From Beer to Eternity. Sherry Harris

      The sand down by the water’s edge was almost as solid as concrete and much easier to run on than the soft sand above. My feet seemed to slap out Elwell Pugh, Elwell Pugh. Sanderlings—small shore birds—darted away, escaping me and the waves as I ran along. They pecked at the sand for something too tiny for me to see even when I stopped and ran in place to watch.

      I passed the lake, seventy-five yards, three-quarters of a football field to my right. Compared to Lake Michigan, this was a pond that was given the grander name of lake. It was surrounded by pines on three sides. Giants protecting lily pad–covered water. Monet probably would have liked to paint the scene given the chance. I hoped there weren’t any alligators in the lake. I glanced over, didn’t see anything, but sped up a bit anyway, just in case any were submerged, waiting for someone like me to pass by.

      Ten minutes later, I was in front of the Sea Glass. It would be fun to run to work if the weather wasn’t so hot. I was already dripping with sweat. From what the locals had told me, it would cool off around October, but I would be back in Chicago by then. My boss had allowed me to take a leave of absence, but it wouldn’t last forever. We’d left it vague—a few weeks.

      Ack, and I’d have to find a new apartment. Chicago was so expensive, it wouldn’t be easy to find something close to my library on what I made. I supposed I could live out in the suburbs in one of my brother’s basements for a bit if worse came to worse.

      They both had lovely wives and kids, but the commute would be awful. And my brothers still treated me like I was nine.

      I kept running. Fishing boats dotted the horizon, glowing pink in the early light. I wondered if Joaquín was out there. I glanced toward the harbor. I couldn’t see Boone’s boat because the Briny Pirate and the Sea Glass blocked my view.

      Rhett could be back there. Oh, I was curious about him—in a curiosity-killed-the-cat kind of way that probably meant trouble for me. I’d been down that road before with a handsome man. After I’d been dumped, I had ended up engaged to a very nice but very boring man. Then I had come to my senses. In fact, Boone helped me come to my senses. I’d broken off our engagement, but I’d hurt the man deeply.

      I didn’t want to go through that kind of drama again any time soon, not as the dumper or the dumpee, so I’d stay far away from Rhett. Although a little flirting wouldn’t hurt, would it? I wasn’t going to be around that long. No chance of getting my heart broken because I didn’t give it easily anymore. I rolled my eyes at myself. So much for being strong.

      I came to the small pass that led from the ocean to the inlet behind the Sea Glass. This was nothing like the deeper, wider East Pass in Destin I’d heard about at the bar. I had quickly learned that people talked a lot in bars. While libraries aren’t the quiet places they once were, they had nothing on a bar. Liquor, loose lips, and all that.

      I turned back to the east and decided to run along the harbor to check out the boats to see if I could figure out which one was Rhett’s. See? Cat—curiosity—sometimes I couldn’t help myself. I powered my way through the soft sand between the water’s edge and the cement walkway that ran along the marina. Once on the walkway, I slowed my pace so I could read the names of the boats—Fish You Were Here, Sea Who Laughs Last, Sail and Fair Well, Tuna the Music Up, The Codfather. It didn’t take long to realize that unless Rhett was standing on his boat waving at me, I wouldn’t be able to figure out which one was his.

      Also, a lot of the slips were empty. Dawn was prime fishing time because that’s when the fish themselves were feeding. The boats still at dock ran the gamut of small fishing boats like Boone’s to sailboats to cabin cruisers. The big fishing operations were over in Destin Harbor.

      I shuddered as I came along the dumpster behind the Sea Glass. At least it was free of bodies this morning. I stopped while I sucked in gulps of humid air and looked around for security cameras. Maybe that would give some insight into what happened yesterday. There was one behind the Briny Pirate and one on the back of the Sea Glass. Both looked weathered, like they’d been there a long time. The one on the Sea Glass pointed straight down. It wasn’t going to help anyone. I hoped the sheriff’s department would find Elwell’s killer quickly. Up until yesterday morning, this place had seemed so peaceful after Chicago. Almost innocent.

      The back door of the Sea Glass popped open. Vivi came out. All dressed and decked out at this hour of the morning. Her gold flats even matched her gold purse. And here I was in an old sports bra, covered in sweat, with my hair sticking to my skull. Nothing like impressing the new boss. She looked surprised to see me, but covered it quickly.

      “Here,” she said. Vivi tossed me a set of keys. “Open up at eleven and do the best you can until I get back or Joaquín shows up.”

      The best I could? Was she serious? If someone wanted something fancier than a beer, I’d be toast. “Where are you going to be?”

      Vivi gave me a look that said mind your own business and walked to the parking lot. I watched as she climbed into a sleek, silver Mercedes. Then I remembered I hadn’t thanked her for the keys to Boone’s place.

      I raced over to the side of Vivi’s car. She rolled down the darkly tinted window. “What?”

      “Thank you for the keys to Boone’s place. Let me know how much I owe you for rent.”

      Vivi looked at me, opened her mouth, buzzed up the window, and peeled out of the parking lot.

      I looked after her for a moment before heading down to the water to run back to Boone’s. What the heck did that reaction mean? Trying to figure out Vivi was harder than running in soft sand.

      About the time I came even with the lake, the sun burst over the horizon. There were just enough clouds that the beauty of it made me catch my breath. I slowed down and decided to walk the rest of the way back to cool down. I looked for shells, as did other people, but shells were few and far between here. And I hadn’t seen a bit of sea glass, which made me wonder how the bar got its name. Two sandbars stretched along the beach in this area, which meant most of the shells were on the other side of the second sandbar. Maybe sea glass was there too. That’s also where sharks were occasionally spotted. One of these days I’d swim out there, but not now. Dawn meant feeding time for sharks too, and I didn’t want to be a shark’s breakfast.

      Once I got back to Boone’s place, I noticed there were surfboards, paddleboards, beach chairs, and a kayak tucked under the elevated screened porch. Oh good, toys to play with. I hauled the rest of my things out of my car and into the house, along with a bag of assorted snacks I’d purchased a couple of days before. I grabbed another apple, took it out to the porch, and flopped onto the wicker chaise. Then I looked up how to make different tropical drinks on my phone and prayed that Joaquín would show up early.

      * * *

      I unlocked the back door to the Sea Glass just after ten. It was weird to be here alone because the place was usually so full of life. That made me think of Elwell again. I stopped to listen for a moment. The refrigerator hummed, but I didn’t hear anything else. No one was waiting around to kill me too. Faint smells of beer, lemon cleaner, and salt air combined in a not-unpleasant scent. I flipped on lights, headed through the small kitchen, out to the bar. The water was dazzling today. People had already set up umbrellas on the beach, and a Frisbee game was in full swing.

      I’d never opened before and I had no idea what I was supposed to do, setup wise. Getting the register up and running seemed like a good first step. I flipped it on, and a start screen came up, asking for a password. Great. I remembered Joaquín had restarted it the other day as I watched. Concentrating on that image, I gave it a couple of tries. It bloomed to life after I’d typed in a combination of the words “Sea Glass” and Boone’s birthday. This system not only allowed us to ring up orders, but tracked everything from our hours to repeat customers to sales figures.

      An array of folders came up. One said “security.” I hesitated for a moment before opening the folder. You are not being nosy. You are being helpful. I repeated that to myself a few times. I didn’t believe it for a minute. There were two cameras. One in here that I hadn’t noticed hidden in a corner.