Nalu called an hour later asking what Minnow wanted to do since the weather was so crappy. She didn’t think it was crappy at all. Actually she loved it, but most people wanted blue skies and sunshine. The weather fit her mood too. Surly and haunting. Dark.
“Oh, and by the way, I found out something interesting yesterday at the harbor,” he said, a glimmer in his voice. “I tried to call you, but there was no answer.”
She was only half listening. “What’d you hear?”
“There are these guys who raise seahorses over near the airport, and I talked to them when they were rinsing down their boat. The captain said they go along the coast from time to time and let some out in the wild, trying to repopulate. So a few weeks ago, on the way back from Kawaihae, they were farther out than usual and came upon what looked like a bunch of fishing floats, but when they got closer, he said there was a metal framed cage hanging at the surface of the water. And get this—it was in the same general area as the chum.”
Minnow’s mind whirled. “How big was the cage?”
“Eighteen to twenty feet. Not any kind of fish trap I can think of.”
There was only one thing it could be, really. But none of this mattered because she was leaving. A long moment passed before she could get the words out. “Tell Joe, because I’m going back to Santa Barbara this afternoon or tomorrow. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
The line went silent. She waited. He said nothing. “Nalu? Are you there?”
“Whoa. Dude. How can you just bail on us like that?”
Us?
“We did our best, but the hunt is on and I’m not staying for it. I can’t. And who is thisus? It’s been just you and me all along here, fighting a losing battle,” she said.
“Me and the sharks.”
“Joe and the rest of the team should be able to take over. Aren’t they back from Australia today?”
“I think so. But I talked to Joe last night. He’s taking a leave of absence to take care of his wife and baby. I guess there’s been more complications. Sounds like their daughter has a heart defect and is going to need open heart surgery.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Her chances are good, but he said he needs boots on the ground at home for the foreseeable future.”
“I’ll give him a call,” she said.
“Doc, you can’t go, not when we might finally have our answer. At least stay through the weekend,” he said.
Minnow could feel his desperation through the phone line, tense and wiry, and it caught her off guard. Had she been too self-absorbed to notice how important this whole thing was to him? She wanted to sayokay.Didn’t want to let him down, or let the ocean down. But she already had, hadn’t she?
“Why don’t you take the day off? Woody and Cliff are here, and I can get them to go out there with me. I’ll let you know what we find out.”
“I want to go out there with you.”
“I don’t have time to wait if I want to catch a red-eye. I’ll call you at three p.m. Stand by,” she said, then quietly hung up the phone.
Nalu had been such a faithful companion, it felt cruel to shut him out like this. But maybe that was the point. It was easier to push people away than let them in.
As soon as she hung up with Nalu, she called Hawaiian Airlines. Woody and Cliff were somewhere out back, rustling around in the bushes across the pond, so she wouldn’t have to explain to them. Not now. There was a red-eye out of Honolulu at ten p.m., so she booked a connecting flight at seven thirty. Which meant she’d have to leave here at around five thirty, to be safe. She could get a cab or shuttle from the Kiawe if it came down to that.
She put down the handset and eyed the photo album on the table, fighting the pull to open it again and spend a hundred years staring at the pictures of her mother. There were only a few, but Minnow had thought she’d seen every picture of her mother in existence. So each one was like a tiny window into the past. Next to the album, she noticed a book sitting open. It hadn’t been there earlier. Its pages were lined in handwriting. Minnow took a closer look. A guest book.
September, 1967.
Her legs gave way and she found herself sitting in the chair, eyes searching for what she knew must be there. The first entry was written by someone named Marilyn Carlsmith, who filled up almost a whole page about fish. A woman after her own heart. Then Minnow’s eyes swung to the handwriting at the bottom of the opposite page and she knew right away whose it was.
This is a very short tale of a girl who was almost gone. I came here not knowing how I could go on in this world, but being here in your shark house has been the greatest gift. The hush of thenight. Your sweet ukulele playing. The magic food that Mrs. K cooked in her tiny kitchen full of love. The shells. The fish. The whales! I truly believe they were wrapping me in their song and weaving some kind of spell. The shark, well, that was another story. Quite honestly, it was the biggest fright I’ve had in my life.
The main thing is, I came here with questions, and I’m leaving with answers and a renewed sense of hope. It’s my wish that I can bring my daughter here one day. I have a feeling she will be a much braver soul than me. (Don’t ask me how, but I just know I’m having a girl.)
Layla O’Donnell. September 7, 1967
