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  “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.”

  Cindy decided to tell Taylor more. “I spoke a partner at the company and he said there was no record of Pete making a down payment.”

  “See that, I was right!” Taylor’s eyes shot open. “The bastards are stealing the money. And who knows what else was they’re up to? Pete found out. He must have wanted his money back and they wouldn’t give it.” Taylor’s eyes flashed as he spun a web.

  He jumped up from the bench then, agitated. “Let’s get back,” he said quickly, “I’m gonna call this guy Eric and get him involved with the case right away.”

  Chapter 14

  Taylor kept mumbling on his cell phone all the back to the hotel.

  “I got hold of the lawyer,” he finally said to Cindy, “he’s gonna meet us in an hour at La Costa Nuva in town. We’ll get there just before the dinner hour and get a table in the back.”

  That was where she and Eric had dinner before. It seemed strange to Cindy that Taylor knew Eric. She doubted though that Taylor knew anything about his involvement with Charma, though. It seemed possible that Pete did, though. How else could he have met Eric?

  “I’ll go upstairs, shower and change and be down in a little bit,” Cindy said as she and Taylor walked into the lobby.

  “Don’t dawdle,” Taylor grimaced, “you’re not exactly going to a fashion show.”

  Cindy shuddered at his comment. Taylor was unpredictable, on target at times, nasty at others. She wanted to take him on, but thought better of it. This wasn’t the time to assuage her ego, it was the time to keep everything copasetic so they could all work together as easily as possible.

  As soon as Cindy got to her room, she flung her bag on the couch and kicked off her shoes. It had been a long, wearying day. A shower would be the perfect thing before going to dinner with Tay
lor and Eric.

  As Cindy walked to the bathroom her phone sharply rang. She hoped it was Taylor telling her to take a little more time, that Eric had been delayed.

  Cindy picked up the phone.

  “We can’t go on like this. I won’t allow it,” Mattheus was on the other end.

  Startled, Cindy gasped.

  “Are you there, Cindy? Can you hear me?” Mattheus sounded upset, but also determined.

  “I hear you,” she said quietly.

  “This is crazy,” he breathed. “I don’t deserve this kind of treatment, I didn’t exactly kill anyone.”

  This was definitely not the time to take on this discussion. “No one said you killed anyone, Mattheus,” Cindy tried to calm him down. “It just seems healthier to let things end when they’re finished and not keep going over it again and again.”

  “So, you’ve decided it’s over?” Mattheus’s voice rose a notch.

  “If my memory serves me,” Cindy kept her cool, “you’re the one who ran out.”

  “I was tremendously hurt and frustrated,” Mattheus exclaimed.

  “Yes, I understand that,” said Cindy, “that’s what you do when you get upset. And I take responsibility for what happened, too. It seems there are hurdles between us that we can’t get over.”

  “We can get over anything we choose to,” Mattheus was irked.

  “This isn’t the time to talk now,” Cindy replied. “I only have a few minutes to shower and dress and meet someone connected to the case.”

  “Okay, I get that,” Mattheus relented. “Let’s find another time.” He wasn’t letting go.

  “We will find another time. Things here are heating up here now and I need to stay calm. I’ll call you as soon as I see an opening,” Cindy promised.

  “I appreciate that, Cindy,” said Mattheus. “I really do.”

  Cindy felt the depth of his relief to be talking to her. And, she had to admit that she was relieved to be talking to him as well. Ragged edges cut both ways.

  “What do you mean things are heating up on the case?” Mattheus shot in abruptly, concerned. “Do you have the help you need down there?”

  “I’m beginning to,” Cindy replied. “Not from the cops, but from interested parties.”

  “That’s not enough,” Mattheus was all over it. “You need to get even one person in law enforcement working with you.” Cindy could feel how nervous he was for her. “I don’t like you working a case alone like this. It’s not smart. It shouldn’t be happening.”

  Cindy sighed as she felt the depth of Mattheus’s concern. “I’m okay,” she reassured him, “it’s a new experience and a strengthening one.”

  “I care about you Cindy, I really do,” Mattheus couldn’t help proclaim.

  “I know you do, Mattheus,” Cindy responded, “but I have to go now. I really do.”

  “Okay, go. We’ll talk later,” he mumbled and hung up.

  Cindy hung up the phone feeling shaken and saddened. If she and Mattheus had simply been partners at work it would be wonderful to have him here now. But, of course, things had gone way beyond that. As Cindy walked to the bathroom to shower, she wondered what would have actually happened if she and Mattheus had settled on a wedding venue, sent out the invitations and actually gotten married? Would that have been a safeguard against his running away? Or would it have made the problem deeper with no means of escape?

  Cindy jumped into the shower, and let the cool water wash the pain of the day away. She couldn’t indulge in these thoughts any longer right now. She had to stay clear and focused, alert to new evidence as it came up.

  Once out of the shower Cindy dressed quickly in a lemon silk dress, shell necklace and beautiful sandals that glistened on her feet. As she put on her makeup, looking in the mirror, Cindy suddenly felt like a beautiful woman, something she hadn’t felt like for a long while. There were parts of her life had disappeared, Cindy realized as she grabbed a small matching bag and went downstairs to meet Taylor.

  *

  Taylor stood up the moment Cindy walked out of the elevator, surprised at her transformation. ““Wow,” he said, “looks like you’re going to a fashion show after all.”

  “Let’s get going,” said Cindy, pleased by his reaction, and eager to get to the restaurant.

  They grabbed a quick cab and Taylor started muttering again. “This guy Eric’s a straight shooter,” he began, “Peter told me that a couple of times. Eric’s not going to give us the run around.”

  “I appreciate straight shooters,” said Cindy. “Everyone else is just a waste of time.”

  Taylor grunted, “My sentiments exactly,” he said.

  Cindy wanted to ask Taylor more about himself then, but this wasn’t the time.

  They needed to stay focused on meeting Eric and see how he could help them sort things out.

  *

  As Cindy expected, the moment she and Taylor walked into the restaurant she saw the Eric she’d met, seated at the bar. He stood up swiftly the moment he saw Cindy and Taylor and walked over to them.

  “So we meet again,” Eric zoned in on Cindy. “It’s really good to see you.”

  “What do you mean you meet again?” Taylor didn’t appreciate the surprise.

  “I wasn’t sure it was the same person you were talking about,” Cindy explained, “but Eric and I met before.”

  Taylor’s eyes opened wide, looking back and forth between them.

  “Purely a business meeting,” said Eric promptly.

  “Of course. They’re all business meetings there anyway aren’t they?” said Taylor, a nasty glint in his eye.

  Eric threw Cindy a quick glance of apology and she appreciated it.

  “Let’s go sit down at a table and talk,” Eric suggested, being the consummate gentleman and taking the pressure off the moment.

  As the three of them made their way through a row of tables, Cindy felt a hand in the small of her back, gently guiding her. As she turned and felt Eric close behind a tiny shiver crept up Cindy’s spine.

  “I’m so glad to see you again,” Eric whispered as they approached the table he’d reserved for them.

  Cindy let Eric pull her chair out for her as Taylor watched suspiciously. “Looks like you two have quite a history,” he remarked.

  “We met one other time,” Eric repeated, “and I’m impressed that Cindy is doing a tremendous job.”

  “How do you know that?” Taylor grew more suspicious.

  “Because I heard about it from Charma,” Eric replied.

  Taylor quieted down. “She’s the one they’re holding for the murder?” he asked.

  “Exactly,” said Eric. “I’ve been on the perimeters of the case, helping out. So, naturally I had to speak to Charma. She told me that she really enjoyed meeting Cindy. Cindy made a big difference to her.”

  As the caustic look faded from Taylor’s face, Cindy appreciated Eric’s intervention.

  The waiter came then and brought the table a large bottle of sparkling water. Eric poured each one a glass before they started to talk.

  “Okay, we need your help,” Taylor jumped in. “I believe the real estate company my brother was buying his condo from is involved in this. Number one - they told Cindy they didn’t have Pete’s down payment. Number two, I researched them and found they’re corrupt as hell.”

  “They have plenty of claims against them,” Eric agreed slowly.

  “I’m here checking the money trail,” Taylor spit out and getting upset again.

  “You’re a good brother,” Eric said firmly.

  “Yeah, that’s all I am, but at least I’m that. At least Pete always had me,” said Taylor.

  “What about your parents?” Eric was curious.

  “Our parents were both killed in a car accident when Pete was in college,” Taylor seemed glad to be talking. “It was about the same time Loretta’s mom was also killed in the same way. That brought them together big time. They helped each other get through it. Other than that ther
e was really no reason they should have been together. They were completely different.”

  “Rough luck,” Eric murmured.

  “I knew the marriage wouldn’t work for the long wrong. Taylor went on.

  “Were they happy at all?” asked Eric.

  “Who am I to say?” Taylor mumbled. “What about you? You live down here, you got a wife or something?”

  “I’ve got a law firm I love,” Eric finessed the question skillfully. Cindy was impressed with how sensitive and sharp he was.

  “So, let’s get back to basics, “Taylor went on fitfully. “I think someone at the real estate company did it,” he repeated fitfully.

  “Possible,” Eric mused quietly, “but far from definite.”

  “I’m gonna dig into the money trail at Pete’s company now,” Taylor grimaced. “I need your help to get into the books there. Every time I call there’s another excuse.”

  “I’ can help you with that,” Eric agreed.

  “Good,” Taylor seemed relieved.

  “What do you think, Eric?” Cindy joined in, seeing that Eric seemed doubtful that the money trail was the answer. “Do you have any other ideas?”

  “There’s a guy who’s obsessed with Charma,” Eric said in a low tone, “one of her customers, John Burnd. He’s a creepy guy, always hanging around her, watching everyone who she does business with.”

  “Her pimp?” Taylor’s eyes opened wide.

  “No, pimps are illegal down here. The girls take care of each other. This is just a creepy customer who’s become addicted to Charma. Shanya once found Burnd peeking in her window from outside and had to drive him away with a broom.”

  “Oh my God,” Cindy uttered, “why didn’t you tell the police about him before? Why haven’t you said anything?”

  “I’m being careful, taking it slow,” Eric answered in a measured tone. “You don’t want to sling suspicion on a guy like this, he’s a ticking time bomb, as it is.”

  “He’s the first one the police should have looked into,” Cindy flushed, amazed that she knew nothing about him. “Was he getting more and more possessive and jealous of Charma’s customers?”