“Always about money, isn’t it? Let those people stay home. Those sharks are our‘aumakuaand we stand by them,” Woody said.
“You bet it’s about money,” Sawyer said. “How else do we feed our families? Not everyone had the luxury to grow up fishing and has a beach house. Nothing personal, because you know I have deep respect for you, Woody, but that’s the reality here.”
Representative Richmond folded his small, smooth hands in front of him. “Maybe your job doesn’t depend on them. Or wait, does it? How many jobs have you taken at the Mauna Kea or Mauna Lani, Mr. Kaupiko?”
Woody’s jaw tightened. “None of your business.”
Suddenly Sam Callahan spoke up. “You would put the lives of a few sharks over people? I doubt you would feel that way if it had been your son, Mr. Kaupiko, with all due respect.”
“My heart goes out to you, it does. But catching sharks is not gonna bring your boy back, and like the doc and the lifeguards say, shark hunts don’t prevent shark attacks.”
Sam began to tremble, then stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, this is too much for me.”
They all just sat there, and Minnow felt like she had to saysomething, as inadequate as it may be. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Callahan. We all are.”
Once Sam was gone, Dave Morrow gave his two cents. “Not going to lie, we want to see this beast caught before the race. My phone has been ringing off the hook from entrants asking when the last date they can withdraw is. Talking about money, this race is a huge boost to your economy. This year we had 800 people signed up, but now we’re down to 424. Do you know how many hotel rooms and rental cars that equates to? Because for every person in the race, they often bring family and friends. I’d hate to see one rogue shark ruin this forever.”
Minnow fumed. “Sharks don’t go rogue. That’s a myth created by Hollywood.”
Luke’s leg started bouncing up and down. Minnow could feel it against her chair. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t.
They continued back and forth, the conversations growing more heated with each round. The mayor, DLWA, the fire chief, Sawyer and Dave Morrow were strongly in favor of a hunt, while Ocean Safety, Minnow and Nalu and Woody were not. Dragon the cop had no opinion one way or the other. He said he was purely there because of procedure. Neither side seemed to be able to convince the other. In all of this, Luke Greenwood did not breathe a word.
In the end Mayor Lum said, “Well, we covered a lot of ground. Ithink we have plenty to chew on. Right now we may not have our answer, but let’s all think long and hard on what we’ve learned tonight, and I will reach out to each of you individually once I’ve made my decision. Meantime, keep me posted on any updates—sightings, new findings, incidents, large or small.”
Again, Minnow got the sense this was all for show. The mayor had already made up his mind but wanted to appease the scientists and the Hawaiians, make them feel like they had a voice.
Sawyer took off his straw hat and wiped his forehead. “Mahalo, Mayor and all of you. Dinner is on me if any of you want to stay. Just mosey on over to the Saltwater Bar.”
“I’m down,” Nalu said to Minnow.
She was famished, and the idea of a five-star meal made her mouth water. “Let me see what Woody wants to do.”
“I can drive you back if you want to stay.”
She turned around to look for Luke, but apparently he’d already left and was nowhere in sight. Woody had his back to them and was staring out at the ocean and a yellow sliver of moon.
“You want to stay and grab a bite?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I have to get up early and head to Waimea for a job, and Anna wants to see me. But I’ll be back in a day or two. You stay. The food here is ?onoand I’m not going to be good company,” he said, not even looking her way.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Are you?”
Her heart was full of lead. “No. That was shit. Why have shark experts if you aren’t going to listen to anything they say? I have a bad feeling about what’s coming.”
“We’ll talk when I get back. I’ll leave my dive light for you behind the log, just in case,” he said.
“In case what?”
“In case your plans change.”
And then he was gone.
Journal Entry
From the Journal of Minnow Gray
