Death by Seduction (12 page)

“Of
course you do,” Val replied, tapping his knuckles on the desk as he scanned the
papers carefully once more.

Cindy
wondered if the hundred thousand had been passed to someone secretly under the
table. Was there a silent deal going on? Is that why Pete turned up dead?

“Do
you recall hearing anyone in the company say anything about Pete or what
happened to him?” Cindy asked swiftly.

At
that Val closed the folder on his desk. “Everyone said it was a damn, rotten,
lousy shame,” he answered. “We were all shaken. Val ran his hands up along his
temples then. “There’s always trouble at those rotten pit stops.”

“The
brothels?” asked Cindy.

“Yeah,
call it that if you like,” Val stood up. “Most of the folks who come down and
buy our homes aren’t headed there, believe me. They don’t need them, do they?”

“You
never know, do you?” said Cindy bluntly.

“No,
you’re right,” Val met her eyes directly. “You never do know who you’re really
dealing with.”

 Val
suddenly seemed uneasy with this aspect of the conversation. He shifted in his
chair nervously, obviously, ready to go. But Cindy wasn’t finished though.

“Has
anyone else interviewed someone at  the company about Pete’s death?” Cindy pushed
on.

“You
mean have the cops spoken to us?” asked Val.

“Or
anyone in law enforcement,” said Cindy.

Val
closed his eyes a second, trying to remember. “The cops did not speak to us,
“he finally said. “But I heard that Pete’s brother Taylor came down here once, asking
questions and rummaging around.”

“When
was that?” asked Cindy startled.

“A
couple of days ago, I think,” said Val. “He spoke to a guy I work with Frank.
Frank mentioned that Pete’s brother was nothing like him, kind of a messy guy
who just kept asking one question after another. He wanted to know everything
about the condo Pete was buying, the price, financing arrangements, the works.”

“Why
did he want to know that?” asked Cindy.

“Beats
me,” said Val. “Seems like he was trying to get a feel for his brother’s life
here. Frank mentioned to me that he asked the brother if he wanted to complete
the purchase? I don’t know exactly what the brother said. Why don’t you go
speak to him about it yourself? He’ll tell you what he’s thinking.”

“Good
idea,” said Cindy, “I will. And thanks for your time.”

“Sure,
no problem,” said Val. “If you need to know anything more, just give a call.”

You’re
not answering my texts or emails, or even letting me know that you’re alright. 
Is this some kind of weird punishment? Doesn’t what we had together deserve
more respect than that? Just let me know you’re okay. Is that too much to ask?
Mattheus.

The
text from Mattheus arrived at a low point for Cindy, just after she returned
from speaking to Val. Cindy was about to call Loretta to tell her about the
missing down payment, something she was definitely not looking forward to
doing.  The message from Mattheus was a welcome distraction and she read it a few
times more, mulling it over. Was she trying to inflict some kind of punishment
on him? She never thought of it that way, just felt that she’d been respecting
herself, protecting her own boundaries.

I
have no desire to punish you,
Cindy texted back
. I am fine, in the
midst of the case. What we had does deserve respect. I can’t say I respect the
way it ended though, how you just took off and fled.

Then,
to Cindy’s surprise, she quickly sent the text. There was no reason Mattheus
should keep wondering if she were safe. A decent closure was the best for
everyone. Mattheus had his problems, but he’d also been wonderful to her in so
many ways.

Cindy
stood up, walked around in the room a few times and then promptly called
Loretta. Loretta had a right to know what happened with the down payment and
Cindy had to find out what happened to it?

“What
happened with Val?” was the first thing Loretta said when she picked up the
phone.

Cindy
thought it might be better for her and Loretta to meet in person to talk things
over. Everything could feel harsher and more disturbing over the phone.

“Why
don’t we take a walk,” Cindy suggested, “and I’ll go over the meeting with
you.”

A
sour silence greeted her. “I can’t right now, I’m having lunch with Angela,”
Loretta replied in a somewhat snippy tone, “but please let me know what
happened.”

Loretta
was probably still upset about their past conversation and was keeping her
distance. She certainly wasn’t someone who got over things quickly, Cindy recalled
from their college days. For all Cindy knew, Loretta had been complaining to
Angela about her.

“Val
 told me something  surprising,” Cindy started.

“What?”
asked Loretta, taken aback. “You have to tell me everything. You said you would
and you must.”

“Val
said that Pete never left a down payment on the condo,” Cindy reported carefully.

“What?”
Loretta’s voice rose two octaves. “That’s ridiculous, it’s impossible!”

“That’s
what Val said,” Cindy repeated.

“Well,
he’s wrong, he’s lying, he doesn’t know what’s what!” Loretta grew nervous,
“there’s no reason in the world for him to say that to you.”

“Do
you want to speak to him yourself?” asked Cindy.

“I
certainly do not, Loretta replied. “That’s what I hired you for. Val is messed
up. Pete left a substantial down payment. The condo was ours. What are they
doing now, trying to sell it to someone else?”

“I
have no idea about that,” said Cindy.

“Well,
they can sell it if they want to,” Loretta began to calm down. “There’s no way
I want it now. But I do want our down payment back.”

Cindy
was seized with a need to know the whole truth and plunged forward directly.

“Loretta,
did the money for the down payment come from Pete or did  your father provide
it?”

“What
a horrible question,” Loretta’s voice grew lower. “What are you insinuating?”

“I’m
not insinuating anything,” Cindy defended herself. “Your father told me he gave
you guys money for the down payment. These are important facts.”

“I
have no idea why my father told you that,” Loretta’s voice began to quiver.
“He’s getting things all confused. It’s understandable to get confused when
something terrible

happens.
Once in a while my dad gave us gifts, of course. Any father would. But Pete
made his own money and took good care of me. We had no need to turn to my
father.  It’s actually humiliating to even suggest something like that.”

“I’m
very sorry, I really am,” said Cindy. “I know this isn’t pretty.”

“Isn’t
pretty?” Loretta could barely speak. “Every bit of it is disgusting and awful
and shameful, through and through. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it.”
Then she slammed the phone down, as if all was Cindy’s fault.

Cindy
stood there holding the phone in her hand, wondering what to do next.  She
didn’t have to wonder long though, as her phone rang even before she took
another step. Probably Loretta calling back to apologize, thought Cindy. It was
understandable that she should be volatile right now. She was probably calling
to make it right.

To
Cindy’s surprise though, Taylor was on the other end. “Taylor here,” he
started.

“Yes,
hello,” said Cindy, pleased to hear from him.

“Got
an hour or so?” he replied in a gruff tone.

“Sure,”
said Cindy.

“You
have?” Taylor seemed surprised.  “When?”

“Right now,”
Cindy offered.

“Swell,” he
said. “I’m going down to the Ranken Gardens, want to come with me and

talk?”

“Absolutely,”
said Cindy, delighted that Taylor was ready to talk and wondering where the
Ranken Gardens were?

“I’ll
meet you in the front of the hotel right away,” he replied. “We can even walk
there, if you’re up to it.”

“I’m
up to it and  I’m on the way,” Cindy responded, delighted to have the chance to
talk to Taylor.

*

The
Ranken Gardens were down three hills, under an arbor of heavy trees. Wild and
uncharted, the moment you stepped inside, you were entwined within sprawling
branches, wild flowers and the sound of birds. The pungent scent of the flowers
was so intense it made Cindy feel as if she’d been transported into another
world.

“I
like it here,” said Taylor as they waked in. Dressed in jeans and a clean T
shirt, he looked more put together than before.

“Do
you come down to the Dominican Republic regularly?” asked Cindy as they walked
along the dirt paths that seemed to lead nowhere at all.

“No,
of course not, why would I?” Taylor looked at her strangely, with an edginess
that made Cindy uneasy.

“You
were close to Pete, so I thought maybe the two of you spent time here
together,” Cindy commented as they stepped onto a small, winding trail between
thorny bushes.

“Yeah,
we were very close. Pete was the greatest guy,” Taylor muttered. “I’m going to make
this up to him somehow.”

 “How?”
asked Cindy, surprised by his determination.

“I’m
going to find out what happened to him before anyone else does,” Taylor’s eyes
narrowed. “Even before you.”

“I
hope you do,” said Cindy. “No one would be happier than me to have the truth
come out.”

Taylor
stopped walking and looked at Cindy piercingly. “You mean that?”

“Absolutely,”
said Cindy.

“I
thought you were down here to hold up Loretta, make her look good,” Taylor
said, dripping with scorn. “Loretta’s always got a trail of people around her,
making her look good. That’s what her life is about, how she looks to the
world.”

Cindy
returned Taylor’s gaze unconditionally. “I’m not one of Loretta’s PR people.  I’m
here to uphold the law,” she declared. “And Loretta hired me to find out who
killed Pete.”

Taylor
looked at Cindy with fleeting respect. “You’re here alone?” he asked.

“For
now,” said Cindy, why?” She was getting tired of all the questions about where
her partner was. She could do this on her own and didn’t like the fact that so
many people didn’t get that. “I can do this on my own,” she reiterated in a
harsher voice.

“Hold
on,” Taylor seemed to enjoy her fiery manner. “I didn’t mean to imply you
couldn’t. Just wondering if there were more hands here helping out?”

“I’m
it for now,” said Cindy.

“I’m
it, too,” Taylor insisted.

“Good,”
said Cindy, “I’m happy for any help I can get.”

“There’s
another guy who can give us a helping hand, too,” Taylor continued. “He and
Pete knew each other. Pete mentioned him to me a few times.”

Cindy
wondered if it was a co-worker. “Who?”

“The
guy’s name is Eric,” Taylor mumbled. “I met him down here a few years ago. He’s
a big lawyer, smart as hell. Pete liked him and I like him, too.”

Cindy
shivered. Who else could it be but the Eric she’d met and had dinner with?  Charma’s
chief customer?

“I’ll
get you his number,” Taylor offered.

Cindy
didn’t want to tell him she knew him, had already met him and they’d even had
dinner.

 “We’ll
need a lawyer on this case,” Taylor was brooding. “ I’ve been digging into the
real estate company. There’s one claim after another against them. They’re
corrupt as hell and not only that, they have plenty of police connections. Seems
like a bunch of big wigs at the police station got themselves condos there,
real cheap.”

“That’s
doesn’t exactly prove anything,” Cindy wondered if she should tell Taylor that
they had no record of Pete’s down payment? She decided to wait to know him better
first.

They’d
reached the end of the trail and stood there under the trees, sizing each other
up.

“There’s
a bench at a pond around the bend. Let’s go there and sit down,” said Taylor as
though Cindy had passed the test.

Cindy
followed his lead to a beautiful alcove with several benches around a pond. It was
an idyllic spot to get away from everything.

Pete
told me about this place,” Taylor offered after they sat down.

“Did
Pete come here with Loretta?” Cindy asked, probing to know more about Pete’s
personal life.”

“Hell,
I don’t know if he went anywhere much with Loretta,” Taylor grunted.
“Thankfully, she didn’t come down to the Dominical Republic much. This was a
place for him.”

“Thankfully?”
Cindy was taken aback.

“Thankfully
Pete could get away for breaks,” Taylor continued. “His marriage was the worst
thing that ever happened to my brother and it got worse with time. Loretta’s
rotten father dominated their lives, always throwing money in her lap.  And Loretta
always threw it in Pete’s face, too. Pete couldn’t ever live up to her father,
no matter how much he made.”

Cindy
shuddered. “That’s awful.”

“That’s
only the beginning,” Taylor was on a tear. “Everything about the little lady
looks so perfect, but did you know she had a drinking problem?”

“I
didn’t know that,” said Cindy, wondering if it were true? She hadn’t seen
Loretta drink at all throughout her ordeal down here.

“Yeah,
it drove Pete nuts,” Taylor reported. “But what could he do? He had to get away
now and then, so thankfully he came down here to work and have a little play
time too.”

“Play
time? With Charma?”Cindy jumped right in.

“Yeah,
sure, why not?” Taylor flung back. “With her and others, too. It was good for
him, he needed it.”

“Pete
needed the whores?” the words escaped Cindy’s mouth. “He was addicted to them?”

At
that Taylor laughed. “I wouldn’t call it addicted, I would call it smart. If a
guy’s gonna stay with a woman like Loretta, he needs a refuge somewhere,
doesn’t he?”

Cindy
hardly knew how to answer. “I wouldn’t exactly call that a refuge,” she said
finally.

“What
would you call it?” Taylor seemed to be enjoying seeing Cindy squirm.

“I
would call it a dangerous path to take,” she replied.

“So,
Pete enjoyed all kinds of danger,” Taylor agreed. “Guys are wired like that. Something
wrong with that?”

“Well,
look at where the path ended. Look where it got him now,” Cindy flung back.Taylor
fell silent. The heavy trees rustled overhead as Cindy and Taylor stared into
the pond. If you looked long enough you could see a few fish silently swimming
close to the surface and then diving down deep again.

“I’m
sorry about your brother,” Cindy slowly offered.

“Thanks,”
Taylor mumbled.

“What
do you think happened to him?” Cindy felt an urgency arise.

“I
figure Pete found out about the corruption at the real estate company. He was a
smart guy, they couldn’t hide it for long. Then maybe he threatened to blow the
whistle on one of the leeches and someone took him out.”