He turned the engine off and read the text before putting the phone in his pocket. It was his friend. They texted each other several times a day. But he didn't look at his phone when driving. He wouldn't respond to this text until later. There was nothing to say...

He needed a  beer .

His shift was only half done. This was the worst part. Stuck in the middle. At least a liter of sweat lost in this hot kitchen. Hot and loud. The fan they had spinning to ventilate the kitchen made it feel like they were working nearby...

He needed a shot of  whiskey .

He had spent the last 70 minutes scouring the internet for information on this Stephen guy. He knew it was wrong. Just like it would be wrong to leave the office, go and grab a beer or bottle of wine from the store and...

Joey wiped the curst off his lips then dusted his fingers onto the tray. And then he wiped the grease off onto napkin that reminded him of paper towel.

For a moment he wished he was back home. What was he doing here?

That feeling quickly disappeared when he went outside. It's...

He needed a  beer . It was a sunny afternoon with crisp air. It made his skin feel neither dry or oily. In college he would often take such afternoons off. He would go to a bar with a patio and drink cold beer while watching people pass by.

There was...

His first name was Cash. It was not a nickname. His mom had given him the name during a different time. People didn't call money  cash back then.

Throughout his life he had considered changing his name. But he never actually went through with it. He was that kind of guy....

"So you worked with Kevin."

"mmmm yes. Yes. I was his manager."

"How long were you his manager for?"

"Mmmm maybe about two years. mmm yes. around there. That's a decent amount of time at a grocery store. Big turnover."

"How would you describe Kevin?"

"Chill. Everybody thought he was cool. But he didn't pry...

The man was obviously a detective. Joey could tell by his demeanor. His emotions weren't shook like the rest of the folk. No. He was here strictly on business.

"I'd rather not."

The man pulled out a badge.

"That's completely fine. But it would help us maybe figure out what happened. We actually...

Joey left his gun on the dresser before heading out. He had thought about bringing it. But why bring a gun to a funeral? Was that even legal, he wondered.

He had bought this gun with his friends during the weekend of Joey's 21st birthday party. It had made them feel...

She was unsure whether this would end well. But she had to look.

The computer ran Windows. Elena had only used Apple since college. She found it charming how a subset of boomers only used  windows . Tolerated it's terrible user experience. Using the computer took her back to freshman year....