is littered with large boulders.”
“Yeah.” JD nodded, eyes sparkling. “I was telling Nick, we
passed a sign for something called Egg Rock, apparently it’s a
big deal. The city even carved a memorial into it. It can’t be
the only one.”
“What are we supposed to do, inspect every rock on the
riverbank?” Nick snapped.
195
“We can try the area around the bridge, at least.” Julian
sounded almost desperate. He took a step toward Nick, one
hand up. “We’ve come all this way.”
Nick met Kelly’s eyes briefly. He seemed at his wit’s
end with this. Kelly knew it was frustrating for Nick to fail,
especially when lives hung in the balance. But it wasn’thisboyfriend who was being held prisoner, and Julian was asking
for nothing but a little more patience. So they headed for the
bridge as a brisk wind plucked at their jackets and ruffled
Kelly’s hair.
Nick stepped onto the wooden bridge and peered over
the edge. It was made entirely of wood, but the ends were
built into rock walls. Spring had brought a lot of rain, and the river was swollen with it. To see the faces of the stones, they would have to get wet. He gestured to Julian. “You two check
the other end.”
Julian and JD headed across the bridge, their footsteps
echoing on the planks. It was a peaceful day, filled with the
sounds of birds chirping, groups of chattering tourists, and
the babbling of the water as it flowed beneath them. Kelly was
kind of enjoying this.
“Who’s going in the water?” Nick asked Kelly.
Kelly held up his fist. Nick mimicked him, and they
counted off. Kelly threw paper, then laughed as he covered
Nick’s fist with his hand. “Always the rock.”