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

“You don’t get it, honey. It didn’t matter to me. I was the only one she loved,”Burnd insisted, drool dripping from the edge of his mouth.

“And what about Pete? I heard she loved him, too,” Cindy wouldn’t let up.

“Loved that pretty boy?” Burnd stuck his face up. “Nah, she laughed at him behind his back, and she laughed at his stupid wife, too.”

“Charma knew Loretta?” Cindy zoned in.

“She saw her once,” Burnd continued, “told me what a stuck up idiot the lady was. We both laughed at her good and plenty.”

Cindy looked over at Eric who looked incredibly sad in the dim light.

“Charma even once told me she’d like to see Pete’s stuck up wife get what she deserved! A good whacking,” Burnd laughed at that out loud. “I wished I could have given her the pleasure of that.”

Eric stiffened and his voice tightened. “Did someone else give Charma that pleasure, Burnd? Did Charma have Pete killed to get at his wife?”

“Nah, why in hell would she do something like that?” Burnd wouldn’t have it.

But the idea didn’t seem so farfetched to Cindy. “How often did Pete see Charma? Did she look forward to seeing him?” Cindy wanted more information.

“Pete came here enough,” Burnd shook his dizzy head. “But Charma didn’t like anyone, just me, I was the only one.”

“Pete didn’t know that, though, did he?” asked Cindy, determined to trip Burnd up. “Did she make Pete think she liked him?”

“She made them all think that,” Burnd seemed irritated. “That’s the business she’s in. The idiot looked happy when he left, even though he never stayed too long. But he did keep coming back over and over. You could count on him for that.”

Cindy shuddered. There was no question that Burnd knew what he was talking about. Despite what Loretta believed, Pete had definitely been Charma’s customer. Suddenly, Cindy was finished with the questioning. There was nothing more she needed to hear from Burnd tonight.

“Did you get what you needed from Burnd?” Eric turned to her after Cindy grew silent.

“At least I’m now sure Pete was Charma’s customer,” Cindy replied.

“What else?” asked Eric.

“I see there could even have been a reason Charma wanted Pete dead, to get back at Loretta, maybe?”

“Nah,” Burnd jumped up at that. “I told you that’s crazy. Charma has contacts. If she wanted Pete dead, she could easily have found a better way to do it. One thing, she’s not stupid. She wouldn’t have had him left lying in her room. Charma doesn’t want anyone dead. These guys keep her going. She just wants to get out of jail already. She thought she’d be out long before this!”

“What do you mean?” Eric was quick on the uptake. “Why did she think she’d be out long before?”

“She just did, she just did,” muttered Burnd. “The other time the cops took her in, she got out in a few days. What’s going on now? You tell me! If I were you, I’d get smart. It’s not good when Charma gets antsy!! Not for me, for you, or anyone!” With that, he pulled himself up off the table, turned around in his chair, grabbed what was left of his beer and in a few gulps, chugged it all down.





Chapter 16


By the time Cindy got back to the hotel she was completely wiped out, dropped down onto her bed and fell into a deep sleep immediately. When thin streams of morning light came through the window, waking her, for a few moments Cindy had no idea where she was, or why. She pulled a pillow over her head and thankfully, fell back to sleep. The sound of phone awoke her soon though, carrying with it the endless demands of the day.

Cindy reached for the phone and picked up, still groggy.

“Are you there? Are you there?” It was Loretta’s harsh voice, louder and more desperate than ever.

“I’m here,” Cindy responded in a muffled tone.

“Wake the hell up,” Loretta demanded. “I’m in trouble. I need you. Something’s happened.”

Cindy bolted up in bed, terrified. “What?”

“Someone climbed onto my patio and threw a rock through my window a few minutes ago,” Loretta yelled. “It came crashing into my room and there’s glass everywhere.

“My God,” Cindy muttered.

“They want to kill me,” Loretta was breathing fast, “I told you that in the beginning.”

“Calm down, Loretta,” Cindy jumped out of bed.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” Loretta spoke faster. “First they were after Pete and now they’re after me!”

“We can’t be sure,” Cindy breathed. “Listen to me now, do what I say and you’ll be safe. First of all, call the hotel and tell them what happened. They’ll send up security immediately. Then call the police.”

“I’m not calling the police,” Loretta muttered. “You call them. I hate the police and they hate me. That’s your job.”

“Fine, I’ll call them immediately,” said Cindy, “and I’ll also investigate further.”

“That’s right! You better find out who did this!” Loretta suddenly sounded as if she were going to cry.