Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“Hard to watch something like that happen to your daughter,” said Cindy.

“Terrible,” said Edward. “But we had the best help for her and managed it carefully. There was never any indication it would end like this.”

“There never is,” breathed Cindy as they walked onto the beach and she dipped her feet into the slightly moist sand. “The sand is moist,” she noted.

“Air is heavy and humid,” Edward responded. “The nearby storms always affect us, even though the rain may not come.”

Cindy and Edward wove their way between the red and white markers and arrived at the edge of the water. Cindy couldn’t help but think about Deidre, and how different she and Shari were.

“It must be odd having twin girls who are so different,” Cindy mused softly.

Edward turned and faced Cindy then, the wind blowing over his face, which had grown considerably gaunter than the first time Cindy saw him.

“It’s difficult having twins who are so different,” he agreed, looking up at her from under half-closed eyes. “Not so good.”

“Let’s sit down on the sand, Edward,” Cindy said then, “and you’ll tell me more.”

Grateful for the invitation, Edward sat down and smoothed some sand to make space for Cindy to sit beside him.

“Deidre’s always been very different than Shari,” he started, after Cindy sat down. “She was jealous of Shari her whole life long.”

“I suppose that’s natural,” said Cindy. “Sibling rivalry is normal, and must be even more intense for twins.”

“No,” Edward interrupted immediately. “There’s nothing normal about Deidre.” Then his eyes started to close. “It’s terrible to say this about your own daughter, but I always thought that. I always wondered how she came to be part of our family at all.”

Cindy gasped silently. That was an awful statement for a father to make. Cindy’s heart went out to Deidre instantly.

“Deidre seems to get along well with your wife, though,” Cindy said.

“Sometimes she does,” Edward had to concur. “But even Marla has personally told me that Deidre can be hard on her.”

“That must make it even more difficult to have Shari gone now,” Cindy commented.

“It makes it impossible!” Edward’s lips pursed together.

“Things will fall into place, it will take time,” said Cindy.

“Who knows?” Edward went on. “But we don’t have any time right now. Marla wants to go back and have a funeral. I don’t want to leave the island until all the evidence is examined and I’m sure about Shari’s death.”

“How is Deidre handling it all?” Cindy went on, not wanting to go off in another direction. She needed to know more about Edward’s relationship with his other daughter.

“I don’t know anything about Deidre, really,” Edward finally said. “I have my suspicions, though. I always have.”

Along with a cool wind that blew in from the ocean then, Cindy felt a chill envelop [cl11] her.

“What kind of suspicions, Edward?” Cindy could barely ask. She did not want to even imagine what he might be thinking of.

Edward hung his head for a moment, and then finally looked up, his eyes darting back and forth.

“Whatever I say is between the two of us, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” said Cindy.

“It’s privileged communication?” he went on.

“Definitely,” Cindy assured him.

“Okay, you looked at the suicide note carefully, didn’t you?” Edward started.

“Yes, of course,” said Cindy, shivering. “I even had a forensic graphologist go over it.”

“That’s not the point, that’s not what I’m getting at,” Edward spit back. “There’s something else, something I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“What is it?” asked Cindy, feeling alarmed.

“Have you ever seen Deidre’s handwriting?” he whispered.

“No,” said Cindy, “I haven’t.”

“It’s exactly the same as Shari’s,” he burst out. “It always was. People often commented about it. It was always strange.”

“What are you saying, Edward?” Cindy wanted the bottom line, fast.

“I have nightmares about it at night.” Edward’s voice grew halting.

“You think that Deidre wrote the suicide note?” Cindy burst forth, horrified.

“It’s entirely possible,” Edward finally breathed. “But there’s no one I can say that too. I lost one daughter already and I don’t want to lose another.”

“You think that Deidre took Shari’s life?” Cindy felt the blood drain from her own face.

“I don’t know what to think.” Edward’s voice grew louder, so he could be heard over the now turbulent waves.

“Why would Deidre do that to her sister?” Cindy tried to keep balanced and clear.

“Lots of reasons,” Edward went on fitfully. “Not only was she always jealous of Shari, she never had any boyfriends of her own.”

“Why not?” Cindy asked frantically. “She’s a beautiful young woman, too.”