There was no way to identify these guys from the video, but I sent the clips to Isabella for good measure. I knew she had enhancement technology that could clarify the images.
JD and I canvassed the area to see if there were any more surveillance cameras that might have picked the thugs up once they left the property, but we didn't find any.
We headed back to the station, filled out after-action reports, then grabbed lunch at Wetsuit and kicked around theories.
"He’s laundering money," Jack said. "He gets spooked when we come around. Maybe he talks to his employer, wants to slow down, or stop. The employer isn't having it. Maybe his employer gets nervous that Ethan’s going to rat him out. Or maybe Ethan killed Eden, and his employer didn't like the extra heat that created.”
It was as good a theory as any.
Jack ordered the pulled pork sliders, and I went with the soft shell crab. We chowed down and filled our bellies. We had barely finished the meal when Paris flashed on the screen with breaking news, unrelated to the Rexrode case. “Tragedy at Echo Beach as another victim falls prey to a vicious shark attack. This time, a young girl.”
I cringed.
The sheriff buzzed my phone a moment later.
I answered the call and said, “I know. We’re on our way.”
25
Patrol cars with flashing lights lined the parking lot, along with an ambulance and the medical examiner's van.
Gulls drifted on the breeze, and sapphire waves crashed against the shore. The beach was packed. The early spring break crowd was upon us. They gathered around as Brenda examined the remains of the young girl.
JD and I trudged through the sand, parting the crowd with a flash of our badges. We made our way to the scene.
It was brutal.
The shark had taken a massive chunk from her torso. She mostly bled out by the time she was dragged to shore. But still, crimson soaked the sand around the body as the foamy surf swirled.
It was hard to look at, and could turn even the most cast-iron of stomachs into a queasy mess.
The sheriff looked on with a mixture of sadness and anger.
A hysterical woman sobbed, trying to reach the body. The deputies kept her at bay as she wailed with sorrow. “My baby!”
"What happened?” I asked the sheriff.
"According to witnesses, she was out there on a raft when the shark attacked. It took a bite, then moved on. By the time the other swimmers got her ashore, she was dead." He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "By the bite radius, this is the same shark.”
I had to agree.
"That DNA come back on the first shark attack?" Daniels asked Brenda.
"Not yet."
"What's the holdup?"
Brenda shrugged. "Sometimes these things take time.”
"I want priority on it. Now!”
"You got it," she replied.
The sheriff pulled me aside and hissed, "What do you have on that research center?”
"Nothing tangible. No probable cause.” I had given him all of our theories.
"I want to put a stop to this. Now!"
