Destin, Florida. Summer 1995.
The sun went down over the water, light sparkling on the surf and white sands.
Simon Astar and Mallory Neeves lay entwined on a beach blanket, watching it. They were a young black couple who had been dating about two weeks. He was of Persian descent, light-skinned, athletic with a thin beard. She was dusky with midsize breasts and slim hips. Her raven curls grew just past her shoulders. She wore an orange string bikini while he wore a gray T-shirt and black swim trunks.
Simon was in Florida on vacation- his parents had a condo in Destin they used a few weekends a year and rented out for extra money the rest of the time to various vacationers. Simon was borrowing it for a solo summer vacation. He'd just turned eighteen back in June and had begged his parents
