My wedding day dawned bright and clear. I know. I was awake when the sun rose. Too keyed up for any more sleep, I’d taken a camp chair and a cup of coffee out to the sidewalk to watch the great big yellow orb come up in the sky. Ursi had come along, too. She fell asleep as soon as she got situated on my lap, the slacker.
It was a quiet moment of absolute bliss. My work was done. Jax Michaels was still behind bars, having been denied bail. The latest rumor was that he was leaning toward confessing in order to avoid a trial. Apparently, the idea of facing a jury of his peers while trying to defend his shooting of a police officer by claiming it was a mistake because he was trying to murder someone else in an act of revenge taken against a woman who exposed some of his previous crimes wasn’t sounding too good.
A wise choice, in my humble estimation.
I’d solved six murders in my life now. There was no doubt in my mind that the police would have solved most, if not all, of them in due time. Still, it felt good that I’d beaten them to the punch. It wasn’t a competition by any means. We’d worked together on all but one, after all. But deep down, bringing those murderers to justice sooner rather than later mattered.
The families of the victims deserved nothing less.
My musings were interrupted when the building’s front door opened. It was Calypso and Renee. They were holding coffee mugs emblazoned with the Kickboxing Crusader logo. Sloane had given them out during the rehearsal dinner.
“Mind if we join you?” Renee took a drink. When I nodded, Calypso reached inside and brought out two more chairs.
“You came prepared.” I chuckled as Ursi raised her black and orange head to sniff at the heavy aroma of dark roast coffee in the air.
“We were hoping to catch you before the day got away.” Renee gestured toward Calypso.
“Yeah.” She wrapped her hands around her mug. “I’m not big on the mushy stuff, but we wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you being a part of our lives.”
“You’ve been a wonderful tenant,” Renee said. “And you sure have helped the bookstore’s bottom line, especially when your authors have come to town for signings.”
“I, uh, appreciate you giving me a chance to help with the agency, too.” Calypso scratched Ursi’s ear. “When I moved here, I didn’t have a clue about what I wanted to do with my life. Now, I know I want to stay in the book business. So, from us to you, thank you.”
We clinked our mugs together and took a drink. I was too choked up by the kind gesture to say anything, so I let the silence speak for itself.
Three of us enjoyed our coffee while the fourth went back to her napping. After a while, my throat cleared.
“Thank you both. Gotta admit, it’s going to be different having Brent and Sammy around here. While I’m gone, don’t forget to get immunized from their boy cooties.”
Renee rolled her eyes and pointed at her niece. “Did you know that Gabe asked Calypso out for coffee once things settle down?”
“Really? I guess since the awfulness is over, it’s been replaced with romance. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.” I finished my coffee. “Afraid I have to get moving, ladies. The ceremony starts at twelve thirty sharp. It’ll only be, like, twenty minutes long, so don’t be late. And, Calypso, be nice to Gabe. He’s a good guy. We need to keep him in the building.”
“Roger that, Boss. Now, go get hitched.”
A few hours later, I was housed in a pop-up shelter, a hundred feet from the gazebo where I was going to become a married woman. As I adjusted my bow tie for the hundredth time, the murmuring from the gathering grew louder.
“Will you stop obsessing with your outfit?” Sloane took my hands and forced them down to my sides. “You look amazing. I gotta hand it to you, I thought the whole tuxedo idea was going to be a disaster. I’m happy to say I was wrong. And the blue tie’s a nice touch.”
My bestie and Rachel were stunning in their royal blue gowns and hair styled into glamorous updos. I looked in the mirror one final time. I’d never look glamorous, but in my tux, I looked stylish. In fact, I looked fantastic. That was enough for me.
Mom popped her head into the shelter. “It’s time.”
At her cue, Rachel proceeded up the aisle to the gazebo, escorted by Luke. A few seconds later, Sloane followed, with Brent’s brother on her arm. I was up next.
“Ready, girl?” Ursi looked up at me and gave me a slow blink. She was ready.
In my younger years, I’d dreamed of my father walking me up the aisle. With him gone, I pinned my favorite photo of him to my fur baby’s harness. It was a reminder that he was right by my side in spirit.
The moment we emerged, a guitarist friend of Brent’s began playing an uplifting, summery jazz melody. The crowed got to its feet and greeted me with countless warm smiles. Overwhelmed with emotion, I stopped, unable to go on. Lucky for me, Ursi brushed her head against my shin and moved forward. It was like she was reminding me that everything was going to be fine.
When we reached the top step of the gazebo, Sloane took Ursi’s leash as Brent took my hand. His smile would have lit up the state of Indiana.
Angela said a few words of welcome and then we had the reading. I couldn’t tell you what Chris said, though. My attention was solely on the wonderful, sweet, kind man in the tweed suit at my side.
At a signal from Brent, Sammy trotted up the aisle. He had a little box attached to his collar. It contained the rings. The crowd laughed as the doggo played coy with his master and wouldn’t let go of the box until he got a treat. Each of us were sporting silly grins as we pledged our fidelity and exchanged rings.
Then it was the big moment.
Angela looked at Brent. “Brent, do you take Allie to be your wife, to have and to hold from this moment forward, in good times and bad, until death do you part?”
His eyes got misty. Then he gave my hands a squeeze. “I do.”
The woman who’d hired me to babysit when I was a kid, who was now my mayor, turned her focus to me.
“Allie, do you take Brent to be your husband, to have and to hold from this time forward, in good times and in bad.” She paused for a beat as she began to smile. “And do you promise to let our public servants do their jobs, so Brent doesn’t have to lose sleep because of your antics, until death do your part?”
The crowd roared in laughter. I did my best to maintain a straight face, but once Brent cracked a smile, I couldn’t hold it in. Once we all settled down, I took in a deep breath and squeezed his hand back.
“I do and I do.”
“Then I pronounce you husband and wife.” With a grin, she gave us a wink. “Who wants to see the bride and groom have their first kiss?”
Brent and I didn’t bother waiting for the crowd to answer.
I might have been six feet tall the way I floated through the rest of the day. At the reception, we danced, drank, devoured Al’s wonderful repast, and even had room to indulge in some special wedding chocolates Diane prepared.
Toward the end of the night, I was seated at a table with Brent at my side, sipping a glass of champagne, when Calypso leaned toward me.
“I’m happy for you, Boss. I really am. But are you honestly going to sit on the sideline if someone else in town is done away with?”
“Fair question.” I finished my drink, then handed the glass to Brent with a request for a refill. “While I can’t say ‘never say never,’ I hope with all my heart that the Kickboxing Crusader and her sidekick the Mild-Mannered Librarian are never again called upon to fight crime in the bustling metropolis of Rushing Creek, Indiana.”
The folks hanging out with us made their assents with my statement. As we raised our glasses together, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was a relief to have placed my amateur sleuthing days in the rearview mirror.
• • •
A few days later, Brent and I were lounging in our cabin as the cruise ship made its way across the Caribbean Sea. The evening before, we’d been seated for dinner at the captain’s table in honor of our status as newlyweds.
“It was fun pretending to be bigwigs last night, wasn’t it?” Brent asked as he poured me a cup of coffee from a carafe that had been delivered as part of our room service order.
“That it was.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe someone actually recognized us and even called me the Kickboxing Crusader.”
“Well, your reputation precedes you, my love.” He was about take a seat next to me when there was a knock at the door.
I looked at him, then at the empty plates at the foot of the bed. “I didn’t order a second round of room service. Did you?”
“Nope. Maybe it’s a complimentary bottle of champagne or something like that.” He opened the door. “Oh, good morning, Captain. To what do we owe this unexpected honor?”
The ship’s top officer and another man in uniform stepped inside the cabin and closed the door behind them. They weren’t smiling.
“How can we help you, gentlemen?” I brushed a crumb from my shirt as I got to my feet.
“It was a pleasure dining with you last night.” The captain introduced his colleague as the ship’s doctor. “This is a matter of great delicacy. You see, I recall some of our fellow diners mentioning you have experience in investigating certain crimes.”
The hair on the back of my neck rose to attention. “Yes. That’s true. But that’s all in the past.”
The doctor stepped forward. “Early this morning, I was summoned to the cabin of another passenger. Initially, it appeared that the individual passed away under usual circumstances. Upon further examination, though, we suspect—”
“Don’t say it,” Brent said.
“Foul play.” I finished.
“Yes.” The captain’s cheeks had gotten beet red. “The authorities have been alerted but we are eighteen hours from our next port of call. Given the nature of the situation and your experience, we come to you asking for your help in solving this crime as soon as possible.”
I looked at Brent. For what seemed like ages, his face was unreadable. Then he actually grinned.
“As I recall, when the Kickboxing Crusader announced her retirement the other night, it was preceded with a caveat of never say never.”
“Now that you mention it, I remember saying that very thing.” A tingling sensation ran through me as I took Brent’s hand.
“Gentlemen,” I said and turned toward the captain and doctor. “Lead the way. My husband and I have a mystery to solve.”