Chapter Twenty One:

Rodgers was sitting at his desk, talking on the phone to Ryan when Beckett returned from the morgue. Her face was an emotionless mask, which worried Rick more than if she came in angry. Angry he thought he could deal with, or at least he understood. He was still dealing with the effects of seeing the woman that he had once considered his one and done for the first time in over a decade. Not knowing what his partner was thinking just added to his discomfort.

The conversation turned back to the case at hand. Rick relayed to her the recent call he had with Ryan and Espo who were still at the hotel. He turns to his partner before he speaks. "The guys are bringing the groom in for questioning. When they guys searched the best man's room for any evidence of Sophie being there, they discovered that his room was next to the groom's. The door separating the rooms was unlocked, so they decided to look in there also. They found the victim's missing earring near the bed."

"Why was she in his room?" Kate inquires, puzzled by the revelation.

"Based upon what they learned from the other bridesmaids, the groom to be and Sophie used to date. In fact, Kyra met him because of Sophie. I guess that's why Kyra made her a bridesmaid." Rick replies.

A few minutes later the groom to be was sitting in the interrogation room, waiting for Beckett to enter with Esposito. Rick honored her request to watch from behind the two way mirror, understanding that due to his history with the bride to be, they wanted nothing to appear out of the norm.

Greg Murphy sat at the table along with his uncle Ted who was also his attorney. He advised his client to offer nothing to the detectives. Even when confronted with the evidence they had of the victim being in Greg's room, 'Uncle Teddy' was confrontational, assuring his nephew that they had nothing and demanded his client's release at once.

"Fine, you're free to go." Kate replies. The two men get up from the table and are about to leave the room when she comments. "How will your fiancé react when she hears that Sophie was in your room only minutes before she was murdered?"

Greg seems to deflate and stops his exit. "I came up to my room a little after one. Everyone had been drinking last night. I saw a lump in my bed under the covers. I thought that it was Kyra, so I crawled into bed and snuggled up against her. But then she rolls over and I see that it was Sophie. I freaked out and started yelling at her as she tried to keep me in bed. I finally broke free and was standing over the bed, demanding that she leave the room."

"She got out of the bed, very drunk and very naked and threw herself at me. Spouting a bunch of nonsense about me making a huge mistake. I tried to get her off of me and she fell, hitting the floor. She went to the bathroom and dressed, then slipped out through the connecting doors between mine and the best man's room. I would never cheat on Kyra."

There was something about the way Murphy spoke that convinced Beckett that he was telling the truth. "Don't leave town unless you notify this office first." She tells the young man as his uncle practically drags him from the room.

Espo turns to face Beckett and asks. "What now? He was our best suspect."

"We look into our victim. Find out if there's any reason she would have been in Murphy's room." Kate replies.

She returns to her desk a few moments later. Rodgers is already seated at his desk, working on his computer. Not knowing any way to be subtle with her current train of thought, Kate looks at her partner and inquires. "Do you think that the bride would be capable of killing Sophie?"

All Rick can do is offer her an incredulous look in response. He starts to say something, but Kate is quicker. "Hear me out... What if Kyra decided to go to her fiancé's room just as Greg and Sophie were in the middle of whatever they were doing. She follows her back to her room and confronts her. An altercation ensues and she strangles her."

"Kyra would never do that." Rick answers emphatically. "Besides, Sophie was a good three inches taller than Kyra. She would have to have been standing on stool to have the same angle as the bruises on Sophie's neck. And whoever strangled her had bigger hands than Kyra."

Kate listens to her partner and knows that he is right. Whoever killed Sophie was taller and stronger than her as she had put up a fight. She didn't know why she was disappointed to exclude Kyra so quickly. 'I'm not jealous of the way he was affected by her. Am I?'

The two sat there and continued working in silence. Ryan and Espo reviewed videos that were taken during the rehearsal dinner looking to see what happened to Sophie. Rick was checking her financial records when he discovers something that didn't make sense. He looks across his desk to where his partner is seated, staring at her monitor. "Sophie had about fifty dollars in her bank account, yet she flies across the country for a wedding? From what I can gather from the guest statements, Sophie was barely friends with Kyra."

"We should speak to the guests again and see if they knew how she came up with the money to come all the way across the country for the wedding of her ex to a woman she barely knew... Maybe you could speak to Kyra and find out why she would choose Sophie to be a bridesmaid?" Kate comments while never letting her gaze move from her computer.

The thought of facing Kyra again was not what he had in mind. It was hard enough seeing her on what should have been the happiest day of her life and if he was honest with himself, he'd never truly gotten over the hurt from her rejection all those years ago. Knowing that if he tried to refuse speaking to her would be an admission of exactly how he felt at the moment, he pushes himself up from his chair and looks at his partner. "Let's go." Is all he says as he walks away before she can get up herself.

The ride back to the hotel was spent in silence. Kate silently watches her partner as his anxiety seems to grow the closer they get to their destination. As they entered the lobby, Beckett spots Kyra having what appeared to be a heated debate with an older woman. Kate could sense that whatever the bride to be was saying to the older woman was not being received well at all. Kate was about five feet away when she turns to see Rick still standing by the hotel entrance. The look on his face confirmed that he knew the woman that was with Kyra.

She gives him an angry scowl and gestures for him to come to where she was standing, much like she would with Nathan. She has to smile seeing the frown appear on his face that reminds her of her son when he is forced to do something that he doesn't want to do. By the time he closes the distance between the two of them, Kyra also sees him and calls out. Both detectives approached the two women, the older one now turning to see Rick standing there beside Kate.

"Richard Rodgers... well it appears that I was wrong about you." She speaks with disdain as she gives him an appraising look. "I always thought that you'd end up teaching English Literature at some community college somewhere."

Kyra at least had the manners to look thoroughly embarrassed by the woman's rude remark, while Kate's whole body seems to tense.

Rodgers can only smile as he speaks. "Ah, Shelia it's good to see you too." The sarcasm in his voice apparent, before he turns to face his partner. "Katherine Beckett, I'd like to introduce you to Shelia Blane, Kyra's mother. You see, Shelia was convinced that I wasn't worthy of her daughter. Right Shelia?"

"The facts speak for themselves." Shelia snaps back in response, seeing the shocked look on both Kate and Kyra's faces.

Beckett decides that she has heard enough from this pompous woman and decides to speak. "Sorry to interrupt your little stroll down memory lane, but we're here to investigate a murder and I have a few questions for you Ms Blane." The tone of her voice left no doubt that she was in no mood to tolerate the woman, or her remarks regarding her partner.

Kyra gives both Rick and Kate an apologetic look and replies. "Anything I can do to help."

Angered at being interrupted by the two detectives, Shelia stands firm where she is and glares at Beckett. Kate actually smiles at the thought that she is upsetting her and continues. "We've done a little digging into Sophie's finances and it looks like she didn't have enough money to be a part of this wedding. Did you pay for her?"

"No, Greg's uncle Teddy paid for her dress. I saw him in the boutique with her the day before the rehearsal." Shelia blurts out before Kyra could speak. "The two looked pretty cozy together..."

Kate has to smile as they now had a new suspect, although she still had no reason why Teddy would have murdered her. "Oh, one more question, who's idea was it to make Sophie a bridesmaid? I mean, wasn't it a bit awkward to have one of your fiancé's ex girlfriends as a part of your wedding?"

"I met Greg because of Sophie. We were friends before I met him. I knew that they dated, but Greg assured me that it was never serious between them. I asked her to be a bridesmaid as a way of thanking her for helping us get together." Kyra replies.

"Thank you for your help on this. We'll be in touch if we discover anything." Kate remarks in her most professional voice.

Rick looks at the two Blane women standing before him and speaks. "Kyra, it was good to see you... Shelia, I'd like to say the pleasure was all mine, but we both know that's a lie." He turns and walks away before the elder Blane can offer a retort of her own.

Kate looked at Shelia and then at Kyra with a look of disgust. "Did you know that Rick has the number one selling novel in the country at this moment? Did you know that he's the type of guy that would give fifty thousand dollars to someone he barely knew to help right a wrong? No, he didn't measure up because his bank account didn't have enough zeros." Kate turns and starts to walk away, barely able to keep her anger.

"No, it's about class, and Richard had none." Shelia sarcastically replies, which causes Kate to stop and turn to face the woman.

"And just how would you know? You wouldn't know class if it bit you on your ass, you pompous bitch." Kate was nearly growling as she spoke. The stunned look on the two Blaine women's faces in response to her remark forced her to suppress a smug smile of victory. She turned and walked to where her partner was standing with a look of awe on his face.

The two climbed into the cruiser and were soon in the middle of Manhattan traffic before Rodgers breaks the silence. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Kate smiles at him and replies. "Yes I did. Partners look out for each other." Her smile then turns to a sly grin. "And to think, that could have been your mother in law..." Her smile then turns to a full laugh seeing Rick's body shuddering and a look of disgust on his face reminiscent of her son's when he tastes something 'icky'.

The remainder of the ride to the precinct was spent in silence as each one thought about their partner. Rick's feelings for Kate only grew after her defense of him combined with her dressing down of Shelia. Kate realized what a wonderfully complex man her partner was. Articulate and professional, yet child like and caring, she could see herself spending her life with him. And for the first time, the thought didn't frighten her.

They arrived at the precinct and were soon on the elevator to their floor. Rick had been unusually quiet and sneaking glances at her the entire trip back. She could sense that he wanted to say something to her, but was afraid. As the doors closed, Kate looks at her partner and quietly inquires. "What's wrong?"

He shyly looks at her and replies in a whisper. "I'm in love with my partner and I don't know what to do." His body stiffens a little after he speaks, preparing himself for her rejection.

Stunned by Rick's profession, Kate realizes that these feelings that she had felt building for her partner were more than simple affection. She had never really felt the way she did about Rick. She hadn't been in love with Rogan and her high school boyfriends were nothing more than infatuation. What she felt for Rick was different. She looks at her partner standing there, fully expecting her rejection and decides that actions speak louder than words.

Beckett closes the distance between them, and places a gentle kiss on his lips. She pulls away a little and replies. "The feeling's mutual."

The smile that appears on his face reminded her of her son on Christmas morning. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her to his chest as he returns the kiss. The kiss continues until the ding of the elevator chime indicates they have arrived at their floor. Reluctantly, he releases her from his hold and the two quickly try to put on their professional faces as the doors open.

Ryan and Espo were working at their desks when the two walked into the bullpen. Both men can sense that there is something different about the two detectives, but had no clue what it could be. At least at that moment. Before either could speak, Beckett does. "I need you two to check into the finances of Ted Murphy. It appears that he may have been the source of money for Sophie's wedding expenses."

Rick and Kate returned to their desks and started checking into Uncle Teddy also. They both exchanged glances at each other as they tried to focus on the task at hand. Neither knew how to process the other's admission on the elevator. Both knew that a romantic relationship between coworkers would result in them being separated. Something that neither wanted.

The afternoon seemed to drag on as each one gathered little bits of information that helped paint a not so flattering picture of Ted. Rick decided that it was time to compare what they had each found and calls them into the conference room. As they discussed their findings, it became clear that they needed to bring Ted in for further questioning. Rodgers sends Ryan and Esposito back to the hotel to bring Murphy in for questioning.

Rick and Kate returned to the bullpen and try to act normal. Nearly a half hour later, Rick receives a call from Ryan telling him that Teddy had checked out of his room and was on his way back to Los Angeles. Rodgers assures Ryan that everything is fine and to head out to JFK with Espo. As soon as the call ends, Rick makes a call to a friend of his at TSA telling him to detain Ted as he attempts to clear airport security as he was a suspect in a murder. He also asks the person he was talking to to thoroughly check his luggage for anything that may be made from platinum.

Three hours later, Ted Murphy confessed to killing Sophie because she refused to follow through with his plan to sabotage his nephew's wedding. They had uncovered proof that Murphy had been living the good life thanks to the money that had been put in trust for Greg by his deceased parents. The trust was due to become payable as soon as he was married. Having no way to pay back the money that he had embezzled, Ted decided to enlist Sophie to seduce Greg and then let Kyra find out. What Ted didn't consider was that Greg was in love with Kyra and that he would never cheat on her.

Sophie had a change of heart after her failed attempt to seduce Greg and was confronted by Teddy. Enraged and panicked, Ted strangles her, stuffing Sophie in the closet. At first Murphy denies everything until the platinum tie bar was discovered by TSA during their search of his luggage. Unwittingly, Ted allowed the damning evidence to be gathered by the act of carrying it onto the flight.

Once Ted was taken away, Rick knew he had one more thing to do. In spite of the late hour, he asks Kate if she would like to go with him. The trip to the hotel was filled with awkward small talk, neither really knowing just what to say at that moment. Once there, the two went to Kyra's suite. She was there with Greg when the two detectives enter. Rick calmly explains what has happened regarding Sophie's murder, making sure Kyra understood that Greg's love for her was what made her bridesmaid change her mind. He explained how Uncle Teddy had pilfered Greg's trust fund and was trying to stop the wedding to buy time.

Greg was stunned to learn that the man he had trusted completely had been capable of such a heinous act. He thanked both Rick and Kate for getting justice for Sophie. Rodgers shakes his hand and congratulates the man, then walks to Kyra, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. He wishes them the best and starts to leave, Kate is following closely behind him. She's nearly out the door when Kyra calls out to her, closing the distance between them.

Rick stands in the hallway, as Kate and Kyra exchange whispered words for several seconds. The two women smile and exchange a hug as they separate. Rick can't help but notice the serene look on Kate's face as they exit the hotel and get back into the cruiser.

The curiosity at what had been discussed between the two women was killing him and he finally had to ask. "Okay, what did Kyra say about me?"

"Why do you think that we were talking about you?" Kate responds with a sly smile. She remains silent for another moment or two, enjoying the look of terror on his face. "She said that she could tell that you were in love with me... and that she was happy that you had moved on like she had. Kyra said that you were all mine. She was right, wasn't she?"

"Yes."