Death by Engagement (Caribbean Murder Series, Book 12)

“Thanks so much for being here,” she exclaimed.

“Just came down to deliver a message,” Mattheus responded, holding out a large envelope. “The police had someone drop this envelope off at the hotel and the desk called upstairs to let me know about it.”

“This has to be the suicide note,” Cindy breathed, amazed that it had arrived so quickly.

“Looks like you’ve got all your ducks lined up,” Mattheus commented, handing her the envelope.

“Would you like to look at it with me?” Cindy asked, eager for his take on it.

“Not right now,” said Mattheus. “I don’t know about you, but I came down here for a vacation. Going over a dead woman’s last words isn’t exactly going to help me relax.”

Cindy was taken aback. Mattheus was holding onto his position, and of course he had a right to.

“Well, thank you for getting it for me,” she responded, taking the envelope from him.

“Do you happen to have time in your busy schedule for lunch?” Mattheus asked then.

Actually, Cindy did feel hungry. “Love it.” She smiled, relieved that they would have some time together and hoping to take the edge off Mattheus’s upset.

The two of them walked to a charming outdoor restaurant at the hotel, nestled inside a cluster of trees. They followed the sloping path which led to it and was lined an array of bougainvilleas. The sweet scent was intense, making Cindy feel like putting her head on Mattheus’s shoulder, but she refrained. It was clear that Mattheus wasn’t up for it. They walked instead in silence, a few inches apart.

Once they got to the restaurant and were seated under a huge palm tree, Mattheus seemed to relax.

“Would you like a glass of wine with lunch?” Cindy suggested as she looked over the menu.

“Sounds perfect,” Mattheus agreed, becoming more like himself.

Cindy smiled. “Me, too,” she said.

“Good.” Mattheus liked that.

Cindy put the menu down then, opened the envelope, and tried to take out the note. Mattheus stopped her immediately though, putting his hands over hers.

“This is our time, remember,” he repeated. “I want you to look at me, not the note.”

Mattheus’s behavior now struck Cindy as odd. “I can do more than one thing at a time,” she said lightly, in a forced but carefree tone.





“After we have lunch and chat about small things, like our upcoming wedding, “ Mattheus responded, “I’ll go to the pool and you can spend the rest of the day paying attention to whatever you have to.”

“You don’t want to know what I found out about Doug, right?” Cindy asked once again, unbelievingly.

“You got it right,” said Mattheus. “This case belongs to you, Cindy.”

“Okay, fair enough,” she retorted, her facing growing flushed as she felt the sun grow stronger through the trees.

“And, I happen to have a piece of news for you as well,” Mattheus continued, after putting down his menu. “Your mother called while I was up in the room.”

Cindy was startled. “My mother? Why? She never calls.”

“She and Frank want to come down for a night or two and look at the wedding venues we’ve chosen,” Mattheus commented, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Cindy couldn’t believe it. Up to now her mother and her late sister’s husband Frank had shown almost no excitement about her engagement. “What changed their minds?” she asked.

“I guess your mother thought about her only daughter, now. She must have realized that you’re about to get married, are on a celebration trip, and wanted to be part of it, somehow.”





“That’s not like her, at all,” said Cindy, “believe me.”

“Things change, Cindy,” said Mattheus, “whether we like it or not. Your sister’s recently gone and you’re the only daughter she has left now. Maybe Frank wants to come down with your mother as a way of honoring Ann’s memory. Ann loved you a lot and Frank knows it.”

Cindy grew silent. She always respected Mattheus’s insight into situations, appreciated what he had to say now.

“What did you tell my mother?” Cindy finally asked.

“I told her to come right on down.” Mattheus smiled oddly.

Cindy was amazed. “But we haven’t found a wedding venue to show her,” she objected.

“Not yet,” Mattheus agreed, “but there are plenty to look at. I’m sure she’ll enjoy looking at them with us.”

“Do you really want my mother and Frank to join us?” Cindy felt disturbed. It wasn’t like Mattheus to make a decision like this on his own without checking with her first.

“I don’t see any harm in it, unless, of course, you plan on being too busy to spend any time with them?” Mattheus responded, as the waiter came and he ordered wine.

Mattheus was making a point and making it clearly. He had every intention of resuming their vacation as planned. He was even willing to include her family in it, just to get them back on track.

“I’m sorry it’s so upsetting to you that I’m taking some time to investigate,” Cindy said, nonplussed.