Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“Tell me, Tad! What is it?” begged Cindy.

In total dismay, Tad just whirled around then, ran out of the gazebo and fled down the winding trail.

Cindy wanted to run after him, but a sudden peal of thunder stopped her.

“Stay here with me,” Deidre demanded.

“You tell me what Tad’s hiding,” Cindy demanded in return.

“I can’t,” Deidre breathed. “It won’t mean anything coming from me. Nobody believes me about anything.”

“I do,” Cindy insisted.

“Yeah, maybe you do,” said Deidre, “but it has to come straight from Tad.”

“It’s something awful?” asked Cindy.

At that Deidre smiled oddly. “No, it’s not awful, it’s just the way things are. You’ll get a better picture of my sister when you hear it all from Tad.”

Cindy wondered what more was left to learn.

“And you need to know something else.” Deidre moved closer, her strange smile widening. “My father told me that Cayenne is on her way down now, too. You have to stay and talk to her, too.”

“Cayenne? Doug’s former girlfriend?” Cindy was surprised.

“Yeah, my father called her, told her what happened and begged her to come down,” Deidre said.

“How does your father have Doug’s ex-girlfriend’s number?” Cindy was unnerved.

“It’s not such a secret,” said Deidre. “Cayenne and Shari knew each other. Cayenne even came over to our house once. I told you, when Shari and Doug were broken up, they still stayed in touch. They were always friends.”

“That’s strange.” Cindy felt more and more odd about it.

“That’s not considered strange in our lives,” Deidre said. “Everyone was friends with everyone else.”

“And how about you?” Cindy couldn’t help but ask. “Were they friends with you, too?”

Deidre frowned as another peal of thunder rolled in. “Not all of them,” she whispered. “I did know Cayenne though. I liked her. She was nice to me.”

“How about Tad and Doug?” Cindy quickly asked. “Were you friends with them?”

“I didn’t care much about Tad,” Deidre said, “but boy, were he and Shari happy! The two of them fit.”

“And Shari and Doug?” Cindy probed.

“Doug was different,” Deidre continued. “Basically, I would have been better for him, smarter, tougher, more his type, but he never realized it.”

Cindy felt shaky. “Were you jealous that Shari and Doug were together, when you would have been better for him?” Cindy demanded.

“Nah.” Deidre made a strange face. “If a guy can’t see what I’ve got to offer, who needs him anyway. Lots of guys want girls who’ll listen to them! I’m not like that at all.”

Cindy was suddenly seized with sadness for Deidre. “I’m sure there’s someone wonderful waiting for you, too,” Cindy said as rain slashed the roof of the gazebo.

“I hope so, too,” Deidre agreed, moving back from the rain. “If the odds go up that the storm will hit the island, my dad said we’re packing up and going home. Before that happens, let me give you one more quick suggestion. Spend more time on Shari’s Facebook page. Scroll down further. Read all her messages!”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before, Deidre?” Cindy grew agitated. She’d done a careful scan of the page and nothing seemed out of order. But, of course, something could always have slipped by.

“You’re the detective,” Deidre remarked. “You’re being paid to do this. It’s not my job to tell you everything! Scroll all the way down, read every single message. Follow the chains of messages Shari received, you’ll see what I mean.”

“Why can’t you tell me directly?” Cindy felt irritated.

“Because you have to see it for yourself,” Deidre remarked.

“You’ll save us all time if you just tell me,” said Cindy.

“It won’t take long,” Deidre flung back. “Just go now and check.”





Chapter 18


As soon as Cindy got back to her room, she immediately went back onto Shari’s Facebook. It was possible there was something she’d previously missed. As she sat there scrolling and checking things out, Cindy wondered where Mattheus was. She’d been so engrossed working, he’d completely slipped her mind.

Cindy quickly sent him a text. Where are you? What are you doing?

Where are you? he quickly texted back.

In the room, going over Shari’s Facebook page, Cindy responded.

You did it already, he replied.

I’m doing it again, she answered.

I’ll be up in a few minutes, Mattheus answered. Then let’s go to the beach. You could use a break and the ocean’s wild. It’s always beautiful before a storm.

Cindy knew that Mattheus loved walking on the beach when the surf was rough. The thrill of extreme weather invigorated him.

Love to, Cindy responded. Let me just go over her page first, quickly.