Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“You picked a great place.” Frank tried his best to be jovial and extended his hand to Mattheus.

“We got the best table in the house,” Mattheus responded warmly, “and to top it off, we’ve planned a moonlight sail for us all after dinner’s over.”

Mattheus’s words didn’t go over well, though. “That sounds like a very long evening.” Cindy’s mother raised her hand to her forehead as if exhausted.

“We’ve had a long day,” Frank explained for her. “Could be the sail would be a bit too much.”





“Just as you wish,” said Mattheus lightly, trying to cover a moment of disappointment that Cindy saw flicker across his face.

“So, have you found your wedding venue yet?” Cindy’s mother asked Cindy as soon as she sat down, barely acknowledging Mattheus at all.

“Not yet,” Cindy replied, playing with the water glass before her.

“Well, that’s a relief, anyway,” Cindy’s mother replied.

“A relief? Why?” asked Cindy, surprised. “I thought you wanted to look at them with us.”

“Let’s order dinner first, Claudia,” Frank interjected.

“You order for me, Frank,” her mother said calmly. “It’s all too much for me to go through the menu right now.”

Mattheus shot a quick look at Cindy, who didn’t know what to make of all this. This was not her mother’s usual behavior. Cindy had to believe that it was the loss of Ann that was affecting her.

“What’s good on the menu?” Frank asked Mattheus.

“Everything,” said Mattheus. “That’s why we invited you to this restaurant. It’s the best in town. We wanted to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?” Cindy’s mother shivered.

“Thanks for the invitation,” Frank interrupted again, looking up at Mattheus sheepishly.





“Celebrate our engagement, of course,” Cindy chimed in, not wanting to let such an important question go unanswered.

Cindy’s mother pursed her lips and looked down at the table.

“Your mother must be quite hungry,” Frank intercepted. “We’ve had a really long day.”

Why not let Mattheus order for all of us,” Cindy replied. “He knows this place, has been here before.”

Cindy’s mother perked up suddenly. “Mattheus is the quite the man around town, isn’t he?”

“Excuse me?” said Cindy, alarmed by her mother’s acerbic tone.

“Your mother’s not quite herself.” Frank tried to cover for her again. “Too much is happening, too quickly, for her.”

“What are you talking about?” Cindy faced Frank directly.

“We came down here for a reason,” Cindy’s mother struck out then, bypassing Frank completely.

“What reason?” Cindy asked, trying to shield herself from the piercing glance her mother gave her.

“Let’s order first, Claudia,” Frank repeated. “We’ll have a bite to eat and talk things over gradually.”

“Talk what over?” Mattheus now seemed unnerved as well. “If there’s something bothering you, Claudia, let’s get it out now.”

Cindy’s mother winced. “I don’t appreciate being called Claudia by an almost perfect stranger,” she commented, throwing Mattheus a nasty glance.

“Whoa, what’s going on here?” Cindy jumped in, but Mattheus held out his hand to keep her back.

“What’s wrong? Let’s have it.” Mattheus’s jaw clenched as he addressed Cindy’s mother.

“Just what I said,” Cindy’s mother went on rapidly. “I barely know you at all. None of us do. It’s actually outrageous that Cindy would plan a wedding with someone who’s a stranger to us all. And, to make matters worse, to do it so quickly after her sister Ann has died.”

Cindy threw a quick glance at Frank, who was glued to every word her mother said. Why wasn’t he stepping in to defend Cindy? Had he forgotten that she was the one who’d saved him in Bermuda? Had he morphed into Ann, the beloved daughter who hung on every word her mother said?

“What do you think of this, Frank?” Cindy tried to toss the conversation his way.

“Ann wouldn’t have liked you to get married so quickly.” Frank couldn’t help but agree with her mother.

“Quickly?” Mattheus interrupted. “Cindy and I have been working together for a long while. Our engagement has been a long time in coming.”

“But no one in the family knows the first thing about you!” Her mother’s voice grew strident. “And we doubt that Cindy does. She’s had rotten judgment and luck with guys her entire life long. The last thing she needs now is another disaster. She couldn’t survive it, and neither could we.”





Mattheus stood up from the table then, his hands clenched into fists. “Are you calling me a disaster?”

“You definitely could be,” Cindy’s mother replied provocatively, “from what I see right now.”“Look in the mirror,” Mattheus exclaimed. “I’m not the disaster, you are.”

Frank jumped up then. “How dare you talk that way to Claudia,” he spluttered.