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

It was almost evening by the time Cindy arrived at the brothel, dressed plainly in a blue striped dress and sandals, her hair tied primly back. As soon as she walked in, Cindy was greeted by a Dominican woman, in her late forties, in a splashy red dress, her hair piled up on her head and large gold hoop earrings.

“Come in sweetie pie,” the older woman said, reaching for Cindy’s hands. “I’m Shanya. Charma called and said you were on the way. We’ve been expecting you for a while.

“I got here as soon as I could,” said Cindy struck by her warm, easy going manner.

“You got here just fine,” said Shanya, leading Cindy right into the main parlor, which was oddly empty at the moment, except for a few articles of clothing strewn here and there.“The girls are getting ready for a big night tonight,” Shanya smiled slowly, looking at Cindy’s face. “Big night every night here. Can I get you something to eat?”

“I’ve actually just eaten,” Cindy lied. She wanting to be through with the interview as quickly as possible.

“Don’t like it here much, do you?” Shanya grinned.

Cindy felt at a loss.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, you don’t have to stay for long. I did my best to get hold of Eric for you. He’ll be here to get you in a few minutes.”

Cindy looked at her gratefully. “Thank you so much,” she said.

“No, honey, thank you for helping out Charma,” added Shanya. “She’s a good girl, she’s one of our best.”

“In what way is she the best?” Cindy was quick on the uptake. “You mean Charma has the most customers?”

At that Shanya laughed out loud. “She sure has plenty of customers, no denying that, but she’s smart too, and she’s fun. Charma’s good to the girls. Everyone cares about her.”

Cindy shivered quickly, realizing that this place was a family for those who lived here. The girls needed and cared for each other.

“Charma’s in big trouble now, though,” Cindy replied as calmly as she could.

“Nah,” Shanya waved her hand flippantly. “Always seems like everyone’s in big trouble and then it blows over in a few days, like a flash of lightning on a summer night.”

Cindy was struck by Sanya’s calm. “This kind of thing happens a lot down here?” Cindy asked. “Customers get killed? The girls are taken in?”

“To be perfectly honest, yes,” Shanya pursed her lips, slowly rambling over to a sofa and fluffing the cushions on it. “When the police need a suspect, they take the girls in. It’s a game we all play. The cops usually release the girls in a few days.”

“Do they also usually find the killers?” asked Cindy.

“I didn’t say that,” Shanya turned and looked at Cindy squarely. “I said it’s usually blows over. The whole thing goes away.”

Cindy wasn’t sure exactly what Shanya was implying and waited for her to elaborate. She didn’t, just continued fluffing cushions out on the sofa.

Cindy walked closer to her, then. “Charma says you were here when she got home the

night Pete was killed. You saw her walk through the door with her date for the night and that she returned about an hour after Pete died.”

“That’s exactly right,” mumbled Shanya.

“Who did she come back with and what time exactly?” Cindy needed to hear it directly from Shanya.

“That’s privileged information,” Shanya demurred.

“That’s Charma’s alibi,” Cindy corrected her. “It could save her life.”

“There’s plenty of other things that can save Charma’s life,” Shanya retorted.

“Like what?”Cindy felt agitated. wanted to take Shanya on.

“Like finding the real killer,” Shanya smiled slowly. “Like you talking to all the right people, not missing a trick, if you know what I mean.”

“Talking to Eric?” Cindy asked.

“Exactly, honey,” Shanya smiled again. “He’s the perfect one to talk to. Eric’s not about to let his honey hang in jail for too long.”

“Charma’s his honey?” Cindy needed to be absolutely clear about what Shanya was saying.

“Well, you’re gonna ask him that yourself, aren’t you now?” Shanya turned to Cindy as the smile suddenly wiped off her face.

“Of course I’ll ask him,” answered Cindy. “Did Eric just find out that Charma was taken in?”

Shanya suddenly became more confidential. “Not at all, we all knew about it. But, between you and me, everyone expected her to be home by now.”

“And why isn’t she?” asked Cindy.

“Now, that’s for you and Eric to work out yourselves,” Shanya pushed her chin down onto her chest and then lifted it up suddenly, as if she were a horse about to buck. “My job is to look after all my girls, not to track down the bad apples that roll into town.”

“Looks like you do a good job, Shanya,” Cindy suddenly replied, wanting to bolster her up.