Death by Proposal Read Online Free PDF

speculating can
drive you crazy. So, let it be.”
    But
Cindy could not. How strange that this young woman had been seated at the table
right next to theirs.  How odd that Cindy actually knew who she was.  She was
so young and alive last night and now gone? How come?
    Cindy
could not stop staring at her photo.  The woman’s fiancé must be Clay Peters,
the guy being held for questioning now. Cindy remembered him well.  He’d also seemed
lovely, regal and quiet, focused on the woman he’d loved. The two of them had
seemed so well suited, but of course, who knew?  Then, suddenly, Cindy remembered
the other couple who’d unexpectedly joined them. Could they have had anything
to do with what happened? Were they still at the hotel? That had to be explored
immediately.
    Cindy
lifted the paper to read more about it, but Mattheus leaned his hand over and
put the paper down.
    “Let
it go, Cindy,” he said softly.
    “Do
you remember that other couple who arrived unexpectedly and joined her and her
boyfriend at their table?” Cindy asked.
    “No,”
said Mattheus, “I was focused on you. You were focused on them, it seems.”
    “They
made an impression on me,” Cindy replied.
    “I
thought it was me making an impression on you,” Mattheus smiled.
    “Mattheus,
that other couple could have something to do with what happened. I wonder if
they’re still at the hotel.”
    “It’s
not for you to wonder,” said Mattheus.
    The
waiter arrived with drinks, cheese and crackers.
    Cindy
couldn’t drink or eat. It was entire possible that this young woman been
murdered. What if others at the hotel were also in danger now?
    Mattheus
looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Cindy, there’s a time to work and
a time to stop,” he said more firmly. “This is the time to stop.”
    “There
could be danger at the hotel right now,” Cindy murmured. “Who knows who’s next?”
    Mattheus
spread some cheese on a cracker, and gave it to her.
    “Eat
this,” he said, “lay back, relax. There are police on the island, security
guards at the hotel. We’re not the only ones who can handle it. The whole world
doesn’t rest on our shoulders.”
    Cindy
relaxed a moment. Of course what he was saying was true, the whole world didn’t
rest on their shoulders. But this seemed different. The young woman who died
had been sitting right next to them.  There had to be a reason she’d been
brought into their world.
    “Are
you eating your cracker?” Mattheus smiled.
    Cindy
lifted it to her mouth and nibbled it slowly.
    Mattheus
rolled over on his lounge chair towards her then. “Good,” he said softly. “Now,
eat another. Unwind, relax, I love you, Cindy.”
    “And
I love you,” she murmured back, in return.
    They
finished the crackers, jumped into the pool, swam, splashed, hugged and
returned to their lounge chairs, ready to order lunch.
    When
the waiter came to take their orders, Cindy noticed a man and woman walking close
behind him, coming their way.
    “Here
they are,” said the waiter, as they got closer.
    Cindy
and Mattheus sat straight up.
    “Excuse
me,” said the waiter, as though Cindy and Mattheus had been waiting to meet the
couple, “this is Tyra Hallerson and Carl Duncan.”
    Carl
nodded to the waiter, “Thank you. Please come back to take orders a little
later.” Then he pulled some nearby lounge chairs close to Cindy and Mattheus.
    Carl
seemed to be in his mid-fifties. He had dark hair, was tall, in charge, well
dressed, and nervous.  Tyra, blonde and exquisitely groomed was bleary eyed and
seemed a few years younger.
    Carl
began speaking quickly. “I’m Kate’s uncle. This is Kate’s mother, Tyra.”
    For
a moment Cindy and Mattheus were uncomprehending.
    “Kate
Hallerson was the young woman found dead,” Carl spoke fitfully. “We arrived on
a private jet as soon as we heard the news.”
    “I
am so sorry,” Cindy said to him.
    Carl
nodded his head and looked at his sister, who crept closer to him