As the small jet winged its way toward its first stop at JFK Jessica and Seth began saying their farewells to the loved ones who had comprised their wedding party in anticipation of separating once the plane landed.

Standing close to Seth in the aisle near the front of the plane Jessica addressed their newly united little family group. "We'll miss you all terribly until we meet again at the reception."

"And we thank you all again from the bottoms of our hearts for being with us on our wedding day after such short notice," added Seth with great feeling.

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world!" replied Martin. A chorus of voices in agreement echoed his sentiment.

A short time later the flight attendant, Maurice, had everyone belted in with their tray tables locked and their seats in the upright position as the plane prepared for landing.

After a smooth touchdown and a prompt deplaning of the wedding party and their luggage the jet was queued up for takeoff to its second destination. In no time the newlyweds were airborne again and sailing smoothly south along the Atlantic coast once more.

Maurice, a stickler for protocol, proceeded to give a bemused Jessica and Seth a run through of the safety features and procedures even though they had heard it on the first leg of their flight.

"And our flight time to…"

"Ah, that won't be necessary," piped up Seth, loudly interrupting the flight attendant. "My wife and I are playing a little game to see if she can guess the location of our honeymoon," he explained.

Glancing at Jessica and gaining her nod of assent the unflappable Maurice continued, "Well, in that case, may I offer both of you my congratulations and perhaps a glass of champagne and some caviar on toast points to celebrate?"

"That would be lovely," agreed Jessica. "Thank you."

Once Maurice was out of earshot Seth leaned in close to Jessica and whispered, "I can understand them having champagne on board, and even caviar. But toast points? Who carries toast points?"

"It's just our lucky day I guess," chuckled Jessica.

Their attention was drawn to the cockpit door as it opened and the co-pilot came over to greet them.

"Excuse me," said the young man in his dapper uniform. "I'm Justin Merrick, your co-pilot. I hope that everything is meeting your expectations."

"Oh yes, everything is going along very smoothly," replied Seth.

"I'm glad, if there's anything any of us can do to ensure your comfort please just ask." The young man then hesitated a moment.

Jessica, ever the one to notice a small detail inquired, "Is there something else, Mr. Merrick?"

"Well, yes actually. I have a favor to request of you Mrs. Fletcher. My wife is one of your biggest fans. Would it be too much to ask if you'd autograph a book for her? I have one up front in my bag."

"Of course, I'd be glad to."

The co-pilot quickly brought back the second book in the trilogy and gained Jessica's inscription for his wife. "I have to ask or I'll never hear the end of it. Just how is this trilogy going to end?"

"I can't reveal that, but you can tell your wife it will be a surprise," cryptically answered Jessica.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Fletcher! My wife will be thrilled. She's gotten me reading your mysteries too and I must admit I'm becoming a fan as well," gratefully said Mr. Merrick.

"I'm glad to hear that. There is one thing you could do for us, if it's not an inconvenience."

"Anything, Mrs. Fletcher," replied the co-pilot.

"We'd like to keep our whereabouts private. Would you be so kind as to not mention to anyone where we'll be landing? I'd consider it a personal favor," smoothly requested Jessica.

"Of course. It'll be our secret and I'll be sure that the crew knows not to divulge our destination, too," agreed the assistant flier, who then returned to the cockpit.

Turning to look at Seth, Jessica noticed he had his head down and he appeared to be lost in thought. Taking his hand gently she asked with some concern, "Seth dear, are you okay?"

"I'm just fine Jess. Why do you ask?" returned Seth as he looked over to her.

"It's just that, well, I hope you're not upset that the co-pilot called me 'Mrs. Fletcher,' rather than 'Mrs. Hazlitt.'"

"Of course not! Even if he noticed it on the passenger manifest he certainly would know you as J.B. Fletcher, the author."

"We haven't talked about it yet, Seth. I would like to keep J.B. Fletcher as my professional name. Socially, I'd be known as Jessica Hazlitt, of course."

"Jess dearest," said Seth as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "that sounds like a very good plan. And by the way," he continued, "don't worry about it when someone eventually addresses me as 'Mr. Fletcher.'"

"You won't be offended?"

Seth barked a laugh. "No, I won't. I'm not that delicate, Jess. Besides, I've greatly esteemed every Fletcher I've ever met, and I love one beyond measure. Accidentally being included in the Fletcher clan is no sign of disrespect at all!"

"I'm so glad you look at it that way," sighed Jessica with relief.

"By the way, that was a good idea asking the co-pilot to not let on about where we're landing. Quick thinking, as usual, Jess. But now, Sherlock Hazlitt, have you deduced our destination? Hmmm?" teased Seth with a grin.

"Yes, I have," replied Jessica with a bright smile. "We're going to the Hazlitt Plantation at Riverton Gardens in South Carolina, and we should be there in about an hour."

Seth's jaw dropped down to his knees as he stared at Jessica with absolute amazement. In response she released a hearty chortle and was still giggling when he finally spoke.

"How in Sam Hill did you guess it?" demanded a stunned Seth.

"Guessing had nothing to do with it. It was elementary my dear Dr. Watson, er, Hazlitt. Shall I enumerate the clues for you?"

"Please do," responded Seth just as Maurice returned with a tray laden with two flutes of champagne and black roe with crostini. After they were settled with their drinks and appetizers Maurice returned to the small galley at the rear of the plane.

"To start, you made the plans very quickly. It would be unusual for a resort to be able to accommodate us on such short notice. Then, you told me essentially to bring clothes for warm weather and for being near sand and water. At this time of the year that's someplace a good bit south of Maine."

"Helene was with us and it was such short notice for them that she had to leave her husband at home so it's unlikely that they would be expecting us. This morning I learned she's staying with Susan and John for a few days so Florida was most likely out of contention."

"You didn't tell me to take my passport or request a visa, so that, along with it being a warm climate, meant the United States."

"Since we left New York we've never been out of sight of the coast, so it's somewhere along the Atlantic seaboard."

"We've only been offered snacks, not a meal, so the flight will probably be less than two hours."

"You told me to expect good dining in fine restaurants, which would indicate a larger city."

"There are only two cities that meet all of these criteria: Savannah, Georgia or Charleston, South Carolina."

"You've never mentioned knowing anyone in Savannah but you have ties to the Hazlitt Plantation in Riverton, which is about 40 miles outside of Charleston."

"Therefore, we are going to land in Charleston, South Carolina and you probably will rent a car and drive us to the Hazlitt Plantation at Riverton Gardens," finished Jessica, punctuating her deduction with a wave of a toast point laden with caviar before popping it into her mouth.

"Brava! brava!" Seth cried out quietly while applauding softly. "Jessica, I've known you long enough not to be surprised at your figuring out this puzzle but I am always in awe of your powers of observation and deductive reasoning."

Jessica smiled and shook her head a little at Seth's flattering compliment. "Thank you, Seth. That means a lot to me coming from you."

"I'll give you full credit for coming up with the location but we won't be going to the manor house. It's being painted while Evelyn Colby, the estate manager, and cousin Rob Hazlitt are at a conference in England. We'll be staying at a cottage on the far side of the property which has been planted with many of cousin Buford's and Kendall Ames' botanical developments through the years. It was gorgeous years ago when I last saw it and Evelyn told me that it's even better now. I think you'll like it."

"It was such a shame about Buford's death two years ago," Jessica said sadly. "I promised him that I'd bring you back to visit at least every five years but who would have thought he wouldn't be here to see it just a couple of years later."

"A-yuh, a murder you solved," Seth noted, "and we all really appreciated it. I keep up with Evelyn, Rob, and Kendall from the quarterly reports now that we're partners in Riverton Gardens. When I spoke to her to arrange for our stay Evelyn told me that Buford had had the cottage modernized a few years back after they were first engaged. She thought that it was going to be their honeymoon spot. She was very happy that we would be using it for its intended purpose after all."

"That's very sweet of her, it sounds like she's doing well. And how is Rob?"

"Much better. He's been dry now for over three years and has been helping Evelyn with managing the estate. He even apologized to me for his 'ungentlemanlike behavior' when we last met in person at that big dinner when Buford was still alive."

"I'm sure Kendall Ames, being the botanist he is, has buried himself in his research once again," guessed Jessica.

"Oh, yes. Once they sold the Forever Scarlet magnolia for such an outrageous amount he was able to dig right back into his work on developing an insect and drought resistant grain," quipped Seth.

"Seth, that was a real groaner," giggled Jessica. "I think you need more champagne," she mentioned as she turned and waved to Maurice.

With her glass refilled as well Jessica noted, "I saw Buford's stepdaughter Margaret in New York last winter. She was in an off, off, Broadway play - as an actress, not a playwright. We chatted for a few minutes and she said it was a good move for her. She was just as poor, but much happier."

"I'm glad to hear she's found her calling. I thought she was going to bust when she was left out of the will except for always being able to stay at the mansion."

They chatted on about this and that until Maurice came forward and while picking up the empty glasses and plates, advised them that the plane would be landing shortly and asked that they prepare for it.

Seth cradled Jessica's hand in his during the easy landing and after leaving the plane the happy couple collected their luggage, stopped by the rental car kiosk, and found their sedan for the short drive to Riverton Gardens and a week all to themselves.

... ... ... ... ...

{Author's Note: As avid fans probably have already deduced, this story takes place in 1996, just after the conclusion of the Murder, She Wrote series. The setting for this chapter and the next is the southern coastal area in the lovely state of South Carolina and near the elegant, charming old city of Charleston.

This area is no stranger to the storms that churn up in the warm waters of the equator and then sweep through the Caribbean and up the Atlantic coast, often striking land with a vengeance.

On October 8, one such monster, named Hurricane Matthew, ravaged the Charleston area as well as most of the southern Atlantic shoreline of the U.S. Fortunately, it had dropped from a category 4 (which hit the Caribbean islands, especially Haiti) to a category 1 fury before it made landfall just north of Charleston.

But the damage was extensive nonetheless, due to a strong storm surge that swept away human lives, houses, and trees that were older than both, and left behind a water-logged landscape with flooding that's expected to last for weeks.

Although Past Perfect Future is dedicated to all of the Murder, She Wrote fan fiction authors out there I am making an exception to this and dedicating Chapters 11 and 12, which take place in South Carolina, to all of those affected by Hurricane Matthew.

Please consider making a small donation to the American Red Cross, the International Red Cross, or some other worthwhile organization for relief efforts for all those who have suffered the aftermath of this nasty hurricane.

With sincere thanks,

ClearDarkNight.}