just my brother. I got his passwords, his diaries, everything. Right now I’m checking the money trail.”