Chapter 32
The Bad Guys
Pono?ole: unjust, unrighteous, dishonest, unprincipled
The harbor blockade lasted three days, giving Minnow and Woody and Chip enough time to give the police and Judge Carlsmith their photos and written testimony. They also went to the media so that the whole world knew what had been going on—that sharks were being lured into the area by illegal chumming of nearshore waters. Woody also wanted to make sure the story couldn’t be swept under the rug by a questionable administration.
Luke met with Josh Brown to tell his story about being hired by an anonymous ex-military guy to bring in as many big sharks as he could. And then there was Minnow’s threatening note. Brown, true to his investigative journalist nature, smelled a story and looked into all involved. It turned out Sam Callahanhadhired Bob to hire Luke, but they hadn’t been behind the note. That was someone working with Alex and the shark tours. Jess, the woman on board, had spilled in order to save herself from jail time, telling how their operation was conducting several shark dives throughout the day, some in the cage and some not, and they were chumming each time they wentout. Money had been pouring in, and the only way they’d been able to keep doing it was paying off Warren, who in turn was giving a cut to Lum. No wonder they needed this whole thing over with. Within days the story made headlines and the shark hunt was overshadowed by the scandal.
Suddenly the sharks were no longer the bad guys.
Journal Entry
From the journal of Minnow Gray
July 29, 1993
The two-chambered heart of a white shark is S-shaped and proportionately slightly smaller than a human’s. The interesting thing about them, though, is that unlike most fish and even other sharks, their exceptionally muscular ventricle wall allows them to operate like a fine-tuned athlete, almost mammalian in nature. Their heart rate is believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to twelve beats per minute. I know because when I quiet my mind, I can hear that slow and insistent thump.
Chapter 33
The Race
Laulima: cooperation, joint action; group of people working together; literally, “many hands”
Five days later
Minnow stood on the far end of the beach in front of the Kiawe, staring out at the satin blue water. Men in Speedos and women in one-piece suits with goggles on their heads had begun to trickle down steadily, as the pre-race meeting neared. She had walked down early from Hale Niuhi with the rising sun. Woody would be escorting the race with his friend, and had offered to drop her off, but these early mornings were magic and her favorite time of day here. A few last stars were out and she listened for their song.
Behind her, the kiawe trees gave off an earthy, nutty smell that would forever remind her of this trip. She inhaled deeply as she stretched her shoulders, back and hamstrings. Open-water swim races had never been her thing, but she was looking forward to just being out there in the water and swimming with no other purpose than to enjoy the ocean and finish the race. Not that she was under any illusions of doing well, but the world was watching her, and she had to show them that she was not afraid. Especially now.
“Excuse me, miss,” said a girl, maybe around eighteen. “Are you that shark expert?”
The question caught her off guard and part of her wanted to say no, but others would be bound to recognize her and she was not in this for herself.
“Yes, I’m Dr. Gray.”
The girl had dark hair pulled tight in a bun and her skin was a beautiful golden brown. She looked strong in the way of a swimmer or surfer. “I just wanted to thank you for taking a stand for the ocean,” she said, looking down at the sand as if too shy to meet Minnow’s eyes. “I want to be a marine biologist and study sharks someday too.”
Minnow melted. “What’s your name?”
“Mahina. Hina, for short.”
Hearing her name was like a sucker punch.
“Well, Hina, we definitely could use more women like you in the field, so please look me up if you need anything. I would be more than happy to help.”
“Really?”
“A hundred percent.”
“Good luck in the race,” Hina said, standing a little taller now.
“You too. I’m just in it to sightsee and prove to everyone that shark bites are flukes, not the norm.”
“The crowd seems thinner than last year, though. That’s a bummer.”
“Not surprising. How did you do in the swim last year?” Minnow asked.
