Death by Engagement (13 page)

“They
say it’s possible the time of Shari’s death was a couple of hours earlier than
we thought,” Cindy said the minute she opened Edward’s car door and got in.

“I
know, I know,” said Edward, excited. “The medical examiner called while you
were in there and let me know. We’re on a roll.”

“That
doesn’t look good for Doug, does it?” Cindy commented, as Edward stepped on the
gas and began to drive.

“For
Doug?” Edward was stunned for a minute. “What do you mean?”

“I
mean now Doug doesn’t have an alibi. He needs to tell us where he was a couple
of hours before he was seen in the bar,” Cindy replied.

“You
got it all wrong, that’s crazy, just crazy.” Edward’s head spun around to look
at her, taking his eyes off the road. “It’s not Doug. They loved each other.
He’s a fabulous guy. He’ll tell us where he was a couple of hours earlier, with
no trouble at all.”

“If
it’s not Doug, who is it?” asked Cindy, as Edward swerved to the right and then
made a sharp turn.

“Just
bear with me, bear with me,” Edward answered as he leaned closer to the
windshield, watching the road. He was obviously upset and it was hard to see as
the sun kept going in and out of the heavy clouds.

“Rough
weather around us,” Edward mumbled as he drove more slowly than before. “This
is what happens when storms hit the nearby islands.”

“Pull
over for a minute,” Cindy suggested, putting her hand on his trembling arm. He
seemed too distraught to drive safely like this. “We can talk better that way,
and you can calm down.” Cindy spoke to him as if he were a child. It worked and
he slowly pulled over to the side.

“Wife’s
not doing well.” Edward shook his head, as he brought the car to a halt. “Now
she’s talking about suicide. She’s saying she wants to join Shari and see her
again.”

“I
am so sorry to hear that,” said Cindy. “I heard you called Shari’s psychiatrist
down to the island to help.”

“I
did. Marla knows him and likes him. He’s been taking care of Shari for a long
time. He’s a good man.”

“You’re
fortunate to have someone like that in your life,” said Cindy. “I’d like to
talk to him as well, if I can.”

“Sure
you can, it’s a good idea.” Edward was pleased that Cindy wanted to be more
involved. “You’re a good woman, too, Cindy.” He looked at her kindly. “I’ll
never be able to thank you enough for the help you’re giving me now.”

“I’m
pleased to do it,” Cindy said and meant it.

“I
hope your partner, Mattheus, is pleased, too.” Edward looked at Cindy out of
the corner of his eye. “Haven’t seen too much of him around.”

“He’s
on the case, he’s helping me,” said Cindy, not wanting to get into that
conversation now.

“Let’s
get out of the car for a few minutes,” Edward said then. “I need to stretch my
legs and could use some fresh air.”

“Fine,”
Cindy agreed. Clearly he wanted time alone with her and Cindy was fine with it.

“You
know, we’re right near Eagle Beach,” Edward said as they stepped out into the
fresh air.

Cindy
looked around. There was a sign pointing to Eagle Beach down the road.

 “Shari
and I used to spend lots of time on Eagle Beach together,” he went on. “I took
the family to Aruba for vacations all the years Shari was growing up.” Edward
looked a little sheepish. “It would be nice to walk along that beach again,” he
said, looking up at Cindy, sadly.

“Sure,
let’s do it,” said Cindy. Not only was she willing to accompany him, she was
interested in what he might have to say.

As
they walked he looked hungrily at the familiar sights. In a little while they
approached the beach, which was dotted with red and white markers everywhere.

“Those
markers are here to protect turtle nests,” Edward explained immediately. “The
turtles hatch around sunset and at night. I remember Shari used to love seeing
the turtles. She was always so excited when the red and white markers were
here.”

“What
kind of turtles?” asked Cindy as they stepped onto the sand.

“Leatherback,
Loggerhead, Green and Hawksbill,” Edward went on, pleased to be telling Cindy
about it. “I used to explain that to Shari over and over when she was a little
girl. These turtles can have their nests anywhere on the island, but most nests
are found here on Eagle Beach. Shari always wanted to run over and see them.”

“Sounds
like she was a wonderful, curious child,” Cindy remarked.

“You
can say that again,” Edward quickly agreed. “She was beautiful, playful,
curious about everything. She especially loved the turtle nests. There are
about eighty eggs in each of them and Shari loved counting them. She was also
fascinated watching the hatchlings find their way to the ocean.”

“It
sounds like a beautiful time,” said Cindy.

“Yes,
it was,” he continued, a little smile on his face breaking into his overall
sense of melancholy. “Shari didn’t get depressed until her early teens,” he
continued, fitful once again. “Suddenly she got quieter at times and there were
even periods when she wouldn’t talk. Sometimes she’d lock herself in her room
and we’d hear her crying all night long. We asked her over and over what was
the matter, but she just shook her head. She didn’t know. Her doctor, Mitch
Boden, said her depression was hormonal. We got right on it immediately.”

“Hard
to watch something like that happen to your daughter,” said Cindy.

“Terrible,”
said Edward. “But we had the best help for her and managed it carefully. There
was never any indication it would end like this.”

“There
never is,” breathed Cindy as they walked onto the beach and she dipped her feet
into the slightly moist sand. “The sand is moist,” she noted.

“Air
is heavy and humid,” Edward responded. “The nearby storms always affect us,
even though the rain may not come.”

Cindy
and Edward wove their way between the red and white markers and arrived at the
edge of the water. Cindy couldn’t help but think about Deidre, and how
different she and Shari were.

“It
must be odd having twin girls who are so different,” Cindy mused softly.

Edward
turned and faced Cindy then, the wind blowing over his face, which had grown
considerably gaunter than the first time Cindy saw him.

 “It’s
difficult having twins who are so different,” he agreed, looking up at her from
under half-closed eyes. “Not so good.”

“Let’s
sit down on the sand, Edward,” Cindy said then, “and you’ll tell me more.”

Grateful
for the invitation, Edward sat down and smoothed some sand to make space for
Cindy to sit beside him.

 “Deidre’s
always been very different than Shari,” he started, after Cindy sat down. “She
was jealous of Shari her whole life long.”

“I
suppose that’s natural,” said Cindy. “Sibling rivalry is normal, and must be
even more intense for twins.”

“No,”
Edward interrupted immediately. “There’s nothing normal about Deidre.” Then his
eyes started to close. “It’s terrible to say this about your own daughter, but
I always thought that. I always wondered how she came to be part of our family
at all.”

Cindy
gasped silently. That was an awful statement for a father to make. Cindy’s
heart went out to Deidre instantly.

“Deidre
seems to get along well with your wife, though,” Cindy said.

“Sometimes
she does,” Edward had to concur. “But even Marla has personally told me that
Deidre can be hard on her.”

“That
must make it even more difficult to have Shari gone now,” Cindy commented.

“It
makes it impossible!” Edward’s lips pursed together.

“Things
will fall into place, it will take time,” said Cindy.

“Who
knows?” Edward went on. “But we don’t have any time right now. Marla wants to
go back and have a funeral. I don’t want to leave the island until all the
evidence is examined and I’m sure about Shari’s death.”

“How
is Deidre handling it all?” Cindy went on, not wanting to go off in another
direction. She needed to know more about Edward’s relationship with his other
daughter.

“I
don’t know anything about Deidre, really,” Edward finally said. “I have my
suspicions, though. I always have.”

Along
with a cool wind that blew in from the ocean then, Cindy felt a chill
envelop
[cl11]
 
her.

“What
kind of suspicions, Edward?” Cindy could barely ask. She did not want to even
imagine what he might be thinking of.

Edward
hung his head for a moment, and then finally looked up, his eyes darting back
and forth.

“Whatever
I say is between the two of us, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Absolutely,”
said Cindy.

“It’s
privileged communication?” he went on.

“Definitely,”
Cindy assured him.

“Okay,
you looked at the suicide note carefully, didn’t you?” Edward started.

“Yes,
of course,” said Cindy, shivering. “I even had a forensic graphologist go over
it.”

“That’s
not the point, that’s not what I’m getting at,” Edward spit back. “There’s
something else, something I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“What
is it?” asked Cindy, feeling alarmed.

“Have
you ever seen Deidre’s handwriting?” he whispered.

“No,”
said Cindy, “I haven’t.”

“It’s
exactly the same as Shari’s,” he burst out. “It always was. People often
commented about it. It was always strange.”

“What
are you saying, Edward?” Cindy wanted the bottom line, fast.

“I
have nightmares about it at night.” Edward’s voice grew halting.

“You
think that Deidre wrote the suicide note?” Cindy burst forth, horrified.

“It’s
entirely possible,” Edward finally breathed. “But there’s no one I can say that
too. I lost one daughter already and I don’t want to lose another.”

“You
think that Deidre took Shari’s life?” Cindy felt the blood drain from her own
face.

“I
don’t know what to think.” Edward’s voice grew louder, so he could be heard
over the now turbulent waves.

“Why
would Deidre do that to her sister?” Cindy tried to keep balanced and clear.

“Lots
of reasons,” Edward went on fitfully. “Not only was she always jealous of
Shari, she never had any boyfriends of her own.”

“Why
not?” Cindy asked frantically. “She’s a beautiful young woman, too.”

“Sure,
she’s beautiful, but strange. I told you. And she had a way of turning guys
into friends. She always tried to be friends with all the boys that Shari
dated.”

“How
did Shari feel about that?” asked Cindy.

“Shari
didn’t seem to mind from what I could tell,” Edward said. “Marla and I didn’t
like it, we often talked about it, but Shari was oblivious. I think she felt
badly for Deidre, didn’t want her to be left out in the cold.”

“That’s
lovely of Shari,” Cindy commented.

“Yes,
Shari was lovely in every way,” Edward said softly.

“Was
Deidre friends with Doug, too?” Cindy asked then.

“Not
really.” Edward shook his head heavily. “That situation was a little different.
Doug didn’t take much to Deidre, though she liked him a lot. Deidre complained
about that to Shari many times. It was odd too. Even as she was complaining, in
the same breath she would say what a great guy Doug was and how lucky Shari was
to have him. It wasn’t as though she was trying to break them up.”

“It
sounds like Deidre just wanted Doug to like her too,” said Cindy.

“Yes,
that’s it,” said Edward. “But I didn’t like any of it. It gave me the creeps.
Once I told Deidre to get a life and find a guy of her own. I said she didn’t
need to be friends with Shari’s boyfriends.”

“How
did she take that?” asked Cindy.

“Not
well,” Edward confessed. “But Deidre never liked anything I said to her. She
told me to butt out and get my own life.”

“Fresh,”
Cindy commented, “but you still haven’t told me why in the world she would harm
Shari now.”

“Talk
to Deidre yourself.” Edward’s voice got lower and suspicious. “She seems to
have taken a liking to you. There could be all kinds of reasons to hurt Shari
brewing inside her.”

“Have
you mentioned this to your wife?” Cindy asked, aghast.

“No,”
Edward burst out, “I wouldn’t dare. And remember you said this was
confidential, privileged communication. I only wanted to give you a heads-up
when you talk to Deidre later on.”

“Of
course,” Cindy concurred, “I appreciate your sharing this with me.”

“You
do?” asked Edward, startled.

“Yes,
the more honest you are the better it will be for all. And the sooner we’ll get
to the truth of what happened.”