LITMIR.BIZ

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I’d stayed somewhere.

      Joaquín slid a dolphin key ring with keys on it across the bar to me.

      “What’s this?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine that Vivi wanted me to have the keys to the bar.

      “It’s the keys to Boone’s place.”

      I frowned. Boone had lived in Chicago, not more than two blocks from me. Was this Vivi’s way of telling me to get out? “Boone’s place?”

      “Yes. Vivi bought it for him years ago.”

      I stared at Joaquín. “Boone rented his place in Chicago.” I would have known if he’d owned it.

      “Not his place in Chicago. His home here.”

      Boone had a home here? It had been a long day. Rhett had scared the bejesus out of me early this morning, and then I found Elwell dead. Followed by Rachel’s big engagement-and-moving announcement. Throw in worrying about Vivi and working. I was starting to wonder if I was hearing things.

      “Are you okay?” Joaquín raised his eyebrows in alarm.

      The jury was out on that one. Boone having a place here was news to me. “Does she need me to go over there and clean or something?”

      “You can stay there. I didn’t know you’d been sleeping in your car.”

      I blushed. This was so humiliating. I lifted my chin. “I don’t need charity. I’m staying at a motel tonight, and I’ll find a permanent place in the morning.” If I could. It was the height of tourist season, when condo rentals were as rare as snowflakes and more expensive than a private yacht. If not, maybe I’d buy a tent and camp somewhere. Although none of my childhood camping experiences had been all that great. I’d never been sure which I’d been more afraid of, a wandering bear or a psychopath I was always sure was hiding out in the woods. Needless to say, when we’d camped, I hadn’t slept well.

      “How did you know I was sleeping in my car?”

      “I didn’t. You just told me you had been.”

      Great. First I was humiliated and now I was tricked. “But why would you even ask me that?”

      “Vivi handed me the keys and asked me to give them to you. I figured something was up.”

      Vivi did that? Life was full of surprises. She must have heard my conversation with Deputy Biffle and figured it out. Or Rhett had called a cease-fire to the feud long enough to tell Vivi he had found me sleeping on the boat.

      “Why didn’t she just give them to me herself?”

      Joaquín sighed. “As I’ve told you, she has a good heart. It seems like it was dislike at first sight with you two, so I’ve become the middleman.”

      “That’s not true. I don’t dislike her.” Was it? Maybe I resented that she wasn’t who I thought she’d be. In my head, I’d pictured swooping in to save the day. It had been my noble cause since the day I’d heard Boone had gone missing. His grandma would be grateful. I’d be lauded. The reality was so vastly different from the notion.

      “I’m fine.” I pushed the keys back to Joaquín. My parents had taught me to stand on my own two feet. Moving into Boone’s place seemed like taking charity.

      He pushed the keys back to me. “It’s what Boone would have wanted.”

      Boone. Of course that was true. Boone would have given his left arm to someone if they’d needed it. It’s why he’d joined the National Guard.

      Joaquín scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “Boone’s address.”

      I curled my hand around the keys. “Thank you.”

      “Don’t thank me. Thank Vivi.”

      Maybe this could be a new beginning for Vivi and me. “I will.”

      * * *

      Fifteen minutes later, I rounded one of the coastal lakes, drove down a long, tree-lined driveway, and parked in front of a one-story, concrete-block house that crouched on top of a sand dune. There were tall pine trees on the right side of the house. To the left, there was a patch of brush, scrub oak, magnolia, and then, farther off, more tall pines. I glimpsed the lights of another house through the trees. I felt like Amanda in the very first Goosebumps book by R. L. Stine, when she’d thought, “It’s so dark.”

      I grabbed a suitcase and climbed a set of rickety wooden steps. I had to use the flashlight on my phone to see. I could hear the slap of waves, but nothing else. No cars. No sirens. No conversations. It was creepy for a city girl like me. The soft tang of saltwater mingled with the fresh pine scent as I unlocked the heavy wooden door. It complained a bit as I forced it open. I flipped on a light, took two steps inside, and stopped. The whole back side of the house was glass windows and one door looking out on . . . was that the Gulf? Wow. If the yellow brick road had ended here, Dorothy might have kept Kansas in her rearview mirror.

      I set down my suitcase, closed and locked the front door, skirted the furniture, and unlatched the flimsy lock of the aluminum door at the back. It led to a screened-in porch that ran across the entire back of the house. The sound of the Gulf was louder here. Warm, damp air surrounded me. Even in the dark I could make out the white beach and the black Gulf beyond it.

      Why hadn’t Boone ever mentioned this place? I frowned and thought back over conversations about his visits here. Remembered something about Vivi liking her privacy, so he crashed in a family place. He’d never mentioned it was his or that it was on the beach.

      I crossed the porch to a screen door with another flimsy lock. I unlocked it and went out onto a set of three steps that led to a wooden walkway. It went over the sea grass on the dune down to the beach. The Gulf was inky black, calm. Beautiful. After I stood for a few minutes, I went back in, turned on more lights, and began looking around. The house was small, but someone had spent time updating it so the main room was an open living, kitchen, and dining room. There was a bedroom and bath on either side. Each room had a ceiling fan, and I flipped them on. The air smelled a bit musty. I found a thermostat and turned it down so the air conditioner kicked on. As much as I didn’t like manufactured cold air, without it, mold would soon take over. And as a plumber’s daughter, I know: better cold than mold.

      I chose the bedroom that had sliding glass doors out to the screened porch and tossed my suitcase on the bed before heading to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator. A twelve-pack of Boone’s favorite beer was inside. I grabbed a bottle. It felt like he was welcoming me. I found an opener in the drawer, popped the top off, and wandered back out to the porch. It was furnished with a wicker chaise lounge, couch, rocker, and coffee table. The chaise and couch had lime-green cushions. On the other side of the porch was a wooden porch swing. I took a swig of my beer as I settled on a wicker couch that creaked and popped.

      “Thank you, Boone.” I held up my beer in a toast. “I’ll keep my promise, even though Vivi doesn’t want me here.” I looked out at the Gulf. “Vivi doesn’t need me either. I wish I would have asked you why you wanted me here when I had the chance.”

      CHAPTER 7

      The sky was just getting light when I woke up on Monday morning. I’d left the slider ajar so the waves would lull me to sleep. I’d stuck a yardstick in the tracks to keep it from opening too far, so I wouldn’t have to worry about being murdered in my sleep. You can take a girl out of the city but . . . well, you know. Anyway, the open slider worked great, and I’d slept better than I had since I’d arrived. Of course, sleeping in a bed rather than on a boat or in my car didn’t hurt. Considering what had happened to Elwell yesterday, I was surprised I’d slept at all.

      I threw on jogging shorts and a sports bra, trotted down the stairs to the beach, and headed west toward the Sea Glass. I wondered how close it was as the pelican flies. To get here last night I’d had to follow the road that skirted the other side of the lake. I had a feeling it was much closer this way. The beach between Boone’s house and

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