Lauren sat on the end of the pier and stared down into the water. It was low tide and the water was clear, and she could see small fish darting around the barnacle-covered pilings, flashing in and out of the light. She watched a small translucent white jellyfish drift past, and could make out the orange-tinted starfish on the rocks of the sea bottom. Lovely. She sat still and closed her eyes, feeling at peace with the gentle rocking of the pier and listening to the lapping of the waves against the pilings and the hulls of the two boats that were tied up, the scolding of the gulls, and overhead in the distance, a Navy jet heading for the base. All part of home. Hearing a boat's engine, Lauren looked up to see a white sailboat, sails furled, motoring in. She wasn't in the mood to talk, so she got up to leave.

She looked across the water to her house and frowned. Someone was crossing the grass to her porch. A man, she thought, but she couldn't identify him at this distance. Sebastian? No, she could judge his height by the door frame. Not Sebastian, this man wasn't tall enough. He bent over at the front door, quickly straightened, then walked hurriedly off the porch and around the side of the house, out of sight. Probably nothing, just someone stopping. Small town, happens all the time.

An old classmate saying hi. Still, she felt uneasy, and left, walking quickly. She scanned cars as she walked, looking for a familiar face, though he could have taken any one of a half-dozen turns before reaching her. When she reached the house she went straight to the porch. There was a small clear glass jar with stones in the bottom of it on the doormat. She frowned, puzzled. She climbed the steps and looked down, then jumped back, the air leaving her lungs with a grunt. She turned her back to the house and hung onto the post, suddenly feeling faint and dizzy.

She didn't want to look again. She didn't need to.