Rock Harbor Search and Rescue (2 page)

“I’ve already talked to her, and she’s saving one for you at a very discounted price.”

Bree and Samson were one of the most famous canine search-and-rescue teams in the world. Search and rescue was just about the coolest job Emily could think of.

Emily flung her arms around Naomi. “Thank you, thank you! You’re the best! How much will the dog cost?”

“Three hundred.”

Emily’s elation faded. How could she earn a hundred and fifty dollars? Babysitting didn’t pay that well.

My necklaces
. Good thing the Rock Harbor Annual Fall Festival was coming up. Emily had a booth reserved to sell some of the jewelry she’d made. If she sold enough pieces, she could totally earn that hundred and fifty dollars. She vowed right then to make as many pieces as possible before the festival.

People from the surrounding counties and states crowded the downtown streets for the annual Fall Festival in Rock Harbor. The town had been settled by Finns back in the copper mining days, and it still held the flavor of its residents. This September morning, the booths and tables lining the sidewalks and streets held many Finnish wares. Rugs, pottery, furniture, thimbleberry
jam, and copper items decorated both sides of Houghton Street. The aroma of beef pasties and Finnish rye bread filled the air, making Emily’s stomach growl.

Bree Matthews walked toward her, and Emily’s gaze immediately went to the puppy in her arms. She could hardly breathe when Bree stopped and smiled. “Like him?”

“He’s
sooo cute
! Is this one going to be mine?” Emily held the puppy up to her face, and the tan fur ball nipped at her chin. “You won’t sell him to anyone else, right?” She put every bit of appeal she could muster into her expression as she looked at Bree.

Bree nodded her head. “I’m holding him for you. I brought him to the festival so he wouldn’t be lonely. His siblings are for sale at my booth. All but one has already sold.”

“I love you, Bree,” Emily said fervently.

Bree’s green eyes twinkled. “I hope you loved me before I saved you a puppy.”

“Always!”

“I need to get back to my booth,” Bree said. “Kade will be wondering what’s keeping me.”

Emily sighed, pressed a kiss on the top of the puppy’s head, and then handed him back to her. Bree walked away with the dog peeking over her shoulder. It was all Emily could do not to chase after her. She turned away and glanced around the downtown area.

People dressed in Finnish clothing milled around as they prepared for the parade. Emily was really impressed with the outfit Olivia Webster, her best friend, wore. An orange wool vest covered Olivia’s blouse with its full sleeves. The orange-and-black skirt had a herringbone pattern, and her headband matched the skirt. The color looked good against Olivia’s pale skin and brown hair. Olivia had made it herself, spending as much time on it as
Emily did on her jewelry making. She admired Olivia’s talent. When Emily tried to sew, the results were a mess.

“I bet your parents are sorry they didn’t get to see you wear your costume,” Emily said.

“Mom was really disappointed. But they made the plans for the cruise before the town changed the date of the festival. And besides, I get to stay with you.” Olivia slumped beside Emily as they sat behind the jewelry booth. “What are you going to name your puppy?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll need to find the perfect name for him.” She nudged her friend. “Did you see Mary Dancer’s jewelry? I think I did pretty well copying her Sapphire Beauty necklace, the one to ward off the Windigo.” Saying the word made Emily shiver and glance around.

Olivia picked up the fused glass necklace from the table next to Emily’s booth and examined it. “I think you did too. It’s a little smaller than hers, but the color is similar.” She set it back on the velvet display. “I don’t know why you like her stuff so much. It’s a little plain. I like more sparkle.” She batted her eyes at Emily, and the two girls burst into giggles.

Mary Dancer approached Emily from the other end of her booth. She was way old, at least fifty. She wore a long red skirt, a leather vest, and several of her own necklaces.

“Hi, Mrs. Dancer,” Emily said. “You’ve had a lot of customers.”

“It’s been a good morning.” She pressed her hand to her stomach. “I-I’m not feeling very well. Would you girls look after my booth until I get back?”

The woman did look a little green. “We’d be glad to.” Emily crossed the grass between the two displays. “We’ll try to snag you some more customers too!”

Mrs. Dancer’s smile was more of a grimace. “I’ll be right back.” She darted across the street toward the bathrooms.

Emily wandered along the display. “I love her stuff.” If only she could make jewelry as good as Mrs. Dancer’s. She’d have the money to buy her puppy sooner rather than later.

“We know how you love it. Trust me, we
all
know,” Olivia said.

A few customers stopped by both booths, and Emily sold a red hawk necklace and a pair of earrings from Mrs. Dancer’s stock. She carefully tucked the money into the metal box, then moved to her table to sell a black onyx necklace.

A tall young woman approached, several people following her. Emily gasped as she recognized her. “That’s Malia Spencer,” she whispered to Olivia.

“Wow, I heard she was coming for the big surfing championship in a few weekends.” Olivia squinted toward the group of people passing. “I thought all surfers were younger.”

“Well, she won the women’s world championship this year. It probably takes time to get that good.”

The famous surfer stopped to talk to three boys who were in the surfing club. Emily was so busy watching them that she didn’t notice two customers at Mrs. Dancer’s table until the man cleared his throat. She hurried to assist them and sold them a necklace. By the time she had completed the sale and stored the money, Malia had moved on.

She stared after the surfer. “I wonder if Josh knows she’s here.” Though she’d watched for him, she hadn’t seen Josh yet. Surely he would be here if the women’s world champion was making an appearance.

“Emily has a
cruuu-ush
,” Olivia said in a singsong voice. “You might at least talk to him sometime.”

Emily flopped onto a folding chair, her cheeks burning, and sighed. “What’s the use? Dad won’t let me even look at a boy until I’m sixteen. That’s two years away. He’d lock me in my room if he thought I liked a boy.” But Josh Thorensen was way cute.

“Two years and a month,” Olivia corrected.

“But my puppy will be mine in a month.” Emily sat up and grabbed her bag. She checked her money. “I’ve made almost one hundred and twenty-five dollars so far.”

“How much do you have to make?”

“Dad and Naomi are paying half of the cost for my birthday. So I need to earn a hundred and fifty.” She was a little annoyed that her dad thought she needed to prove she was responsible enough to own a pet. As if she hadn’t proven it over and over already. Her little brother, Timmy, had diabetes, and when their mother left them when Emily was only eight, she had managed to take care of him and the house, hadn’t she?

That was before Dad married Naomi. Three years ago they’d had Emily’s second little brother, Matthew. Didn’t she help with babysitting him? How much more responsible did she need to be?

“The festival is going on all weekend. I bet you’ll make all the money you need.” Olivia smiled and nodded to her left. “Look who’s here.”

Emily’s chest tightened at the sight of a familiar shock of blond hair. Josh even
looked
like a surfer with his thick hair, blue eyes, and lean build. But her stomach plunged when she saw who stood beside him.

Rachel Zinn.

Though she and Rachel were both in the eighth grade, Rachel was the kind of girl who was born knowing how to talk to boys.
She had the classic look: straight and silky blond hair, big blue eyes, and a short and petite build. School had just started, and already she was the head cheerleader of the junior varsity team and the president of the eighth-grade class. Not to mention her incredibly wealthy father sat on the city council and owned the fishing resort. Emily always felt invisible when Rachel was around.

They used to be friends, and Emily still wasn’t sure what had happened.

For the millionth time, Emily wished her hair wasn’t so curly and that she didn’t stand so tall. She seemed to tower over all the other girls in her grade. But even more, she especially wished the curves she’d already gotten weren’t so obvious. It was embarrassing.

She shrank behind her table and let Olivia talk to them as they looked at the pieces of Mrs. Dancer’s jewelry. But Rachel didn’t miss Emily. She smiled, put her arm through Josh’s, and hollered out, “Oh, hi, Emily.” Her smile did nothing to hide her smugness.

Josh barely glanced in her direction.

Heat burned through Emily as she looked their way. She gave a little wave, then ducked under the tablecloth and pulled out the small plastic bins with the leather cords she used for the necklaces. Maybe Rachel and Josh would leave if she kept busy.

Rachel laughed at something Josh said, then tugged him toward the enticing beef pasties booth.

Emily could finally breathe when they walked on down the sidewalk.

“You could have at least talked to them,” Olivia said.

“I was busy.”

“Yeah, right.” Olivia nodded across the way. “Here comes Mrs. Dancer. She’ll be excited to know how much we sold for her.”

The woman’s color was better as she came toward the table. “Thanks for taking care of things for me. Looks like you sold a few things.” Her smile faded when she looked down at the display. “Did you sell my Sapphire Beauty?”

“No, it’s right here.” Emily knew the piece well. It was the one she’d copied. But when she picked up what she thought was the expensive necklace, she knew it wasn’t right. It was too light. And small.

It was also
her
copy.

The valuable piece of Mrs. Dancer’s jewelry was gone.

The Saturday morning went from bad to worse really quickly.

Emily sat behind her own booth, Mrs. Dancer pacing behind hers. Dad and Naomi stood on Houghton Street’s curb, whispering as they waited for Sheriff Mason Kaleva to return. Mrs. Dancer kept staring at Emily with every pass, and she didn’t smile.

Surely Mrs. Dancer knew Emily had no idea what had happened to the prized Windigo necklace. She had to know.

Olivia fidgeted in the chair beside her. Olivia didn’t have a clue either.

Sheriff Kaleva returned, stepping behind the tables and motioning for Dad and Naomi to do the same. “Mary, let’s start with your statement.”

Mrs. Dancer’s hand rested against her stomach. “I haven’t been feeling well this morning but have had a steady flow of customers. When I needed to use the facilities, I asked Emily to watch my booth. She agreed. I was gone maybe fifteen . . . twenty minutes,
and when I returned, my necklace was gone, and this imitation”—she held up the necklace Emily had made—“was in its place.”

The Kitchigami County sheriff turned to Emily.

Before he could say a word or ask a question, she jumped to her feet. “I have no idea what happened to her Sapphire Beauty.”

“Calm down. Let’s take this one step at a time. Did you see anyone near that particular necklace while Mrs. Dancer was away?”

Not really. Well . . . Josh and Rachel
had
been standing in that area. Emily turned to Olivia. “What was Rachel looking at when she and Josh were here?”