Death by Engagement (18 page)

Cindy
stood at the top of the precipice as the harsh wind whipped her body. She tried
to put herself in Shari’s place the evening of her death. It had been peaceful
and calm when Shari stood here. There had been the comfort of moonlight and
balmy air. Shari had friends and family close at hand, wanting to celebrate her
marriage. Everything was in order. Had Shari suddenly been struck with terror
at making a life commitment to Doug? Was she unable to back out of it? Did
Shari see no other way out for her except suicide? Standing there, looking out
into the expanse, remembering Shari’s sparkly eyes when they’d met, Cindy did
not feel that was what happened.

“What
happened then? What really happened?” Cindy asked out loud into the empty sky.
There were no stars or moonlight now to answer. The wind pushed at Cindy harder
then, tossing her back against the trunk of a huge tree. Cindy clung to the
trunk for support, turned her head then, and looked down at the ground beneath
it. Protected by thick leaves and branches, the soil below was still solid and
dry. Cindy looked down at it more deeply. To her amazement, she suddenly saw
unusual, beautiful peach-colored clay woven throughout the soil. She’d seen
this clay before, but couldn’t remember where. Cindy did recall though that it
had impressed her the other time she’d seen it.

Cindy
bent over, scooped up the peach clay with a tissue, and put it carefully in her
bag.

“Where?
Where?” she asked out loud once again. Then she suddenly she grew cold as the
memory struck her. Remnants of that peach-colored clay had also been on the
carpet in Doug’s room. How did it get there? Shari couldn’t have brought it
back with her as she never returned. Doug told everyone he had never stepped
foot in this location. If he hadn’t, how did the clay get into his room? Was
there someone else who could have brought it there?

Startled,
Cindy grabbed harder onto the trunk of the tree. Had the police questioned Doug
about a new alibi? She hadn’t recalled that they had. At the very least, they
hadn’t told her about it.

Were
the police sick of the case, just marking time so it would be over? Cindy
flushed with sudden trepidation about Doug. It was possible he wasn’t an
innocent as everyone imagined. After all, she’d just caught him in a blatant
lie.

All
the way back to the hotel Cindy reminded herself to stay calm, not jump to
conclusions. Someone else could have brought that clay with them back from the
precipice to Doug’s room. It seemed unlikely to Cindy, though. The room had
been cordoned off as part of the crime scene. Except for Doug, no one had been
permitted in. It didn’t seem likely that someone would have gone to the crime
scene later and trekked the clay back in.

Now
that she finally had something specific, Cindy was eager to get back to the
hotel room and go over it with Mattheus. This piece of evidence would wake him
up, bring him to his senses. It was clear that Mattheus thought Cindy was
running after phantoms, using the case to keep her distance from him. Nothing
could be further from the truth and this would prove it.

As
soon as she got to the hotel, Cindy ran to the elevator, up to the room and
flung open the door.

“Mattheus,”
she called loudly.

No
answer. No one was there.

“Mattheus,
it’s Cindy,” she called again. “Are you in the bathroom?”

Again,
silence.

Cindy
ran to the bathroom and flung open the door. It was empty as well. She went
back to the main room and looked for a note he might have left on the tables.
There was no message waiting for her.

Cindy
stopped, ran her hands over her face, and breathed deeply. Had Mattheus left
without a word? She ran to his closet. His clothes were still there. Small
comfort. This wasn’t like him, at least not until now. Mattheus had kept
blaming her for using work to distance from him. Was he the one who was
frightened of commitment, though? Was he just looking for a reason to run?

Cindy
didn’t have an answer and at the moment, didn’t want one. The storm was coming
and time was of the essence. She wanted to keep her focus strong. Instead of
following an impulse to text him, search for him and make sure he hadn’t gone,
Cindy chose instead to call Cayenne.

As
Cindy dialed Cayenne’s number, all kinds of thoughts tumbled through her mind.
Was it possible that Cayenne and Mattheus were together now? There’d seemed to
be a swift connection between them. Had Cayenne succeeded in involving him in
the case? Cindy’s hand shook as the phone rang on the other end, and as she
realized how insecure she was about Mattheus’s love.

“Yes?
Hello,” a nervous voice answered.

“Cayenne?”
asked Cindy.

“Yes.”
The voice got stronger.

“This
is Cindy. I’m back at the hotel now,” Cindy said.

“Oh,
thank goodness,” said Cayenne, breathing more easily. Cindy was surprised
Cayenne was glad to hear from her.

“Can
we meet right away?” Cindy asked then. “Can you talk to me?” Cindy’s heart
started beating. She did not want to ask Cayenne if Mattheus was with her. That
would sound crazy.

“I’d
love to meet with you right away,” Cayenne answered, calming down a bit. “Where?”

“How
about the Cave?” asked Cindy. The Cave was a popular lounge down the street
from her hotel. “It’s a few steps from my hotel, dark and private with all
kinds of nooks and corners to talk in.”

“Perfect,”
breathed Cayenne, “I know where it is. I’ve been there before.”

Cindy
was relieved. “Let’s meet right now.”

*

When
Cindy walked in, the Cave was empty, actually about to be boarded up.

“Storm
coming,” the local waiter told her as she walked in. “Winds picking up, we’re
boarding up in about half an hour.”

At
least it’s open now, thought Cindy. “We won’t stay long,” she replied.

“We?”
The waiter looked around. “You know, they predict the storm’s gonna hit right
after midnight. Did you listen to the news?”

“Yes,
I heard,” said Cindy.

“You
shouldn’t waste time hanging around. Everyone’s gotta get ready,” the waiter
went on. “Have you walked down the streets? People are running around getting
flashlights and water, boarding up buildings.”

For
a flash Cindy wondered then where Mattheus was. Had he just fled the island?
Did he plan to leave her here to ride out the storm alone? This was more than
she had ever bargained for.

Just
then the door opened and Cayenne walked in. She wore a yellow rain slicker with
her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“I’m
over here, Cayenne.” Cindy waved, as Cayenne saw her.

“There’s
almost nothing open anywhere on the island now,” Cayenne breathed. “You could
have come to my hotel, but I didn’t want anyone to see me talking to you.
That’s why I came out onto the beach to meet you and Mattheus.” Cayenne’s words
tripped over one another.

Was
Mattheus there? Cindy wondered. Was that why Cayenne came to meet her somewhere
else? Cindy had never felt suspicious like this before, and hated it.

 “You
have secret information?” Cindy zeroed in. “Is that why you don’t want anyone
seeing or hearing?”

“Exactly,”
said Cayenne, relieved.

“Does
Mattheus know it?” Cindy asked in a purposely lighthearted tone.

“Mattheus?
I don’t know. Why do you ask?” Cayenne’s eyes opened. “I was actually thinking
he’d be here with you now.”

“I
thought the two of you might have had a chance to talk on the way back to the
hotel,” Cindy commented casually, covering up her relief.

Cayenne
looked nonplussed. “No, Mattheus was dead silent in the cab. I even asked if
something were the matter, but he just grunted a few times.”

“I’m
sorry about that,” said Cindy, startled.

“He
dropped me off at my hotel and then told the cab driver to take him somewhere
else,” Cayenne continued, not taking her eyes off Cindy for a moment.

“Where
did he ask to be dropped off?” Cindy asked, her voice getting lower.

Cayenne
stared. “Why? Is there some problem? Don’t you know where he is?”

“No
problem at all,” Cindy lied. “There are just so many ins and outs during an
investigation, often we have to go our separate ways.”

Cayenne
nodded, grew quieter then and looked around.

“They’re
boarding up in half an hour here.” Cindy changed the topic. “That should give
us enough time to talk. We shouldn’t waste any time, though.”

“Let’s
sit on the bench in the back,” said Cayenne.

In
the dim light, Cindy and Cayenne made their way slowly to the back of Cave and
found a bench to sit on.

“You
dated Doug recently,” Cindy started, wondering if Cayenne might still be
holding some grudge against him now. Was that why she came down so promptly? Or
did she still care for him? Was she here to comfort and claim him now as her
own?

“That’s
right, Doug and I dated,” Cayenne answered, pulling her rain slicker firmly
over her.

“Tell
me about it,” said Cindy.

Cayenne
looked at Cindy carefully. “Usually I’m more comfortable talking to guys,” she
said. “It’s not so easy for me to talk to a woman.”

Cindy
appreciated her honesty. She also realized that must have been why Cayenne
zeroed in on Mattheus. Cindy was relieved to hear that nothing special
transpired between her and Mattheus and was ashamed of her own jealousy. It was
Cindy’s own insecurity that caused her to feel that way, she realized.

“You
can trust me,” Cindy said softly. “I promised Shari’s father I’d look into the
case. Mattheus hasn’t really been on it.”

“That’s
what I guessed,” said Cayenne, taken aback.

“Mattheus
and I came down here on vacation, to find our own wedding venue.” Cindy smiled
sadly. She knew she had to fill Cayenne in. “This wasn’t a case Mattheus wanted
to take on.”

“I
can understand that too,” said Cayenne, startled. “Then why did you take it?”

“Shari’s
father was so devastated. I wanted to give him and the family some peace,”
Cindy replied.

“That’s
good of you, Cindy, very good.” Cayenne’s voice caught in her throat.

“In
the beginning I thought it would take a few days,” Cindy continued. “Everyone
was so sure it was a clear-cut suicide.”

“I’m
not so sure, though.” Cayenne leaned closer, grabbed by the moment and speaking
in a raspy tone.

Chills
ran along Cindy’s spine. “Neither am I,” Cindy whispered back. “Tell me what
you’re thinking.”

“Doug’s
a complicated guy,” Cayenne started, obviously moved by Cindy’s honesty. “When
Doug and I started dating it was amazing between us. Everything fit. He told me
over and over how great it was to be with a beautiful, strong, independent
woman like me.”

“Really?”
said Cindy.

“But
it wasn’t true basically,” Cayenne continued. “I came to realize it was a line.
In the beginning he liked it, maybe? But as time went on I noticed how much
more controlling he became and edgy about every little thing.”

“Tell
me more.” Cindy was fascinated.

“Doug
would want to know where I was all the time and with who,” Cayenne continued.
“I said what do I have to do here, punch a clock? I didn’t like that.”

“Of
course not,” breathed Cindy.

“And
I told him so, plenty of times,” Cayenne continued.

“How
did he respond?” Cindy was quick on the draw.

“He’d
back off, laugh about it, say it would never happen again and promise me the
world. I can’t tell you how many times he said I was the one for him, the only
one. He said I was good for him, made him into a man. He even said he was
convinced we’d be married one day.” Cayenne’s voice grew dimmer.

“Did
you want to marry him?” asked Cindy.

“In
the beginning I did,” said Cayenne.

“Even
though Shari was always in the background?” Cindy asked.

Cayenne
shrugged. “I knew about Shari, I even met her once or twice. She was nice
enough, I liked her, but in my view, a complete lightweight. I didn’t see how anyone
like that could be competition for Doug. He’s a brilliant guy, how could she be
his partner? When I asked him how come they were still in touch he said it was
a long-term relationship that he’d outgrown now. He enjoyed being friends with
her though, for old times’ sake. I knew they even kept dating from time to
time, though, and I asked him about it, too. He said that he and Shari went
back to dating periodically, just to check in. That was over now that I was in
his life.”

“Did
he tell that to Shari?” Cindy was appalled.

“I
assumed so,” Cayenne breathed, “but I wasn’t sure.”

“I’m
sorry you had to go through this, Cayenne.” Cindy felt closer to her as they
spoke. “It doesn’t feel good to be lied to, or to have someone you love break
up with you.”

“Thanks
very much,” said Cayenne. “But to set the record straight, I was the one broke
up with Doug.”

“Really?”
Cindy was amazed as the walls of the Cave began shaking, due to the fierce
winds that were rolling in.

“We
can’t stay here long,” Cayenne remarked.

“Quickly,
tell me what else you know about Doug and Shari,” asked Cindy.

“Listen,
don’t tell anyone else that I said I broke up with him,” Cayenne continued
quickly, “but, in reality, that’s how it went. Now Doug’s telling people he
went back with Shari because he loved her more than me. He’s saying they
couldn’t stay away from each other, were basically right together. But it’s not
true! I saw right through him, that’s why we broke up.”

“What
did you see?” asked Cindy swiftly.

“Not
only was Doug getting more controlling, he was becoming abusive to me, trying
to put me in my place. Of course there was no way I would stand for that.”

“Of
course not,” breathed Cindy. This was an entirely different picture she was
getting of Doug.
“And what about Shari? Would she accept that?”

“I
imagine she did,” Cayenne continued, “but of course I can’t say for sure. She
wasn’t as smart as me, she went through lots of sad times and wanted a strong
man around. And she didn’t threaten Doug. So, for all I know he didn’t treat her
that way.”

“For
all you know,” murmured Cindy. “But you don’t know for sure?”

“No,
I don’t,” Cayenne said more intently. “That’s why I came down.”

“Why?”
asked Cindy, wanting a specific statement. “Why did you say you didn’t think
Shari committed suicide? What do you think happened to her?”

Cayenne
wrapped her arms around herself then. “I don’t want to accuse anybody.” Her
voice dropped to a whisper then. “But figure it out for yourself, that’s your
job, isn’t it?”

“Yes,
it is,” said Cindy. “But I need a direct statement from you.”

“I
gave you enough,” said Cayenne sharply then. “Put the pieces together yourself.
Or, if you need more information, why not call Glenna, Shari’s best friend?”