Death by Betrayal (Book #10 in the Caribbean Murder series) by Jaden Skye Read Free Book Online Page A

looked as
though they’d been made by claws. Cindy stared at them, long and hard.  
    “These
wounds will be checked thoroughly?” Cindy asked the woman. “There’s got to be
everything here, DNA here, fingerprints, the works.”
    “Absolutely,”
the woman agreed. “Don’t worry, we have one of the best forensic teams imaginable.
Nothing will be left unexplored.”
    Cindy’s
heart pounded as she stared at Ann’s neck. “My sister struggled for her life,” she
murmured.
    “It
looks that way,” the woman paused. “I’m sorry.”
    “She
suffered like hell,” Cindy’s voice grew gritty. “She was overpowered but she
knew what was happening. She knew she was dying, I feel it!”
    “We
don’t have those details yet,” the woman tried to ground Cindy.
    “But
it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Cindy snapped.
    “Nothing
is obvious,” the woman said strongly. “We imagine all kinds of horrible things,
but we have to investigate everything, inch by inch.”
    “No,
you’re wrong,” Cindy shook her head wildly, as if to shake the horrible scene
away. “Investigate or not, some things are obvious. I can feel Ann’s struggle, she
was screaming for help.”
    “Do
you want time alone with your sister?” the woman backed away.
    To
her surprise, Cindy did not. She saw what she needed. This was enough. Of
course ultimately Cindy wanted time with her sister, but Ann was definitely not
here anymore. This was only a shell that she’d left behind. Cindy desperately
needed to connect with her sister, and somehow she would, but this was not the
place or time.
    “Thank
you for your help,” Cindy said to the woman, as she quickly pivoted, turned and
fled from the room.
    As
Cindy walked back to the front desk she quieted down, knew she had to become
strong and planted. When she walked out of the morgue, Cindy had to return to a
place that went on as if nothing awful every happened beneath the island’s
beautiful exterior.
    *
    By
the time Cindy saw Trage up front, she’d gathered herself, thanked him and let
him drive her back to the hotel.
    “You
have all the evidence you need on the body,” Cindy finally broken the silence
between them in the car.
    “Looks
like it,” Trage acquiesced, “but we can’t be sure until results are in.”
    “Have
you started the steps to let me take Frank out on bail?” Cindy quickly turned
to Trage.
    “Actually,
I have,” he responded. “It’ll only be a little while.”
    “That
helps,” said Cindy, grateful. “I’m sure my mother will want to have him back
with her at the hotel.”
    They
drove up to the hotel entrance and Cindy put her hand on Trage’s for a second.
    “Thank
you again and again for everything,” she murmured.
    “Go
see your family now, Cindy,” Trage replied in a low voice.
    *
    As
soon as Cindy got out of the car and stepped into the lobby she realized how
completely exhausted she was. The only thing she wanted to do was go and lay on
her patio in the sun, regain her strength before taking the next steps.
    As
was her habit, Cindy walked to the front desk to check for messages, before
going upstairs.  To her surprise a note was waiting from her mother, written in
a scrawled handwriting.
    Urgent, 
your uncles and I are in our room on the sixth floor, waiting. We need to see
you immediately!
    Cindy’s
hands shook as she read the desperate words. Seeing her mother and uncles now
would only make her feel worse - but what choice did she have? They were all
living in the same nightmare together.  Cindy picked up the house phone and
called.
    “Cindy,
where were you?” a high, shrill voice answered on the other end. It was her
mother, completely beside herself. Of course she was, thought Cindy. How could
it be otherwise? Ann had always been her mother’s favorite. She’d lived close
to her mother her whole life long.
    “Where
are you? Where are you?”Cindy’s mother kept uttering.
    “I
just got back to the hotel,” Cindy mustered her strength.