Death by Engagement (21 page)

Cindy
phoned the police station a couple of times and finally got through. No one was
manning the phones, so she had to leave a quick message.

“Cindy
Blaine reporting in. New evidence in case. On the way over to Doug’s yacht at
Pier 1146, to talk to him before he leaves the island. Backup needed. Over and
out.”

Cindy
hung up with a sinking feeling in her stomach as she pushed through the teeming
rain and wind, looking for a cab. The streets were mostly empty and she began
to fear there would be no way of getting there.

Suddenly
a small black car turned the corner, pushing against the wind. Cindy held her
hand out, desperately waving it at the driver.

A
local guy rolled down the window and looked at her, nervously. “Emergency?” he
asked.

“Yeah,
it’s an emergency,” Cindy said heatedly.

“That’s
what I’m here for, get in!” he said.

Cindy
yanked open the door and jumped into the back. “Thanks so much,” she breathed.

“Hospital?”
he asked. “Where are you going?”

Cindy
felt bad for a moment. Obviously this guy was trolling around in the storm,
looking for stray people who might need emergency medical care.

“I’m
not going to the hospital, I’m going to the docks,” she said quickly. “Pier
1146. If you don’t want to take me there, you don’t have to.”

The
guy put his foot on the brakes, stopped and turned around to look at her. “What
are you going there for?” he asked hurriedly.

“I’m
a detective on a case,” Cindy muttered, “and just got new evidence. A guy who I
think killed someone is supposed to be on his boat there now. I need to get to
him before he leaves the island.”

The
driver stopped for a second and sucked in his breath. “That’s an emergency if I
ever heard one,” he said, turning back around to the steering wheel and putting
his foot on the gas. “Crazy, stupid idiot he must be, too, if he’s out on his
boat in this storm.”

Cindy
felt enormously grateful to the driver. “Yeah, I’m thinking the guy’s
desperate,” she said.

“Who’d
he kill?” The driver’s voice got louder.

“Young
woman he was engaged to,” Cindy replied.

*

Except
for the short, fitful conversation, the drive to the pier was silent and rough.
Winds pushed at the small car that clung, determined, to the road.

“Here
we are,” the driver said when they finally made their way between fallen
branches and trees.

Cindy
dug into her pocket, brought out a roll of cash and gave it to him.

“Nah,”
he said, brushing his hand back. “Keep your cash and find the guy. Find him and
string him up right in public, for everyone to see.”

Cindy
got out of the car slowly.

“Thanks
for doing such good work,” he went on. “I’ll be waiting for you right here to
take you back, if you need me. The full storm will be hitting in a few hours.
May not be too many cabs around.”

“Thank
you so much,” said Cindy, flustered. “I’m sure the police will be coming.”

“Don’t
be sure of anything these days, honey.” The driver shook his head. “I’ll wait
right here. You go do what you have to.”

“You’re
an angel,” said Cindy.

“Nah,
I’m just another guy who wants to see things go right on the island,” he said.

Cindy
left the car, put her head down against the huge winds and made her way toward
the row of boats which were shaking back and forth in the water. When she got
closer she could see the pier numbers and walked carefully to 1146.

As
soon as she got there, Cindy saw a larger boat than most of them, docked up
front. It was exactly the description of Doug’s yacht. Cindy went up the plank,
leaned against it, and knocked loudly.

“What?
What?” a familiar, rough male voice called from inside.

Cindy
was thrilled. Doug was there. “Doug, it’s Cindy,” she called back in, over the
sounds of wind, rain and clanking.

“Who?”
Doug’s voice was edgy. Clearly, he expected no one.

“Cindy
Blaine,” Cindy called back louder.

Doug
came to the small opening, looked up at Cindy and made a face.

“What
in hell are you doing here now?” he asked.

“Can
I come in?” Cindy pleaded.

“Yeah,
of course, come in,” he said.

Cindy
stepped down the slatted steps slowly, watching each step as she went down.

When
she got down there, not only was the boat a mess, but Doug was in a frenzy as
well.

“Why
are you here in this weather? What’s going on?” He stopped for a second and
stared.

“I
need to talk to you before you leave the island, Doug,” Cindy said.

“Why
here?” He seemed puzzled and upset.

“I
need to talk to you alone,” Cindy ventured.

At
that, Doug spun and leered at her. “Why? I talked to you a hundred times
already.”

“There
are a few more things I thought of, Doug,” said Cindy, “and I heard that you’re
leaving the island soon with your family.”

“Yeah,
of course, we’re leaving. Got the last plane out before the storm hits,” he
said.

“You’re
just packing up a few things from your boat now?” Cindy asked, looking around.

“Right,
I have a little business to take care of,” Doug replied.

Cindy
wondered what in the world could possibly be so important that he’d run down to
the water in this kind of weather.

“Must
be pretty important.” She looked around further, purposely trying to make him
nervous.

“Listen,
what’s this visit about? What are you looking around for?” He dropped the
pleasantries.

“You
know, I was looking at the autopsy photos again,” Cindy started up, suddenly
walking around the messy space slowly, kicking the mess out of the way.

“The
autopsy photos?” Doug’s face got pale. “What are you, some kind of a ghoul?”

“No,
I’m a detective,” said Cindy, turning and staring right at him. “There was a
bruise I noticed on Shari’s shoulder and it started to bother me.”

Doug
took a few steps back then. “Shari bumped into a wall,” he commented.

“Not
exactly.” Cindy took him on now. “There were fingerprints around bruise,” she
lied.

At
that Doug stopped. “I didn’t hear that before,” he muttered.

“And
the fingerprints have been checked,” Cindy went on.

Doug
held his hand up in her face then. “Stop right now.” He was shaken.

“Do
you know whose fingerprints they are, Doug?” Cindy felt a blazoning confidence
as she watched him respond.

Suddenly,
Doug grimaced and his faced creased. “Yeah, right, they’re my fingerprints,
aren’t they?”

“You
tell me,” said Cindy.

“Right.”
His voice grew frazzled.

“You
pushed Shari?” Cindy confronted him darkly.

“Yeah,
you got a problem with that?” he snarled.

“More
than a problem,” said Cindy. “I’m wondering what else you did to her. And if
you also pushed her off the cliff.”

Doug
let out a long, strange laugh then, as a peal of thunder rolled in. “And if I
did, what are you going to do about it now?” he said. “You think anyone will
believe that? I’m a big guy in town and she was a depressed psycho.”

“Is
that why you pushed her to her death?” Cindy was right on it.

“Because
she was a psycho?” Doug took the bait.

“Is
that why?” Cindy repeated.

“Nah.”
Doug laughed hard again. “I knew she was a psycho all along. That wasn’t why.
That didn’t bother me. But she wasn’t just a psycho. She was a bitch. I pushed
her because she was lying to me, trying to pull the wool over my eyes. All
along she was in love with another guy and pretending she was going to marry
me. What kind of bitch does that? Tell me.”

“You
tell me.” Cindy was thrilled to get all this on recording.

“You
think someone tries to make a fool of me, and lives?” His mouth began frothing.
“They don’t. You think if I don’t have her, someone else will?”

“So
you pushed her?” Cindy asked, wanting to hear him say it again and again.

“Yeah,
I pushed her and it was easy. I brought her up there with me and then it was
over in a second flat. She never knew what hit her. I just went back to the
hotel and got a drink in the lounge, like nothing ever happened.”

“No
one else knew either, did they?” asked Cindy.

“No
one else,” said Doug. Then he stopped himself quickly and looked at Cindy.
“Except you. You know now, don’t you?”

Cindy
took a deep breath as the water line rose higher and lapped against the boat. Would
Doug try to push Cindy in now, as he’d pushed Shari? Oddly, Cindy wasn’t
afraid.

“The
police also know,” Cindy answered quickly. “They have the new evidence. They
also know I’m down here on the boat with you. So you can’t get away with
anything else.”

“Oh
no?” Doug lurched forward and grabbed Cindy. “You don’t think so, huh?”

Cindy
struggled, as the two of them tossed back and forth like waves on the boat.

“What’s
that you got there?” Doug felt into her pocket and pulled out the recorder.
“You lousy bitch, you’ve been taping me?”

“Hold
on there!” A loud voice and a quick gunshot suddenly burst onto the boat.

Cindy
spun around and there was Mattheus, aiming his gun right at Doug.

“Let
go of Cindy and drop the recorder, or else I’ll shoot,” Mattheus warned.

Holding
Cindy in front of him, Doug began dragging her to the edge of the boat.

Mattheus
ducked down, raced behind Doug and put the gun to his head.

“Don’t
shoot, don’t shoot,” Doug began screaming then and letting go of Cindy, as in a
few seconds more footsteps were heard. And in another second, the cops joining
them, as well.

“It’s
all over,” Mattheus boomed into Doug’s ear then.

“It’s
never over,” Doug growled. “Shari was only the beginning.”

“You
got other victims?” One of the cops ran over and dug his nails into Doug’s
arms.

“
I
[cl14]
 
would have in another day,” Doug
sneered. “Next was Deidre’s turn. Shari’s stupid twin sister.”

As
Cindy and Mattheus rode out the storm safely in the hotel, reporters announced
the news not only of the hurricane, but of Cindy’s incredible bravery.
Single-handedly, she’d stopped what could have become a serial killer, exposing
herself to all kinds of dangers. Cindy was declared a heroine, and as the news
belted on, Mattheus kept agreeing.

Exhausted,
Cindy was deeply relieved at having caught Shari’s killer, but didn’t feel much
like a heroine. All of that was irrelevant to her. There were other matters at
hand that had to be tended to now.

“You’re
incredible, you’re a heroine,” Mattheus kept repeating, as they sat together on
the couch, listening to the torrential rain fall.

“I’m
not interested in being a heroine,” Cindy finally replied, “just in being true
to myself.”

“You
are true to yourself,” Mattheus responded. “You always were.”

“And
I have to keep living that way,” Cindy replied.

“Cindy,
you have to forgive me for not have been on board with you through all of
this,” Mattheus said staunchly. “I was a fool, I was wrong.”

“It’s
not a matter of forgiving or not forgiving,” Cindy replied sadly, “it’s a
matter of understanding. We have to truly understand each other, Mattheus, and
we have to understand ourselves.”

“Better
words could not be spoken,” Mattheus agreed promptly.

“You
were thinking of breaking off our engagement, weren’t you?” Cindy decided to
confront the matter directly.

“Yes,
I was,” Mattheus admitted sorrowfully. “I was nuts, I was crazy, all kinds of
old fears came up.”

“What
happens if we go through this again after we’re married?” Cindy was scared.
“Say you want to get out all of a sudden then, too?”

Mattheus
grew silent and when Cindy looked over at him, seemed to be pondering the
question deeply.

“Can
anyone guarantee every minute of their lives?” he finally replied. “Shouldn’t
we look at the overall picture, instead? Sometimes I mess up, sometimes you do,
too. Is that a reason to break off a basically wonderful relationship?”

“You’re
the one who wanted to break it off,” Cindy quickly reminded him, “not me.
You’re the one who left during the beginning of a storm and didn’t tell me
where you were going, or if you’d be coming back!”

“I’m
very, very sorry,” Mattheus repeated again. “That’s not at all like me, is it?”

“Not
until up to now,” Cindy said. “But things are heating up now, the marriage is
closer, other sides of you may be coming out?”

“Cindy,
this was an unusual trip and lots of things upset me,” Mattheus confessed. “We
came down for a vacation and to find a wedding venue. I was totally excited
about every bit of it. Then, suddenly, before I knew it, you were swept away,
working again full time. You didn’t pay one bit of attention to how I felt
about it, either.”

 “But
I was right, wasn’t I? Shari’s death wasn’t a suicide, she was murdered, pushed
off the cliff.” Cindy felt agitated. “Thank God I stopped Doug before he
continued.”

“Yes,
you’re right, it was awful,” Mattheus agreed. “But there are murders happening
every day, every minute. Can we take them all on? Should we? Doesn’t there have
to be sacred time that belongs to us only?”

“Even
when someone is killed in front of our eyes?” Cindy asked.

“Even
then,” said Mattheus solemnly. “Think about it.”

“What
should we do? Close our eyes and pretend it’s not happening?” asked Cindy.

“I
didn’t say that,” said Mattheus, “I just asked if we can’t have time of our own
that can’t be violated. That’s an important question, Cindy.”

“Yes,
it is, I recognize that,” she replied.

“We
really have to think about it. Don’t we also deserve a life of our own? Is it
all right for one person to say yes to a case when the other doesn’t want to,
when they have important plans as a couple?”

Cindy
sighed. It wasn’t so black and white, of course; Mattheus could have all kinds
of justifications, but still she felt deeply he let her down.

“I
know I let you down,” Mattheus continued, once again, sensing her thoughts. “But
I felt let down as well.”

“I
realize that,” said Cindy, relieved to hear him being honest.

“I
felt hurt by your family,” Mattheus went on, “really hurt.”

“I’m
sorry, Mattheus,” said Cindy.

“I
know you are, but they scare me,” he continued.

“They’re
still my family, aren’t they? Are you asking me to give them up?” she said.

Mattheus
looked out of the window at the rain that seemed endless. “Of course I’m not,”
he finally said.

“But
you did,” said Cindy. “You said I had to choose between you and them. You even
took the liberty of speaking for me, telling them we could only talk to them as
a couple. That’s over the edge.”

“Yes,
it is.” Mattheus closed his eyes. “But they pushed me to it.”

“I
know,” Cindy replied.

Suddenly,
excited, Mattheus lifted both hands to the ceiling and turned toward Cindy.

“Enough
is enough!” he burst out loudly. “We can go on talking like this forever. Stuff
like this always comes up during engagements, everything gets put under a
microscope. I don’t like how you brush your teeth, your mother looked at me
funny. You’re wearing the wrong colored shirt again! It’s exhausting, it’s
awful. People forget that they love and trust each other. Once I heard someone
say that if you can survive an engagement, you can survive anything!”

Cindy
smiled.

“I’ve
got a great idea.” Mattheus suddenly burst into a shining smile, his eyes
twinkling with their old mischief. “Let’s just bypass the engagement
completely.” His voice grew playful.

“What?”
Cindy was confused.

 “I
love you, I adore you, and I always will.” Mattheus now looked joyous. “And you
love me! I’m  positive of it. At this point, I couldn’t care less about taking
a wedding venue. As soon as the storm is over, let’s just elope!”

Taken
aback, Cindy laughed loudly. “You have to be kidding, of course,” she breathed.

“I’m
not kidding, not at all,” said Mattheus, fighting hard for her. “The longer an
engagement goes on the more complications! I’m ready to tie the knot right now.
I’m sure I want to be with you forever! Tell me this minute, do you want to be
with me forever, too?”

Stunned,
Cindy stared at him.

“You
can’t talk, you’re in shock,” Mattheus went on happily, oblivious to Cindy’s
silence. “But it doesn’t matter, I know how much you love me. Not another word
then. We’ve got to act fast before another case comes in. Let’s just run away
and get married.”

“Run
away to where?” asked Cindy, dazed.

“It
doesn’t matter,” he answered. “Let’s just do it. Let’s tie the knot.”