would that be enough to drive Hutch to suicide? And, if Devon’s theory was correct, what if it wasn’t suicide? Was it enough to make someone want to kill Hutch? Like a protective older brother, perhaps? Could Bodhi have killed Hutch because he got Raven pregnant?
Okay, so maybe there was a lot of speculation here.
Devon resolved to talk with Raven on the ride back to school. She would be the comforting-older-sister type Raven probably wished she had right about now. And she could ask about Bodhi. Did Bodhi really have murder in him? Something about surfers, so attuned to the tides and harnessing the ocean—no. But a pissed-off older brother could be capable of a lot. And Devon still didn’t know why Bodhi left MIT. Could he have been kicked out for violent tendencies? Now she was just making stuff up. Forget about all that; she’d start with confirming if Raven was pregnant with Hutch’s baby.
Another wave approached and Devon saw Bodhi and then Matt both turn and paddle for it. The wave swelled and Bodhi stood up. He aimed his board toward the wave break and drifted to the top lip of the arcing wave until Matt dropped in on Bodhi’s wave, cutting him off, and riding it the rest of the way. Bodhi yelled something at Matt and then quickly let the next wave push him to shore. Matt was walking through the rocky shallow water when Bodhi caught up to him. “Dude!” Bodhi barked at Matt.
Devon shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand. Bodhi didn’t sound happy.
Matt reached into the water and unhooked his foot from his leash. He nodded at Bodhi, oblivious. “What’s up, man?”
“Did you not see me there, ’cause you’d have to be freakin’ blind to miss what you just did.” Bodhi was carrying his board toward Matt now.
Deeper in the water, Raven caught a small wave to join Bodhi on shore. A few others followed her. Devon stood. This was bad.
“What are you talking about, dude?” Matt kept walking out of the water with his board.
“Are you kidding me?” Bodhi ripped the Velcro off his ankle and dug his board straight down into the wet sand. “You know better than to take my wave. Or do I have to teach you again?”
Matt turned. “Hey, chill. I support you, remember?”
Bodhi laughed, incredulous. “You support me? That’s hilarious. I told him it was a mistake to go into business with you. And from what I hear, he should have listened to me.”
“What are you saying?” Matt didn’t back off.
Devon noticed that both of them were puffing their chests out, and she could see a red patch growing up the back of Matt’s neck spreading to his ears. She crept toward them, careful to not draw attention to herself.
“I’m saying that if you can’t respect me out there, then I know you’re not respecting me up there.” Bodhi pointed to the looming mountains behind them. “We’re done.”
Matt pushed at Bodhi’s chest. “That’s not your call, local.”
Another surfer—shaved head, lots of tattoos—leapt out of the water next to Raven. They both quickly unhooked from their boards, and dropped them on the sand.
“You don’t want to do this, man,” Bodhi said. Now he had backup, but that didn’t seem to faze Matt.
“Oh no, I do. I really do.” Matt unzipped his wetsuit.
Shaved Head moved in front of Bodhi. “You’re lucky we let you surf here this long. Tourist.” Before Devon could process what was happening, the guy took a swing and connected with the side of Matt’s jaw.
Matt stumbled back momentarily, but came back quickly with a hard punch to Shaved Head’s ribcage. Bodhi’s right hand jabbed at Matt and caught him in the eye. Matt reeled back and then prepared to lunge at Bodhi until Raven appeared between them.
“Stop it!” she shrieked. “Seriously, stop. It’s not worth it. This is stupid.” More surfers stood behind Bodhi now. Devon could see their muscles bulging underneath their wetsuits, and they eyed Matt like a dog waiting for a treat. Devon realized she was holding her breath, digging her nails into her palms. Just one word from Bodhi and they’d spring into action.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is over,” Matt said with a hand over his eye.
He turned and took off across the beach with his board, through the parking lot. Devon watched him go. Had he seen her there? She wanted to run after him, help him get back to school, get some ice, but