She closed her eyes a moment, letting his strength infuse her. Annie had spent so many years learning to be independent, sometimes it was hard to turn over control.
When she felt strong enough, she pulled the note from her pocket and handed it to him.
“This was on the doorstep of my cottage.” Her words then spurred a memory of the handwoven basket that had been placed on her doorstep two years ago at Christmas: the basket that had cradled the infant Bella.
Then she folded her arms across her chest and tried to stop her heart from shattering.
“Shit,” John said after he’d read and reread the note. “Who the hell wrote it?”
Annie cleared her throat. “I believe the saying is ‘your guess is as good as mine.’ ”
“Did you show it to Francine?”
“No.”
“Good. It could be a nutjob playing a sick prank. Even on the island, that kind of stuff can happen.”
Annie hated to think that, but supposed John was probably right.
“Where is she now?” he asked.
“The West Tisbury cop brought her to see Earl. And Jonas, if she’ll speak to him. She’s really angry that he didn’t watch Bella more closely.”
As any good police officer would do, John said nothing. He’d once explained that when it came to a situation, an officer did not comment on emotions: facts were what mattered, not feelings. But Annie knew that he’d filed the information that Jonas hadn’t watched Bella more closely, that she’d gone missing on his watch.
“Kevin and Taylor are on their way back from Edgartown,” he said. “He’s going to check with theOn Timecaptain; maybe he saw Bella in a vehicle with someone. When your brother gets here, I’ll have Taylor and him search the woods across the street from the Inn. When the OB team’s done inside, I’ll send them to the woods, too. It’s probably a long shot that Bella would go there, but right now we can’t rule anything out.”
“So you’re going to keep searching?”
“I’m not about to cancel the search because of a lame note that’s not even signed. We’ll ramp things up as best we can. A few more officers are on their way from Chilmark and Aquinnah—along with more volunteers. I’ll turn the beach over to them and join Kevin and Taylor.”
Just then a small wave lapped Annie’s foot, a reminder that the tide was coming in. She took a step back. “Until then you’ll go back out on the water?”
“For now.”
“What can I do? I want to do something, John. I need to do something.”
“You can go to the meadow and be there for Francine. She probably needs you. Or go help Lucy. The Inn’s a big place with lots of places for a little one to hide.” Then he paused and pulled her close. “Are you doing okay?”
“Sure.” She didn’t really mean it, and she knew he knew that.
“Go up to the Inn. If Francine gets into it with Jonas, my dad will sort them out. You might be better off helping my mother in the kitchen. Or seeing how Lucy’s doing.”
“I already saw your mother. She has a team that’s preparing to feed the entire Vineyard.”
He let out a small laugh.
“And, by the way, she wanted everyone to know the food is almost ready when they need a break.” She glanced at him; he was looking at the note again. Then she had a disturbing thought. “Oh, God. I should have put it in a baggie. You might have been able to get prints. Of all people, I should have known to do that.” She stared at the note, then dropped her eyes down to her boots, the tips of which were now wet. “I was only thinking that I didn’t want Francine to see it. Not until you did.”
He shrugged. “Maybe we can still get something. But don’t go back to the cottage until I can get someone to dust the porch. In case something’s there.”
She winced. “Of course. I hadn’t thought of that, either. Sorry.”
He gave her another hug, that time a quick one. “Most important, don’t tell anyone about the note. Especially not Francine. I’ll be up there in a while. I need to figure out our next steps. In the meantime, I’ll let you know if anything shows up.”
Then, as Francine had done before him, John disappeared into the fog.
Annie remained standing, trying to decide which direction to go in. She sensed John was right: Francine might need her, but it might be better to leave her with Jonas. Maybe she’d be able to forgive him if they searched side by side, sharing their pain. If a rift developed, well, again John was right: Earl was there. Unlike Annie, he wouldn’t become a hovering mother figure.
