AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Henry glanced at his watch, an old Seiko. “Naw. I was too excited about the way the ring took shape. It is even more beautiful than I’d hoped. See what you think.” He reached into the safe and retrieved the velvet box.
Jon took it and lifted the lid. His breath caught as sunlight caught the faceted diamonds and sapphires. The heart shape perfectly expressed how he felt about Annie. The matching wedding ring curved into the shape and snugged against the gold.
“I’ve never seen a more beautiful ring.” He managed to take his eyes off it long enough to reach out and shake Henry’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough. I never expected it to be finished so quickly.”
Henry gave a happy sigh. “I was inspired. Let me know how that proposal goes, eh. Pictures would be appreciated.”
“You bet. How much do I owe you?”
Henry moved to the register and named the price, which was worth every penny. Jon whipped out his debit card and paid for it, then thanked the jeweler again. He stopped in a convenience store and grabbed a cherry Popsicle before he wandered down to the water. He sat on a boulder overlooking Lake Superior and ate his frozen treat.
Gulls landed nearby and he told the closest one, “You wouldn’t like this.” Its black eyes disagreed with his statement.
How should this proposal go down? Over a romantic dinner? A walk along the water at dusk? What were some of their favoritethings to do over the years? Surfing had been at the top of the list when they were younger, but they hadn’t had time to go much this summer. Annie was in her element out on a boat, but that might be an awkward place to get down on one knee.
He stared out over the Big Sea Water. Lake Superior had dominated their lives in so many ways. It would be appropriate to have it as a backdrop. He’d first kissed her on its shores, and much later Kylie had been conceived within hearing of the lake’s waves.
He opened the box again and stared at the ring. He’d loved Annie for so long, and it seemed a dream that they were finally going to start their lives together. The ring couldn’t be on her finger too soon for him.
But when and where? His gaze went out over the water again. Maybe keeping it simple would be best.
Pictures. He’d seen pictures of proposals on social media, but how did someone go about doing that when you wanted the moment to be in private? What if he set up a hidden camera and recorded a video? He could have still photos lifted from it. That would work.
A smile curved his lips as he anticipated her reaction when she saw the ring. Would she be willing to get married quickly or would she want time to plan something fancier? Her wedding to Nate had been hasty. Jon wanted her to have whatever she wanted, but he hoped she’d be as eager to be with him as he was to be with her.
Tomorrow would be epic.
***
Mason blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. “So you’re saying you think Sean and his father had something to do withSarah’s abduction? That’s a stretch, Annie. He would have been, what—ten?”
“Probably about that. But he would have likely been doing only what his father asked him to do. It shows what the family was capable of though. I’d like to talk to Mort Jones.”
“He sure slipped under our radar in Sean’s investigation. That name change was fifty years ago. Not sure what you think you’ll get from Mort since he hasn’t had contact with them in decades. And he has Alzheimer’s.”
“Maybe he has good days and bad days. I could ask the staff at the memory center to call if he seems coherent.”
“You can try.” Mason reached for the phone and placed a call.
Annie listened to his request about Mort, but it was clear the man likely couldn’t tell them much. Even if Sean’s uncle came around enough to question, there was no guarantee he knew anything about his sister’s abduction of five-year-old Sarah. Maybe all that information had died with Becky and Sean. Was Annie even on the right track? Proving Sean and his father were involved in the abduction didn’t help their investigation of what was going on here now.
Deja poked her head into the office, but she paused when she saw Mason on the phone. Annie gestured for her to join them, and she came into the room.
When Mason hung up, Deja didn’t wait for permission to speak. “We have another missing tourist, Sheriff. A woman by the name of Ella Anderson. She disappeared in the Kitchigami Wilderness three days ago.”
Annie’s jurisdiction. “Last seen?” She took out a notepad to jot down details.
“She rented a kayak on Monday here in town and left the Kitchigami Wilderness Tract boat launch. Her brother said she called in on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, but he never heard from her after that. He tried to call several times.”
“Can we get the last ping from her phone?”
Mason reached for his phone. “I’ll get that started.”
Annie chewed the tip of her pencil. “Did her brother say what her destination was with the kayak?”
“She was going to try to paddle out to that little spit of land near Tremolo Island. It’s uninhabited, but she wanted to spend Wednesday night there and paddle back on Thursday. But she never checked in.”
“No cell service out there,” Annie told her.
