Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“Good faith? What does that mean exactly?” His voice rose a pitch.

“It means that if I talk to a person and there’s an assumption of confidence, I will not be able to tell you everything I find out. Relevant information is passed on to authorities who use it then to build a case. I will certainly tell you what I can and give you a general overall picture, but not private details of your daughter’s life.” Even though she barely knew her, Cindy felt a need to protect Deidre.

“Do what you can,” Edward gave way slowly. “I’ll trust your judgment here. Don’t leave any topic untouched or any stone unturned.”

Cindy shivered as she hung up the phone, wondering what he was getting at exactly.

*

Deidre seemed excited to be meeting Cindy down in the lobby. She dashed over to her, breathing fast.

“I can’t believe we’re going to Arikok National Park,” she started. “It’s exactly where I wanted to go. How great that you thought of it.”

Cindy wanted to tell her that it was her father’s idea, but stopped herself for a moment.

“There’s a wild side of Aruba there,” Deidre continued, “great hiking trails and caves and particularly the Tunnel of Love.”

“Tunnel of Love?” Cindy was struck by the name of the cave, particularly given the circumstances of Deidre’s family’s visit.

Deidre laughed suddenly at Cindy’s response. “Not exactly a wedding venue,” she went on. “The Tunnel of Love Cave is called that because of the heart-shaped opening at the entrance. We’ll need flashlights to go through the long passageway. We can get them at the park.”

“Okay, let’s go,” said Cindy. “I thought we’d hike outdoors, not go into dark caves.”

“I want to go into the cave, though,” Deidre insisted.

“Whatever you like,” Cindy said quietly, not wanting to disturb her. “Did Shari enjoy hiking and caves, too?”

“Absolutely not,” Deidre answered quickly, as the two of them walked out of the lobby together into the street. “Shari was frightened of the dark, since she was little. She liked everything pretty and nice. Not me, though, I like exploring dark places where people don’t go much. Shari would never go there with me.”

Cindy took a deep breath, wondering how the two of them really got along.

“I’m glad you’re coming with me.” Deidre shook her hair back over her shoulders. “It’s been horrible. I need to get out of the hotel room and away from my father. This whole thing has made him crazier than ever.”

Cindy hailed a cab and the two of them got into it.

“You have a hard time with your father?” Cindy picked it right up.

“My father’s intensely paranoid.” Deidre spoke easily, relieved to be driving away, and also to be with Cindy. “Whatever you do, he looks for some dark motive behind it. Shari bought into it. I never did. He and I never got along.”

“Shari got along better with him?” Cindy asked as the taxi wound along a wide road that was sheltered by trees and led in the direction of the park.

Deidre moved closer to the window then, almost pressing her face against it. “Shari got along better with everyone,” she retorted. “She was the perfect person, everyone loved her. She knew how to take the bumps in life, as she used to say.”

That surprised Cindy somewhat. “I heard Shari suffered from depression, though?” she asked as the taxi dove down a steep hill.

“Yeah, she did, but she was on medication her whole life long.” Deidre pulled away from the window and stared at Cindy. “Me, I don’t buy into that. I don’t even take an aspirin.”

“How could Shari go along with the bumps in the road if she was depressed?” Cindy wanted to know more about that. “Didn’t she have hard, sad times that you remember?”

“Sure, she had them,” said Deidre, “but when she did she ran to my father, who gave her more meds and that was that.”

“How about your mother? What did she think about that?” Cindy was curious.

“Shari was my father’s daughter and I was my mother’s gal,” said Deidre. “Shari and my mother didn’t much get along. My mother didn’t have patience for all the medicine she took, she looked down on her for it, used to tell her to buckle up and stand on her own.”

“That’s awful,” Cindy remarked.

“Hey, everyone has their values.” Deidre shrugged it off, as Cindy noted that Deidre hadn’t yet expressed sadness or pain about her sister’s death.

The taxi was now on a long, low road that led directly into the park. Deidre looked out of the window, delighted, as if she were a child on an outing she’d always wanted to take. Cindy wanted to go a little deeper with her, though.

“It’s too bad that Shari can’t be with us on this outing,” Cindy probed softly.