Death by Engagement

by Jaden Skye

  “Where do you two plan to live?” she’d asked abruptly, breaking into Cindy’s happy mood. “What kind of life are you planning together?” Cindy realized that her mother still had to be hurting terribly from the recent loss of Cindy’s [cl4] sister, Ann. Clearly she wanted Cindy to live close by now. However, Cindy could not offer her that reassurance.

  “It’s not clear yet where we will live,” Cindy had answered lightly, knowing full well that the lifestyle she was embarking upon was not one her mother could understand. Neither would it be a comfort to her. Cindy was sorry about that, but also aware that she had not lived near her mother for many years. It was Ann who had been the devoted daughter, and her mother had never let Cindy forget it, either.

  “Well, I suppose I should be happy for you,” her mother had answered tartly. “I barely know Mattheus though, so naturally, it’s hard to know how to react.”

  Cindy hadn’t expected much more than that, and wasn’t disappointed. In fact, she was relieved that she’d finally made the announcement and it was over with.

  “We’re going to Aruba to look for wedding venues.” Cindy changed the topic quickly. “I hope you, my uncles and Frank will be able to join us down there for the wedding.”

  Her mother had sighed. “One surprise after another,” she commented. “Why Aruba?”

  “Why not Aruba?” Cindy responded quickly. “It’s beautiful here.”

  “There are plenty of places that are beautiful,” her mother remarked.

  “Mattheus and I are based down in the Caribbean,” Cindy quickly continued. “This is where we do our work.”

  A long moment of silence greeted Cindy, followed by another long sigh. “And I suppose you plan to continue that lifestyle?” her mother asked in a hollow tone.

  “We have a successful business,” Cindy said clearly. “We do important work.”

  “But what kind of life can it possibly lead to?” her mother had quipped, in return.

  Cindy had had enough of the conversation at that point. She was deeply sorry for her mother’s loss and for her loss as well, but this was not the time to engage in this discussion.

  “Brooding about your conversation with your mother?” Mattheus reached out now and took Cindy’s hand. The two of them had talked about the conversation at some length a few days ago.

  “Actually, you’re right, I was thinking about my mother,” Cindy responded. “How did you know?”

  “It’s a certain look that comes across your face,” Mattheus responded. “I can always tell.”

  Cindy shook her head, as if to shake the mood away. “I’m hungry,” she responded. “A good breakfast and cup of hot coffee will set everything straight. Where’s the food? It’s taking a long time.”

  “I was just thinking that,” Mattheus replied. He took his phone and called down to see what had become of their breakfast. “Room 1824,” he said when someone picked up. “Just checking to see what happened to our breakfast.” Cindy smiled at how cute and boyish Mattheus seemed at that moment.

  Suddenly Mattheus sat up straighter, alert. “What happened?” he asked as he immediately clicked on the speaker phone.

  “So sorry, sir,” the male voice over the phone continued. “There’s a bit of a commotion going on at the hotel. We’ve been taken off track, it’ll be just a few more minutes. The police are down here right now.”

  Cindy was suddenly gripped by a sinking feeling.

  “Okay,” said Mattheus. Clearly, he didn’t want to pursue it further. But Cindy had to know more.

  “Ask them what happened,” she said, nervously.

  “Can you tell me more than that?” Mattheus obliged her.

  “No one knows yet exactly,” the voice on the phone responded.

  Cindy got up and sat down next to Mattheus, prodding him onward. “Find out more,” sheurged him.“Burglary or assault at the hotel?” Mattheus kept on with it.

  “No, no, nothing like that,” the voice assured him. “Our guests are safe. Nothing to worry about. Your food will be on the way. Please enjoy your day.”

  Just as Mattheus was about to hang up, Cindy grabbed the phone from him.

  “This is Cindy Blaine,” she said briskly, “of CM Investigations, private detectives. My partner Mattheus is here with me now. Please let us know what’s going on.”

  The voice on the other end grew lower. “I had no idea you two were detectives,” he responded.

  “Is there imminent danger?” Cindy probed.

  “We’re not exactly sure,” he continued.

  “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.

  “Let’s check with the desk,” said Mattheus. “My guess is they’re set up in the administrative offices of the hotel now.”

  Cindy and Mattheus walked to the desk and were greeted by a lovely smile from the handsome Dutch receptionist behind the desk. “How can we be of help?” he asked.

  “C and M Investigations,” Cindy replied, straightforwardly. “We’ve heard of trouble at the hotel and want to talk to the police.”

  The smile immediately left the clerk’s face. “The police are in the hospitality suite on the second floor,” he replied.

  “Is that where the victim’s room was?” asked Cindy.

  The clerk seemed momentarily alarmed. “The victim?” he replied, voice quivering. “The woman who fell off the cliff and her fiancé have a room on the second floor. Her family also have rooms beside them.”

  “Thank you,” said Cindy as the clerk looked at Mattheus, frightened.

  “Why did you call her a victim?” the clerk asked, unnerved. “Have you heard something further?”

  “It’s just a term we use,” said Mattheus. “No one is suggesting anything at all.”

  At that the clerk breathed more freely. “It’s a terrible tragedy,” he said in a low tone.

  “Yes, it is,” Mattheus agreed, “but unfortunately accidents and suicides happen all the time.”

  Cindy and Mattheus turned around, got into the elevator and arrived at the hospitality suite in no time at all. To Cindy’s surprise the door was half ajar when they approached. She opened it and they walked in.

  A big, round cop with sparkly eyes looked over at them as they entered.

  “Cindy Blaine, from CM Investigations,” Cindy introduced them immediately. “This is my partner, Mattheus.”

  “Yeah, yeah, heard you guys were in the hotel and coming down,” the cop mumbled, not moving from his seat.

  Cindy and Mattheus walked further into the room. There were three other policemen there, sitting at a table.

  “Family just left the room,” one of the cops at the table remarked. He was lanky, sweet and tall.

  “What have you got?” Mattheus walked over and sat down alongside them.

  “Nothing special,” the lanky cop said, “seen it all a hundred times. Lovers’ quarrel if you asked me, and one of them jumped.”

  “Cut it out, Alfred,” the round cop at the front declared. “Alfred has something to say about everything,” he went on. “We don’t need to turn on the radio when he’s around, nonstop reporting.”

  Albert grinned and rubbed his hands, apparently pleased to have Cindy and Mattheus with them. “Nice to see you guys,” he went on. “What are you two doing down here?”

  “Just got engaged,” Mattheus commented, taking them all by surprise. “We’ve come down to find a wedding venue.”

  Albert’s eyes opened at that. The other cops, taken aback, took a moment, too.

  The round cop at the front stood up and joined them then. “Ben Silte, Chief,” he introduced himself. “Sounds like congratulations are in order.”

  “Thanks very much,” said Mattheus, smiling.

  Cindy shuddered. The very last thing she wanted was to be congratulated on her engagement at the moment. A young woman who had recently been engaged had just died. This wasn’t the time to focus on her and Mattheus.

  “Who did you guys speak to about the case, so far?” Cindy turned professional, joining the cops at the table.

  Alfred seemed to like having her there. “There’s no case to speak of,” he said, grinning at Cindy unabashedly. “We’ve got a suicide note.”

  “Who found the body?” Cindy continued, unwilling to take it as lightly as they were.

  “Actually, a tourist found her,” Ben broke in, taking over the conversation. “He called the police right away, first thing this morning.”

  “Where was Shari’s fiancé when the body was found?” Cindy was appalled.

  Ben filled Cindy in methodically. “Apparently Doug went down to have a few drinks in the bar with Shari’s father last night and she decided to take a walk by herself,” he said. “Looks like she went up to Lavendar Cliff, about half a mile from here. It’s a beautiful spot in the day, but pretty steep and slippery at night. Can also be quite gloomy. After the drink Doug came back upstairs and went to sleep, thinking Shari’d be back in a little while. When he woke up in the morning, she’d just been found. We came over as soon as we heard the news and informed him. Poor guy looked like he was going to have a heart attack on the spot. When we looked around, we found a note on Shari’s dresser in plain view. She apparently wrote it right before she left.”

  “Open and shut,” echoed Alfred.

  Ben gave Alfred a friendly slap at the side of his head. “Nothing is open and shut, dummy,” he said, then turned to Cindy and Mattheus. “As you can imagine, Doug’s in complete shock now and so are Shari’s family. They spoke to us for a little while and now they’re all holed up in their rooms.”

  “Body’s with the coroner?” Mattheus joined in.

  “Definitely,” said Ben. “From the early looks of it, though, there was no struggle, no wounds, just a little bruise on the top of her left arm. Doug said the bruise was there for a few days. She must have bumped into something.”

  “What did the note say?” Cindy wanted to slow this all down.

  “What does any suicide note say?” Ben frowned. “All of them ramblings of sick minds.” Ben clearly had no sympathy for any of it. “Do you think these notes bring comfort to the family? They don’t, nothing does. You got to be crazy selfish to do something like this. You leave a lot of wrecked lives behind.”

  “Shari must have been suffering terribly,” Cindy broke in, not wanting to hear her vilified. “The note can tell us more about what was going on.”

  “We got the note stashed in evidence,” Ben replied. “If you want you can read it for yourself.”

  At that Mattheus, interrupted. “Cindy doesn’t have to actually read the note. From what I’m hearing nothing irregular is going on. It doesn’t sound like there’s a need to get more involved.”

  “No, there’s nothing irregular at all,” Ben agreed.

  “A young woman killed herself after she became engaged and was on the verge of finding a wedding venue,” Cindy repeated. “If that’s not irregular, what is?”

  “Engagements can be tough times,” Albert piped up then. “It’s not all roses and champagne. You’re getting in deeper, but not there yet. Every reason in the
world to break if off comes along. The families have different opinions about everything and lock horns. The couple starts to see trouble on the horizon they never knew was coming.”

  “Listen to this guy.” Ben shook his head. “Sounds like a perfect advertisement for a destination wedding.”

  “How would you know all this, Albert?” Mattheus couldn’t help but smile.

  “I know, I know.” Albert nudged Mattheus in the ribs. “After all, there’s a reason I’m not married all these years, isn’t there?”

  Chapter 3

  Before Cindy and Mattheus left the hospitality suite and walked to the elevator, she had the police promise to stay in touch with them about any new developments.

  “Sure thing,” Ben promised, “but don’t expect to get much more than what we have now. This is all routine, I promise. It’s nice of the two of you to check in, though.”

  “Good enough,” Mattheus broke in, relieved, nodding to the officers thankfully. “We’ll be on our way then,” he continued as he opened the door and shepherded Cindy into the posh hallway.

  “Before we go we should stop a minute and visit the family,” Cindy objected as Mattheus led her toward the elevator. “I’m sure they would appreciate our condolences.”

  “We’re not part of this case, Cindy,” Mattheus said as they got to the elevator and quickly pressed the button. “We met this couple in passing, remember? That’s as far as it went.”

  Cindy realized that, but her thoughts still were with Shari. “It’s hard to just toss this away,” she murmured. “After all, we all just sat down and toasted to one another.”

  “I’ve got great plans for us for the day.” Mattheus tried to break into her train of thoughts. “We’ll start with a hike at Arikok National Wildlife Park. There’s incredible tropical flora and fauna there, just the kind you love. After that there’s another wedding venue nearby for us to check out.”

  “Great,” said Cindy, trying to muster enthusiasm, though she was reluctant to leave so fast.