Read Online Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) by Jaden Skye - Free Book Online

can find out who killed my husband?” Petra seemed
undaunted.
    “It’s
my job” Cindy repeated.  “I’ve found out things like this before.”
    “Yeah,
I heard, you’re famous or something,” Petra sneered. “The police told me.”
    None
of this was relevant and Cindy wasn’t getting side tracked. “How come you’re
not thrilled I’m down here?” Cindy countered. “Don’t you want the killer of your
husband to be found? Cindy suddenly felt as though she were putting Petra on
warning.
    Petra
threw back her head and laughed, startling both Cindy and Mattheus.
    “I
love it how you folks from the States come down into our territory and try to
take over, acting like we’re all idiots. You’re so smart, eh? You think you ever
can know what’s really happening down on the Islands? Well, you can’t, and you
never will.”
    “Don’t
you want us to know?” Cindy stared in Petra’s eyes, which seemed distressed and
sly at the same time.
    Petra
looked at Cindy with disgust. “You couldn’t know if you tried, honey. Not when
you’re all pretty and fancy, like that.”
     Cindy
wondered why Petra disliked her so intensely? Was it really because Cindy was
down here from the States, or because of her relationship with Mattheus? Did
Petra secretly want him back again for herself? Why wouldn’t she? And, in all
this time, Cindy hadn’t heard her say one word about Andrea. Her daughter was
locked up and Petra didn’t seem to give a damn.
    “I
would think you’d be happy I was here to get your daughter out of jail,” Cindy
tossed out at her.
    “If
I thought you could help my daughter, I’d be happy,” Petra, edged closer to
Cindy, as if wanting to take her on. “But they got Andrea locked up. The system’s
made of steel. Their minds are all made up.”
    Cindy
didn’t buy it. Was it just convenient for Petra to believe her daughter didn’t
have a chance?
    “What
do you think happened to your husband, Petra?” Cindy confronted her directly.
    To
Cindy’s surprise Petra suddenly began trembling. Mattheus stepped closer to her
to comfort her, but she jerked away. Clearly she had no love for him, either.
    “What
happened, Petra?” Cindy wouldn’t let up. “You know more than you’re saying.”
    “Whatever
the bastard got, he deserved it,” Petra suddenly hissed, between trembling lips.
    “I’m
not denying that,” Cindy took a step closer to her. “But did Andrea do it?”
    “Never,”
Petra howled. “I refuse to believe that, I refuse.” Then she looked at Cindy
oddly.
    “I
heard your husband beat her,” Cindy kept going.
    “He
beat me, too. So what?” Petra kept howling. “Doesn’t mean a damn. Doesn’t mean
he didn’t love both of us.”
    That
stopped Cindy completely. What kind of insanity was this?
    “A
guy can beat you and love you,” Petra was now running her shaky hands through
her messy hair. “It happens all the time here – we understand it. Not you, not
from where you come. Up in your world, everything’s all clean and pretty. But
deep down underneath, no one gives a damn about each other. I’d rather get beat
up and know someone cared.”
    Cindy
threw Mattheus a hurried glance. He was staring, transfixed at Petra, taking in
every word she said.
    “You’re
right, you’re right,” Mattheus echoed, “we get beaten up in all kinds of ways.”
    Petra
didn’t hear a word Mattheus was saying though, just turned and pointed at him.
    “This
never would have happened,” she yelled, “if you hadn’t come back down here. Who
asked you to come? Who needed you? You got Andrea worked up in a crazy way.”
    “How?”
Cindy was fascinated.
    Petra
turned to Cindy then. “He made my daughter think she finally had someone to
protect her, a real father. But it’s not so easy to have that, is it?” Petra tossed
her hair away from her face. “And look how he protected her!  Cain’s blood was
all over her and now she’s sitting in jail.”
    “I
told you I’m getting