Jaws of Love

Chapter 3

"You don't mind if I take a few notes of my own do you?" Samantha asked Hooper as they walked up to the door of the coroner's office.

Hooper shook his head. "No, of course. Take as many as you like." He smiled at her as Martin opened the door.

"Let's show Mr. Hooper and Sam our accident victim." Martin said, walking inside.

He handed Hooper a clipboard and the coroner walked over to a little drawer.

"Uh... victim identified is Christine Watkins, female Caucasien."

"Yeah, here's the way we have it." Martin pointed at something on the paper.

"Probable boating accident." Hooper read. He looked to Samantha.

"Yeah." She scoffed.

The corner set a small box onto the table, turning on a small light. "Alright." He stepped out of the way.

Hooper and Samantha stepped up, sharing a quick look. "The height and weight of the victim can only be estimated from the partial remains." She started.

Hooper flipped the cover off of the box and sucked in a breath. "The torso has been severed in mid-thorax. No major organs remaining."

"Martin get us both a glass of water." Samantha said stiffly, sparing a quick glance at her brother. "The right arm has been severed above the elbow, with massive tissue loss in the upper musculature."

Hooper continued his own notes after they both received a small glass of water. "Thank you very much."

"Partially denuded bone remaining, this was no boat accident. Did you notify the coast guard about this?" He asked Martin.

"No." He mumbled. "It was only local jurisdiction."

Samantha's eyes went wide. "For christs sake." She muttered under her breath, turning back to Hooper.

"The left arm, head, shoulders, sternum and portions of the rib cage are intact." Hooper continued to make his notes.

Samantha turned to see Martin pulling out a cigarette. She snatched it from his lips. "Do not smoke in here thank you very much." She chucked it into the trash.

Hooper stifled a laugh, trying to focus on the serious situation at hand. But... it was pretty funny.

He watched as Samantha lifted a shredded hand from the box. "This is what happens." She said through clenched teeth.

"It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus, possibly longimanus or isurus glaucus." Hooper stepped back as Samantha said all this, obviously taking charge. "Now, the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis, however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters."

She threw her hands in the air, walking directly towards her brother. "Didnt you get on a boat and check out these waters?" She snapped.

"No." He said quietly.

"No?" She laughed. "This not a boat accident. It wasn't any propeller, it wasn't any coral reef... and it wasn't Jack the Ripper!" She was in Martin's face now, obviously angry.

"Then what was it!?" Martin asked, getting equally frustrated. She didn't know what he had tried to do. How he had begged Larry to let him close the beaches.

"It was a shark." Hooper said softly, putting his hand on Samantha's shoulder and gently pulling her back.

She let him, allowing him to gently push her down into a chair.

She was breathing heavily, waiting for someone to say something. Anything.

After a few moments of dead silence she was done. "Damn it!" She yelled, throwing her hands up and storming out of the room.

Martin was behind her in an instant. "What the hell was that back there huh!?" He yelled, turning her around by her wrist.

She shook her head laughing. "Don't yell at me asshole! You should have done more to protect these people!" She motioned out to the beaches.

Martin scoffed. "No! Trust me Sam I tried! Larry's the one you should be mad at!" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh fuck off Martin! I'm so done!" She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving her brother laughing in anger.

She felt Hooper beside her,catching up to her after a few seconds.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

She let out a breath. "Yeah." She stopped walking and turned to him. "Yeah I'm great." She looked out on the water and spotted Quints boat pulling into the dock. "I'll find you later so we can talk about a few things... but I've got to run."

"Ok! Meet me at the Hilton at 6!" He called out to her. She gave a thumbs up as she ran off to Quints shop, hoping to blow off some steam.