Before Willie Mae could respond, Keisha took her hand and led her back into the sanctuary.
Terrance stepped closer to the pastor, his eyes glaring. “Where is my bride?”
“Yes, yes, your bride. Well, she is in the basement with the plumber.”
Taking a step closer to the pastor, Terrance quietly hissed, “And you’re going to tell me why she is in the basement with the plumber?”
Pastor nervously replied, “Well, there is a slight problem in the basement. I think you should see this for yourself. Detective Jackson has requested I ask you to retrieve her work bag from her car’s trunk and bring it with you. It’s all just too much to bear, this and a bride with a gun in my church…”
Jack, surprised, roared, “Please tell me she is not processing a crime scene in her wedding dress on her wedding day?”
With a look of guilt, the pastor said, “Gentleman, if you will follow me.”
Jack looked back into the church, hearing laughter and witnessing Willie Mae sharing stories with the guests on how Kamira was always late for everything. He didn’t miss the glare in Willie Mae’s eyes directed towards him.
Catching up with the others, Jack followed the pastor and Terrance down the stairs to the basement. Reaching the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, Jack observed Kamira taking pictures with her phone. The priest was trying to keep up with her movements while holding the train of her wedding dress.
Walking with Terrance down the hall, the two men came to stand beside Kamira. Terrance and Jack looked at each other, then looked quizzically at Kamira. Terrance asked, “Who is that?”
“Not sure,” Kamira replied. “He has been here a while, though. I didn’t find any ID on him. Did you bring my bag down with you?”
Terrance, kneeling in front of the skeleton, said, “He’s barefoot. He could have been sleeping. Wait, why would he be sleeping in a church?”
Kamira quietly responded, “He wasn’t sleeping when embedded in this wall. He was very much alive. Hence the duct tape.”
Jack, staring at the skeleton, said, “Jesus. Look, Todd Carter is upstairs. I say we find him and get him down here to secure the crime scene, and the two of you get married. Until we identify the remains, there is nothing we can do at this moment.”
Kamira looked at Jack while saying, “Oh no, we have a church full of guests. Guess that slipped my mind for the moment. I wonder how long this man has been in the wall. Terrance, look here. It looks like his skull has a fracture on the backside.”
Terrance looked at the skull, being careful not to disrupt its placement in the wall. “You’re right. I would guess he was incapacitated and then bound and placed in the wall. I am sure glad Ben left the State Lab and accepted the medical examiner position. He should be able to tell us what happened here. Damn it. My phone is in the dressing room.”
Kamira held out her phone and said, “Use mine.”
Jack grabbed the phone out of Kamira’s hands. “Okay, you two, there is a church full of people upstairs waiting to witness your marriage. Let’s get that out of the way before beginning the investigation, shall we?”
Terrance looked at Kamira and said, “Well, I think Jack is right. There is not a lot we can do till we have the body identified.” He smiled lovingly at Kamira. “Shall we get married? You look stunning but keep the Sig in the holster. We don’t want to scare our guests.”
When everyone made it back up the stairs, Jack searched for Todd Carter, Head of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Finding him seated with the other guests, Jack said, “Todd, could you follow me? We need your help.”
Todd squinted his eyes suspiciously, “What kind of help? You know it’s my day off, right?”
Once out of the sanctuary, Todd looked suspiciously at Kamira, Terrance, and the priest.
Jack said, “Todd, we have a dead body in the basement. Can you call in your team to secure the crime scene?”
Todd shook his head, not surprised. “What’s with that woman? It’s her wedding day, and she’s finding dead bodies?”
Kamira smiled and shrugged her shoulders at Todd, remaining silent.
Chapter 2
“Are you ready, Kamira?” Jack asked, taking her arm in his. Jack could see the wheels turning in Kamira’s brain.
“Kamira, focus. Detective, it’s time to walk down the aisle. It’s your wedding day. The case will be there tomorrow.”
Kamira gently touched her mother’s necklace around her neck and smiled. “I know what day it is, Jack.” Looking through the doorway, Kamira saw Terrance waiting for her at the sanctuary.
“Just taking a deep breath. Wishing my mother was here today. She would have liked Terrance.” Kamira leaned down, kissing Jack’s cheek.
“Thank you, Jack. I couldn’t ask for a better…” Kamira’s eyes went wide. A flush of adrenaline tingling throughout her body.
“Is that Vittoria DeLuca and Frank Gallucci sitting there? And who are those people with them?” Jack, why is the New York Mafia at my wedding?”
Jack laughed loudly. “Willie Mae invited them to your special day. The silver-haired man is Vittoria’s husband, Howard Graystone, and the redhead is Frank’s wife, Maeve.”
Terrance, knowing what Kamira was thinking even from the altar, smiled and then shrugged at her.
Kamira blew Terrance a kiss and smiled as she slightly raised the front of her gown. Terrance laughed as she took her first step to walk down the aisle towards the man who had saved her life. And together, they would build a fantastic future.
Kamira smiled happily at her guests as she walked past the church’s pews adorned with white toile and roses. She wondered what they would think if they knew there was a skeleton in the wall in the church’s basement. Thirty minutes later, she kissed her new husband, Terrance James, as the guests clapped in the background.
The reception began
