She shook her head. "Never heard of him.”
"Well, he's dead.”
Nova's eyes bulged. "Dead?"
"Shot twice at close range aboard his boat.”
"What does that have to do with my brother?”
I shrugged. "You tell me.” After a pause, I said, "We have security footage of two men boarding the boat the night of Ethan's demise. We believe Ethan was involved in a money launderingoperation. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?"
She shook her head.
"Do you know where we can find your brother?”
"No. I don't.”
"What about Shane?”
"I don't talk to Shane anymore.”
"Anymore?" I picked up on the subtle phrasing.
“I don't think I want to talk to you anymore either."
She started to close the door, but I put my foot on the threshold. I dug into my pocket and handed her a card. "Give me a call if you want to cooperate. This isn't going to end well for your brother. He's dealing with some bad people. I know it may not sound like the right thing to do, but talking to us could save your brother’s life.”
She scoffed and looked at my foot. "Do you mind?”
"Take the card," I said.
She snatched it from my grasp, and I removed my foot from the doorway. She closed the door and flipped the deadbolt.
I shared a look with JD, and the dog looked up at us, pleading for another treat with those sad eyes.
How could I refuse?
I tossed him another snack before we walked down the walkway, stepped onto the sidewalk, and pulled the gate shut behind us.
We climbed into the Porsche, and my phone buzzed with a call from the sheriff. “I need you two to get to Salt Point ASAP!”
28
Camera flashes flickered, capturing the triumphant fisherman, posing proudly by the shark that hung upside down from a davit. The 9-foot bull shark drizzled blood onto the deck.
It wasn’ttheshark.
Not nearly big enough. But these fishermen were taking a victory lap, nonetheless.
Paris Delaney and her camera crew were there to soak up the footage.
So was a horde of protesters shouting at the fishermen.
They carried protest signs written in Sharpie, glued to wooden handles. They hurled obscenities.
Nine feet was on the larger end of the spectrum for bull sharks. The largest ever recorded was somewhere around 13. This was less than half the size of the beast that had been gnawing on tourists.
It was no surprise to see Mr. X and Mrs. Y leading the charge.
