Death by Engagement

by Jaden Skye

  “Did anyone tell Doug to break up with Shari?” Cindy asked.

  “I don’t know, I’m not sure,” Glenna backed down. “I think maybe Deidre tried, but I’m not positive. I know that Deidre spoke to Doug’s sister, Kate, about it several times.”

  “Seems like Deidre played a big role behind the scenes.” Cindy flushed with sudden anger.

  “Not really.” Glenna’s voice got softer. “Deidre tried, but no one much listened to her. Most people think she’s pathetic.”

  That disturbed Cindy even more. “Why?”

  “Deidre’s off in some ways,” Glenna went on, her voice getting even lower now. “Don’t you dare ever tell her I said that!”

  “Of course I won’t,” Cindy assured her. “Our discussion is totally confidential.”

  “Okay, well, I’m glad I talked to you, then,” Glenna said quickly, wanting to finish up. “Be safe in the storm and get home easily.”

  “Thanks,” Cindy said, as Glenna quickly hung up.

  *

  Cindy looked at the phone in her hand as Glenna hung up. There was obviously a lot more going on in Shari and Doug’s relationship than Cindy had imagined. She definitely needed to speak to Deidre again. And she had to do it quickly. Deidre could be the key to what truly happened. Cindy decided to contact her immediately and started to call, when suddenly a text flashed onto her phone.

  I’m close by, I’m well. It was Mattheus. I needed some time alone to think things over and I fell asleep.

  Cindy looked at the text and shuddered. Fell asleep where? She texted back, upset to be even having this conversation.

  I’ll be back soon, and we’ll talk, he quickly responded.

  It doesn’t happen quite like that, thought Cindy, but texted nothing back in reply. She felt caught in the middle of a physical and emotional storm right now, and didn’t want to react impulsively. Cindy needed time to think things over as well.

  Instead of texting back, Cindy lifted her phone and quickly called Deidre.

  “I’m on the way over to your hotel right now,” Deidre replied the moment she picked up. “I just heard from Glenna that you two spoke. Our family’s leaving Aruba soon and I have to talk you, too, before we go.”

  “Come right over,” said Cindy, “I’m here.” Then she hung up.

  Another text flashed on the screen from Mattheus then. Did you get my last text? Do you still have phone service?

  Got it, Cindy replied simply.

  Right now she had no idea where Mattheus was or how long it would take him to get back to the hotel. She realized, of course, what he’d been thinking over. Undoubtedly, he was not sure of the engagement any longer, and if truth be told, neither was Cindy.

  At that moment someone started knocking hard on Cindy’s door. Cindy ran to the door to open it up.

  Deidre stood there, wet and flustered. “There’s just a few planes leaving the island in about an hour,” she said as she burst into Cindy’s room. “My family’s packing up, but Shari’s not coming back with us.”

  Cindy tried to calm Deidre down. Of course a moment like this made the reality of Shari’s death real. It was horrible and shocking.

  “It’s okay, I’m here. Talk to me, Deidre,” Cindy replied.

  “I talked to you already,” Deidre pouted.

  “I know, but there’s more you have to tell me,” Cindy insisted. “Talk to me, tell me about Shari and Doug’s relationship. I know that you were trying to get Shari to break it off for a long time now.”

  “Of course I was,” Deidre snapped. “After all, I’m her twin sister. I know her better than anyone else in the world. If she actually married him, it would have been a complete disaster.”

  It was a disaster now, Cindy wanted to say, but didn’t. “Why would it have been a disaster?” Cindy asked, instead.

  Deidre suddenly stood up on her toes, looking unwieldy and strange.

  “What’s wrong, Deidre?” Cindy tried to stop her.

  “Nothing, I’m just upset. Shouldn’t I be?” Deidre responded.

  “Of course,” said Cindy, “but tell me why the marriage between Shari and Doug would have been a disaster.”

  At that Deidre stepped back down and looked at Cindy directly.

  “Here’s the truth and you may as well know it! Shari and Tad were completely in love. They were perfect for each other, made each other happy. I never saw Shari so happy before.”

  This was not what Cindy expected. “Did Shari tell you that?” she asked.

  “She didn’t have to,” said Deidre, “it was obvious to the world.”

  “To your parents, too?” asked Cindy.

  “Yes, of course, especially to them, particularly my father. But could he stand to see Shari really happy? That’s the big question, isn’t it?”

  “I thought he loved her,” said Cindy.

  “Yeah, when she did what he wanted, he loved her,” Deidre quipped.

  “And he wanted her to marry Doug?” Cindy asked.

  “Yes, he did. So did my mother and the stupid psychiatrist. Everyone thought Doug was Prince Charming himself!”

  “He wasn’t?” asked Cindy, urging Deidre on.

  “Just the opposite,” said Deidre, “and finally, Shari realized it. Here’s the secret Shari made me swear not to tell. She was never going to marry Doug anyway. She was definitely planning to go back with Tad. And Tad knew it. She couldn’t get out of the trip to Aruba, but there was no way she was going through with the engagement.”

  Cindy took a swift breath. “She was going to take a wedding venue and then break off?”

  “I’m not sure exactly how she was going to do it,” said Deidre. “Maybe she couldn’t stop taking the venue, but she definitely wasn’t going to go along with the marriage. Tad told me she promised him.”

  Cindy was stunned. “This trip was a farce?”

  “Call it what you want to.” Deidre stood back up on her toes. “It’s not so easy to say no to my father!”

  “Your father wouldn’t have gone along with breaking up the engagement, would he?” Cindy asked.

  “That’s putting it mildly.” Deidre’s face flushed as suddenly there was another hard knock on the door.

  “Who could it be? Who is it?” Cindy felt alarmed.

  “Could it be Mattheus?” Deidre’s eyes squinted.

  Cindy felt shocked and wondered how Deidre could have known Mattheus wasn’t here. There were a couple of other rooms in the suite.

  “Mattheus wouldn’t have to knock so hard,” said Cindy, realizing in that instant that Deidre already knew who was at the door. “Who’s at the door, Deidre?” asked Cindy.

  “It’s got to be Tad,” said Deidre in a shivery tone. “I called him and let him know I was coming to see you. Everyone’s leaving Aruba soon. This is Tad’s last chance to save the woman he loved.”

  “To save Shari?” Cindy was confused.

  “At least to nail the one who killed her,” said Deidre. “That’s saving her in a way, isn’t it?”

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  Cindy walked to the door in slow, deliberate steps as the rain started slashing the windows.

  She opened the door, and there was Tad, trembling, tousled and damp.

  “Come in,” said Cindy, pulling the door wide open for him.

  “Thank you for everything you’re doing,” Tad mumbled in a quick, harried tone. “We can’t leave the island like this so fast, not without Shari.”

  Cindy took a deep breath. “Shari will be with you in different ways now,” Cindy said softly. “She’ll live in your heart, in your memories.”

  “It’s not enough,” Tad exclaimed, “we were going to be married.” Then he suddenly crumpled down on the couch and began to cry.

  Cindy went over and sat beside him. “I know how awful this is for you, Tad, and how hard it is to talk. But I need you to tell me everything you possibly can about what happened.” Cindy spoke in a hushed tone.

  “Shari made me swear not to tell anyon
e,” Tad managed to say. “I promised not to say a word.”

  “Not to say a word about what?” Cindy insisted.

  “Shari was scared of Doug.” Tad’s voice grew lower.

  “Why?” gasped Cindy. “You’ve got to tell me.”

  “Deidre can tell you, she knew,” he went on.

  “I knew that you and Shari were in love,” Deidre joined in boldly, coming closer. “And I was happy about it. I was happy for you.”

  “Did you know that Shari was afraid of Doug?” Cindy was insistent. If this was true, it was crucial information that turned everything around.

  “Of course I knew, how could I not know?” Deidre grew bolder.

  Tad looked at Deidre strangely. “Shari told me that no one knew,” he went on.

  “What else did no one know?” Cindy focused directly on Tad. “Why was she afraid of Doug?”

  “Oh God, this is so hard to say,” Tad mumbled. “I promised Shari I would never say it. I don’t want to shame her, I never did.”

  “You’re not shaming Shari by telling the truth,” Cindy intervened strongly. “The truth will bring things to light, you’ll preserve her honor! And you’ll also save others from possible harm.”

  “You’re right.” Tad looked up at Cindy, frightened. “I thought of that. There could be more harm on the way.”

  “Definitely,” said Cindy. “We can’t let that happen, can we?”

  “No, we can’t,” said Tad, growing more stable.

  “We don’t want Shari’s death to have been without meaning. We can use it to stop the killer.” Cindy’s eyes began to flash.

  “You’re absolutely sure someone killed her?” Tad looked up, alarmed, though momentarily willing to accept the possibility.

  “I’m sure someone did, I’m sure,” Deidre piped up loudly. “Tell the whole truth, Tad, tell it.”

  Tad sucked in his breath and plunged on. “After Shari and I broke up, even though she got back together with Doug, we still couldn’t stay away from each other. We talked at least three times a day. I kept begging her to come back.”

  “And what did she say?” asked Cindy, amazed.

  “She wanted to, but she was frightened. She told me that Doug sensed something different

  about her this time. He was becoming more edgy and possessive day by day. Then he started going hunting a lot, and telling her about animals he cornered. That scared Shari, she hated it.”

  “He was trying to frighten and intimidate her,” Deidre piped up.

  “Absolutely,” said Tad, “no doubt about it. Shari even said that during one of their conversations Doug got mad and pushed her, hard.”

  “Abuse!” Deidre exclaimed.

  “There was even a bruise Shari showed me on her left arm,” Tad mumbled, putting his hand up over his eyes.

  That had to be the bruise Cindy saw on the autopsy photograph, she quickly realized.

  “Did Shari report the shove or bruise to anyone else?” Cindy asked quickly.

  “She was ashamed to,” Tad broke in. “She didn’t want anyone to know about it, especially her family. She said they’d think less of her then.”

  “She blamed herself,” said Deidre. “I saw the bruise and I told her over and over to go to the cops with it.”

  “She wouldn’t?” asked Cindy.

  “No, not at all. That’s the last thing in the world she would do,” Deidre insisted. “But I was furious about it. I had to do something, but didn’t know what. Then it came to me.”

  “What?” asked Cindy, terrified.

  “I went to Doug about it myself.” Deidre stood up taller now. “I went and told him that I knew what he’d done to Shari, and he could push her all he liked, she didn’t love him anyway. She loved someone else. At first he didn’t believe me, then I thought he would faint. I went on and said he didn’t deserve that, did he? He deserved someone who he could trust.”

  Tad stood up from the sofa, horrified. “I had no idea you did that! That’s horrible!”

  “It’s wonderful,” Deidre insisted. “If Shari didn’t have the strength to break up the engagement, I did it any way I could.”

  “What did Doug say when you told him he couldn’t trust Shari?” Cindy felt shaken.

  “He completely froze,” Deidre went on. “He looked at me like I was the enemy, but I couldn’t care less. I said I’m just telling you this for your own sake. Why would you want to be with someone who doesn’t really love you?”

  “And what did he say?” Tad moved closer, trembling.

  “Doug yelled, Shari loves me, only me, and she always will! I laughed in his face and said he was dreaming. I said Shari told me she doesn’t love you at all and will never be the wife you’re expecting.”

  “Was that true? Did Shari actually say that?” Cindy couldn’t believe it.

  “Not in so many words,” said Deidre, “but I knew that was how she felt.”

  “Oh God, oh God.” Tad started sobbing.

  “For a long time Doug wouldn’t believe it,” Deidre went on, “so, finally, I told him she was in love with Tad.”

  “You did what?” Tad shouted, horrified.

  “I told him Shari was in love with you.” Deidre smiled slowly, now. “And I told him you loved her too, the way a man should love a woman.”

  “It was all none of your business, none at all.” Tad was beside himself.

  “When did you tell Doug this?” Cindy asked, breathless, trying to put the pieces together fast.

  “I told him the afternoon Shari died.” Deidre’s voice grew louder. “I couldn’t stand it anymore.”

  “Couldn’t stand what?” asked Cindy.

  “I couldn’t stand the lies and games and phony smiles. I couldn’t stand seeing my mother and father so proud and happy at something that was never going to happen. They kept emailing their friends and saying how thrilled Shari was and how wonderful the wedding would be. I felt like throwing up. There was no reason to keep this lie going. If Shari couldn’t stop it herself, then I just stepped in!”

  Tad raced over to Deidre. “You stepped in and helped kill her,” he breathed. “You said things to Doug you never should have. You pushed him over the edge.”

  Deidre stopped cold and stared at Cindy then. “That wasn’t my plan, that was not what was intended,” she muttered, momentarily stunned.

  “No, I realize,” said Cindy, her heart full of horror. “You wanted to help your sister get out of a hurtful relationship.”

  “Yes,” said Deidre, relieved. “That’s what I wanted.”

  “You wanted your sister to have love all her life and be happy,” Cindy went on, trying to calm the swirling emotions in the room.

  “Yes.” Deidre looked proud now.

  “It backfired though,” said Cindy sadly.

  “It backfired,” Deidre echoed slowly.

  “Doug’s gone to his yacht now to get a few things out before they all leave the island,” Tad jumped in. “Someone has to stop him before he goes.”

  “I’ll go and speak to him,” said Cindy.

  “I’ll come along.” Tad was alert.

  “No, that will let him know that something is wrong,” said Cindy. “Better if I go alone.”

  “Alone?” Tad was frightened.

  “I’ll let the police know where I’m going,” Cindy informed him.

  “Will that be enough?” Tad seemed genuinely afraid. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No, you can’t,” said Cindy swiftly. “The police will back me up.”

  “Are you sure? What about Mattheus? Where is he?” Deidre looked around, her voice growing shrill.

  “I’m not sure where he is,” Cindy answered truthfully.

  “Not sure?” Deidre couldn’t believe it.

  “No, I’m not,” said Cindy, sadly now.

  “You guys have come to a cross in the road?” Deidre asked, agitated.

  “That’s one way to put it,” said Cindy.

  “What’s another way?” asked Ta
d, looking genuinely concerned.

  “Another way to put it is that Mattheus and I have to deal with whatever fears we’ve been secretly holding onto. They all come up sooner or later for every couple, one way or another.”

  “Don’t they ever,” Deidre whispered.

  “You’re a strong woman, Cindy.” Tad stepped closer.

  “Maybe my strength just comes from doing what I know is right,” murmured Cindy.

  “That’s it,” said Deidre, “I always thought that. That’s why I went to talk to Doug.”

  Tad took a long, sorrowful breath then. “We don’t always know what’s right though, do we? We think we do, but who always knows?”

  “No one,” Cindy agreed. “But right or wrong, I’ve got to go to talk to Doug now. And don’t worry, the police will give me backup.”

  “And if they can’t?” asked Tad. “The weather’s treacherous.”

  “There are more treacherous things out there than storms,” said Cindy. “The police will be there, storm or not.”

  *

  Cindy grabbed a raincoat[cl13] , wrapped it around her, put a tape recorder in the breast pocket, and left. If she could get to Doug when he was alone on his boat, she could secretly tape their conversation. Caught unaware like this there was a better chance he’d slip and she’d get a confession. Or, if not a confession, at least enough evidence to take him in for further questioning.

  As Cindy walked down the hallway to the elevator, texts began appearing one after another on her phone. They were from Mattheus and had been piling up for a while. Obviously she wasn’t getting reception in the room, but out in the hallway they were all here.

  I’m so sorry for not leaving a written message. Didn’t know what I was doing right then.

  So sorry if I caused any upset. I can’t get you out of my mind.

  I love you more than you can ever imagine. For now and forever. And that’s it.

  Answer me, Cindy, how are you? It’s taking me time to get back to the hotel.

  Cindy decided to text back, but lines of communication were being disrupted by the storm. Her texts back to Mattheus couldn’t get through.

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