Page 9 of The Girl in the River

Ellie smiled at the affection in his voice. “Did anything else happen?”

Mark folded his hands in his lap. “No… well, just that the photographer took some candids and Mia didn’t like it. From the beginning, Mia insisted she didn’t want a big wedding announcement photo anywhere.”

Ellie tucked a strand of her hair the wind had blown from her clasp back into place. “Why didn’t she want photos?”

Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s somewhat of an introvert and has always shied away from attention. When we attended the high school soccer team banquet, she stepped away from the cameras then, too.”

That did seem odd.

“Do you think she might have had cold feet?” Ellie asked gently.

Mark glanced at Liam, who had his hands jammed in the pockets of his gray suit. “I don’t think so. Just last night we talked about the sand ceremony we planned together.”

“Sand ceremony?” Ellie asked.

“Yeah, at the altar there were three bottles of sand, each a different color. One representing me, one for Mia and one for Pixie. Pouring them into one box symbolizes we’re uniting as a family.”

“That’s really beautiful,” Ellie said.

She directed her attention toward the best man. “Liam, did Tori mention anything about Mia being upset or feeling jittery about the wedding?”

Liam’s wide jaw tightened. “No. In fact, the opposite. This morning Tori called Mia and said she sounded the happiest she’d ever heard her.”

Mark relaxed slightly. “We were planning for me to adopt Pixie after the wedding.”

“I’m sure Pixie was excited about that.”

“She was.”

His comment triggered more questions. “How did Pixie’s birth father feel about that? Did he relinquish his rights to her?”

“Pixie’s father died before she was born,” Mark said. “Mia didn’t like to talk about it.”

“Did she tell Pixie about him?”

“Just that he would have loved her, but he died.”

So that eliminated an ex showing up to interfere with the wedding.

“Let me check in with Ranger McClain,” Ellie said. “If you two think of anything else, please let me know.”

The men bowed their heads in quiet conversation and Ellie phoned Cord. “Anything?”

“Not yet. Security called in a couple of extra guards. I canvassed guests at the pool and restaurant but no one has seen a bride.”

“Keep looking,” Ellie said. “They have to be here somewhere.”

“Copy that,” Cord said. “I’m going to take a look along the riverbank.”

Ellie looked out at the river. To reach the water, you had to go down a sloping hill, although a golf cart could make that trip quickly. If Mia was a runaway bride, she and Tori would have probably taken one of their cars.

With that in mind, she approached Mark and Liam again and asked about their vehicles.

“Tori drove Mia and Pixie this morning,” Mark said.

“She drives a dark green 2021 Subaru SUV,” Liam said, then recited the license number.

“Thanks. I’ll get someone to see if it’s still in the parking lot. Then I’ll question the other guests.” She texted the wedding coordinator and asked her to have someone search for the vehicle. While Cord and the security team continued to comb the property, she joined Mark’s parents.

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