Mystery: The Sam Prichard Series - Books 1-4

by David Archer

  They'd spent the last four weeks planning, and now it was almost time. Sam was walking on air, he said, happy and excited to be so close to having the girl of his dreams as his wife, and Indie was so happy she kept blurting out things like, “Oh, my God, I can't believe we're really doing this!”

  They finished breakfast and began getting ready to go. Everything was already packed, both for their trip and for Kenzie and Samson (who was snoozing contentedly in his pet carrier), so all they had to do was load the dishwasher and get into their truck and head out. The truck was a Honda Ridgeline, and had been a compromise; Indie's old Ford Taurus was the only thing she had left from Kenzie's father, but it was in pretty rough shape. Sam had made a deal with her: let him buy them a new family vehicle that she could drive, and he'd put the Taurus in the garage and restore it over time, so that one day she could give it to Kenzie. With four doors and four wheel drive, the Ridgeline was big enough and secure enough for all of them, but Indie could handle it easily.

  They got to the church with an hour to spare, which was good, since Indie had to go with her mother and mother-in-law-to-be to get into her dress. Sam got to go into another room and change into his tuxedo, and his best man, his former police partner Dan Jacobs, was waiting for him there, along with his band. They shooed the two girls from the band out, and Sam started getting into his “monkey suit.”

  “I've got the music all set,” Chris Lancaster said. Chris was lead guitarist for the band, and usually manager, as well. Sam had written a special song for the wedding, a surprise for Indie that they had been forced to rehearse in secret, when she wasn't with him. It wasn't easy, but they'd gotten it down pat, and were anxious to play it before an audience for the first time. “Everyone is ready, man, and we can't wait to see Indie's face!”

  “Yeah,” Sam said, “me, either! I just hope she likes it. It's not like any of the others.”

  “Dude, relax,” said Stan, the drummer. “You had Candy and Janice in tears with it, I guarantee Indie's gonna love it!”

  They got him dressed and ready, and almost before he knew it, it was time. Sam was called out to the sanctuary to take his place at the altar. He walked out and thanked everyone who congratulated him, then stood where the preacher told him to. There were many whispers among the small crowd about how sharp he looked, and how they could barely notice his limp, lately, especially when he was so well dressed, and Sam had to suppress a grin.

  Janice, the band's keyboard player, began the Wedding March, and it was all Sam could do not to start singing, “Here comes the bride...” but he managed it. A moment later, little Kenzie came out, spreading flower petals for her mother to walk on, and Sam felt his throat constrict. The child was as beautiful as her mother, and he suddenly felt very thankful that they'd come into his life.

  There she was. Indiana Perkins, who was about to become Indiana Prichard, walked out of the bride room and into the aisle, and Sam's breath caught. He had not seen the wedding dress, yet, sticking to the old tradition, and he couldn't believe how beautiful she looked in it. She walked slowly, her mother by her side since her father was no longer living, and Sam thought it was going to take forever and a day for her to reach him, but then she was there beside him, and they stood facing each other.

  And then her eyes took on a look of confusion, as Janice began to play a different melody, and then Chris joined in with his guitar, and Candy on bass, and finally Stan's drums.

  And Sam pulled a microphone out from behind his back, and began to sing. (Click to listen)

  If anybody had told me,

  That someone like you,

  Could ever love me,

  The way that you do,

  I'd've said, "You're a liar,

  There's just two things I believe,

  Only fools play with fire,

  And there's no love for me.”

  But you've made the difference in my life,

  With the love you've shown to me,

  You've made the difference, taught me how,

  To be the man I've longed to be,

  You've made the difference, deep inside,

  Oh, you've opened my eyes to see,

  And this broken heart has healed inside of me,

  Yeah this broken heart has healed inside of me.

  If anybody had told me,

  Just the touch of your hand,

  Could make all these changes,

  In all that I am,

  I'd've said, "You're a dreamer,

  Love tore my world apart!

  But now look at the difference that you've made in my heart!”

  But you've made the difference in my life,

  With the love you've shown to me,

  You've made the difference, taught me how,

  To be the man I've longed to be,

  You've made the difference, deep inside,

  Oh, you've opened my eyes to see,

  And this broken heart has healed inside of me,

  Lord this broken heart has healed inside of me.

  If anybody had told me,

  That there'd come a day,

  When I would know what love is,

  When I would feel this way,

  I'd've said you were crazy,

  gotten up and walked away,

  But one look into your eyes,

  This is all I can say,

  But you've made the difference in my life,

  With the love you've shown to me,

  You've made the difference, taught me how,

  To be the man I've longed to be,

  You've made the difference, deep inside,

  Oh, you've opened my eyes to see,

  And this broken heart has healed inside of me,

  Yeah this broken heart has healed inside of me.

  Yeah this broken heart has healed inside of me,

  Oh this broken heart has healed inside of me.

  Sam finished singing, and looked lovingly into Indie's tear-filled eyes, and she lost all composure. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, to the delight of the crowd that burst into spontaneous applause. The preacher, standing there half stunned, suddenly began to laugh, and leaned around them to say, “I think she's trying to skip ahead to the ending,” which set the whole crowd to laughing and cheering.

  It took a moment for them to pull themselves together, but finally they did, after peeking out at the crowd and smiling at everyone there. They faced the preacher who wouldn't resist one last laugh. “Is it okay if I do my part now?” he asked, and Indie covered her face as she nodded.

  “Dearly beloved,” the preacher said in the age-old traditional beginning, and neither Sam nor Indie could focus on his words until he got to their parts.

  “Samuel Wayne Prichard, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, to love, honor and cherish, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

  Sam swallowed hard, and said, “I do.”

  The preacher turned to Indie. “Indiana Katherine Perkins, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, to love, honor and cherish, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?”

  Indie, with tears streaming, said, “I do.”

  The preacher smiled. “By the power vested in me by the State of Colorado and the Baptist Church, I now pronounce you to be Man and Wife! Now, you may kiss the bride!”

  The crowd erupted into cheers again, and Sam and Indie left the church to get into the back of the limousine that awaited them for the drive to the Holiday Inn, the tin cans tied to its back rattling along the pavement as it pulled away. Everyone else would be along as soon as they could get to their cars, though the band would take a few minutes more to get all their instruments. Sam and Indie were married, and looking forward to a life together.

  If they'd known what was in store for them on their honeymoon, they might have eloped! />
  2

  Sam and Indie said goodbye to Kenzie and their mothers as the boarding call was announced, and went to get into their seats on the airplane. Indie almost made it to the gate before rushing back for one more kiss goodbye from Kenzie, but then they were through the gate and walking down the ramp onto the 757 that would take them to Honolulu, Hawaii and into the biggest adventure of their lives.

  They got seated, with Sam at the window and Indie beside him, and Sam looked at his bride.

  “Have I mentioned today that I love you?” he asked her, and she smiled as she nodded happily.

  “Only about fifty times, but I never get tired of hearing it,” she said. “You can say it as often as you want!”

  “That’s good, because I'll probably say it a lot, now. It just seems to roll off my tongue, I can't imagine why.”

  “Oh, Sam,” she said. “Am I dreaming? Did we really just get married?”

  He laughed. “We did, baby, we sure did. I know what you mean though, it's like it hasn't really sunk in yet. I keep thinking I'll wake up, and it's still yesterday. Or worse, that I'll wake up and you were just a dream, and none of this is real.”

  Indie pinched his arm, and he yelped. “Was that real?” she asked innocently.

  “If it wasn't, I'm in the most realistic dream I've ever had! Ouch, babe, that really hurt!”

  Indie laughed, but leaned down to kiss the spot she had pinched. “I'm sorry. I just thought you wanted to know if I was real or not, and I promise you, while I may be dreaming this, I'm still very real, and very much in love with you!”

  Sam leaned over and kissed her, and then sat back to watch out the window as the workers loaded luggage and other things into the plane. They closed the hatch they were working at and moved off to another airplane a few places down the line.

  “Looks like they got all the bags stowed,” Sam said, “so we should be taking off soon. Next stop, Honolulu! And I get you all to myself for the next two weeks!”

  “Mmmm,” she said, “I do like the sound of that! But what will you do with me, Mr. Prichard, for two whole weeks?”

  Sam grinned. “I've got a whole list in my head, babe, and if any of them scare you, I've got plenty more where they came from!”

  “Oh, if they scare me, huh?” Indie asked, smiling. “And do you really think that's likely?”

  “Nah, but I can hope, right?”

  Indie sighed. “I suppose,” she said. “But you never can tell, I might like 'em!”

  “I'm hoping so!”

  She smacked him playfully on the arm. “You're so bad!”

  “Hey, you married me, remember?”

  She smiled. “Yes, I did, and it's made me the happiest girl alive!”

  “Well, it's making me pretty happy, too, you know,” Sam said. “I mean, look at me— I was a lonely, grouchy old bachelor until you came along and swept me off my feet.”

  Indie looked at him, in mock shock. “I swept you off—now, wait just a minute, Buster, I distinctly recall being the one who got swept off her feet! You and your 'Prince Charming' act got me hooked, and I never even saw it coming!”

  “Prince Charming? Now I'm Prince Charming? What does that make you, Cinderella or Snow White?”

  “Hmm, I hadn't thought it through that far. I think I'll go with Cinderella. I was pretty poor, y'know, and you did work me pretty hard for a while there, always cleaning your house, cooking your meals...”

  Sam grabbed her and pulled her close, then shushed her with a kiss. He was still kissing her when the stewardess closed the door and the sound of the airplane began to change. A moment later, air started coming from the vents, and he knew they were about to leave the parking space and taxi to the runway.

  Sam sat back and relaxed in his seat, clutching Indie's tiny hand in his own big one, and they looked out the window together. Sam was curious about the workers out there, and watched as they moved around the big plane like worker bees around a hive. He was startled, though, when one of them hurried up to the plane carrying a huge yellow and purple duffel-type bag on a sling over his shoulder, so big and heavy that he seemed barely able to move with it, and yanked open the luggage hatch again. The guy thrust the bag inside and turned around and ran, just as the plane began to move backward and out of its space.

  “That's odd,” Sam said, and Indie leaned over to try to see what he was looking at.

  “What's odd, babe?” she asked, but he shook his head.

  “A guy ran up at the last minute with somebody's bag, and opened the hatch. I would've thought it would set off some alarm in the cockpit, but as soon as he shut it again, we started moving. Maybe the pilots knew and were watching.”

  “Yeah,” Indie said. “Probably just somebody got lucky and their suitcase didn't go to Istanbul!”

  They laughed, and then the plane began to taxi off toward the runway, and to their new lives together. Sam watched the planes and buildings slide past, and then they were moving onto the runway.

  The pilot sat on the tarmac for a few moments as two other planes took off, and then it was their turn, as he positioned the plane to face the whole length of the runway. A second later, Sam and Indie felt themselves pressed backward as the pilot gave the big jet engines all of their power, and they began rolling faster and faster. The ground outside slid past them at incredible speed, and then the nose came up, and a few seconds after that, the sound of the wheels came to a sudden halt as they lifted off and were in the air.

  The plane climbed rapidly, the engines screaming and roaring as they pushed it to ever-greater heights. Sam loved watching the land grow smaller and smaller below them, as the plane rose higher and higher into the air. People and cars went from recognizable objects to tiny little things that seemed to be moving across a toy landscape, and the entire effect always fascinated him.

  The captain announced that they had reached cruising altitude, and the seat belt sign went off. A few people got up and began to move around, while the flight attendants started preparing to offer drinks and pillows. Sam and Indie stayed in their seats.

  “I love flying,” Indie said. “I have since I was a kid. When my dad was alive, we used to go on vacations and we always took a plane. It was as much fun to go to wherever we were going as it was to be there.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, I've always liked it. I haven't done a lot of flying, but I love it when I can. My first flight was after I became a cop, and I got sent to New York to bring back a runaway that turned up there, a twelve year old girl. I want you to know, that little brat actually tried to convince the stewardess that I had kidnapped her, and I had to show the pilot my paperwork to calm things down.”

  Indie laughed. “Girls can definitely be trouble,” she said. “And now, look what you've done, you went and married one of us! You should have learned your lesson from that one!”

  Sam took her hand. “I'm pretty happy with my choice, here. babe, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

  Indie smiled and snuggled as close as the seats would allow. “I'm pretty happy with it, too, and I feel the same way about you.” She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it. “So, what's on the agenda for this trip? You've been pretty secretive about it, so far.”

  “Well, when we get there, we'll get checked into our room at the Marriott on Waikiki Beach. It'll still be just a little after five, since we're chasing the sun, so by the time we get in and unpacked, it'll be time to have dinner in one of the five different restaurants there. Afterward, we'll go and see one of the big shows in Honolulu, and then I'm going to take you back to our room and show you some of those wild ideas I was talking about.”

  Indie giggled. “Sounds like fun,” she said. “I'm all for it!”

  The flight took almost eight hours, and since neither of them had gotten a lot of sleep the night before, they both dozed off for a few of them. When they woke, it was time for their in-flight meal—Sam told Indie that airline food always left you hungry, so they'd still need dinner lat
er—and after that, they were both so excited about the adventures they were going to have that they spent the remaining flight time cuddling and chatting.

  The plane landed, as Sam had said, at just a little past 5 p.m. Hawaii time, and it took more than half an hour to get their bags, watching the carousel and waiting for someone to get them off the plane and into the terminal. Sam saw that yellow and purple duffel come through, and noticed that it was picked up by a man who appeared to be Middle Eastern, but then he spotted his own suitcases and forgot about it. Indie's came through a moment later, and they hurried off to catch a shuttle to their hotel. By the time they got checked in it was nearly six-thirty, and Indie admitted she was hungry again, so they just dropped their bags in their room and headed for the restaurant.

  “This place is fantastic,” Indie said as they ate the most wonderful food she'd ever tasted. She had ordered lau lau, kalua pork, lomi lomi and rice, and every bite she took resulted in a moan of pleasure. Sam, being a simpler sort, had ordered London Broil and potatoes and was making similar noises.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I don't know if I've ever eaten anything this good in my life, except for your cooking, of course.”

  “Hey, don't worry, this is better than anything I can do,” she said with a smile. “It's okay to say it's better than my cooking, I won't get my feelings hurt!”

  “Then it really is the best I've ever had! I take it you like the stuff you’re eating? What is that, fish?”

  “There's salmon in this part,” she said, pointing at the lomi lomi, “but this is pork, and I think this is, too.”

  Sam looked at her plate and shrugged his shoulders. “I'll stick to steak,” he said. “At least I know where it comes from.”

  “Hey, come on, we're n Hawaii! You've gotta try some new things! Taste this,” she said, pushing a fork full of meat toward him. “It's pork and some kind of fish, it's really good!”