Page 126 of It Happened on the Lake

Her heart clutched.

She’d forgotten.

On a shelf was a small album filled with Polaroid pictures. Next to it was a broken jewelry box that her grandmother had given her one Christmas. Tentatively she opened it and saw several forgotten necklaces, their tiny links twisted and knotted together, alongside two bracelets and Chase’s class ring. “Oh.” She felt a tug on her heart as she picked up the ring and remembered the hot July night Chase had given it to her, the summer before he’d taken off for college. They’d been on the lake, in his parents’ boat, insects humming, the moonlight from a half moon glistening on the water.

“Oh, Geez,” Beth said as Harper turned the ring over to where dental floss covered with nail polish had been wound so that it would fit on her smaller finger. “What’re you going to do with this stuff? It has to be cleaned out of here, if you’re going—”

“I know.IfI’m going to sell.” Then she took a deep breath and ignored the dull ache in her heart. “And even if I’m not.” She returned the ring to the jewelry box and then opened a little compartment where another necklace lay, the large diamond winking bright.

“What’s that?” Beth asked, picking it up. “Oh my God. This looks valuable. Is it real? Well, of course it is, if it belonged to your family.”

“It’s an heirloom.”

“From your grandmother? Good Lord, if this stone is real, it’s worth a small fortune and needs to be locked in a safe somewhere. It’s amazing that it’s still here.”

“No, um, not Gram’s. Chase gave it to me,” Harper said as she replaced the necklace in the jewelry case.

“From Chase? Really?”

“I know.” But she didn’t elaborate, remembering that when Chase had given the necklace to her, he’d sworn that he would have the stone fitted into an engagement ring. Her throat turned dry at the thought, and she remembered him kissing her temple softly and telling her he loved her for the first time before placing the fine chain around her neck and slowly untying the shoulder straps of her sundress.

Swallowing hard, she pushed aside the memory. “I guess I’ll talk to Levi,” she said, over the nostalgic lump in her throat.

Because there was no one else.

Chapter 30

“You helped my mother escape?” Levi asked as he held the cream-colored envelope in his hand.

“Shh. Keep your voice down.” Sievers glanced around his small apartment furtively. “The walls have ears.”

“You think Serenity Acres is bugged?”

The old man placed a finger to his lips, then reached into the junk drawer again and came out with a folding knife. With a press of his finger, the blade shot out.

“They let you have a switchblade?”

“Contraband.” He held the knife out to Levi as the dog danced near the door. “Open it,” he said to Levi. “I gotta take Jake out for a piss.”

Heart in his throat, Levi used the sharp blade to slice open the envelope.

“Wait. Maybe you want your privacy,” the old guy said. “Seeing as your mom’s gone and all.”

“How did you help her get out?”

Sievers’s gaze darted around the room, as if, again, he was searching for a tiny listening device.

“Let’s go outside,” he suggested and snagged a leash from a hook by the door before snapping it onto the dog’s collar. Jake started straining to get out, paws scratching the door.

“Hold on, hold on,” Sievers said as he slipped on an oversized parka, then led the way out of his room, pausing to lock the door and say to Levi, “You can never be too careful.” With Jake leading the way, and Sievers pushing his walker, they made the long trek to the end of the hall. They passed other residents, a man in a plaid bathrobe and using a cane, and two women, both gray-haired, one in a prim suit, the other a housedress, both fussing over Jake as he tugged on the leash.

As the women went on their way, the old man whispered to Levi, “Damned dog’s a chick magnet.”

If you say so, Levi thought but held his tongue.

It took several minutes to make it out through a door at the end of the hall. “Never locked,” Ed said, “and no alarm bells, neither.”

Levi frowned at the lack of security.

---