Death by Divorce by Jaden Skye Page A

upset Dalia even more. There was no way she was going to tell her what Elizabeth had said about Ames.
    “She talked about what a good father Ames is,” Cindy started, “and about her marriage to him.”
    “What did she say?” Elizabeth grew more nervous.
    “She said it was good, that they’d been happy.”
    “Of course she would say that. What do you expect? She covers her trail wherever she goes. ” Dalia’s lips were pressed together. “Tell me more.”
    Cindy took a deep breath. “She’s dating.”
    Dalia made an odd sound. “That’s no news,” she said, “except I’m not exactly sure I would call it dating: She’s a nympho, everyone in town knows that.”
    Cindy was taken aback. “Really?”
    “It’s popular knowledge. Tries to get her hands on every guy in town. ”
    That would explain what she’d said about Mattheus, Cindy thought.
    “Yes,” Cindy said, “she mentioned Mattheus wasn’t available.”
    At that Dalia grinned. “She probably tried to get him to bed, too. He’s got better sense than that. He’s a decent guy. People here respect him. He keeps to himself. He has character. ”
    Cindy was glad to finally hear that someone was decent.
    “Tell me more,” Dalia probed.
    Cindy wondered exactly what she was digging for.
    “Did she talk about her finances now?” Dalia finally asked.
    “She said Ames left her well set,” said Cindy. “There’s no financial motive there. And she also said that you were quite rich, that you’d given Ames quite a bit of money yourself. ”
    Dalia turned pale at that. “How did she know that?”
    “Seems like Ames told her?” Cindy said.
    Dalia stood up abruptly, upset. Obviously, she had not known that Ames told Elizabeth that.
    “That was private,” Dalia said then, in a piercing voice, her back to Cindy. “I had no idea Ames told her that.”
    “Maybe someone else did?” said Cindy.
    “No, Ames was the only one who knew.” Then she stomped her foot on the floor. “How dare he tell her that?”
    Cindy swallowed hard. That was the least of it, she thought. How would Dalia handle the rest of the stuff Elizabeth had said about him? It would crush her.
    Cindy suddenly remembered back to the days in high school when Dalia would go over her situation with guys, devastated, asking Cindy over and over why things had gone wrong? What happened? Cindy never had an answer then, and wondered if she’d be able to have one now.
    “I’d love to see your gallery now,” Cindy said then, wanting to cheer Dalia up. She knew Dalia had been excited to show it to her, and it would also serve Cindy’s purpose of getting to see Nina.
    “Did Elizabeth say something nasty about that, also?” Dalia asked, turning around.
    “No, she didn’t,” said Cindy. “Remember you said you’d take me there and show it to me, after I met her?”
    “Of course I remember,” Dalia said then, a surge or pride returning to her at the thought of it. “Come on, let’s go.”
     

CHAPTER 8
    The art gallery was located on one of the main streets in town, down the road from a large hotel. There was a totally different feeling here than Cindy had experienced elsewhere on the island. It was bustling. The street was colorful, filled with people, local shops, the smell of delicious food wafting from street side cafes, music and the sounds of people having a good time.
    As the afternoon had grown later, the heat of the sun had begun to fade and a refreshing breeze drifted over Cindy and Dalia.
    “This is one of my favorite spots in the world,” Dalia said as they approached the gallery. “Not only my gallery, but the street. I love the commotion. ”
    Cindy smiled. She was glad to see Dalia in good spirits.
    They crossed the street and went into the gallery, which was in a low, wood slatted building. The door had bells on it that rang as they opened it and walked in. Incredible paintings, in intense colors filled the walls, dazzling the eyes as soon as you