Free Anonymously Yours by Shirley McCann Page A

lives. We’re entitled to create our own space in life. If we can’t allow each other that simple pleasure, then we don’t stand a chance together.”
    I could feel the moisture behind my eyelids, but I refused to cry. I had to make Justin see that we could have a life together my way.
    Justin reached for a rock and skipped it across the water. “While I was away, I kept asking my parents about you. I wondered if you’d ever met anyone else.”
    I smiled. “I guess it was easy for us to keep tabs on each other with our parents living so close.”
    He continued. “All I could think about was that last day we spent together. The awful fight we had. I was afraid I’d lost you forever.”
    “Justin…” I began.
    He put up a hand in silence. “Let me finish. I can’t deny that I don’t like your career choice. The possibility of you getting hurt scares me half to death. But I can promise you I’ll try my best to accept whatever you decide to do with your life.” He cupped my chin with his hand and looked me in the eye. “But please,” he pleaded, “let your uncle Bob help you solve this mystery. You said yourself, ‘confidence comes with experience.’ But right now you have no experience. You know as well as I do that you can’t pull this one off by yourself.”
    I pulled my gaze from his, and directed my attention to the soft waves of the river. In the distance, a fishing boat sailed past, creating a rippling motion of waves that gently splashed against the riverbank.
    I knew Justin was right. I did need help. Someone out there might be trying to kill me. Unfortunately, I had no proof of that. I needed someone who would be as concerned about my safety as much as I was. Someone like my uncle Bob.
    I looked back at Justin. “You’re right,” I said. “I do need help. And I won’t lie by saying I’m not scared. But I also know I have to solve this mystery without the help of the police. Because right now, there’s no way I can explain the disappearance of Angelica Belmont’s body from Michael Black’s house.”
    Justin sighed and combed his hand through his thick hair. “Then you’ll tell your uncle everything?”
    I nodded. “But I’ll tell him in my own way. Agreed?”
    He wrinkled his brow.
    “I have to make sure he won’t go to the police,” I said. “It’s the only way I’ll agree to this. Once I know he’s on my side, I’ll fill him in on everything.”
    I could tell he didn’t like my plan, but he agreed anyway. “Okay. Today we fish and enjoy ourselves. But tomorrow, we go to see your uncle Bob.” He handed me a pole and the cup of worms. “Here you go.”
    I hadn’t fished in years. Dad used to take Mom and me on weekend outings when I was younger. But back then, Dad used to bait my hook. With gritted teeth, I slid my hand into the cup and extracted a slimy, squiggly worm. Gliding it onto the hook, I tossed the line into the water.
    “Good job,” he said. “I’m impressed.”
    I shot him a look. “You should be,” I responded with a wink.
    Justin placed his pole onto the blanket, then reached for the cooler. “What’s for lunch?” he asked. “I’ve worked up an appetite.” He reached in and extracted two ham and cheese sandwiches. “Here you go,” he said, handing me one.
    We ate in companionable silence, checking our lines now and again for bites. We took long walks, skipping stones into the river, holding hands and feeling like a couple again. It was a great feeling. When the sun dipped below the horizon, neither one of us had any fish to show for our efforts, but we didn’t care. We had accomplished the things that were important to us. And that meant a lot.
    Justin reeled in our empty lines and secured the hooks. “It’s getting late,” he said. “We should probably start getting this stuff packed up.”
    While Justin reorganized the tackle box, I gathered up the remaining trash, and stuffed it into the plastic bag we had brought along.
    While I stood