A Time to Swill

by Sherry Harris

  I knew he wouldn’t just hand over his computer if I asked. I couldn’t decide whether to go to the coffee place on the town circle or The Diner. Both places were good for overhearing local gossip. If Steve was staying in Emerald Cove, it might be easy to pick up his trail, but if he was in Destin, it would be much harder.

  I wondered if he was on social media. The old Carly Simon song “You’re So Vain” popped into my head. My mom had been a big Carly Simon fan and knew the lyrics to almost every song she sang. Steve was vain enough that social media would appeal to him.

  Sure enough, he was on almost every social media platform anyone his age would be. His profile picture looked like the fake ones I got requests from. The sad difference was, Steve was real, not fake. There was a picture of him on the beach in front of my house with the caption, “My new place.” I closed my eyes and counted to ten so I wouldn’t throw my phone across the room. Maybe I should have gone on a run this morning after all. It usually kept me calm.

  Another picture showed him at the coffee shop in Emerald Cove at a corner table with his laptop in front of him. The caption read, “Temporary office. I’ll soon be on to bigger and better things.” Not if I could help it.

  Time to get ready for the day. Small scratches laced the backs of my hands from my evening in the woods. I had no way to cover them up unless I wore gloves, which would make me look as if I’d time-traveled from some ladies’ lunch in the fifties. I showered, dressed, and made a bigger effort than normal with my hair and makeup. At the last minute I remembered to stuff the copies of the Boone/Steve emails in my purse. I’m coming for you, Steve.

  * * *

  Steve sat at a table near the window when I walked into the coffee shop at nine thirty. His computer open in front of him. I wanted to go over, snatch it out of his hands, and make a run for it, but there were too many witnesses. He looked up and spotted me. Steve smiled and waved as if we were best buddies. I assumed he was putting on a show for everyone in there. I turned a haughty shoulder away from him. Yeah, I wanted to talk to him, but I couldn’t be friendly all of a sudden or he’d know something was up.

  I waited in line to order. While a cup of hot coffee was tempting for what I was about to do, I didn’t want to injure him. I only wanted a few minutes of time on his computer. Instead, I ordered their largest iced tea and a chocolate chip scone. I went over to the coffee station, grabbed a couple of small napkins, and loosened the lid of my tea. I also took one of those cardboard sleeves you put around your cup if your drink was too hot. I stuffed the scone in my purse to eat later.

  “Chloe, how’s the packing going?” Steve called out to me as I walked toward the door.

  Perfect. This would make talking to him so much more natural. I worked my way through the tables over to him.

  As I got close, I fake-tripped. At the same time I squeezed my cup of iced tea hard. Tea arced up and splashed down all over Steve’s head. Poor guy. I had to hide a smile.

  “Oh, no,” I exclaimed with fake concern. “I’m so sorry.” I thrust a small paper napkin at him and tucked the edge of the cardboard sleeve on his keyboard so it wouldn’t close all the way. I hoped that would give me a chance to open it and not have to worry about any password protection he might use if I got the chance.

  Steve jumped up and slammed the lid of his computer. He took a step back so the tea dripping from him didn’t get on his computer. “If you’re this clumsy, there’s no way I’m keeping you on at the Sea Glass.”

  As if it was his decision, but I kept the concerned look on my face. He lifted his hand, and for a moment I thought he would hit me. I almost wished he would so I could have him arrested for assault. Instead, he brushed some ice from his head.

  “I’m usually not. I’m so embarrassed. Let me move your computer so it doesn’t get dripped on.” I shoved it to the other side of the table and stood in front of it so Steve wouldn’t see the laptop wasn’t fully closed. Everyone in the coffee shop was staring at us. This was the part that could be a problem.

  Tea and ice continued to drip from his head and hair. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “Watch my computer.”

  It would be my pleasure. He was treating me as if I was his employee and not his adversary, like he thought he’d already won. As soon as he was out of sight in the restroom, I sat in front of the computer and opened it. Whew, it was still on the page he’d been reading—a page full of fancy house designs. I couldn’t let the burn of anger flashing through me distract me. I shoved the cardboard sleeve in the pocket of my dress.

  My hands shook as I found his email files. I typed Boone in the search box and opened one of the emails that had the same date as the ones Steve had given Vivi. I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of it. I hovered my cursor until the email address box popped up, showing the one belonging to the actual sender. I quickly took another picture. If any of the other customers thought what I was doing was strange, they didn’t say anything. Most of them had returned to their own computers or phones after Steve went to the bathroom.

  After I closed his emails and the computer, I ran up to the counter and borrowed two towels. When Steve returned moments later I was cleaning up the iced tea on the chair he had been sitting in. His shirt and hair were damp.

  “I am so sorry,” I said, managing to choke out the words with some sincerity. I hoped he thought I was groveling because I wanted to keep my job. “Good as new.”

  I swept my hand toward the table and pulled out the chair farther so he could sit back down. “Let me pay to have your shirt cleaned.” It would be a small price if my photos showed anything suspicious. After he sat I opened my purse, took a twenty out of my billfold, and set it on the table. “That should cover the cost.”

  He squinted at the small scratches on my hands from my adventures last night. “What happened to you?”

  “Weeding. Trying to keep things looking good at Boone’s house.” I started walking away.

  “You’d better be packing, because your days of beach living are just about over.”

  As much as I wanted to turn and flip him off, I managed to walk out the door. I hurried to my car. I wanted to be as far away as possible in case someone mentioned what I’d been up to while he was in the restroom.

  CHAPTER 36

  I got to the Sea Glass by ten fifteen. I hurried through the opening routine so I could follow up on the emails. By the time the barstools were in place and the barback work was done Joaquín strolled in. He had on a bright orange Hawaiian shirt with green turtles on it. Turtles that reminded me of all that had happened last night.

  “Everything’s done?” He looked around in amazement. It was only ten thirty-five.

  Considering my late night and my morning chat, even I was impressed with myself.

  “What happened to your hands?” he asked.

  I was uncomfortable lying to Joaquín, but for now I needed to keep some secrets. “I was weeding around the house and ran into some thorns or had an allergic reaction.”

  Vivi walked in as I was speaking. She came over, took my hands, and gave me a long look before dropping them. “I’ll send my crew over to do some cleanup for you. Things grow so fast here, it’s hard to keep up.”

  I’m not sure she believed me, but fortunately, no one questioned me further on that topic. “I have a quick errand I need to run. I’ll be back before we open.” I didn’t want to tell Vivi or Joaquín what I’d been up to this morning until I knew for sure if the emails were fakes or not.

  They looked at each other.

  “Before you go, I have something I need to talk to you both about. It will only take a minute.”

  “Okay,” we said in unison.

  “I offered Steve a big chunk of money to go away like I did when my daughter was still alive. He didn’t accept it.”

  That was disappointing news. “So, you think that means the will is valid?” I asked.

  “It makes it seem that way, but Steve knows how to play a hand of cards. Maybe he was
calling my bluff. Hoping for a bigger payout.”

  “He must be, Vivi,” Joaquín said.

  He’s got to be.

  “I’ve decided that if the will is legal, and if Steve turns out to own half this bar, I’m going to give both of you twenty-five percent ownership.”

  For a moment we stood in shocked silence, and then Joaquín and I began to protest.

  “No way.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “This is your place.”

  Vivi held up her hands to the barrage of statements. “I can’t work with him. Life’s too short. But you two are young and have the energy to fight him. I trust you with this place. You’ll carry on its legacy.”

  We started to protest again.

  “Go run your errand,” Vivi said to me. “I’ve got nothing else to say.”

  I dashed out the door. Vivi’s shocking announcement made my errand even more urgent. If Vivi decided it was time to retire, I didn’t want it to be under these circumstances. As I hurried down the harbor walkway, I sent a text to Michael. Are you home? I want you to look at something with me.

  I waited a minute.

  I’m here.

  Thank heavens. I was keyed up. So keyed up that I ran into someone while my head was down, texting. Rip. Ugh. That was a new reaction to seeing him. But remembering what Ann had said, I plastered on a smile. “Sorry about that.”

  “Hey, no texting and walking by the water.”

  I forced a laugh. “You’re right.” I darted around him. “I’m in a hurry. See you later.”

  “Chloe—”

  I pretended not to hear him and hurried on. Michael was waiting outside on the back of the boat.

  “What the heck is up with you, Chloe? You almost knocked Rip into the harbor.”

  It would have served him right, but I kept that to myself. I was keeping a lot of things to myself this morning. I glanced back the way I’d come. Rip was watching me, arms crossed and head tilted. I waved like an idiot. That was the opposite of acting normal. I needed to calm down. “Can we go inside?” I asked.

  “Sure.” Michael led me in. “Want some coffee?”

  Michael’s coffee was so strong it would curl my innards, but it was just what I needed this morning. “Perfect.”

  “Take a couple of deep breaths while I get the coffee.” I leaned back against their sleek, white leather couch and actually closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. I wouldn’t be of any use to anyone if I was jittery. I wasn’t sure how a couch could be sleek and comfortable, but this one was.

  “Here you go,” Michael said a few minutes later.

  He put down two mugs of coffee. I picked up mine and took a sip. It wasn’t quite thick enough to hold a spoon upright, but it wasn’t far off either.

  “What has you all riled up?” he asked.

  First I told him about what Vivi had just told Joaquín and me.

  “That’s terrible,” Michael said. “Not that you and Joaquín wouldn’t make excellent partners, but that Vivi’s ready to give up.”

  Would we make excellent partners? I hoped it would never come to that. Then I explained to Michael what I’d done this morning at the coffee shop. His face went from shocked to almost amused to serious. He was shaking his head while I talked.

  “That was risky, but well done. Let’s take a look.”

  “I didn’t want to look at this by myself. If I’m wrong, I’ll be crushed. I realized, as I’ve thought this all over during the past few days, if the will is legitimate and Boone really did reconcile with his dad and really did this to Vivi, Boone wasn’t the man I thought he was.” My lower lip quivered, and I wasn’t normally a quiverer.

  “Let’s look.” Michael said it firmly yet gently.

  I took the emails from my purse and spread them across their two-tiered, midcentury modern, kidney-shaped coffee table. Then I took out my phone and opened the two photos I’d taken. We looked back and forth between the picture on my phone and the paper copies.

  “It looks like the same address,” I said. This time not only my lip quivered, but so did my voice.

  “You said you took two pictures.”

  I opened the other one, holding my phone between us. We stared at it and then each other. “The email address is different when the cursor is on it,” I said. Hope blossomed in my chest. I threw my arms around Michael for a quick, jubilant hug.

  “It is,” he said.

  “So this is a scam. Someone wrote emails that sounded a bit like Boone and then spoofed his email to make it look as if he was the source of the emails.”

  “It looks like it. Give me some time to try to track down who this email belongs to.”

  “You can do that?”

  “I can try.”

  “Do you think this is enough to prove the will isn’t legitimate?” I thought for a moment. “Even if it doesn’t, if Steve tries to use them in court to prove the will is valid, maybe the prosecutor will be able to go after Steve for fraud.” That idea perked me right up.

  Michael shrugged. “I’m no lawyer, but someone might have a case for saying you obtained this illegally.”

  Just two days ago I would have asked Rip, but not now. “I’ll worry about that later. Please don’t tell anyone else until we have a better feel for whether we’re right or not.”

  “My lips are sealed. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I checked on the Fair Winds with some of the vets over at that place I told you about in Fort Walton.”

  “Did you learn anything?” I asked.

  “Just that it’s still an active case with the Coast Guard.”

  “Thank you. I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Don’t knock anyone into the harbor,” Michael called after me as I headed out the door.

  * * *

  Every minute of work felt like two hours as I waited for Michael to call me. I felt like I was in the middle of a John le Carré book or a Mission: Impossible movie. Only hopefully this would turn out to be Mission: Possible.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Joaquín asked for the twelfth time. “You keep alternating between twitching and sighing. You just walked by a tableful of people who waved and called out to get your attention.”

  “Sorry,” I said back for what seemed like the hundredth time. I hurried over to the table Joaquín had pointed out so I wouldn’t say anything else. My head felt like that children’s candy Pop Rocks, and that words might burst out of me at any moment. Words I wasn’t ready to say yet. The group of women, in contrast, were laughing and having a good time. I wished I could be as carefree.

  “We’re working our way through a The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide book,” one of the women explained to me. “We’re on the Fs.”

  “That sounds like fun,” I said, tempted to pull up a chair and join them.

  I took their order. One Flamingo—lady with the brown bob. One Florida—big diamond earrings lady. One Flying Grasshopper—red pointy nails. And one Flying Dutchman—pink lipstick with silver sparkles.

  “Have I got this?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of any of these drinks. You want a Flamingo, a Florida, a Flying Grasshopper, and a Flying Dutchman.” Flying Dutchman? It made me think of the story Ralph had told me about the ship disappearing, never to be seen again. I repressed a shudder. These certainly weren’t the usual beach bar drinks.

  “You’ve got it,” the woman with the big diamond earrings said. “And honey, don’t you worry, because we’ve never heard of them either. I hope your bartender is up to the task.”

  “Don’t you worry,” I said. “He’s always up for anything.”

  The women all laughed, and my face warmed as I realized how that might sound. “Any drink. He’s a great bartender.”

  “Well, he looks like he’d be up for anything,” the woman with the pointy nails said.

  “We can only hope he is,” the woman with the brown bob added, laughing.

  I joined in, and it felt great.

  I took the order to Jo
aquín. He looked it over. “Why don’t you make the Flying Dutchman while I make the others?”

  Of course he’d suggest I make that one, but it probably meant it was the easiest.

  “You trust me after the disgustatini?” I asked.

  Joaquín laughed. “Just don’t let the Flying Dutchman crash.”

  I opened the Drinks binder and found the drink—just three ingredients: gin, triple sec, and orange bitters. Pour the ingredients into a chilled glass and stir. I finished before Joaquín did, so I read that the drink first showed up in the Netherlands during the 1950s. Once Joaquín finished, I put little paper umbrellas in each drink.

  “Those kinds of drinks don’t usually get umbrellas,” Joaquín said.

  “It makes them look happy, and we all need more happiness in the world.”

  Just after I placed the drinks in front of each lady, I looked up to see Deputy Biffle walk in from the beach. Thank heavens the drinks were already on the table or I might have dropped them all. He looked at me and jerked his head toward the door. At least I thought he was looking at me. I couldn’t be sure with those mirrored, aviator sunglasses. So I pointed to myself and raised my eyebrows. Deputy Biffle lifted his chin in response.

  “Give me a minute,” I said. What now? I took the tray back to the bar.

  “Does this have anything to do with your errand earlier or why you aren’t you today?” Joaquín asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Unless Steve was pressing charges against me for the iced tea incident. “I’ll be right back.”

  I walked over to Deputy Biffle. He motioned for me to follow him outside. The deck was crowded, so we walked down the beach toward the water. I should have grabbed my sunglasses. The white sand was so bright I was squinting.

  He stopped and turned toward me. “We have an ID on the man who rescued you.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure why he was here telling me instead of making me wait to find out on the news or through local gossip. A thrum of anticipation or anxiety swept through me. I tried not to show it.