Double Take Chapter 2

Ashley decided to stay behind and watch him, so she spread a blanket out for herself on the grassy bluff and settled back while her man did what he loved. With Catalina Island and the blue Pacific in the background, she watched as a tiny pink figure paddled steadily through the churning sea, out towards a cluster of rocks at the mouth of the cove.

For almost two hours, Sandy lost himself in the surf. It was a catharsis for him, as he duck-dived under the rough breakers again and again to find an endless series of perfect swells waiting to be ridden. His grief over the death of his best friend, and his feelings of guilt for avenging him, were finally washed away by the waves crashing over him. It was almost as if Toby were there with him in the water, telling Sandy that it was okay to let him go. When he climbed back up the trail, all he wanted to do was take Ashley to his bed and hold on to her forever.

* * *

With the elimination of Ashley Vaughn as a suspect in the murder of Buster Cruz, the attention of the police remained on the mystery woman who was seen with the victim at Rosie's Café on the North Shore the day before his death. A search of Buster's body had produced a business card and a folded up copy of a contract, both of which turned out to be bogus. No useful fingerprints were found on either of them.

The murder scene yielded a few other clues: a brown wig, a pair of brown contact lenses, a negligee, and an untraceable Baretta automatic pistol. If they could identify a suspect, the contact lenses might provide a DNA match. But after weeks of interviews in Honolulu and on the north shore, the police were getting nowhere. A hotel clerk did remember a woman with long brown hair paying cash for the suite at the Halekulani, but she used the same bogus name printed on the business card found in Buster's pocket.

Detective Halani decided to widen the net. A review of Buster's past criminal record showed a number of minor run-ins with the law, mostly for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. However, there was one charge in Huntington Beach involving assault and battery against a competing surfer in a competition the previous year. The charge was dismissed after the other surfer, Sandy Lane, failed to show up and testify at a grand jury proceeding.