Death by Seduction by Jaden Skye

it’s
usually blows over. The whole thing goes away.”
    Cindy
wasn’t sure exactly what Shanya was implying and waited for her to elaborate.
She didn’t, just continued fluffing cushions out on the sofa.
    Cindy
walked closer to her, then. “Charma says you were here when she got home the
    night
Pete was killed.  You saw her walk through the door with her date for the night
and that she returned about an hour after Pete died.”
    “That’s
exactly right,” mumbled Shanya.
    “Who
did she come back with and what time exactly?” Cindy needed to hear it directly
from Shanya.
    “That’s
privileged information,” Shanya demurred.
    “That’s
Charma’s alibi,” Cindy corrected her. “It could save her life.”
    “There’s
plenty of other things that can save Charma’s life,” Shanya retorted.
    “Like
what?”Cindy felt agitated. wanted to take Shanya on.
    “Like
finding the real killer,” Shanya smiled slowly. “Like you talking to all the
right people, not missing a trick, if you know what I mean.”
    “Talking
to Eric?” Cindy asked.
    “Exactly,
honey,” Shanya smiled again. “He’s the perfect one to talk to. Eric’s not about
to let his honey hang in jail for too long.”
    “Charma’s
his honey?” Cindy needed to be absolutely clear about what Shanya was saying.
    “Well,
you’re gonna ask him that yourself, aren’t you now?” Shanya turned to Cindy as
the smile suddenly wiped off her face.
    “Of
course I’ll ask him,” answered Cindy. “Did Eric just find out that Charma was
taken in?”
    Shanya
suddenly became more confidential. “Not at all, we all knew about it. But,
between you and me, everyone expected her to be home by now.”
    “And
why isn’t she?” asked Cindy.
    “Now,
that’s for you and Eric to work out yourselves,” Shanya pushed her chin down onto
her chest and then lifted it up suddenly, as if she were a horse about to buck.
“My job is to look after all my girls, not to track down the bad apples that
roll into town.”
    “Looks
like you do a good job, Shanya,” Cindy suddenly replied, wanting to bolster her
up.
    “You
better believe I do,” she laughed, “even though someone like you can’t really  imagine
what that means.”
    Cindy
felt  suddenly slapped across the face by Sanya’s curt response. She was going
to say something in return, but just then a tall, well dressed, handsome
American guy walked into room interrupting their conversation.
    “Hell,
Eric my boy,” Shanya responded, “you came just in time.”
    Eric
threw a quick glance at Cindy and paused, seeming surprised.
    “This
here is the woman detective I told you about,” Sanya’s voice grew harsher.
    “How
do you do,” said Eric walking over to Cindy. Suntanned, he had wavy brown hair,
beautiful hazel eyes, and looked as though he’d stepped off the cover of a
men’s magazine.
    “How
do you do,” replied Cindy, unnerved. She couldn’t image what was a man like
this doing at the brothel.
    “We
appreciate the help you’re giving Charma,” Eric started. “The wife hired you,
right?”
    “Yes,
she did,” said Cindy, finding it hard, for a moment, to focus in his presence.
    “The
wife doesn’t believe Charma did it, does she?” Eric continued.
    “Absolutely
not,” said Cindy. “In fact she’s positive that Pete doesn’t know her at all.”
    “Eric’s
one of the best lawyers we got down here in the Dominican Republic,” Shanya
chimed in. “He gets everything right.”
    “I
can see that,” Cindy tried to smile.
    “Not
everything, almost everything,” Eric looked at Cindy impressed.
    “It
looks like you know exactly what you’re doing,“ said Cindy.
    “Looks
are deceptive,” Eric joked, “but I certainly do my best.”
    “I’d
love to talk to you more about Charma’s life and customers,” Cindy said, and
then suddenly remembered that Eric was one of them. For a second she was afraid
that she might have offended him. “I don’t mean any