the window to face the storm, she realized what had garnered their attention. It wasn’t the storm after all, but the two men standing on the landing of the steps to the right down below them.
Wearing a weatherproof jacket, Ian stood with Sheriff Garrison near the edge of the awning, barely safe from the wind and rain. So the sheriff himself had come to investigate. Ian gestured with his hands, apparently sharing the events of the last hour without her. Why were they outside, though? Had Ian been showing the sheriff the rocks where it all happened?
She wanted to share her side of the story but didn’t want to go back out into the storm.
“Jonna, what’s going on?” DiAnn Morrison, one of her employees and a good friend, approached. “Why’s the sheriff here?”
Jonna urged DiAnn down the hall toward the kitchen. Only employees used it so she didn’t have to worry about a guest overhearing her words. She didn’t want to alarm anyone, not until she’d spoken to the sheriff, but DiAnn should know. “A man tried to shoot me on the beach.”
DiAnn took a step back, sheer terror in her eyes. “What did you say?”
Jonna didn’t repeat herself but simply waited, allowing DiAnn to absorb the news.
“I can’t believe it. That’s just horrible.”
“Please keep all of this to yourself,” Jonna urged. “At least let me speak to the sheriff first and see how he wants to handle it.”
“You don’t think it’s that...that serial killer, do you?”
“I don’t know. Be on the lookout for anything or anyone suspicious.”
DiAnn eased into a chair. Jonna would leave her to compose herself. Once she’d calmed down, she’d be able to calmly divert any questions the guests might have. DiAnn would know to maintain the bright and cheery demeanor that kept the guests coming back every year. She left DiAnn and grabbed a jacket on the hook by the kitchen door, then braved the storm again. Wind and rain lambasted her as she made her way around and found the two men behind a protective barrier that blunted the storm’s effects.
“And why were you there on the beach?”
At the question aimed toward Ian, Jonna hesitated revealing herself. She wanted to hear the answer to that, unfettered by her presence. She hadn’t even considered the question of why Ian had been on the beach, which meant her skills were getting rusty.
* * *
Ian had caught a glimpse of Jonna before she ducked out of sight. He shivered. “Could we talk about this someplace warm?”
“I think any evidence left behind is long gone, so there’s no reason to dig around out here. Let’s get inside,” Sheriff Garrison said.
Ian gestured for them to head back toward the lodge. Jonna stepped out at that moment. “Sheriff Garrison, thanks for coming.”
“Under the circumstances, I can’t say I’m glad to be here. Are you all right?”
“I’ve been better,” she said. “Let’s go inside and grab something warm to drink while we chat in the kitchen. If you don’t mind, I don’t want to worry my guests, so I haven’t yet shared with them what happened.”
Ian and Sheriff Garrison followed Jonna into the lodge and then the kitchen. Ian gladly shrugged out of the jacket, hung it on a peg at the door and rubbed his hands together. He would’ve much preferred to have this conversation near the big roaring fire, but other guests would hear their discussion.
“I’ll make you some coffee or hot chocolate,” Jonna said. “Which would you prefer?” She ushered Ian to a chair at the table, and the sheriff joined them.
Sheriff Garrison shrugged out of his jacket too. “Coffee’s good.”
Jonna sent Ian an acknowledging glance—she already knew his preference.
“You were just about to tell me why you were on the beach when there are warning signs about this storm.”
Ian stiffened. “I usually jog every day. Just ask Jonna. But I had decided to avoid it this morning because of the storm—” he eyed Jonna “—and because of the signs. Then I heard one of the guests mention they’d seen Jonna going for a run and they were worried about her since the storm was moving in faster than expected. The waves had grown bigger.”
The sheriff scrutinized him as if trying to figure out if Ian had some special interest in Jonna. Ian kept it cool.
“So you took it on yourself to check on her.”
He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? Seemed like the right thing to do.” There. Try to make something out of that. “I’d gone to the landing to see if she was close by and that’s when I spotted someone suspicious over behind the rocks.”
“Suspicious, how? And why would you decide to confront a man who looked suspicious rather than calling 9-1-1?”
Really? There’d been no time! “He pulled a gun. And he was aiming it at Jonna. What would you have done?”
“You told me that part. And you’re right, I would have taken action.” The sheriff still scrutinized Ian. He would probably run a background check on him. Ian hadn’t broken any laws, so he wouldn’t worry about it. But he wasn’t sure he wanted the man to know the kind of security he’d worked. At least not yet.
“Ian was a hero today, Sheriff. He saved my life. Now, don’t you want to hear my side of the story?” Jonna turned and handed the sheriff and Ian cups of coffee, then crossed her arms, watching Ian, studying. She didn’t miss a thing, this one. But she’d tried to divert the sheriff’s undue attention from Ian.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“I saw a guy up on the cliff, keeping pace with me. It was only unusual because of the storm. Only a crazy person would jog in this. So I noticed him.”
Ian shared a look with the sheriff, then stared at Jonna.
Jonna pursed her lips. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“So you’re a committed runner. Continue with your story,” Sheriff Garrison said.
“I suspected he was up to no good. When the guy disappeared I figured I was just being paranoid. Still, I couldn’t wait to get out of the storm. The waves were coming in hard and fast and I could get trapped on the beach. Then the man stepped out from behind the rocks and pointed a gun at me. That’s when Ian tackled him. He got a bloody nose for his heroic efforts,” she added.
The sheriff’s sharp gaze shot up from his pad and paper. “The guy you believed was pacing you on the ledge, are you sure it was the same man who tried to shoot you?”
“I’m pretty sure. He had on the same hoodie. No one else was out there.” Her gaze flicked to Ian.
The sheriff scratched his chin, then eyed them both. “There can’t be too many joggers out here in this kind of weather in the winter, so it’s possible someone else noticed him too, but did either of you get a good look?”
“With
