Chapter 10
1110 Words
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MORGAN FRANTICALLY searched for the missing ring. She pulled out the other desk drawers looking in case it had fallen through the back half of the desk. She moved around the few knickknacks on the desktop, but to no avail. After crawling under the desk to see if it had fallen on the floor and coming up empty, Morgan searched in the most unlikely places she could think of. She looked under the leaves of the philodendron sitting by the desk, hoping maybe the ring had fallen off onto the top of the soil, but no luck. From there, she started searching the shelves, even the wastebasket, but the ring was nowhere to be found.
Exhausted, Morgan looked around the room wondering if maybe her aunt had just never put the ring inside the box, and instead, it was in a jewelry box somewhere else. She heard the meow of a cat and looked out into the courtyard just in time to see the tabby’s tail swish around the corner. Morgan walked over to the door to call the cat to her. But when she opened the door and called, she heard no answering meow. Looking around the courtyard, it was clear to see that it was one of her aunt"s favorite places. It was immaculate, with comfortable chairs in the shade and fragrant flowers in abundance. As her eyes traveled the garden, she noticed a bit of sand off to the side of the door. Stepping out onto the patio, she looked at the sand from a different direction and was astonished to find the sand had formed a footprint. Someone had been looking in the window and may have even come in through the door. Instead of being frightened, Morgan was furious. She had heard of people who came to homes and tried to steal things after somebody had died. It hadn"t even been twenty-four hours and already, her aunt"s privacy was being violated. Her temper rising, Morgan took a deep breath to calm herself.
"So that"s the way it"s going to be, huh? So much for a nice, safe little island. Well, they won"t get in again; I will lock the doors from now on." Realizing she had spoken the angry words out loud, Morgan looked around as if expecting somebody to be there listening, but there was no one. Turning on her heel, she went back into the house, locking the door firmly behind her. She had searched every inch of the office, and there was no ring here. Her aunt"s letterhead mentioned there were things in the library that she would need; that would have to be the next place she would search.
Morgan started out the door to head towards the library, but the phone rang before she had taken two steps. With a frustrated sigh, she turned back to the desk to answer the old-fashioned phone that sat there.
"Hi Morgan, it"s Jenny. I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay. You"ve had quite a day." Morgan quickly thanked her and, still angry about the intrusion in her aunt"s home, she told Jenny about the missing ring.
"Well, keep checking around the house. If you don"t find it by tomorrow, we"ll have to make a report out. Keep an eye out for anything else that might be disturbed. I realize you don"t know if something is missing, but you might be able to tell if something has obviously been pushed out of place."
Morgan appreciated that Jenny didn"t try to placate her and took her seriously. The officer was right; there was no way Morgan would know if something was missing unless it was apparent. But she intended to search anyway, and she promised to call the officer in the morning and let her know how she made out. Thanking Jenny for the call, Morgan hung up and started once again for the library.
But as she walked by the front door, she changed her mind. She had a desperate urge to walk along the dunes, taking the same steps her aunt had taken earlier. She didn"t think about the possibility of the danger, only that she felt a call to the shore, a need to go out past the dunes.
Reaching up to touch the pearl hanging around her neck, she remembered her aunt"s note and the traits of the Blue Pearl. Courage was one, and Morgan felt full of courage as she touched the pearl. Closing the door behind her, she used Dylan"s key, locking it before heading down towards the dunes. Morgan walked without thought, soaking in the atmosphere. She felt at peace here, and she could remember her aunt saying it was the most wonderful spot on the earth. If it wasn"t for her aunt"s death, she would be inclined to agree with her.
As if her feet had a will of their own, Morgan made her way down towards the outcropping of rocks her aunt had disappeared behind. But she couldn"t make herself walk any further than the rocks; she had no desire to see the spot where her aunt had laid. Instead, she climbed up on one of the lower rocks and sat, watching the waves crash against the shore. How long she sat there, she didn"t know, but she noticed a mist beginning to develop. She watched it swirl around her, almost as if it was doing an ancient dance. She was so involved in watching her immediate area that she didn"t realize the mist was getting thicker. Watching the movements of the mist, she swayed as if listening to music. It took a few moments, and then she realized she was listening to music, the distant sound of a haunting violin. Morgan quickly jumped off the rock, looking around her in surprise at how thick the mist had gotten. Suddenly she felt afraid as she realized the music was heading towards her.
"Trust him."
Morgan clearly heard the words, but she didn"t know where they came from, and in a panic, she turned from the rock and hurried back towards the house. It should have been difficult going, but as she made her way, the mist seemed to clear enough to make a path for her to see. Climbing up over the dune to the stairs to the house, Morgan saw the mist was disappearing. Looking back behind her, she could see the form of somebody walking down the beach. They didn"t seem to be coming towards her, but she still felt afraid and quickly unlocked the door, entering the house for its sanctuary.
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