For a long moment, Sloan Trent had simply sat beside Jane when the meeting had ended and others, except for Kelsey and Logan, had moved on. Then Sloan had held Jane close in silence. The bond between them remained. Nothing, he thought, could ever break that. And then they sat together with Kelsey and Logan. Maybe they were all still a little numb. They’d come for such a joyous occasion.
“We can find a… a…” Kelsey began, but then she paused and Sloan wondered what she had been about to say. Another minister? Or, perhaps a living minister?
The body of Reverend MacDonald was gone—taken to the morgue. Mrs. Avery had retired to her office. Chef and the cooks had presumably headed to the kitchen. Mr. Green had gone back to the groundskeeper’s lodge and the maids were cleaning the rooms above.
“I’m not sure that this is what we want for the memory anymore,” Sloan said, slipping his arm around Jane’s shoulder. She was handling it well, he thought.
Or maybe not.
She seemed stricken. But Jane was strong. She’d proven that so many times. Of course, this was different. She’d planned the perfect small wedding for them in a beautiful place with just a few close friends. The ceremony had never meant that much to him. If she’d wanted a big wedding, fine. If she’d wanted to walk into city hall and say a few words, that would have been fine, too.
He knew that he loved her. No, that was truly a mild concept for the way he felt about her. He’d known what people might refer to as “the good, the bad, and the ugly” in life. He’d experienced a few one-night stands, never knowing if they were good women or not. He’d had relationships with really fine people. But he’d never been with anyone like Jane. Smart, funny, beautiful. And she’d be just as beautiful to him in fifty years. She had the most unusual eyes, not brown or hazel, more a true amber. When she looked at him with those eyes, he saw the world and everything he wanted in life within them. The idea that someone else completed him as a whole seemed cliché, and yet he woke each day happy she was in his life. He worked well with her. They trusted one another with no question. Their commitment was complete. And it didn’t matter to him a bit if it was legal. But since they did both believe in God, along with the basic tenets of goodness associated with most religions, it was nice to think that they’d have their union blessed.
Where or how meant nothing to him.
But women? They planned weddings. Big and small.
“We’re not getting another minister,” Jane said. “And we’re not getting married here.”
“But we’re not leaving here, you know. Especially not us ‘Feds,’” Logan reminded them.
Sloan was glad to see that Logan was amused rather than offended. Most of the time when they worked with locals, all went well. Sloan knew that because once upon a time he’d been the local the Krewe of Hunters—with Logan at the helm—had worked with. That had been the beginning for him. Now, he’d been with the Krewe for some time and he loved where he was, though he didn’t particularly like murder and mayhem. But he’d known as a young man he’d been meant to fight for the rights of victims, whether living or dead. And working with the Krewe was the best way he knew how to accomplish that role.
Jane punched Logan in the arm.
The two had known each other for years. Logan had been a Texas Ranger. Sloan had spent time working in Texas, too, but Jane had been a civilian forensic artist who’d worked with Logan’s group many times before any of them had ever heard of the Krewe of Hunters. They sometimes seemed like a brother and sister act.
“No matter what Detective Forester said, we all know damned well we’re not leaving. Not until we know what happened to our minister,” Jane said.
“It was an accident, don’t you know?” Kelsey said. “That, or the ghost did it.”
“We’ve yet to come across a malevolent ghost,” Logan reminded Kelsey.
“And I don’t believe for one minute that a ghost did anything,” Kelsey said. She looked at Jane. “Have you seen any of the ghosts that haunt the place?”
Jane shook her head. “I didn’t see any signs of anyone haunting the castle when I was here before, nor have I seen any yet. How about you?”
Kelsey shook her head. “But you and Sloan arrived much earlier. I thought that maybe while you were out in the garden, or over by the old graveyard, you might have seen someone.”
“We’re forgetting one thing,” Logan said.
“What’s that?” Jane asked.