Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“That’ll be it,” Cindy agreed. “I’ll present all of these findings to Edward and they should give him some peace.”


“Don’t count on that,” Mattheus sighed. “It can take a long time to have peace after your daughter is gone.” Then he stood up, came closer to Cindy again, and pulled her back into his arms. “Is this all just an exercise in kindness to Shari’s father?” he asked. “Don’t you really believe that Shari took her own life?”

It was a good question and stopped Cindy for a moment. Actually, she wasn’t sure. “I don’t really know,” Cindy answered, honestly. “What do you think?”

“I think Shari’s father’s half crazy with pain and can’t face the fact that his daughter had long-standing depression,” said Mattheus. “In my opinion, Shari wasn’t ready for marriage, couldn’t handle the step and jumped off the cliff rather than go forward.”

That was an extreme formulation and Cindy really didn’t go along with it. “Something had to cause her to make that leap,” she replied. “Something might have happened between her and Doug right before?”

“Even if it did,” Mattheus sighed, “so what? Even if Shari and Doug had the worst fight of their lives just before she jumped, that’s not murder. It’s the reaction of a sick girl who couldn’t handle life. It’s not his fault, he’s not responsible.”

“Not legally, perhaps, but morally?” Cindy wondered aloud.

“That’s not for us to say,” Mattheus reminded her. “We’re not ministers. We’re here to uphold the law.”

. [cl9] “Shari just didn’t seem seriously depressed to me,” Cindy mused.

“You only saw her for a few minutes,” Mattheus reminded her. “The two of you barely spoke.”

“That’s true,” said Cindy, “but she didn’t seem teetering on the verge of death.”

“Depression’s a funny animal,” Mattheus countered. “You can feel fine one minute and misery can strike the next.”

Cindy had also heard that, but deep down, it still didn’t feel like it was depression that had taken Shari’s life. “That’s not what happened to her,” Cindy murmured.

Mattheus became silent. “All right, tell me what happened,” he finally said.

“Not that, not that,” whispered Cindy. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”





Chapter 9


It was wonderful having Mattheus on board again, working with her on the case. While he made more calls to people he knew, and got ready to go see Doug’s family, Cindy decided to speak to Shari’s sister and mother in greater depth. When Cindy called to make an appointment, Edward picked up. He said Shari’s mother, Marla, didn’t want to talk, but her sister, Deidre, was eager to.

“Why not meet Deidre somewhere else, outside of the hotel room,” Edward suggested. “Marla’s not doing well and doesn’t want any visitors, but Deidre could use some company and distraction.”

“Of course.” Cindy was delighted. “Where would she like to meet?”

“I suggest the two of you go to Arikok National Park.” Edward was quick on the uptake. “It’ll be good for Deidre to get out into the woods. She’s loved being in the woods since she was a little girl. She’ll relax more there and the two of you will form a relationship.”

It was an odd suggestion, but Cindy was open to it. “Sure, why not?” said Cindy. “I’ll meet Deidre downstairs in the lobby right away and we can take a cab to a hiking trail.”

“Good thinking.” Edward approved of it. “And take your time with her there, don’t push it. Deidre knows a lot about many things. If you get her to like you, she’ll open right up. And then I want you to tell me what you find out.”

That was going too far. “Certain information is always confidential,” Cindy responded immediately.

“From me, her father? The person who hired you?” Edward didn’t like hearing that.

“Of course you’ll be informed of whatever is relevant in the right manner,” Cindy continued. “But there’s a natural privacy your daughter deserves. There are things she will tell me in confidence that I may not be able to disclose.”

“That’s the first time I heard anything like that,” Edward grumbled. “I don’t like idea of the two of you keeping secrets from me.”

Cindy wondered if Edward has also been that way with Shari. Did he demand to be part of her private life, be privy to information that he had no right to know?

“Let’s take this one step at a time, Edward.” Cindy didn’t want to discuss this point any further. “Tell Deidre to come down and meet me in the lobby now. Nobody is planning on keeping secrets from you, but the investigation must be conducted in good faith.”