Death by Devotion (Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series) Read Free Page A

missing
Clint a lot and
    having
Cindy here was a welcome connection to him. “You look absolutely beautiful,” Al
went on, stepping back and looking at her, surprised.  “Seems like the
adventurous life has treated you well.”
    Cindy
hardly knew what to make of the comment. She imagined they all had their own
ideas about what she’d been doing. Cindy suddenly wondered if they knew about
Mattheus and what they might think of that.
    “And,
at the same time, we’re all glad your time as a detective is over,” Al went on.
“In truth, it made everyone nervous.”
    “Over?”
Cindy asked uneasy.
    “Your
sister Ann told us the good news that you’re returning,” Al said.  Then he stopped
a moment and took in Cindy’s surprise. “It’s true isn’t it?”
    Cindy
simply smiled. She didn’t want to let anyone know how annoyed she was feeling
with Ann at the moment. Cindy realized that this was Ann’s way of helping Cindy
settle, by providing an anchor for her here so she wouldn’t take off again. She
looked over at Ann happily serving quiche and warm punch, making everyone feel
at home.
    “And
how have you been Al?” Cindy asked, simply changing the topic.
    “I’m
good,” he said whole heartedly. “And I’m even better since I was able to do a
real favor for my old friend, Clint.”
    Cindy
looked at him puzzled.
    “Come
here, sit down on the sofa,” Al said, excited. “I have something great to tell
you.”
    Dismayed,
Cindy went with him to the sofa, and sat down.
    Al
took her hands and squeezed them.
    “Listen,
Cindy, as soon as I heard you were coming back, I knew it wouldn’t be so easy
to make the adjustment, so I took the liberty of helping a little. I called a
good friend of mine at a top newspaper in Manhattan.” Al was speaking so
quickly Cindy could barely follow him. “How would you like a column of your own
as a crime reporter for the New York Herald?”
    Cindy
gasped. The New York Herald was one of the best papers in the world. That had
to be anyone’s dream job.
    “In
all truth,” Al went on, “they’d be lucky to have you.  And also, you’ve
returned at the perfect moment. There’s an opening right now for a crime
reporter to have their own column. The guy who used to write the column just
left. With all the success, publicity and newspaper experience you’ve had, the
job’s a natural fit for you.”
    This
was hard to take in. “Talk more slowly, Al,” Cindy breathed, wanted to make
sure she was hearing correctly.
    Al
grinned. “Sure.  My friend Hal’s in charge of hiring and he’s excited about
you. Of course he wants to meet you and talk to you in person, but basically,
between you and me, the job’s yours if you want it.”
    Cindy
was stunned. She stared into Al’s eyes. They looked hopeful and sad at the same
time. She could see how badly he wanted to make things right for his dear
friend’s widow.
    “Thank
you so very much for your efforts, Al,” Cindy said, feeling a bit woozy. Things
were happening too fast. Although she’d loved working on a paper and always
dreamt of one day having her own column, she hadn’t expected it to happen just
yet.
    “You
have to let Hal know by day after tomorrow,” said Al. “They need someone on
this right away.”
    “I’m
really grateful to you,” Cindy said and meant it. “I need to sleep on it.”
    Al
seemed slightly taken aback. “Okay,” he said, “no problem. But I thought you’d
jump on it just like that.”
    Cindy
didn’t just jump on anything just like that anymore. Her experience
investigating cases now made her pause and take a closer look at everything.  Of
course it seemed that Al had only the best intentions. But as Cindy listened to
him she also remembered how Al had sent that photo of Clint’s old girl friend,
Heather, to Clint just before the wedding. Clint had never received it, but
Cindy did. Clint never found out that his girlfriend had given birth to his
child a few years before.  Al knew the