The three dumpsters behind Monte Vista Pharmacy hid another secret: They formed a half circle that shielded any illicit activities from the outside world. Students bought pot from local Monte Vista surfers, shoulder-tapped older locals to buy booze, and even sometimes went dumpster-diving for rejected pharmacy items.
Knowing all that, Devon was still shocked when she spotted Bodhi giving Matt a bro hug within the dumpsters’ safe confines. She crouched low and peered through a crack between two of them. She could see Matt and Bodhi clearly, passing a joint back and forth and talking quietly about something. Hutch probably, but who knew what else these two had in common? Matt reached into his jeans pocket. Devon only saw the flash of green before it hit her: The same green paper Sasha Harris had passed Matt in the dining hall. Now he was passing it to Bodhi. She sat on the hot asphalt to absorb this new information. It was all quite clear. Matt was getting his pharmaceuticals from Bodhi. Which also confirmed that Hutch and Bodhi had been doing the same thing before Hutch overdosed.
Devon still couldn’t picture Hutch as a drug dealer. But clearly she was the only one who couldn’t. Why would he get himself tangled in this world?
We can’t change the past. All we can do is focus on what’s in front of us. Mr. Robins’s words floated to the front of Devon’s mind.
She peeked between the dumpsters again. Matt was giving Bodhi another half-hug/half-handshake. Then he walked away, disappearing around the far corner of the building. Devon stood up and wiped the dirt off her jeans. Somehow she had to get Bodhi to talk to her.
Summoning her courage, she rounded the dumpsters. “Hey. You’re Bodhi, right?”
He turned and shoved his hands in his pocket of his low-hanging plaid shorts. His black-and-white-checkered Vans bore the telltale scuffs of a skater. Without the white coat he’d worn inside, Bodhi looked like just another local surf bum.
“Who’s asking?” His eyes flickered behind her, as if he expected a handful of cops to appear.
“I’m Devon. Devon Mackintosh. I go to Keaton.”
Bodhi laughed. “No shit.”
“That obvious, huh?” She smiled and kept a safe distance. It was just like counseling: Make him comfortable, don’t be threatening.
“I’ve seen you in town before. What’s up? I don’t have anything, you know. Somebody gave you old information.” Bodhi checked his frayed, Velcro watch.
“Do you have a minute to talk about Hutch?”
“Jason? Yeah, I read about it. Shame, right? That kid seemed to have everything going on.” Bodhi looked past Devon again. He shifted from one foot to the other.
“Yeah, shame,” Devon said.
Bodhi turned to go. “I didn’t really know the kid, so I don’t—”
“Was it yours?” Devon interrupted.
He whirled to face her. The sunlight picked up blond whiskers sprouting on his chin. He was only a few inches taller than Devon, but his broad shoulders made him seem bigger, more powerful than most of the scrawny guys at Keaton. Hutch had shoulders like that. So did Matt. Devon had to admit, surfing came with an automatic sex appeal.
“What are you talking about?” Bodhi’s hands went back in his pockets.
“The Oxy that Hutch took. Did it come from you?” Devon could hear her voice; it sounded much sharper and more stable than she felt. She knew she had no right to talk to a stranger this way.
Bodhi cleared his throat and spat on the ground next to him. “Look, I heard it was an overdose too, but that doesn’t mean shit. He could have gotten that from anywhere. Hutch was resourceful like that.” Bodhi stared hard back at Devon. “And I don’t appreciate the accusation. You should watch yourself. No need for a girl like you to get into trouble.”
“I don’t think it was suicide,” Devon blurted out.
“That doesn’t change the fact that he’s still dead.”
She moved closer to him. “I know he was here that day. He stole something and you helped him.”
He shook his head. “That didn’t happen,” he said. She was now close enough she could see where the tan line started at the base of his throat.
“Was he here with anyone that day?” she pressed.
“Why are you digging all this up?” Bodhi demanded.
She held his steely gaze. “Hutch is going to be remembered as the boy who killed himself. The troubled teen that OD’d. And I don’t think he did it. Don’t you think we owe it to him to dig a little deeper? He’d do it