At this date in June, the water was still quite chilly. Now and then a brave soul would sprint across the sand and take a quick plunge into the bracing surf.Those who did so rarely stayed in the water for long. More often than not, they popped up out of the waves, emerging with eyes and mouths wide open from the shock of immersion, and retreated with great haste to their beach blankets to find the warmth of a dry towel. Save for a few toddlers who seemed to love frolicking at the shore’s edge regardless of the water temperature, only the surfers took to the waves for any length of time, and then only when arrayed in their neoprene wet suits.

Carter yawned as he watched the surfers bobbing up and down on their boards just out past where the waves were breaking. His first week as a construction laborer had left him more than a bit worn. Added to that, he had stayed out quite late the night before, enjoying a few libations with friends on the deck of the Coast Guard House, a local nightclub perched atop a rocky point jutting out into the bay. Carter had gone there alone, but soon bumped into several old teammates from his high school football team.The lot of them had taken turns at the bar, buying rounds for one another, talking and laughing the night away, while occasionally pausing in their revelry to flirt with the young women squeezing by through the crowd. It had been a pleasant evening out, one that stretched well past midnight before Carter finally bade his friends good night and made his way home to his family’s little beach house a few miles down the road.