I called Jay at the Oceanographic Institute and asked him to meet us at the Medical Examiner's Office.
12
"Well, this is no great white," Jay said, looking down his nose through oval spectacles at the remains.
Jay was in his late 60s now, with flowing white hair and a white beard. He was a jolly fellow who had an endless fascination with all things aquatic. He loved to tinker and had built a few submarines for research purposes.
"So what is it?" I asked.
Jay pulled a tooth fragment from the remains. He studied it carefully. "This is the same as the tooth we found on the first victim." He surveyed it under the light. "Judging by the bite radius, I'd say the shark was 25 to 30 feet. That's well beyond any recorded great white. And this tooth is from a juvenile."
We all lifted surprised brows.
"You mean it's going to get bigger?”
"Much,” Jay said in a grave voice.
"How can you tell?"
"Look at the number of serrations on the tooth. Juveniles have more than adults. Plus, the bourlette is thick and prominent. Another indication this came from a juvenile.”
“A juvenile what?”
Jay’s brow knitted, perplexed. "I'm not sure. The serrations are asymmetric and even doubled in areas. That's indicative of a great white.” He showed me. "Look at the lingual side. See this deep, V-shaped groove. That's a telltale sign of a juvenile megalodon.”
I lifted another surprised brow. "Megalodon?”
"The megalodon first appeared 23 million years ago in the early Miocene period. They swam in the ocean for nearly 20 million years before going extinct. Juveniles thrive in warm water, and the collapse of warm water nursery habitats aided in their demise. They lost out to smaller, more adaptable predators." He lifted an intrigued brow. "The warm waters of the Keys would be a perfect habitat for a juvenile."
"You’re not really trying to tell me that a massive prehistoric shark is swimming around the waters of Coconut Key.”
He laughed. "No. That would be ridiculous.” Then he added, “Unless...” Jay’s mouth tightened as he thought.
“Unless?”
“I think we may be looking at a hybrid.”
“A hybrid?” In a voice full of skepticism, I said, “Are you trying to tell me someone crossed the DNA of a great white and a megalodon?”
Jay shrugged, curious. “We won’t know until the DNA comes back.”
“Why on earth would anyone do that?” JD asked.
“To make a more efficient predator,” I quipped.
“Possibly,” Jay said. “Maybe they just wanted to see if they could. There are several gene splicing programs going on right now, all over the world. Some that may shock you. A US-based researcher is working with the Chinese splicing human DNA into macaque monkey embryos to grow human-compatible organs. There are organizations using CRISPR splicing to edit pig embryos for the same purpose. This is happening right now that we know about. Just think of what’s going on in black sites across the globe.” Jay paused. “The future is both exciting and terrifying.”
“Modifying a shark with prehistoric DNA can’t be legal,” I said.
“Of course not. That’s why much of this activity happens across the globe in clandestine labs. Any genetic modification of an animal would need FDA approval. It’s considered anew animal drug. There are applications, pre-market approvals, environmental impact studies, you name it. Any modified animal would be considered a non-native species according to the FWC. I can’t imagine the bureaucratic nightmare the approval process would be. There is just no way to legitimately do this in the States.”
“Which is why they did it illegally,” I said. “What do you know about the Aqus Marine Science Center?”
Jay shrugged. “I believe they specialize in conservation and tracking of marine life, including sharks. Why?”
I shared a look with JD, then said, “That was Andrew’s employer.”
That hung there for a moment.
