Free Death by Seduction by Jaden Skye Page A

appreciated
Andy’s frankness, but she also felt he was holding something back.“Can we talk
again later?” Cindy asked, sensing Andy growing restless.
    “Why do we have
to talk again later?” Andy looked perturbed. “I’ve told you everything I know.”
    Cindy wanted to
believe him, but didn’t. “I’ll need to check Pete’s accounts, look into the
books, track the deals he made,” Cindy repeated. “Will that be alright with
you?”
    “Yeah, sure, it’s
fine,” Andy heaved a loud sigh. “And look, I got to go now.”
    “Absolutely,”
said Cindy, standing along with Andy, as he reached out his hand to shake hers,
in a quick good bye.
     
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    “Did
you like Andy? Was it a helpful conversation?” Loretta called a minute after
Andy walked away.
    “It
was okay,” said Cindy, nondescriptly, not really wanting to share everything
with Loretta yet. “How’s it going with Angela?”
    “Fine,
but tell me more about Andy,” Loretta seemed on edge.
    “He
had only good things to say about Pete,” Cindy reassured her.  Cindy thought
for a moment about speaking to Loretta about Pete’s financial status, but this
wasn’t the time or way.
    “That’s
what I thought Andy would say,” Loretta seemed to quiet down. “There was
nothing else to say about Pete, only good things. He was a fine, upstanding,
upright guy. Who would want to put him down?”
    “Who
would want to take him down?” Cindy took the opportunity to ask again.
    “What
are you doing next?” Loretta asked quickly. “Checking out the real estate
company?”
    Cindy
had no intention of giving Loretta a blow by blow description of her plans. “I’ll
be talking to the real estate company soon,” she replied evasively.
    “Thanks,”
Loretta was relieved, “you’re doing a wonderful job. Why don’t you take off a
little time and enjoy yourself. Go take a swim in the pool, or go to the beach.
You’ll feel brand new afterwards.”
    “That’s
a great suggestion,” said Cindy, actually agreeing. “I might just take you up
on it.”
    Cindy
decided to take up Loretta’s suggestion and go to the beach for an afternoon
swim.  Some time to herself would help her go over everything, see where she
stood and what her next steps should be.
    Before
she left, Cindy checked her phone for messages, and to her distress, found another
message from Mattheus waiting for her. This time it was a text:
      I’m
not your enemy, answer me! Whatever we decide, we can’t just leave ragged edges.
    Cindy
shut her phone off abruptly. She found the message Mattheus left jarring. She
wasn’t the one who’d left ragged edges or ran away when things got tough. It
was him. Responding to the text would just be a way of keeping things going. No
answer was an answer in itself.  This was definitely the time to get away for a
swim, to clear her mind and unwind.
    *
    Cindy
wanted to leave the main tourist spots far behind and chose a hidden beach that
was part of an inlet at a craggy part of the island. The beach was surrounded
by hills, rocks and an array of beautiful birds.  As she stood on the rocky
stand Cindy could even  make out Iguanas creeping over distant rocks.
    Cindy
walked to the edge of the water and jumped in.  It was invigorating to splash
around in these murky waters, surrounded by raw nature. Cindy suddenly understood
Pete’s desire for extreme adventure. It must have connected him with something
primal inside himself that was missing in his life. Loretta was definitely the
opposite. She was so put together and socially driven that once again Cindy wondered
if Pete’s marriage was fundamentally out of kilter and  unfulfilling? Could
that be a reason he might have been driven to see someone like Charma?
    Cindy
swam fervently and then turned and floated on her back, looking up at the cloud
covered, threatening sky.  It was good being away from everyone and have a
chance to think her own thoughts. Cindy didn’t yet have a real