Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

At that Deidre spun around. “It’s too bad about a lot of things.” Her voice grew darker. “It’s too bad Shari never listened to me. If she listened to me this never would have happened. But no, she tossed me to the side. It was her friends she listened to.”


“It couldn’t have felt good to be tossed to the side.” Cindy picked right up on it.





“I was used to it,” said Deidre. “Shari was the one who made my father proud of her.”

“And you?” asked Cindy.

“Believe it or not, my mother respected me. She told me my time would come, over and over.”

“What did she mean by that?” asked Cindy.

“She meant the day would come when people would realize who I was, how much I knew,” Deidre shot back quickly.

“When will that day come?” Cindy asked, a cold chill going up her spine.

“Nobody knows when,” mumbled Deidre, “but everyone has a time when their day comes.”

The taxi stopped. They got out and began the long walk along a graveled pathway toward the Tunnel of Love. Cindy felt deeply unnerved by her conversation with Deidre. Was it possible that she felt her time would only come when her sister was gone? It sounded as if there were such a deep divide between them all their lives. Although she had no desire to go into the cave, Cindy was thrilled for the opportunity to find out more. Perhaps Edward was right after all. Perhaps Deidre held the key to what happened to Shari.

*

The Huliba Cave, known as the “Baranca Sunu Cave,” also meaning “Naked Rock,” is nicknamed the “Tunnel of Love” for its heart-shaped entrance. The cave had five entrances, and after paying to go in and get some flashlights, Cindy and Deidre took one entrance that led through a steep and narrow stairway which dipped into the cave. They had to crouch as they walked along and turn on their flashlights as it was totally dark inside.

“This is incredible,” Deidre murmured, “better than I thought.”

Cindy followed tentatively, walking carefully behind. The cave was studded with stalagmite and stalactite formations in limestone rocks. There were also two bat species living in this cave and when they entered a few were fluttering around.

“After the bats sleep in the caves during the daytime, they fly out in hordes in search of food,” Deidre informed her.

“Is there a place we can stop and talk here?” Cindy asked, growing apprehensive. She didn’t want to go any further in, and was also repelled by the many cockroaches around.

“Sure, let’s sit here,” said Deidre, pulling Cindy over to a ledge formed by the stalagmites.

Cindy sat down on it and motioned for Deidre to sit close by near the exit from the tunnel. The exit actually looked quite risky, extending through a series of steps that were carved on the rock face.

“What do you like about it here so much?” Cindy asked, quivering.

“It’s easier to talk in the dark,” Deidre said.

“Okay.” Cindy was ready to hear whatever she had to say.

“I knew something bad was going to happen to my sister one of these days,” Deidre started, startling Cindy.

“How come?” asked Cindy.

“She didn’t have a mind of her own.” Deidre’s voice eerily bounced off the waves of the cave as she spoke. “Everyone could influence her. I told her it was because of the meds and begged her to get off them. She wouldn’t.”

“She was scared to,” Cindy imagined.

“She was scared to be the person she was,” Deidre corrected her. “You know, Doug was not the only guy she was involved with over the years. Shari always had a boyfriend, from the time she was in high school. But none of the relationships worked out great.”

“What happened?” asked Cindy.

Deidre seemed to take great pleasure in speaking about this now. “If you asked me, the guys all found out who she really was.”

“And who was that?” asked Cindy, frightened.

“Nothing much, after all.” Deidre laughed oddly then. “I never really knew how she even ever got a guy like Doug to like her. They met when she was a freshman in college. He always seemed so bright to me. I guess bright guys like dumb girls,” Deidre finally said.

“Was Shari dumb?” Cindy was horrified to hear her twin sister talking this way about her now.

“Shari wasn’t dumb, but she played dumb,” said Deidre. “She didn’t speak up, she didn’t speak back. She let our father fill her with drugs. She gave guys what they wanted. Most of them, anyway.”

The picture Deidre was painting of Shari chilled Cindy to the bone. That was not at all the impression Cindy had of her when they met briefly.

“That wasn’t the impression I had of Shari when we met.” Cindy had to say that.

Deidre was surprised. “When did you actually meet her?” she asked.

“Your sister and Doug ran into me and my fiancé while we were all looking for wedding venues,” Cindy replied.

Deidre seemed fascinated. “I hadn’t heard anything about that,” she said. “You’re engaged, too? You’re also looking for a place to get married?”

“Yes, I am,” Cindy answered quietly.

“You don’t sound particularly thrilled about it, either,” Deidre remarked.