Mystery by the Sea by David Sal Read Free Book Online Page A

Pedroza’s house were you
the night that Doris showed up there? Did you get to see her directly?”
    “When she arrived, the four of us
were on the second floor terrace, the one overlooking the pool and the beach,”
she said after wiping her lips with a napkin.
    “Who were the four?”
    “Aside from Pedroza and myself,
Jessica Ronda and Javier Estrada were with us.
    “You all work for Pedroza
Enterprises at the office in town, right?” asked Lorenzo, to which she
responded yes with a nod of her head.
    “And what were you all doing at your
boss’ house on a Friday night, anyway? I could think of better ways to enjoy a
Friday,” said Lorenzo, looking for a way to delve into the specifics of the
event’s circumstances.
    “Pedroza was a lover of good wine.
And, like everything good in life, wine is best enjoyed sharing it with
others.”
    “Or showing off,” retorted Lorenzo
sarcastically.
    “Maybe a little, but not much. It
truly made him happy to be with company when he sampled wine. The conversation
and the different opinions and tastes often led to animated debates and
discussions but always within a respectful and enjoyable environment. They were
moments for relaxing and letting go of work tensions. He invited us often, I
would say once or twice a month, to try selections from his collection. We also
sampled handcrafted cheeses. Most of them were delicious, although there were
some that I couldn’t stand.”
    “That was very nice of him. Who all
did he invite?”
     “People that he trusted. It was
almost always the same people from the office. Of course, he sometimes invited
friends from other spheres and family members, but he never mixed groups.
Family with family, office with office, and business with business,” explained
Irma.
    “So, perhaps you were there on one
of the nights that Doris was invited?” asked Lorenzo, remembering how on many
occasions Doris had gone to her boss’ house for a social visit. He was always
suspicious of this excuse that Doris gave to leave the house at dusk.
    “Oh, yes. She was someone that he
trusted for some time, until what happened,” expressed Irma, raising her
eyebrows and taking a sip of water.
    “That’s what I don’t understand. If
Doris was trustworthy enough that Pedroza would occasionally invite her to his
house, what could she have done that was so terrible that he would fire her?”
asked Lorenzo, glancing at the kitchen door in eager anticipation of his order.
    “Well, I couldn’t say because I
wasn’t in Puerto Rico on the day that she was fired. I was in Miami tending to
a personal matter. But I know that Pedroza assigned her a very important
report, and I can attest to how important it was because I used to be the one
who prepared it for him. It was the first time that he entrusted her with
something of this magnitude. For weeks I could see that she was nervous,
sometimes in a very bad mood. She would blow up for no reason. I even received
anonymous complaints from colleagues. It seems that she was careless at some
point and it ruined her,” recounted Irma. Lorenzo remained somber as she
continued, “The information wasn’t right. The worst part was that she didn’t
realize the error until after she had turned it in. But unfortunately, Pedroza
wouldn’t forgive her. He was merciless about things like that. There was no
valid explanation or excuse. And we’re not talking about small errors, like
spelling, a missing comma, or style. For that he would reprimand you, but he
wouldn’t fire you. But if it was an error in content, watch out. In Doris’
case, he didn’t even bat an eyelash when he signed her pink slip,” finished
Irma.
    Confused, Lorenzo tried to make
sense of Irma’s words. He could not even imagine Doris, a declared work fanatic
and chronic perfectionist, messing up her first important project.
    Just then, the waiter arrived with
Lorenzo’s food, which brought him a welcomed feeling of pleasure. But it did
not last long.