Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“What happened?” Cindy demanded.

“A guest fell to her death late last night,” he continued, seemingly relieved to be talking to a detective. “She was found early in the morning at the bottom of a cliff along the shore.”

“Awful,” breathed Cindy. “An accident?”

“Not exactly.” The voice grew lower. “They’ve found a suicide note.”

Cindy’s heart clenched tightly. What a place to purposely end your life. “Who was it?” she asked, as a picture suddenly flashed through her mind.

“A young woman,” the voice continued.

“Was she engaged to be married?” Cindy was chilled. “Was she here with her fiancé?”

Silence came from the other end of the phone.

“Answer me,” Cindy insisted.

“How did you know that?” the shaky voice replied.

“Was she blonde, with a dark-haired fiancé?” Cindy went on.

“Yes, she was.” The voice on the other end became shakier.

“Thank you for letting me know,” Cindy continued. “Please tell the police we’ll be downstairs in a few minutes.”

“Yes, I will, I will,” he said, “and thank you for caring and for being here now.”

Cindy hung up the phone and stared at Mattheus. “It’s Shari,” she breathed, “the young woman we met last night and had drinks with. I had a feeling it was her the minute I heard.”

Mattheus let out a long, deep breath and put his head in his hands. “My God, you just never, never know,” he murmured with a tinge of despair in his tone. “I’m so sorry, it’s awful.”

“We have to go down there and help,” Cindy insisted.

“Help with what?” Mattheus replied, lifting his head and looking at her. “They found a suicide note.”

“That in and of itself doesn’t really mean anything,” said Cindy, “and you know that.”

“Cindy”—Mattheus stood abruptly—“this is our engagement, this is our time. We just met that couple coincidentally yesterday, they’re not part of our life.”

Cindy was shaken by Mattheus’s response. “You yourself have said over and over that there are no coincidences,” she replied.

“It doesn’t matter.” Mattheus’s voice grew louder. “Coincidence or not, this is our time.”

Cindy took a deep breath and began to shiver. The thought of the young woman they’d shared conversation and drinks with the day before, now dead at the bottom of a cliff, horrified her. Why did she do it? She was at the prime of her life; this was a joyful occasion. What happened?

“We have to let certain things pass.” Mattheus came over and put his arms around Cindy. “It’s awful, it’s terrible, but it goes on all the time.”

“What goes on all the time?” Cindy couldn’t make sense of what he was saying.

“People die, they’re killed, they take their own lives,” Mattheus reiterated. “There are dangerous plots and sordid schemes afoot wherever you go. And there’s a time to help and a time to step back, to rest and rejuvenate. There’s a time to take care of your own life, it’s not selfish.”

“This is my life,” Cindy murmured, not knowing exactly what she was saying. She’d felt close to Shari, touched by her. Cindy remembered seeing her for the first time and waving. “There was something innocent and fragile about her,” Cindy went on.

“Be that as it may,” said Mattheus, “this is our time.”

Cindy stopped and looked up at him. His eyes looked at her beseechingly.

“We have to find a venue, we have to set a date.” Mattheus’s voice had a pleading tone. “We have to unwind together, make plans, laugh and dance all night long. You’ve been wanting this forever, and so have I.”

“Yes, I realize, I realize,” Cindy whispered. “I want that as badly as you do, believe me.”

“You’re not going to spoil it now, are you?” Mattheus asked.

“How am I spoiling it?” Cindy felt jarred. “Did I arrange for Shari to turn up dead at the bottom of a cliff a day after we spent time with her and her fiancé? Let’s at least go down and talk to the police at least and give our condolences to Doug and Shari’s family.”

“Okay, we can do that,” Mattheus consented. “That makes sense. But that’s as far as I want to go.”

“I understand,” Cindy murmured.

“Do you promise?” asked Mattheus.

“Promise?” asked Cindy. “That’s going too far. Let’s go downstairs first and see what we find.”

*

The people milling around in the lobby downstairs seemed unruffled. Guests in beautiful outfits, suntanned and happy, drifted about together with ease. It was as if nothing more than an unexpected breeze had blown through, slightly affecting the calm.

“Where are the police?” Cindy asked Mattheus as they walked into the main section of the spacious lobby, which was filled with fresh flowers, plants, antique sofas and endless sunshine flowing over it all.