9
Half Moon Bay was on the ocean a half-hour or so south of San Francisco, but it could have been on a different planet. The small coastal town seemed to be a forgotten throwback to the mid-twentieth century.
Sandy drove three miles past the town center and then turned down a road heading westward towards a small peninsula. The road ended at a padlocked wrought-iron fence. He had the key.
The estate was twenty acres in size, and Rebecca was surprised at how far Sandy drove along the private road before she saw, atop a rise, a two-story white clapboard farmhouse facing the ocean. The parking area was on lower land on the house’s south side.
After parking, they walked up a narrow footpath to the front door. Sandy unlocked it and disarmed the security system. “I’m paying for access to thi
