Death by Devotion (Caribbean Murder #9)

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Ann called in from the kitchen. “Finished unpacking yet?”


As always Ann’s voice snapped Cindy back to the moment, to what had to tended to right now.

“I’m almost finished,” Cindy called back.

“Great,” Ann answered. “It’s so much fun cooking for the two of us again.”

Cindy stood up and ran her hands through her long, auburn hair. It had grown unwieldy, needed a trimming. She was also hungry and the smell of dinner wafted into the bedroom through the open door.

“Come eat,” Ann called louder. “I’m hungry. I bet you are, too. You can finish unpacking later.”

*

After a delicious dinner of homemade soup, fried chicken and salad, Cindy and Ann went into the living room, dropped down on the charming sofas and kicked their legs up on the old, wooden, slatted coffee table.

“Nothing changes here,” Cindy murmured.

Ann smiled. “That’s good,” she said. “We all need a place where nothing changes.”

Of course by now Cindy knew that was an illusion. Despite the comfort of returning to an old, familiar spot, everything changed all the time. And, Cindy had no idea what she could truly count on anymore.

“If you want to talk about Mattheus,” Ann started, “I’m all ears.”

Cindy couldn’t bring herself to though, right now. It was all too fresh. She’d been enjoying living with the memory of Clint, didn’t want to go think of Mattheus at all.

“Not yet,” Cindy put up her hand to halt the conversation.

“Okay, I get it,” said Ann. “You need to unwind. He hurt you too much.”

“It’s not that he hurt me, he took me by surprise, knocked me off balance,” Cindy replied, feeling winded. “I’ve lost my bearings for a little while.”

“Not good,” Ann responded.

“And I do need to unwind,” Cindy agreed, grateful that Ann wasn’t pushing it. There’d be plenty of time to talk about Mattheus later. Right now she just wanted to get him out of her mind.

“The welcome home party for you is at one o’clock tomorrow,” Ann quickly changed the topic. “Lots of people who love you and care about you are all still around. They’re excited to see you again.”

Cindy couldn’t say she felt the same way. She would have actually preferred time alone to herself, but she would never say that to her sister.

“Thanks so much for arranging everything so beautifully, Ann,” Cindy replied.

“Thank you for returning,” Ann whispered.

*

Cindy was determined to look beautiful for the welcome home party. She slept late and awoke refreshed after a thankfully deep and dreamless sleep. Then, right after breakfast she retreated to the bathroom to spend lots of time getting ready. Cindy drew a hot, bubbly bath which she soaked in for a long, long time. Then she shampooed and dried her lavish hair and brushed it until it shone. After a quick manicure, she chose a lovely, amber wool dress that was hanging in the closet. Once dressed she sprayed on a bit of her favorite lavender perfume and finally felt ready to face the world once again.

When Cindy finally stepped back out into the living room, Ann, took a deep breath.

“Wow,” she said, “you look fantastic! Like you’ve walked off the cover of a magazine. Nobody would ever know you’ve been through hell.”

Cindy smiled, “thanks Ann.”

*

At one o’clock sharp, the doorbell rang and the guests started arriving. To Cindy’s surprise, she was happy to have them around her. It was fun to step back into time, even for an afternoon. In the festive atmosphere, Cindy felt as though she were picking up from where she left off.

Two of the women who’d been part of Cindy’s book club in Cove Bay, Alana and Jewel, were the first to arrive. They walked in, took off their coats and rushed over to Cindy all smiles.

“My goodness we’ve heard all the wonderful things you’ve been doing,” Alana started, staring at Cindy.

“You’re famous,” Jewel echoed, reaching over to give Cindy a hug.

“Is it true that you’re really coming back to live here?” Alana interrupted. “You know how rumors fly wild in Cove’s Bay.”

The doorbell rang again and in walked some of Clint’s old friends, Tina, Barbara and Moira. They walked in together, had obviously met up before they arrived.

“Cindy, it’s so fabulous to see you,” Tina came over first. “It’s a bit like having Clint back, even.” Then she caught herself, wondering if she should have said that.

The other two women quickly joined her, interrupting what could have been an awkward moment.

The doorbell kept ringing and Ann kept opening it, welcoming everybody.

Cindy chatted with the women, as the door opened again and Al, Clint’s best man arrived. He carried a large food basket with him and was bundled in a heavy coat.

Ann took the basket and thanked him as the doorbell rang again. This time Reverend Tom Mallord walked in. He was the pastor who’d married Cindy and Clint.