As soon as they wrapped up filming, Minnow walked up. “Excuse me, but I’m Dr. Gray, the white shark expert you were just talking about,” she said, words blown this way and that in the wind.
Lum half smiled. “Yes, Dr. Gray, I’m glad you’re here. And is this your colleague?”
Nalu laughed. “I’m just the intern.”
Linda waved the camera guy back. “Oh, this is perfect. Do you have time for an interview, Dr. Gray?”
“Yes, I do.”
Lum looked like he wanted to drag her out of there, but to do so would have made him look bad. A patch of blue sky opened up overhead, but the wind continued to howl. Linda seemed not to care, so neither did Minnow.
Linda introduced her and then got right to the point. “In your opinion, Dr. Gray, are we looking at the same shark in these three incidents?”
“I can’t say for sure yet, but so far the evidence points to two of them being the same shark. And yes, it’s a large white shark.”
“How large?”
“Close to twenty feet.”
A gasp. “And the third?”
“We have no body and no teeth or teeth marks, so it’s hard to say about that one—or if it was even a shark and not a drowning. We’re still looking, though.”
“What are your thoughts on a shark hunt?”
“It would serve no point other than to decimate the shark population here.” Minnow looked toward the camera. “So I strongly advise anyone who wants to take matters into their own hands not to.”
“The waters would be safer, though, wouldn’t they?”
“Not necessarily. Other sharks would likely move in. These large sharks are migratory. They travel.”
“So why is the same shark hanging around?”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine.”
“It’s not normal behavior?”
“No, it’s not.”
“People aren’t usually on the menu, is that right?”
“We are not part of the white shark diet. Tigers are a bit less discerning, but this was not a tiger shark.”
A cloud moved over the sun, casting a dark shadow across the pavement, and Minnow realized she was chilled to the bone.
“Do you have any advice for people who may want to go in the water?” Linda asked.
“I would suggest that if you happen to be along that coastline, swim close to shore and with others. All of these incidents happened farther out in deeper water. But I would suggest choosing other places to surf for the time being. Sharks live in the ocean, so there’s never any guarantee that you won’t encounter one. But keep in mind that most of the time when sharks see humans, they usually just swim away. Sometimes they’ll move in for a closer look, but the chances of a bite are slim. You’re far more likely to be struck by lightning.”
Linda paused, as if she were done. But she wasn’t. “Tell me this, Dr. Gray. Would you be willing to swim in the roughwater swim in two weeks?”
Minnow wanted to say yes, but she paused. Would she? “I’m not a long-distance swimmer.”
“But if you were?”
“Yes, I would do it. As far as I know, no one has been attacked during an ocean swim race here or anywhere else in the world. Sharks shy away from all that activity. Groups of swimmers, boats, Jet Skis.”
“I guess most of us are hardwired to think of the movieJawswhen we think of sharks.”
