Nalu and Woody both shook their heads.
“Let’s take this and we can find out about Hank,” she said.
They combed the rest of the cave but found nothing but driftwood and a couple of barnacle-covered plastic bottles. On the way out Nalu stayed close to Minnow, and again she wondered about his odd behavior. For such a seemingly accomplished waterman, his obvious apprehension surprised her, but she didn’t want to bring it up in front of Woody. The fragile egos of men were something she had learned all about during her time on the Farallones and their many expeditions to Guadalupe.
Poem
A Poem
by Minnow Gray, age 6
I saw a shark today.
A big one.
It had an eye and a fin and a tail.
The shark is dark.
I think I love it.
Chapter 13
The Press
Hopena: destiny, fate, consequence, result, conclusion
After an early lunch of cheese sandwiches, Maui onion potato chips and crunchy homemade pickles care of Woody’s wife, Minnow and Nalu went to the DLWA office in Kawaihae, next to the harbor. She was hoping to meet the director, Tommy Warren, face-to-face and share their findings and also see if their team had any updates. But from what Woody had told her, the DLWA guys were overworked and underpaid so she shouldn’t expect a whole lot.
They parked in front of a small wooden one-room building equipped with several loud air-conditioning window units and surrounded by shipping containers and vehicles in various states of disrepair. As soon as she got out of the truck, Minnow was hit by waves of heat coming off the asphalt. Inside were four desks and a secretary with mounds of files on her desk. The place smelled like cigarettes.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“We’re looking for Tommy Warren.”
“Not here today.”
“When will he be in?”
“Mr. Warren spends most of his time in our Hilo and Kona offices, so I’m not sure. What you need?” she asked.
Minnow explained, then asked, “Has your team found anything new?”
“You’ll have to talk to Tommy or Chad, but I doubt it. Once Search & Rescue calls off the search, we’re out too.”
“But what about the shark hunt Mayor Lum is talking about? Who will be in charge of that?”
“We would probably hire out local fishermen. Plenty of guys just waiting for the green light.”
“Are people already out there fishing for sharks?”
“People can fish for whatever they want, but they won’t get paid for it. The state pays these guys well. And as long as they aren’t in fisheries management areas or taking summer crab.”
A plaque on the woman’s desk readJanet Pahia.
“Summer crab?” Minnow asked.
Nalu said, “Lobster.”
