Inside the noise reverberated. Laughs. Screaming conversations. A guitar was playing. Derek sung a tune that sounded Irish.

Girls were in spaghetti straps; boys in shorts and tanktops or light, breathable cotton tees.

It was dark except for the glow of yellowish lamps. Everybody was either smiling or nodding with eyes half closed.

The smell from the kitchen reminded Calvin of the cafeteria from high school. Some sort of stale hot water smell. They must've been boiling something. Jess had returned holding two beers. Handed one to Calvin. He drank without thinking about it. He had had no plans of drinking that night. But in that house nobody ever had to plan to drink on a given night. There was always someone to drink with. And often someone wnating you to drink with them. "Thanks, Jess," Calvin said. They clunked necks and drunk together.

One or two beers a night was nothing. Even if you had to wake up early the next morning or you had to get some work done in the evening, you could do it after a beer or two.

In fact Calvin had been looking forward to some alone quiet thinking time following dinner. He was hooked on the case of the missing man named Keith. It's all he could think about. Just a moment ago he was sucked back into the real world... or sucked out of his thoughts and noticed all the things happening around him. But now that Jess had left to circulate around the social circles Calvin was standing there again alone with his thoughts. The irish tune had become backgrounded.

He felt closer to 

Imogen Howe

than anyone in that room he was drinking 

beer

aside.

He ate quickly during dinner. Said little. And then went to his room carrying his second beer. He stepped carefully over to the lamp and flicked it on. Saw two bugs fluttering in the dust floating in air. Calvin sat down at the desk and took a deep breath. Then a drink. The dinner downstairs was muffled. Now the symphony of bugs outside felt closer. The house was far enough from the main road that the engines and radios didn't drown out the sound. But they were close enough to the road that it didn't sound like they were out in the boonies.

Calvin took a drink of beer. Then thought about how he could use a 

cigarette

. If this was back in high school he might text Imogen to see if she wanted to smoke. He didn't even like smoking. Just did it to have something to do with Imogen. She seemed to need it though. Stress. Her life had been harder than his.

Now he wondered whether he even cared about this case. Keith. The missing man. Or was it actually just an excuse to have a connection to Imogen.