Death by Desire (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 4) (11 page)

Cindy nodded to them in recognition. Neither of
them nodded back. Instead, one of them, Marc, came into the shop and walked
over to her.

“Hello,” said Cindy.

He did not respond, simply stood close besides
her. Cindy started to sweat.

“What’s going on?” Alma whispered, nervous.

“I’m not sure,” Cindy said.

Rori went to the front desk quickly to check
out.

Cindy turned and looked directly at Marc, who refused
to meet her glance.

 “Is something wrong?” she asked finally.

Again he said nothing, just stood there
silently.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Wynn.

Alma rushed over to Rori and the moment Rori
finished checking out, the two of them went to the door.  

Rori waved, “We’re going back to the boat,” she
called.

“I’ll meet up with you later,” Wynn called back,
staying close beside Cindy.

“Let’s get out of here and get a bite to eat,”
Cindy said to Wynn.

The two of them turned away from Marc, went out
onto the street, and walked south towards a popular café for lunch.

The café Cindy and Wynn went to for lunch had
wicker tables, benches, homemade croissants, finger sandwiches, salads and
delicious French gourmet pastries. They sat at a table in the back. Suddenly
ravenous, Cindy ordered a big meal and when it arrived, ate every bite of the
food that was brought to her. It calmed her down and helped her shake off fear
that had gripped her at the sight of Tomas and Marc and all the other unknowns
that were piling up.

Wynn sat quietly, sipping a cup of Cappuccino.

After she’d eaten, Cindy took a long look at
Wynn. She was extremely different from Rori, much steadier, poised and considerate.
Cindy liked Wynn, respected her. It was easy to see how hard Wynn tried to hold
her family together, keep things from falling apart. What had happened to
Tiffany was way beyond her, though. She needed help and seemed to know it. Wynn
seemed to be very grateful to have Cindy at her side.

“You’ve got quite a sister there,” Cindy said,
after she finished eating. “Rori’s a handful.”

“Rori means well,” Wynn defended her
automatically. “She’s just incredibly self-involved, always got what she wanted
when she wanted it.”

“Not nice,” said Cindy. “Must have been hard on
Tiffany.”

“Tiffany took it in her stride,” said Wynn. “Rori
never got to her, really. Tiffany was our dad’s favorite and that made up for a
lot of things. If you ask me, right now, Rori’s in shock. We all are. It’s
natural.”

Wynn reached for her Cappuccino.

“Yes, it is,” said Cindy.

“Why were the gendarmes following you?” Wynn
asked then, nervous.

“I’m not sure,” said Cindy. “They may not be
thrilled to have us here on the island poking around. Private detectives can be
a thorn in their sides. And they’re trying to keep things quiet.”

“I know,” said Wynn, “it’s driving my dad nuts.”

“How is he doing?” Cindy asked.

“You never know the answer to that question,”
said Wynn. “My dad always puts up a good front. Tries to be strong for his
family.”

“He’s close to all of you?”

“His kids are his whole life,” said Wynn, “Believe
me, my father won’t rest until the killer’s tracked down. He’s actually made
calls to the States about it. Getting more help lined up. The jokers on this
island aren’t going to get away with anything.”

Cindy wondered who he was contacting and how
much Wynn knew about Petrovich and her father’s relationship with him.

“What do you think about the murder, Wynn?”

Wynn dove down into her Cappuccino again, not
saying anything.  Cindy felt she was holding something back.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,”
Cindy said quietly.

“It’s killing all of us,” Wynn said finally, “especially
our mom.”

“You’re very worried about your mother?” Cindy
probed again.

“No, I’m not,” Wynn answered abruptly. “She
goes through spells of craziness for less reasons than this. We’re used to it.
The whole family.”

“Your father’s used to it, too?”

“Especially him.”

“How does he handle it?” Cindy suddenly
wondered if there might be someone else in the Senator’s life, someone who
might have resented Tiffany.

“He handles it by working,” said Wynn.

“I mean does he have another woman?”

Wynn teared up for a moment. “That’s a weird
thing to ask his daughter,” she said.

“I’m sorry to have to ask it,” said Cindy, “but
there’s a web we have to break through here. You never know where the weak link
might be.”

Wynn nodded and caught the waitress’s eye.

“Another Cappuccino,” she ordered. “Want
something, Cindy?”

Cindy did not. She wanted information, facts,
she wanted to hear something that would alert her to danger and help put the
pieces of this puzzle together.

“My father does not have any girlfriend that I
know of,” said Wynn, after her next Cappuccino arrived. “Of course anything is
possible, but it’s not something I have knowledge of. The truth is I always
hoped that he would have someone. I always wanted him to be happy.”

Cindy sighed deeply. She understood. She
remembered feeling that same way herself about her own mother and father. It
had hurt her to see her father alone, night after night in the living room while
her mother went to bed early, or talked endlessly on the phone with friends.

“I guess we all want and need our parents to be
happy,” Cindy said softly.

Wynn appreciated that. “We do,” she said.

Cindy saw an opening. “How about Tiffany? Was
she really happy about the engagement?” Cindy kept digging.

“I hope so,” Wynn answered, her eyes tearing
again. “Everyone thought Tad was a great catch.  I hope she felt that way too. In
a way Rori was right about her, Tiffany was weak. She always acted like she was
happy, but, there were moments I saw her looking strange. She seemed lonely
then, desperate, even. How does anyone really know?”

Cindy felt she was getting closer to something,
but Wynn suddenly made a hundred and eighty degree turn and diverted the
conversation.

“How about you?” asked Wynn. “That’s a horrible
story you told us about your husband who died on your honeymoon.”

“Yes, it was,” said Cindy.

“Awful,” said Wynn, “And you deserve to be
happy, too.”

“Thank you,” said Cindy.

“Do you think you ever will be?” Wynn asked. “After
something so awful happens, can anyone ever be happy again?”

“There are lots of ways of being happy,” said
Cindy, tried to answer honestly.

“You know what I mean,” Wynn persisted.

“Do you mean will I ever be happy again with a
man?” asked Cindy

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Wynn.

“Who knows? It could happen someday,” said
Cindy. “Right now I’m happy doing my job. I loved my husband very much. He was
everything I’d always wanted. He was fun, warm, kind, romantic. We were
incredibly close, made each other terrifically happy. I felt completely at home
in his arms.”

Wynn took a deep breath in. “That’s beautiful.”
She looked at Cindy  touched that she had opened up. “You were lucky in a way.”

Cindy never thought of herself as lucky
regarding Clint before.

“Even if you only had him for a little while,
you had a chance to know what real love was like.”

That was true.

“Many people never get that,” said Wynn, “no
matter how much else they have.”

Cindy felt warmly towards Wynn and wondered
about her love life then.

As if reading her mind, Wynn went on, “I’ve had
some great boyfriends, but no one who moved me that way. Nobody I ever felt so
safe and at home with.”

“I understand,” said Cindy.

“Yes, I know you do,” Wynn smiled. “It’s good
to talk to you, Cindy.”

“I hope you have that special love one day,”
Cindy said and meant it.

“Thank you so much,” Wynn responded, moved.
Then she smiled, “But, you know, plenty of people decide to get married to
someone they don’t really love.”

“Is that what happened with Tiffany?” Cindy
pressed forward. She felt something lurking beneath the surface that Wynn was
trying to tell her, but could not get out.

Wynn dug into her pocket book then, and threw
some bills for the check on the table. Cindy noticed her hand was trembling.

“What happened with Tiffany?” Cindy dug in.

Wynn looked up, tears suddenly streaming down
her face.

“Tiffany was having an affair,” Wynn finally
breathed.

Cindy was startled. “When she was killed?”
“Yes,” said Wynn, noticeably shaking. “It was with a guy named Frances, who she
knew for years. He came down here all the time. He always liked her. She always
liked him.”

“Tiffany was sleeping with Frances while she and
Tad were together?” Cindy wanted to be sure of what she was hearing.

“Yes,” whispered Wynn. “And it was still going
on when she died.”

Wynn was noticeably nervous. She got up
suddenly, grabbed her handbag and before Cindy realized what was happening, flew
out the door.

“Wait a second Wynn,” Cindy got up and followed
after her quickly, walking fast beside her on the street.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone about the affair,”
Wynn spoke quickly, “I didn’t want to smear my sister’s name.”

“You didn’t smear her name, you’re trying to
help her,” Cindy replied. “Do others know about this too?”

Wynn stopped and stared at her for a second, “No,
they don’t. Why would they?”

“How did you find out?”

“She told me,” said Wynn, the tears falling
more swiftly as she started to walk quickly again. “Tiffany spoke to me about
everything.”

“She didn’t speak to Rori?”

“No.”

“Did Tad find out?”

“No, he didn’t,” Wynn stamped her foot. “He
never knew. I’m sure of that. Neither did Rori, or anyone. Just me, I’ve been
carrying this awful secret alone. And I’ve kept it completely quiet, until now.”

“How awful for you,” said Cindy walking faster
beside her as Wynn picked up her pace.

“Don’t judge her,” words spilled out of Wynn
that she’d obviously wanted to speak for a long time. “He gave her something
she needed badly.”

“Sex?” asked Cindy.

“More than that,” said Wynn. “She was a
different person when she came back from being with him, she was peaceful,
complete. I could see it on her face.”

“No one in your family suspected?”

“Just me, I knew.”

“This must have been a terrible burden to
carry,” said Cindy softly.

“It was. I’m just telling you know because I’m
terrified that it may have something to do with her death.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know. I’m not the detective. You are.
Find out.”

“Tell me about this recent guy, Frances,” said
Cindy.

“This one was more than just a recent guy. I felt
she actually loved him.”

 “More than Tad?”

“Much more.  After Tad left, she’d rush out to be
with Frances. Not only here, but back at home. Seemed like she couldn’t get
enough of him. She couldn’t refuse him, even if she wanted to. Sometimes I saw
her getting dressed to meet him. She turned into someone else.”

“Then why did she get engaged to Tad?”

“That’s the twenty four thousand dollar
question,” Wynn stopped for a second and stared at Cindy. “I asked her that
over and over. Tiffany said Tad was good for her. He calmed her down and let
her do whatever she wanted because he liked lots of time to be alone.”

“Let her do whatever she with other men?”

“No, of course not! He had no idea. He let her
go out as much as she wanted with her friends.  She didn’t feel tied down.
Tiffany was terrified of being tied down.”

“Why else did she get engaged to him?”

“How do I know?” Wynn grew restless, “maybe it
was our mother? She was crazy about Tad. She pushed and pushed for the
engagement.”

“Why?” asked Cindy. “Do you think your mother
had any idea about what was going on behind Tad’s back?”

“Never,” said Wynn. “Our mom thought that Tad
would stabilize her. Tiffany could get flighty at times.”

“Did your mother ever meet Frances?”

“Only as one of Tiffany’s friends. She never
thought much about him - no one did. No one does now.”

Cindy tried to slow Wynn down. This was
important information and she didn’t want to miss a word.

“Let’s sit on the bench for a few minutes,” Cindy
said.

There were a bunch of benches scattered on the sidewalk.
They sat down and Wynn breathed more easily.

“How can you be sure Tad didn’t find out?”
Cindy grilled her. “It would be the perfect motive for the crime.”

“Tad never found out, I’m positive,” said Wynn
and she lifted her I phone and emailed the video from the engagement party to
Cindy. “Take a look and see.”

Cindy opened her phone and looked at the video.
Tiffany was there, in Tad’s arms. They were laughing, dancing, having a great
time. The video then switched to Tad glowing, making a speech about how finding
Tiffany made his life complete. There was no way in the world he could have
known about Frances and make a speech like this.

“Tad was the one who really needed Tiffany much
more than she needed him,” Wynn continued as Cindy looked at the video. “He
could get too quiet at times. And he needed our family. My dad really loved
him, that meant a lot to him, too.”

 “Is Frances at the party?” asked Cindy,
looking at the video.

Wynn fast forwarded the tape. “Here he is,” she
said