Free Death by Seduction by Jaden Skye Page B

sense of Pete,
only the idealized  image of him Loretta clung to. Her talk with Andy hadn’t
fill in the gaps, either. He’d also stayed on the periphery, unwilling to go
deeper. Cindy was eager to meet Taylor, Pete’s brother.
    The
sky suddenly grew darker and winds blew up, threatening rain.  Cindy suddenly
realized how crucial it was for her to talk to Charma as soon as possible.  Pressure
from Loretta had definitely taken a toll, causing Cindy to delay the meeting.  How
ridiculous, she thought. Charma was the first person she should have talked to.
She’d be the perfect one to fill in the gaps about Pete, if she actually knew
him.
    By
the time Cindy got out of the water and back onto the sand, her plan was clear.
The very next stop would be to talk to Charma.  She wouldn’t say a thing about
it to Loretta, though. There was no need to. After she spoke to Charma, she’d
contact  Taylor and get the picture of Pete rounded out.
    Cindy
spent a little while longer on the beach, then gathered her things together.
She would go back to the hotel, change and then make her way down to the police
station where Charma was being held.
    On
her way back  Cindy looked at her phone once again. Mattheus’s text stood
there, unanswered, glaring at her. As much as she wanted to say something,
Cindy forced herself to remain silent. She wasn’t going to respond in a knee
jerk manor, or keep dancing this dance they’d been doing. A clean break was
better, she thought.
    *
    Before
going down to the police station Cindy called to make sure they knew she was
coming down to speak to Charma.  Fortunately,  Ron, the cop she’d met at the
brothel, picked up.
    “I’ll
be there in about an hour,” said Cindy, “I need to speak to Charma.”
    “It’s
a good idea,” Ron replied, “we’ve been waiting for you. Charma heard that
you’re  working the case and keeps asking why you don’t come down and talk to
her, too?”
    Cindy
was glad to hear that and once again was upset for taking so long to come down
and meet Charma herself.
    *
    Cindy
waited in a small, airless room as Charma was brought out of her holding cell to
talk to her.  Finally, the door opened slowly and Charma was led in.  In her
late twenties with long, wild, curly hair and huge beautiful , brown eyes, she
looked like a wild, trapped animal with frantic energy exuding from every
cell.  The minute she walked in, Charma lunged towards Cindy, but the police
officer with her, directed her to sit down. Once she did, the cop, looking
bored, turned and left them alone.
    “You
sure took your time about coming to see me,” Charma shook her thick mane of
hair back over her shoulders. “But I got all the answers you need, so what kept
you waiting so long?”
    “I
was stupid,” said Cindy.
    Charma
grinned. “Yeah, most cops are stupid as hell.”
    “Sorry,”
said Cindy lightly, agreeing with her.
    “Were
you scared to come and see a whore?” Charma baited Cindy, her eyes flashing.

 
    “Not
at all,” said Cindy, lying.  “There were just lots of people I had to speak to.”
    “Nah,
“ Charma’s mouth opened wide, showing ragged edges to her teeth. “There’s only piece
in this puzzle. Me. They’re pinning it on me.”
    “Because
they found your fingerprints all over the victim, “Cindy said abruptly.
    ”Sure
my fingerprints are all over my guys,” Charma held back a laugh. “Where else
would they be? That doesn’t prove a dang.”
    “Pete
was one of your customers?” Cindy took the opening, afraid to hear more.
    “Oh
brother, are we in kindergarten or something?” Charma looked up at the ceiling,
then back at Cindy. “Sure he was one of my customers. Why wouldn’t he be?
Something wrong with me?”
    “Of
course not, I didn’t mean that,” Cindy felt horrified for Loretta.
    “Pete
was one of  my regulars and boy, did he like me!” Charma added for good
measure, shoving it in Cindy’s face.
     “He
came to see you often?” asked