Death by Betrayal (Book #10 in the Caribbean Murder series) by Jaden Skye

too soon, there were too many loose threads. They were all going
along with it to pacify Cindy’s mother. In a strange way it was fitting. This
was the way Ann had lived her life, Cindy thought, pacifying her mother. Cindy
had refused to do it and had refused to pacify Ann as well. Ann was different
from their mother though, she’d truly wanted the best for Cindy. Over and over
Ann told her that she wanted Cindy to live her own life, but happily and fully.
    “I
believe it’s best for Frank to speak first,” Cindy’s mother turned towards him.
“He has lost his life partner, his dearest friend.”
    This
was more though, than Frank could bear. “What do you want me to say, Claudia?” his
lips were quivering. “I loved Ann my whole life long. She was a fantastic
woman, a treasure, a gift.”  His head fell as he started rubbing his foot in
the sand.
    Cindy’s
Uncle Ben, moved closer to her mother then and put his arm around her shoulder,
as her mother wept softly at Frank’s words.
     “Say
more Frank,” her mother’s voice was uneven now. “I know how much you meant to
Ann – everyone knows.”
    “Ann
only wanted the best for everyone,” Frank gathered himself together. “We were
childhood sweethearts, we loved each other, our feelings never changed.”
    Cindy
thought about that for a moment. It did seem that over the years that the bond
between Frank and Ann had remained constant. Ann had never said a bad thing
about him to Cindy, nor had he ever seemed upset with her. In fact, Cindy had
marveled at it from time to time. From her perspective Frank had never seemed
suited to her sister. Cindy had thought of asking Ann about her relationship
with him from time to time, but could never bring herself to. It wasn’t something
Ann ever seemed to want to discuss.
    “Ann
will always be with you,” Charlie broke into the uneasy silence. “A love like
you had keeps going forever, even after the person’s gone.”
    Frank
closed his eyes very tightly.
    “I
had a love like that with my wife, Bella,” Charlie went on. “After I got over
her passing, I got strength from her love for years.”
    That
was interesting to Cindy. She’d known almost nothing about her Uncle Charlie’s
life. It was beautiful to learn that he’d had such a fulfilling marriage. Cindy
wondered again why her mother had rejected him so completely and kept him out
of their lives. Cindy looked at Mattheus out of the corner of her eyes. He was
gazing out into the ocean, listening intently to everything that was being
said. Cindy wondered how Mattheus was taking all this, if he thought her family
was strange?
    “How
about you? What have you got to say, Cindy?” her mother turned towards her
then.
    Cindy
felt a wave of oppression and sorrow come over her as she opened her mouth to
speak. All she could think of was how much she wanted to know what had happened
to her sister and why? It was almost impossible to talk about their
relationship when everything else hung in the air. Ann’s passing was still
unreal to Cindy. She had no idea at all what it said about Ann’s life. Was
there a secret aspect to Ann that she never knew about? Was this memorial
service and all these praises a grand cover up?
    “Go
ahead, talk Cindy,” her mother demanded.
    “Ann
was the most incredible sister anyone could have wanted,” Cindy mouthed the
words reflexively. “I told her that many times, too. I told her I loved her, I
thanked her for everything. Ann was a cornerstone of my life.”
    Charlie
turned and fastened his eyes upon Cindy, listening deeply to what she was saying.
    “Ann
didn’t want much back from me, either,” Cindy went on. “She gave
unconditionally.”
    “That
was her mistake,” Frank mumbled loudly.
    “She
gave everything and never really asked for anything,” Cindy went on.
    “Except
that you come home,” Cindy’s mother interrupted sharply, as a breeze from the
ocean blew up. “She told me she wanted you back in the