Death by Engagement

by Jaden Skye

  “So, if you don’t want to know, don’t ask me!” Cindy’s temper flared.

  “On the other hand,” Mattheus went on more pointedly, “as we are here together, I do need to know what it is you have in mind for the day, for the trip, for our lives. You said you missed me when you saw me. What exactly does that mean?”

  None of this sat well with Cindy. “You’re making a mountain out of a molehill,” she insisted.

  “Are you looking for a fight? Are you trying to find a way to spoil our happiness?”

  “Are you?” he shot back.

  The two of them looked at each other, annoyed and helpless. Cindy took a few steps away. She’d heard that engagements were always difficult times; all kinds of issues came up to be worked through before the final commitment was made. But Cindy definitely thought that she and Mattheus had worked through most of their differences already. They’d been harmonious about most things. But, she suddenly realized, most of their time together had been spent working as partners on cases. They really matched beautifully then. This trip was different, though, it was supposed to be just about them. Mattheus wasn’t handling the change in focus well. He wasn’t accepting the fact that Cindy had decided to spend a few days on the case. It seemed to be all or nothing for him. Was that how it would be when they were married? Cindy felt confused.

  “Sometimes people do great as working partners,” she mused out loud. “And not as well when they’re just a couple, living a plain life.”

  Mattheus zeroed in on that. “What are you telling me, now? Are you saying we can’t function as just a couple? What’s wrong with living a plain life?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Cindy felt the need to defend herself now. “I’m just looking at the big picture.”

  “We’re not talking about the big picture, though, are we? We’re talking about our time together right here.”

  “What’s wrong with you, Mattheus? What’s going on? What are you really so upset about?” Cindy felt blindsided.

  “I’m disappointed,” he exclaimed. “That’s allowed, isn’t it?”

  “You’re allowed to feel whatever you feel,” Cindy answered, disturbed.

  “I thought we both wanted this time just to ourselves together. I thought we’d earned it and that this incredibly romantic getaway would give us both something we needed badly.”

  “What?” Cindy whispered.

  “Complete trust in each other”—Mattheus’s voice lowered—“and an incredible way to start our future together.”

  “I have complete trust in you,” Cindy murmured. “I didn’t need this vacation to give me that. You need it though? You don’t trust me, completely?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying.” Mattheus grimaced. “You’re twisting my words and my meaning around.”

  “So, tell me what you’re saying,” Cindy demanded.

  “I’m saying I don’t like having you choose the needs of other people over mine,” he responded.

  “You mean Shari’s father?” asked Cindy.

  “Whomever,” said Mattheus. “When we’re a couple, each of our needs has to come first. If I say I don’t want to go on a case, respect that.”

  “I do respect it,” Cindy replied. “But does that mean I have to follow suit? What about my needs in this matter? I need to spend a couple of days helping out. Someone just died. It’s an emergency.”

  “Everything in life can turn into an emergency,” Mattheus quipped, “especially when you’re a private detective. But you’ve got to know when to turn it off, Cindy. I can turn it off and it looks like you can’t.”

  Cindy’s eyes filled with tears that stung badly.

  “You’re addicted,” Mattheus whispered harshly. “This stuff can become like a drug, you can’t go a long time without it. You need the next case, are secretly panting for it. I’ve seen that happen to plenty of cops.”

  “Hold on, there!” Cindy stood up taller. “I’m not one of these cops you’ve seen over the years, and I don’t like being told I’m addicted. I’m doing a job I’ve sworn to do. My sister just died, and I helped then too. If a terrible situation appears in front of my eyes, I’m not blocking it out and hunting for wedding venues. I’m jumping in. It’s who I am. The wedding venues can wait.”

  “But I can’t,” said Mattheus.

  Cindy felt her whole body go cold. “What are you telling me?” she asked directly.

  “I can’t wait anymore to feel like I’ve got someone who makes me first in their life,” Mattheus mumbled. “I can’t sit here and hope and wonder.”

  Cindy felt as if she’d been punched in her stomach. “You don’t feel like I make you first in my life?” she echoed. “You have to sit and wonder about it?”

  “Right now I do,” he said bluntly.

  “I don’t know how to answer that, Mattheus.” Cindy could barely speak. “I have no idea what to say.”

  “Tell me you’ll put this case down right now, and come back with me on vacation,” he said.

  Cindy felt hot tears falling down her face. “I wish I could, I really wish,” she whispered, “but I can’t stop now, Mattheus. There’s reason to think the suicide note was forged. And there’s a killer loose in Aruba. Two young women were killed a few months ago. I have to go down to Amaneuten Cove in the morning.”

  “Go down to the headquarters for drug dealers by yourself?” Mattheus was horrified. “Is that what you were planning to do during our engagement celebration?”

  “A killer is loose, anyone else could be his next victim,” Cindy breathed. “How would you like it if he was holed up near your daughter?”

  “Leave my daughter out of this.” Mattheus’s face flushed. “I left her and her mother completely for you, remember?”

  “Left them for me?” Cindy was astonished. “You met me long before you ever saw them again. I was the one who made you find your daughter.”

  “That’s right, you were,” Mattheus exclaimed. “And despite her begging me to stay, I made my choice. I left her for you.”

  Cindy’s body started to shake. She had no idea what to make of this. “Is that bothering you, Mattheus?” she said finally. “Are you feeling guilty about it? Do you want to go back to your daughter and her mother and give your daughter the family she never had? Is that why you’re making such a big deal about my taking a couple of days to investigate?”

  At that Mattheus turned on his heel and walked off the balcony and out of the suite.

  Cindy heard the door slam behind him, as she put her face in her hands and sobbed.

  *

  After Mattheus left, Cindy curled up on the sofa, called down for a pot of tea and sandwich and tried to make sense of it all. Mattheus obviously needed time alone now to blow off some steam. He was probably walking down by the water, as he often did when he was upset. The water always brought him back to his senses and a larger perspective. Cindy dearly wished she could call her sister, Ann, now and talk this over. Ann had been Cindy’s rock all her life, helping her make sense out of chaos and take the next steps in her life. No one would ever replace Ann, either. Since Clint died and Cindy had become a private detective, she hadn’t spent much time with friends or family. In one way Mattheus was right; this work had consumed her, prevented her from building her own personal life. Actually, Mattheus had become her whole support system now, Cindy now realized with a start. What would happen if he chose to leave? Cindy wondered what Ann would say about that now. Ann would probably tell Cindy that if Mattheus chose to leave, let him go, it just meant he wasn’t right for her after all.

  As Cindy lay there wondering, the phone suddenly rang, breaking into her thoughts. She rolled over on her side and picked it up slowly.

  “Listen, I love you, I’m crazy about you.” Mattheus was on the other end. “There’s no one else in the world for me but you. I’m shaken to the core by what just happened. I’m sorry I ran out. I just needed some space.”

  “It’s okay, Mattheus,” Cindy said softly. “
I know you love me and I love you, too.”

  “Thank God,” Mattheus murmured. “What are you doing now?”

  “I’m curled up on the sofa thinking everything over,” said Cindy.

  “I’ll back in a few minutes,” Mattheus replied. “I’m heading right home to you.”

  “Take all the time you need,” Cindy whispered. “I’m here, I love you. I’m not going anywhere else.”

  Chapter 8

  Despite Mattheus’s protestations, Cindy insisted on going down to Amaneuten Cove alone the next morning. Even though he offered to accompany her, she felt strongly she should go herself.

  “I promise I’ll be fine,” she said, “and if I’m not, or anything happens, I’ll call you first thing.”

  “You’re being stubborn,” Mattheus insisted. “Really, believe me, I want to come.”

  Cindy believed him, but also didn’t want him feeling the pressure to jump in. “It will be a routine visit, I promise,” said Cindy. “I just want to hear the word on the street about the killing of those two other women, and what people think happened to the suspect. I doubt there’s a connection between that and Shari’s death, though.”

  “But you never know,” Mattheus conceded.

  “It’s very unlikely,” Cindy mused.

  “Whether I go down to Amaneuten Cove with you or not, I’m jumping in anyway,” Mattheus insisted. “While you’re down there, I’ll check on what else I can find out about Doug and also about those two women.”

  “Mattheus, it’s not necessary,” said Cindy, going over and put her arms around him. She didn’t want him to do this to make up for last night. That wasn’t a reason to start investigating.

  “Of course it’s necessary.” Mattheus grinned. “Once I’m working this with you, things will go twice as fast and we’ll be back on track that much sooner looking at wedding venues. Then our main concern will be what kind of champagne we should offer our guests and whether we should place the watermelon slices near the wedding cake.”

  Cindy couldn’t help but smile at Mattheus’s boyish charm.

  “Once we’re worrying about wedding venues, we won’t be dealing with hidden snakes and iguanas that creep all over this gorgeous island.” Mattheus was on a roll. “By the way did you happen to notice that iguanas are everywhere down here, especially on rooftops? Their colors change, too, depending on where you happen to find them.”

  Mattheus was playing with her and Cindy enjoyed it.

  “Okay, check Doug further if you want to,” Cindy conceded, “but he seems perfectly fine to me. And besides, he has a flawless alibi.”

  “Did I ever tell you that I absolutely hate flawless alibis?” Mattheus quipped as he hugged her. “Nothing is ever flawless, except for you, naturally. Go take your trip and come back fast, no more than a couple of hours. I’ll be waiting here to fill you in on what I find out.”

  *

  Amaneuten Cove was at the edge of a small neighborhood couched behind a narrow road which was dug out deep behind a cluster of divi-divi [cl5] trees. Cindy knew she was getting close as she followed the path of the divi-divi [cl6] trees, which were a natural compass in Aruba, always pointing in a southwesterly direction. Cindy had been fascinated by these trees even before she’d arrived on the island. She’d heard that attempts to plant divi-divis [cl7] in other parts of the world had proved futile, but they prospered here. These trees created a strange kind of sloping shade that made Amaneuten Cove a perfect spot for drug dealers and other criminals to hide in.

  As she walked onto Amaneuten Cove, Cindy saw a group of rickety shops, little houses and one or two places to eat. She stopped at the first shop she passed, a makeshift grocery, opened the shaky door, went inside. The store was empty at the moment. Cindy looked around and then leaned against the counter, waiting for someone to come out from the back.

  In a few moments a huge, fat woman in a red cotton dress and ripped apron came out of the swinging doors in the back, got behind the counter, and greeted Cindy.

  “Yeah?” she asked, her eyes half closed, as if they had seen everything and it was more than enough.

  “I’m down here investigating the Townsend murders.” Cindy got right to the point, hoping to jar the woman into giving her some information.

  It worked. The woman’s eyes opened wide. “Why are you down here now for?” she asked nervously. “Those killings happened months ago.”

  “Why not now?” Cindy responded, half sprawling herself along the counter.

  “Who the hell are you anyway, honey?” the fat woman drawled.

  “Cindy Blaine, private detective,” Cindy replied without stopping a second. “Don’t know if you heard, but there’s been a third killing, up at a fancy hotel.”

  “Dear Lord, no!” The news didn’t sit well. “I hadn’t heard that.” The woman’s big chin shook like jelly. “Thought it was all finished and done with.”

  “Nothing is finished and done when a killer’s on the loose.” Cindy looked up at her as if they’d known each other forever, were old-time drinking buddies.

  “Don’t know nothing about that killing, nothing!” the woman exclaimed.

  Her sudden answer gave Cindy hope. The woman didn’t say she didn’t know anything about the killings that happened a few months ago, though.

  “Who did they think killed those two girls a few months ago?” Cindy pressed forward confidentially.

  “Billy Sears,” the woman mumbled without thinking, “everybody knows that. Of course, no one can pin it on him. They never will, either, if you ask me.”

  “Where’s Billy now?” Cindy asked, straightening up a bit and looking right into the woman’s eyes.

  “Long gone, honey, that’s the word on the street. Some say he’s down in Venezuela, hanging with the bobcat boys, if you know what I mean.”

  Cindy didn’t know what she meant, but pretended as if she did. “Umm, hum,” she said.

  “Those girls who died were in the wrong place at the wrong time, looking for trouble.” The heavy woman leaned closer to Cindy. “But don’t get me wrong, either. No one down here really thinks the killings are done. People down here are still edgy about what Billy will be up to next.”

  “Sounds like you’re all sick and tired of him,” Cindy ventured.

  “You got that right, anyway,” the fat woman agreed, rubbing her wrinkled forehead with the back of her hand.

  “How about the police? You talk to them about it?” Cindy took another tack.

  At that the fat woman grinned. “What do you take us for, idiots? We talk to the cops and before you know it, we’re gone, too.”

  “You’re talking to me, though,” Cindy said in a muted tone.

  “Yeah, but you’re not a cop. From the looks of it, you’re a tourist down here in these parts.”

  Cindy didn’t know if she should be offended. “I’m a detective,” she repeated.

  The fat woman just laughed. “Call yourself anything you want, honey. Down here in Amaneuten, you’re a school girl who hasn’t even had her first lesson.”

  Cindy couldn’t help but smile back at that. “What’s the lesson?” she asked, intrigued.

  “You got to learn that if you come down here alone, and step on the wrong toes, or talk to the wrong people, you’ll go back up home in a body bag. Now I think you’re cute and I like you, so I’m saying, just turn around, forget Billy Sears. And don’t tell anyone else he killed another woman up at a fancy hotel. People down here might laugh at you, but it’s not funny, because everyone’s scared he’s gonna come back and make it bad for all of us.”

  “There’s no one down here who can stop him?” Cindy asked plainly.

  “Can you stop the ocean when high tide’s coming in?” The woman’s eyes started to close again and her voice took on a grisly tone. “Who’s the woman you think he killed up there, recently?”

  “She was a young woman down here with her fiancé looking for places to get married in,” Cindy said.

  The big w
oman laughed at that. “Ah, the destination wedding crowd,” she mumbled.

  “Is that what you call them?” Cindy felt uneasy.

  “What a bunch!” The fat woman laughed louder and then shook her head, tossing away the possibility that Billy had anything to do with that one. “Nah.” Her voice became more emphatic. “That kind’s not Billy’s type. He doesn’t wrassle with the gals who have guys with them anyway, just the desperate ones who come down alone, looking for a good time.”

  The door of the shop opened then and two local guys sauntered in, looking at Cindy strangely.

  “She’s just a tourist who came in to get my blueberry jelly,” the fat woman quickly explained, protecting Cindy and turning to a shelf behind the counter. Then she grabbed two jars of blueberry jelly off the shelves and dumped them into a paper bag. “No problem.”

  The guys gave Cindy a long, slow look, anyway.

  “So, come back next week,” the fat woman continued to Cindy, “I’ll have the raspberry jam for you then.”

  Cindy took the bag thankfully and looked over at the guys, who began closing in on her slowly, inspecting her more carefully.

  “Step back,” the big woman ordered them, “you got to know who’s who.”

  The guys decided to take the fat woman at her word then and moved away, making room for Cindy to leave.

  Cindy walked quickly to the door then, thinking that it made more sense to come back later with Mattheus, if they found any connection between Billy Sears and Shari’s death.

  *

  Once she was outside, Cindy walked down the block, turned a corner and hailed a cab that was parked at the curb. Cindy knew her trip to Amaneuten had been short, but she was eager to get back and see Mattheus again. As she drove back to the hotel Cindy wondered whether Mattheus had contacted the police and let them know he was on the case now. Was he checking on Doug down at the station or using his computer in their room?

  Just as he’d promised, Mattheus was in their hotel room waiting for Cindy when she walked in.

  “That was quick,” he said, looking up from his computer, surprised. The table he was working on was strewn with papers. It looked like he’d gotten a lot done since she’d left.