Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

Doug reflected briefly. “Yeah, my sister Kate mentioned it to me, once in a while. She was the only one who was concerned about it. But I thought she was making a big deal about nothing.”


Cindy found that fascinating. “What did Kate say?” she asked.

“Kate told me she found Shari hard to be with, that she wasn’t right for me. Shari would blow off appointments she and Kate made, for a million different reasons. I thought it was cute, but Kate didn’t. Kate’s a personal trainer and doesn’t have much room for people making excuses, or not doing what they say.”

“What kind of excuses did Shari make?” Cindy was intrigued.

“Shari would say she wasn’t in the mood, or that someone just called and she had to go see them. Or sometimes she just wouldn’t show up. Kate thought that was creepy, it bugged her. But other people accepted it, just took it as a matter of course.”

“Did Shari do that with you, too?” asked Cindy.

“I guess,” said Doug, rubbing his hands along his thighs. “It didn’t matter so much to me, though. It was worth it when we were together. Shari was wonderful to be with in every way, most of the time.” His voice started to crack. “I didn’t need her to be perfect. I figured there’s something off in every relationship. I could take her moods.” Doug put his fists up to his face then and dug them into his eyes.

“You’re right, Doug,” said Cindy softly. “No relationship is perfect, there are always things we choose to live with.”

“Shari didn’t choose to live with me though, did she?” Doug’s eyes opened wide then and stared, frightening Cindy momentarily. “And she never told me why!”

“What about the note she left?” asked Cindy, feeling a long chill go up her back.

At that Doug jumped up off his chair and stood a few inches from Cindy, his voice rising.

“Her note didn’t mean a damn. It didn’t say anything. She just said she was sorry and couldn’t help it. She asked everyone to forgive her, that it was too hard to go on living like this. Like what? Being engaged to me?”

“Not you, necessarily.” Cindy stood up beside him.

“Plenty of women would be happy to have a guy like me,” Doug insisted, the bitterness creeping into his tone again.

“Maybe it was too hard to live with the pain she was suffering inside,” Cindy interrupted. “Sounds like Shari was in the grip of an illness. Was she on medication? Did she see a doctor?”

“Yeah, she saw a shrink for years and was on antidepressants,” said Doug. “She took them regularly and they worked.”

“Sometimes medication stops working and has strange side effects,” Cindy suggested.

“That’s what Kate said when I talked to her today,” Doug replied.

“Where’s Kate now?” asked Cindy.

“She’s on her way down here with my mother and father,” said Doug. “Shari’s family’s already here. They came down for the happy occasion. They were excited to see which venue we would choose.”

“Yes, I know,” said Cindy softly.

“Now we don’t have to look for a wedding venue, do we? Instead we have to look for a cemetery plot,” Doug cried out.

“I’d like to talk to Kate,” Cindy interrupted softly. “Can I talk to her when she comes down?”

“You can talk to anyone you want to.” Doug sounded like he was about to sob. “Talk to the whole world for all I care. You can’t bring Shari back though, can you?”

“No, I can’t,” said Cindy, clearly, “but perhaps I can help ease the suffering.”

Doug spun around and stared at her. “How are you gonna do that? How?”

“By learning more about Shari,” Cindy said strongly. “Maybe we’ll find out what it was she couldn’t live with, why she took her own life. If we understand what happened to her, it will help everyone come to terms.”

At that Doug sneered. “How are you going to find that out? Get Shari to talk from the grave?”

“There are lots of ways people speak to us from beyond the grave,” Cindy responded. “There are all kinds of things we can find out about them long after they’re gone.”

Doug grimaced. “So, go talk your heart out. Talk to anyone you want. Truthfully, it doesn’t make any difference to me. I’ll never forgive her for doing this to me. It was mean, it was selfish, it was wrong!”

Cindy wanted to say more, but realized that it was too soon to tell Doug how important it would be for him to eventually find a way to forgive Shari. Not only for her, but for his sake as well.

Doug turned away then, clearly letting Cindy know their meeting was over.

“Thank you for talking to me,” Cindy said softly, as she took the hint, went to the door and left.





Chapter 5


When Cindy arrived in the lobby, Mattheus was there on a nearby sofa reading the paper, obviously waiting for her. The moment she stepped out of the elevator, he looked up. Cindy was greatly relieved to see him. Most likely he’d thought it all over and was going to join her on the case. It was all she could do not to throw her arms around him.