Page 119 of Claimed By the Deputies

“We made it,” I laugh softly.

Pastor Jim smiles, patiently waiting for me to step up so he can join Lucas and me in matrimony. I take a sneak peek at our children first. Both half-asleep in their twin stroller, adorably dressed for the occasion, while Danica keeps a close eye on them and her own children.

Timothy dons a tiny grey suit, much like Lucas, and Evangeline sparkles in a powdered pink dress with a bold tutu.

“Ready?” Pastor Jim asks.

“As I’ll ever be,” I reply with a warm yet nervous smile, clutching my bouquet of roses with a firm grip.

I steal glances at my future husbands as the pastor begins the ceremony.

“Love, they say, conquers all. It doesn’t know jealousy, it doesn’t know fear,” the pastor begins. “It knows strength and patience, devotion…”

My mind is racing around a recent murder case we’re investigating, one I had hoped we’d close before this big day.

“I can’t get my mind off that meeting in Robson’s diary,” I whisper to Lucas.

He looks at me, slightly confused, while the pastor keeps reading from his carefully prepared speech. Above us, an archway clad in white flowers and elegant satin ribbons extends. Beyond it, the church ceiling domes upward with tranquil paintings of winged cherubs and cherished saints.

“What?” Lucas whispers back.

“The meeting John Fairway set for Robson, the day before Fairway was murdered,” I reply. “There wasn’t anything in Fairway’s calendar about it. Not even a note.”

“Tassia, we’re about to get married,” he mutters.

“Do you, Tassia Callaghan,” the pastor says, raising his voice so I’ll pay attention, “Take Lucas Riggs, to be your husband, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

“Oh, I absolutely do,” I reply with a wide grin, then give Mitch and Tyler a wink.

“I do,” Lucas says after the pastor goes through the same motions with him, his gaze warm, his voice brimming with promise.

Lucas gently slips the wedding band on my trembling finger, and I do the same for him.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the pastor says. “You may kiss your bride.”

Lucas kisses me soundly as the wedding guests stand up to applaud and cheer us on. I welcome the feel of his lips on mine, knowing we just made another giant step toward our future together.

I suddenly remember Robson’s specialization.

“Oh, my god. I know why Fairway was killed,” I gasp.

Lucas stares at me for what feels like forever. Beside him, Mitch raises an eyebrow.

Everyone else around us goes quiet. It’s awkward as hell, but I already let it out. I might as well take it all the way to the end.

Tyler seems to agree. “Well then, continue, Mrs. Riggs.”

“That has a nice ring to it,” I say with a smile and a small giggle before continuing. “Robson’s an estate lawyer. And according to Fairway’s will, his son Marcus stood to inherit the entire fortune. But Fairway got married after the last amendment was made to his will?—”

“And Rebecca Fairway was his confidante and chief partner in the company for a long time,” Mitch picks up on my train of thought. “Robson said Fairway wanted to amend his will, hence the meeting they set up, but Fairway didn’t put it in his diary. He kept it a secret.”

“Because he didn’t want someone in his family to find out,” Tyler continues the narrative.

I turn my head slowly to find Marcus Fairway standing at the back of the small church. He’s also our wedding florist. We invited him out of courtesy, not once suspecting him because he was the one who found his father’s body. He was devastated.

“Someone with an extensive gambling history,” Lucas says. “Marcus, you’re the one they saw at the Golden Pony Casino the night of your father’s murder, aren’t you?”

“What? What are you talking about?” Marcus’s voice comes out a tad too pitchy as he breaks into a cold sweat. It doesn’t take long for me to realize we just figured him out.

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