When the call came Baka picked up. Usually he didn't take orders. did things his way.

But this time he conceded.

"You need to stop in Las Vegas. there's someone you need to take with you. The Cambridge Kid."

More than anything else... it was curiosity. The Cambridge Kid. What a name Baka...

“Do people still stay there? Umm the  Seaside Rest ?”

“Yeah of course it’s like pretty crazy, it’s hard to believe, but yeah I mean it’s still going it’s like a tourist attraction now, people travel from all over to go to the dumpster.”

“You think it was real?”

“Me uhh not really...

"And let me tell ya. that's how The Seaside Jesus came to be. That was 26 years ago. By golly time goes fast doesn't it? Well after that the word spread. People were talking about a man, who had been killed at the  Seaside Rest that fateful night, only to...

Paul was fixing for a drink. A cold  Coors banquet at the Dockside bar. After driving around the  Seaside Rest he would stop by the bar without even returning the police car to the station. They had made him work too long and he wasn't going to waste any more...

"Yeah, Paul we just need you to drive by. Yeah, the  Seaside Rest "

"Have they found the body?" Paul said.

"We're uh, uh were working on it."

"No body, no crime. " Paul said. Sort of under his breath. 

"We know Paul, just a lots been going on there. So we need...

The harsh overhead light accentuated the bags under the police officer's eyes. When the old couple came in through the door he thought to himself. "not another fucking one of these."

The past month there had been at least four people killed at the  Seaside Rest . And a few had...

Tom was pretty sure... almost certainly... that Shelley did not want to go to Southern California with him. Ever since they had come to the  Seaside Rest her mind had been elsewhere.  Padel was something he suggested just to see if he could spark something back in her but it...

Shelly Mondavi had quit drinking coffee long time ago. Her late husband Rob kept drinking it though. After he passed she returned to having cups occassionally, because it made it feel like he was still here.

She had been thinking more about the midwest. Thought about their decades lived in  Indiana...

"Yeah its supposed to have one the best badminton gyms in the country."

"Its weird because its so nice why wouldn't people just play outside."

"I think thats meant to be one of the nice things, there isn't a roof. Or this is a roof but its all glass. So you can...

A long time ago, somewhere far east of The Seaside Rest , there was a kid known to have fast hands. The fastest hands in South Bend .

This was the reason come Monday when kids were wondering "no way? That dweeb? How the hell did he knock out Sonny Calruso?"...

Drinking  coffee to stay up late into the night was one of her favorite things to do in college. Blayne would probably never guess that she ever went to school. to him she was a cranky, eccentric simpleton. It was an air she put on. She preferred people thinking low...

She felt bad for Jade. Stuck in the reception room. Imogen Howe could tell it bugged her. Maybe it was some deal she had made with the owner. Crutches, old age, bad vision and hearing... probably preferred working in the daytime than night.

That was another strange thing about The Seaside...

The front doors of the Seaside Rest were heavy. Sometimes the wind blew hard as well. Any way one of the front desk workers. A woman with walking sticks couldn't open them herself, and to Imogen Howe it always felt like she was there needing to get out when she...

She stood outside the  Seaside Rest listening to the rain fall. She imagined looking at herself from far away a little red light would be slowly flickering on and off. Like some fire fly.

She tossed the cigarette away and smashed it with her foot.

She breathed the smoke out...

It was raining then at the  Seaside Rest , the weather had took a turn.  Imogen Howe had to tell a woman at the door that it sometimes does this.

"Everything will be right in the morning." she told her, and tried to light her cigarette.

The wind blew it the...

Oakland   California .
Oakland California.

Oakland. He said it again and again. Paid attention to the way it felt when it rolled off his tongue.

Oakland California.

How long had he been here now? A month now. Less actually. But the past few weeks had replaced the rest of his life before. The only...

The kid had kept in his pocket two stirrer sticks from a place on the board walk. He liked the feeling of them. Wood, but a cheap kind, and when he pulled one back it would snap on the other. He was doing that over and over again while he...

Her hand still held the  gun but she felt a calm. her fingers were relaxed. Strange.

Her mind though was racing. What the hell did Keith mean.  Imogen Howe worried that she may never see him again. Who was that man. This Baka. That brute. She had never imagined Keith hanging...

"Whats all this ting e?"

"Go to the beach and and all you think about are the hoes."

"Wagwan girl."

Keith didn't look up because he knew already who it was.

"Do you know this man?" Imogen asked.

"Of course Keith knows BAKA, you know BAKA."

Imogen sat back, and calmly turn the safety off her...

"Keith?"

She didn't even say "is that you?". She knew right away. He could tell her voice right away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked?

"I had to come back. I'm..." she paused, "I'm actually not staying here. Staying down at the Ritz actually. But I like to drive here every other...

The  Seaside Rest was quiet. Jade thought too quiet. She saw where the kid had gone. Writing it all down, in sprawling notes, in between tourist's questions. 

She hated the tourists. They only seemed to do two things. They were either interested in everything, poking their noses around, and taking...

"What do you mean he left?" Danny said. He could feel his face getting hot, he'd been prepping all night. Didn't have time do deal with another fire. Recently that was all he was doing, is putting out fires.

"He, I don't know man, just took off. He ran. He,...

Jade spoke with the tourists for eight minutes. Many questions and remarks. But in the end they ended up not booking a room. She knew they would return in the future.

After the bell dinged there was just the elevator music. She sighed and thoughts of death came storming back. She...

For the rest of his stay at The  Seaside Rest he never settled into a routine. Each day he did something new and different. This was a nice change from his regular life. A thousand miles east he did the same thing everyday. Wake up, eat a quick breakfast, drive...

Blake didn't check out, because  Imogen Howe gave him her phone number. 

It was the night of the attack his laptop was stolen, but she was worried about him. She cleaned up his head, and put on some anti-bacterial to prevent infection. Then she gave him her number. She said...

The  Affordable Inn was affordable for one reason. Hustle. They were scrappy. Collected coffee from nearby hotels at the end of the night and microwaved it and served it as fresh coffee at the continental breakfast. The baked goods were all items the other bakeries and hotels couldn't sell on...

To  Imogen Howe there was something sinister about love. Like if someone says they love her, they would have to show it. Over and over again, even when it was inconvenient.

One of her friends taught her this a long time ago.

She whispered "Ask us to drive us, and...

Steve checked his GPS. The destination was only eight hours away now. It felt like he had been driving forever already. Strange to see that he still had a full workday left.

The longest drive he had taken back at home was a four hour trip to  Chicago . Other than...

Blayne was back at the  Seaside Rest they had cleaned up well. No one really missed them, one guy made fun of them being off at the same time. The kid hadn't returned to work in awhile. Blayne understood. 

The first time he'd went with Danny he couldn't have eaten...

21 can you do something for me

BAKA NOT NICE was singing this line on repeat. He didn't know any of the other words. He just kept singing loud 

21 can you do something for me?

And then would go on to mumble the next lines. the right melody but the words...

The kid wiped his face and neck. Over and over. But he remained drenched in his own salty water.

He reached for the powerade, but hte bottle was empty. Damn nothing to drink in the car.

How long were they going to drive? The time said they'd only been driving about five...

There was still smoke in the air. Her ears were ringing. Danny put the pistol back down.

She remembered the image. But more the sound.

"Shut that god damn phone off!" Danny had said before whipping out the pistol and shooting the phone.

After tht her ears were ringing. Guns were loud, but...

Blaybe grabbed the red pen and began to scribble on the white notepad. The Kid noticed everything in these next few seconds. He would remember the sound of the pen scribbling across the sheet for the rest of his life. As well as the sound of the sheet being ripped...

Keith hadn't touched his phone in weeks. Before he woke up in this room he would listen to  Imogen Howe 's voice messages like a  podcast .

That's one of the things he missed most being stuck in here. He understood that they wouldn't let him have a phone, but couldn't...

Jack found it strange. Imogen didn't know about The  Seaside Rest ? She had told him about it.

Well they were doing this act like they were this british couple. Perhaps the act involved her never having been to the Seaside Rest. That must be it.

Jack glanced over at Imogen. She...

The other bag was a duffel bag.

Dave didn't dare open it until he had privacy. He stepped quickly. The plastic bag coiled and digging into his fingers. The  duffel bag he carried, slung over his right shoulder. He gripped the strap with all the might of his right hand and...

So that's how it began. How Jack and  Imogen Howe began speaking with  English accents. And in fact... they even began calling Jack by a new name Kieth. Jack didn't know where the name came from. But he went with it. And he was happy because the two of them...

Always something,  Imogen Howe thought. Life never gave her a smooth day.

She began to giggle. Finally realized what that saying meant. "Give me a break!"

She couldn't stop the giggling. Wished Keith was there to see her now. "I finally get it!" she would tell him. "What?" he would say with...

She was asleep when he returned. The song kept playing in his head.

"The  Seaside Rest , the place that knows you best."

Stuck in his head. An ear worm. Funny that it was this motel jingle.

He thought about what to do. Sat on the chair near the other window, away from...

And he would have no idea. Because in a flash he was blacked out.

THUD.

He woke up later. Not sure what time it was. He could tell it was a basement. But the windows were completely blacked out. There was no way to sense whether it was day or night.

"You're awake,"...

Cash's Cup ironically didn't accept cash.

Why the hell is it called Cash's cup then? one young man remarked.

It's the name of the barista.

Oh well that makes sense, the young man said while returning to his phone. I like that guy!

No that's not Cash. That's James. He's just a barista.

But you...

After bineg shot at the  Seaside Rest , he never parted with the  bulletproof . Even slept in it.

How different would life be right now had he been wearing it. He thought to himself. Thought this a lot. But this always led to the realization that it wasn't just the...

The  Seaside Rest was an old school motel. They washed dishes by hand. Made home cooked meals. Gave guests cloth napkins; these would be washed and given to the next guest.

There was no continuous menu. The motel made what they did based on whatever ingredients they had and you either...

"A shooting? Down by the Seaside Rest you say?" the tanned, lean forearm powered the hand that was holding a brown bottle of lager. Between the index finger and thumb was dark blue star tattoo. The blue was dark enough that most would describe it as black .

"Yeah! And even...

On that boardwalk the two spoke for less than half hour's time. To Dave it felt like a long conversation, Not in a bad way. time slowed down. He paid attention. Listened. there were no goals. Just two men exchanging words while the ocean exchanged force against the coastline.

it felt...