Death by Engagement (2 page)

After
a magnificent night in each other’s arms, Cindy and Mattheus called up for
breakfast in their room and went out onto the graceful patio to wait for it.
The patio overlooked lush vegetation, clusters of trees and rocky cliffs that
led to the ocean. Mattheus had chosen this sprawling, luxurious, romantic hotel
as gift for Cindy. Embedded in nature, it was also close to the main parts of
the island so they could enjoy all Aruba had to offer while searching for their
venue.

“This
is our time, Cindy,” Mattheus said again as they reclined on the lounge chairs,
waiting for their food to arrive. Cindy realized that Mattheus was trying to
reassure her that despite the life they had chosen, he would be careful to
carve out time for them together, alone. She was grateful to have that
reassurance. When she’d called her mother to tell her of the engagement, it was
the first thing her mother had asked about.

“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.”