Jack of Diamonds

by Christopher Greyson

  Pastor Warren Braxton was there to greet Jack, and walked him to his designated spot. The church was decked out in righteous splendor. The long pews were filled with family and friends, all there to support him and Alice in their time of commitment and celebration. White banners and veils were suspended from the ceiling, Erica’s final touches to what Jack felt had been her life’s mission. He had to admit, she’d done a superb job.

  His groomsmen—Bobbie G., Boomer, Finn, and Mac—were lined up in their black tuxedos and waiting for him. Each member of the motley crew looked relieved to see Jack join them at the altar.

  “Jack, my man!” Boomer said, and launched into his usual complicated set of first-bumping and hand-clapping that ended only when Jack grabbed Boomer’s wrist and dragged him forward for a shoulder bump. Jack chuckled, grateful for the comic relief.

  He would have given anything to have Chandler here with him. In life and in death, Chandler would always be his best friend, brother, and best man. He looked at the spot in the front row that he and Alice had agreed would be reserved for Chandler. An American flag had been draped over the back of the pew, and on the seat, facing Jack, was a picture of Chandler in his dress uniform. Beside it sat a clear jar full of Oreo cookies—Chandler’s favorite. They were a sweet reminder to Jack and Alice that the Chandler they knew and loved was so much more than the serious soldier in the military photo who gave his young life in service to his country.

  In the next seat over sat a picture of Michelle, Chandler’s sister, Jack’s foster sister, and Alice’s best friend and maid of honor. A White Rocks Eastern College pennant hung above the photo. Michelle would have graduated this year had she not been murdered. The photo Alice had selected showed Michelle sitting on the hood of her blue Honda Civic with a bright smile. It was the best and last picture ever taken of her.

  Jack gazed into Chandler’s and Michelle’s warm, dark-brown eyes, grateful to have had their love and friendship. And thankful that Alice was so very thoughtful. They had agreed to reserve seats for their departed brother and sister, but Alice had done so much more. This was truly special.

  There was one more departed relative in attendance. Next to Jack’s birth mother, Patty, was an empty chair with a photograph of Jack’s father, Steven. It was his school photo. Jack smiled, once again taken aback by how much he looked like him. Steven’s mother, Mary Ritter, Jack’s only grandmother, sat on his other side.

  He wished that Alice’s cousin Yana could have attended the wedding. It would have meant a lot to Alice, but given that Yana had just shot and killed her father, it was impossible. Another knot in the tattered tapestry of Alice’s life.

  Jack gave a nod of thanks to his benefactor and friend, Pierce Weston, sitting in the second row, next to Marisa in a sharp blue dress. He saw his brothers and sisters in blue filling the back four rows, including Sheriff Morrison, Detective Castillo, Kendra, and even Murphy.

  He smiled and waved at his adoptive mother, Laura, sitting next to his birth mother, Patty. Ted sat on Laura’s other side, and beside him, an open seat was saved for Aunt Haddie, who would be walking Alice down the aisle. In some ways, in spite of his horrible childhood, Jack was uniquely blessed. Between Patty, Laura, Aunt Haddie, and Mary Ritter, he felt like he had four mothers now. And at this moment, the three who were watching him motioned for him to straighten up and close his mouth, which he suspected had been hanging open since he walked into the church. He smiled and obeyed, fighting the urge to fidget with his tie.

  The organ began to play an unexpected tune: Snoopy’s song from Peanuts. Jack’s gaze snapped to the double doors at the back of the sanctuary as they flew open wide and all one hundred and twenty pounds of Lady bounded toward him with a heart-shaped ring pillow strapped to her enormous back. Now the music choice made sense. Mrs. Stevens followed along behind, holding Lady’s leash, her face as red as her hair as she fought in vain to slow the wild ringbearer’s procession.

  Jack knelt to swiftly untie the rings from the satin pillow, but not fast enough to avoid a sloppy lick up the side of his face.

  Boomer let out an, “Aw, man. That’s not the smooch you’ve been waiting for.”

  The wave of giggles from the attendees came to a halt when the organist began to play the “Wedding March.”

  “Please rise for the bride,” said the pastor, and the wedding guests stood in unison.

  Two women appeared. Aunt Haddie was crying and smiling at the same time.

  But Jack had eyes only for Alice. At the sight of her, time stopped. She took his breath away. He hadn’t asked what she was going to wear since the gown designed by her would-be killer had been cut from her body by the paramedics after the psychotic “wedding” in the warehouse. But she had made the perfect choice.

  Alice was wearing Aunt Haddie’s wedding dress. Jack recognized it from the photo Aunt Haddie kept next to her bed. It had been altered to fit Alice’s petite frame. Her shoulder-length brown hair fell loose in shining waves, and instead of the chapel veil she had planned to wear, she had opted for a simple ring of spring flowers. Tucked into it was her mother’s butterfly pin. She looked like she stepped out of an ethereal painting.

  Jack had never seen a woman look so beautiful. He felt like her smile was giving him the strength of a thousand suns. His heart felt so full, he thought it might burst.

  She held her head high and stepped slowly down the aisle towards him as the music played.

  Jack felt like he was flying and Alice was the only one in the sky with him. He knew that the church was filled with friends and family, but he saw only her.

  Haddie took her seat as Alice stepped to Jack’s side. He took her hand, and something hard pressed against his leg. He glanced down, puzzled. Alice looked at him with scared green eyes that swelled with love. “I got nervous you might run, so I brought my Taser,” she whispered.

  Jack let his head roll back and he laughed. His four mothers were shushing him, but he couldn’t stop. He laughed loud and long. Alice starting giggling too, and then she was laughing as hard as him. Soon the whole church was filled with laughter.

  Jack pulled Alice close. He knew he wasn’t supposed to kiss the bride until after the ceremony, but he didn’t care. He pressed his lips to hers and gave it everything he had.

  Lenora had it all wrong. Weddings weren’t about designer dresses and pageantry. They were a celebration of two people coming together with their family and friends before God to publicly declare their love and commitment and begin a new life together as one.

  Jack held Alice’s chin and peered into her emerald eyes. “I love you, Alice Samantha Campbell. And I always will.”

  “I love you more.” She kissed him. “Let’s go catch that happily ever after.”

  63

  Yana swayed in the back of the gray sedan as it wove through the airport traffic. Without turning, the driver handed a phone back to her. The large mountain of a man hadn’t said a single word to her. Not when he picked her up, not on the ride. That wasn’t a good sign.

  The phone buzzed like an angry wasp. Once. Twice. Yana held it on her open palm, but there was no way to avoid the sting to come.

  The driver stared into the rearview mirror, sending a clear message to answer the burner phone.

  Yana obeyed. “Hello?”

  “Explain,” Anatoli Belilovski said in Russian.

  “Alex was a careless idiot.” Yana’s voice was full of sharp condemnation.

  “Give me facts,” the gruff voice demanded.

  “Alex became impatient and tried to go for the information directly. It turned out we were mistaken. The granddaughter’s friend was paying for the wedding. Pierce Weston.”

  “I am aware of who he is. Continue.” Anatoli’s voice was a low rumble. Even though he was in his sixties, he terrified her. “Is there now a problem with the police?”

  “No. Stratton told them it was self-defense. They let me go.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone. She beg
an to fear Anatoli had hung up, then she picked up on his quiet breathing.

  “Alice still trusts me,” she said. “I told her that I would contact her after I buried my father.”

  “And she believed you?”

  “Yes. She thinks I saved Stratton’s life. She wants me to come back. She trusts me, and is blissfully unaware of the danger she is in.”

  Anatoli grunted. “There may be no reason for you to return. If the source of funds for the lavish wedding has been explained, it no longer stands to reason to think Andrew’s granddaughter is in contact with him.”

  “Clearly, she is not. Nor do Alice and Jack know where he is. Otherwise Jack would not have his federal contacts trying to locate him.”

  “Then again, I ask, why return if they have no information we need?”

  “Because Andrew will find her. I’m certain of it. It was the Americans looking for Andrew that alerted us that Alice was alive. It will alert Andrew as well. And when he finds out his granddaughter is still alive, he will come for her.”

  “And we will be there. Where is the granddaughter going on her honeymoon?”

  “The Bahamas.”

  “We will wait until they return. If you are correct, Alice will reach out to you. It is good she trusts you.”

  “She does. But she has a new husband at her side. He has proven that he would die to protect her. He is a real-life superhero.”

  “He is no superman—he bleeds like the rest of us. But you are right. It is time to get rid of Jack Stratton.”

  The Detective Jack Stratton Mystery-Thriller Series

  The Detective Jack Stratton Mystery-Thriller Series, authored by Wall Street Journal bestselling writer Christopher Greyson, has 5,000+ five-star reviews and over a million readers and counting. If you’d love to read another page-turning thriller with mystery, humor, and a dash of romance, pick up the next book in the highly acclaimed series today:

  And Then She Was GONE

  A hometown hero with a heart of gold, Jack Stratton was raised in a whorehouse by his prostitute mother. When his foster mother asks him to look into a missing girl’s disappearance, Jack quickly gets drawn into a baffling mystery. As Jack digs deeper, everyone becomes a suspect—including himself. Caught between the criminals and the cops, can Jack discover the truth in time to save the girl? Or will he become the next victim?

  GIRL JACKED

  Guilt has driven a wedge between Jack and the family he loves. When Jack, now a police officer, hears the news that his foster sister Michelle is missing, it cuts straight to his core. The police think she just took off, but Jack knows Michelle would never leave her loved ones behind—like he did. Forced to confront the demons from his past, Jack must take action, find Michelle, and bring her home... or die trying.

  JACK KNIFED

  Constant nightmares have forced Jack to seek answers about his rough childhood and the dark secrets hidden there. The mystery surrounding Jack’s birth father leads Jack to investigate the twenty-seven-year-old murder case in Hope Falls.

  JACKS ARE WILD

  When Jack’s sexy old flame disappears, no one thinks it’s suspicious except Jack and one unbalanced witness. Jack feels in his gut that something is wrong. He knows that Marisa has a past, and if it ever caught up with her—it would be deadly. The trail leads him into all sorts of trouble—landing him smack in the middle of an all-out mob war between the Italian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza.

  JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER

  Rogue hero Jack Stratton is back in another action-packed, thrilling adventure. While recovering from a gunshot wound, Jack gets a seemingly harmless private investigation job—locate the owner of a lost dog—Jack begrudgingly assists. Little does he know it will place him directly in the crosshairs of a merciless serial killer.

  DATA JACK

  When Replacement gets a job setting up a computer network for a jet-setting software tycoon things turn deadly for her and Jack. Can Jack and Alice stop a pack of ruthless criminals before they can Data Jack?

  JACK OF HEARTS

  Jack Stratton is heading south for some fun in the sun. Already nervous about introducing his girlfriend, Alice, to his parents, the last thing Jack needed was for the dog-sitter to cancel, forcing him to bring Lady, their 120-pound King Shepherd, on the plane with them. The dog holds Jack responsible and wants payback. On top of everything, Jack is still waiting for Alice’s answer to his marriage proposal.

  When his mother and the members of her neighborhood book club ask him to catch the “Orange Blossom Cove Bandit,” a small-time thief who’s stealing garden gnomes and peace of mind from their quiet retirement community, how can Jack refuse?

  The peculiar mystery proves to be more than it appears, and things take a deadly turn. Now, Jack finds it’s up to him to stop a crazed killer, save his parents, and win the hand of the girl he loves—but if he survives, will it be Jack who ends up with a broken heart?

  JACK FROST

  Jack has a new assignment: to investigate the suspicious death of a soundman on the hit TV show Planet Survival. Jack goes undercover as a security agent where the show is filming on nearby Mount Minuit. Soon trapped on the treacherous peak by a blizzard, a mysterious killer continues to stalk the cast and crew of Planet Survival. What started out as a game is now a deadly competition for survival. As the temperature drops and the body count rises, what will get them first? The mountain or the killer?

  JACK OF DIAMONDS

  All Jack Stratton wants to do is get married to the woman he loves—and make it through the wedding. It seems like he is finally getting his wish until he responds to a police distress call and discovers his old partner unconscious in an abandoned house. Investigators insist it was just an accident, but Jack fears there may be more to it. Sketches of women cover the walls, and among them is one sketch that makes Jack’s blood run cold—a sketch of Alice, pinned up beside an invitation to a very special wedding—his own. As Jack and Alice fight a deadly killer, their long, happy future together seems like it’s just inches from slipping away. This time, “till death do us part” might just be a bit too accurate.

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  Novels featuring Jack Stratton in order:

  AND THEN SHE WAS GONE

  GIRL JACKED

  JACK KNIFED

  JACKS ARE WILD

  JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER

  DATA JACK

  JACK OF HEARTS

  JACK FROST

  JACK OF DIAMONDS

  Epic Fantasy

  PURE OF HEART

  Psychological Thriller

  THE GIRL WHO LIVED

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  The Adventures of Finn & Annie — MiniMystery Series

  In these heartwarming short stories, join Finn and Annie as they investigate their way through murder, arson, theft, embezzlement, and maybe even love, seeking to distinguish between truth and lies, scammers and victims. A MiniMystery series that will touch your heart and leave you craving more!

  Finnian Church is trying to piece his life back together. After losing his leg serving in the Army, he is starting a new career as an insurance investigator. Joining him is newly hired videographer Annie Summers— a woman who lost her hearing and is trying to make it as a single mother of two. The world might see them as broken and battered souls, but as they come together to solve mysteries, the
y discover that they make a great team.

  The Case of the Attic Door

  A man mysteriously murdered in his house. Nothing stolen, and no apparent suspects. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but is it?

  The Case of the Dropped Groceries

  Was it a simple trip and fall or is someone trying to scam the insurance company?

  The Case of the Wayward Ride

  A minister is killed in a car crash on an isolated road, and a convicted prostitute is found injured in the passenger seat. What will Finn and Annie uncover about the clergyman’s fateful ride home?

  The Case of the Phantom Pet

  Recently involved in a car accident, a man now claims that his precious dog, Bun, was injured during the crash, too. Can Finn and Annie solve the case and discover what really happened to Bun?

  The Case of the Disappearing Diamond