Shark Lover

by Marie, Gracie

  “First off, I just want to say that the evidence that you and your sister found really influenced the case. Without that evidence, I don’t think we would have been able to pull together the case this quickly.” He stated professionally.

  Cathy silently nodded her head, just wishing he could go on and tell her the news already. She didn’t want to know, but she felt impatient to know as well.

  “Now for the news,” He continued. “We took the surfboard back to the crime lab. We investigated the scratches on the board. At first we thought there was some signs of criminal activity. From the board, we could tell that there had been a struggle. We just didn’t know what had happened yet. Now this is where the case gets tricky. On the bottom of the board, we found bite marks. It appeared to have been from an animal. After some research and scientific study, we have most likely concluded the case. This is one of the hardest parts of my job, I will tell you that much. I dread having to tell the family and friends, but it is part of the duty that I have as an officer.”

  “Oh no! What happened?” Cathy cried out interrupting in shock.

  “Unfortunately, we believe that Marc was attacked by a shark while surfing. We have significant evidence that proves so. He has been missing for three full days now. We believe that he woke up in the morning, headed to the university to get some work done and then decided to go to Stinson Beach for an afternoon surf session. Nobody has seen him since.” Officer Sanchez explained in a calm voice.

  “I mean are you sure that it all really happened? How do you know he was attacked by a shark? Have you recovered a body? There could still be hope for him to be found alive.” Cathy frantically stated as she started to have a panic attack. She couldn’t believe that any of this was happening.

  “Once again Ms. Montanan, I am really sorry to be the one who has to tell you this. But we believe that Mr. Porter is deceased from a shark attack. After interviewing a few families who were vacationing there, they stated that the last time they saw him was three days ago. He went to the beach and never returned off of it. We also interviewed some of the surfers who surf Stinson Beach daily. They claimed the same thing. We even have one witness who believes that he might have possibly witnessed the attack three days ago. He has stated that there was a struggle in the water near him, but he didn’t see the entire attack. After the attack, he has told us that there was an enormous amount of blood in the water.”

  “This is so horrible, thanks for letting me know. Have you told his mother yet? She’s going to be devastated.” Cathy started to cry feeling her heart break for Marc’s mother. She had already lost her husband to a shark attack and now her son. Cathy also had a hard time believing that she would never be able to see or be with Marc again. Just the thought alone made her want to crawl into bed for the rest of her life and cry her eyes out.

  “Yes, I have told her. She isn’t doing too well. I sent over another officer to comfort her tonight,” He said as he paused. “Are you doing alright Ms. Montanan? I can send over an officer to your house as well. I know how hard this must be for you. I just want to make sure you are doing okay and you will make it through the night.”

  “Thanks for your concern Officer, but my sister is here. I think I should be alright. Well as alright as I can be I suppose. This is the worse news that I have received in my life.” She said through sobs. “I can’t believe this is happening!”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. Remember I am only a phone call away, if you need anything feel free to reach out to me. My offer still stands, if you don’t want to be alone tonight. I’m glad your sister is there with you. If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to get in touch. I’ll let you have some time to grieve. I will call you again soon to fill you in on more information on the case and to check up on you. Try to rest and have a good night.”

  Cathy couldn’t even reply, she pressed the end call button and started crying as loudly as she could. She couldn’t control her crying and sobbing. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. She couldn’t even begin to fathom the pain that his mother was going through. Standing up, she peered out the window. It was pitch black outside and she felt so helpless and alone. She didn’t know what to do. Sitting back down on the bed, she cried more. She didn’t know she could cry this long and hard.

  “Cathy is everything okay? I heard you screaming and crying. What’s wrong?” Carly asked as she peeked in the door to her sister’s room.

  She didn’t answer and just shook her head. She looked out towards the window as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

  “Something happened with Marc didn’t it? Was that Officer Sanchez that called? I am so sorry Cathy. I can’t even imagine what you are going through right now.” She came over and sat next to Cathy on her bed and hugged her tight.

  “Oh Carly! He’s dead. A shark attacked him while he was surfing. He’s never coming back. I can’t believe it. He’s never coming back!”

  “I am so sorry Cathy,” Carly said understandably as she ran her hands through her sister’s curly blond hair. She wanted to make her feel better, she just didn’t know what to do. She felt so helpless. She decided to ask about the details later or call Officer Sanchez later on and ask him what happened. Her sister wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk about it and she wanted to protect her. “He’s in a better place now, Cathy. Just think of it that way. He died doing something that he loved. He regained his strength and became fearless again. You put that spirit back in him. Trust me, he died a happy man.”

  “It doesn’t sound so bad when you put it that way, but how am I going to live my entire life without him? He was the love of my life. I don’t think I will ever find someone like him again, it took so long to find him. I just miss him Carly. I know we hadn’t even known each other that long, but I really miss him. And I feel horrible for his mom. Imagine what it must be like to lose both your husband and your son.”

  “I know it’s going to be really hard on you. These next few months are going to be the worst. You’re going to miss him each and every day, but just remember that I am here for you. I’ll even move in here with you if you want or you can come and live back at home. Mom will help you too. We’re here for you. Don’t ever forget that. I feel bad for his mom too. Maybe you should call her. I’m sure she would like to hear from you in this time of need. It would help both of you.”

  “Thanks Carly. You’re the best. I think I will move back home for a while. My lease is up this month anyways. It would be nice to have the comfort of you and Mom. I don’t think I can go through this all alone. I mean you saw how badly I took it when Dad left. I can’t handle stuff like this very well. I need your help,” She said as she took a tissue from the box laying on her nightstand. “I’ll think about it. I don’t know if I should call his mom right now. I just don’t feel like it’s the right time. I’m sure she’s grieving. That poor woman.”

  “I’ll help you move your stuff back in this weekend. I’m staying here until then though. I’m not leaving you alone. Do you want me to sleep in here tonight?” Carly asked. “I think anytime would be the right time. I’m sure she would appreciate you reaching out to her. It’s hard to go through stuff like this alone.”

  “Yeah, I want you to stay here tonight. It’s awful going through this. I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy. I just can’t believe he’s gone. I just saw him last week, now he’s not even breathing anymore. Isn’t that weird to think? That one day life is just here and the next day it’s just gone.” Cathy sobbed once more into her pillow case as she laid her head down.

  “I think you should just try to relax. Let’s try to sleep for a while. I know it’s going to be hard to sleep, but I think you should at least try. If we stay awake, we are just going to make the situation worse. Tomorrow is a new day, we’ll get it figured out. Don’t worry. They still don’t even have a body, so there’s no actual proof that he truly is gone.” Carly stated as she laid her head on the pillow next to Cathy’s. She
was exhausted, having been up since six in the morning. Her lack of sleep was finally taking a toll on her. She worried about her sister, but she wanted her to fall asleep and stop worrying about things.

  “You’re right. He still could be alive maybe. They don’t have a body. That’s what I keep telling myself to feel better. Grieving is just too hard right now. I want to sleep now too. If I sleep maybe my mind will stop throwing all of these thoughts at me. I just want peace. Thanks for everything, Carly. You’re the best sister a girl could have.”

  “No problem, sleep tight. Remember if you need anything you can wake me up. I’m right here.”

  Cathy closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She kept picturing Marc in her mind. She wanted the image to go away, but no matter what she did she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Opening her eyes, she looked out towards the window in her room. Through the blinds, she couldn’t even see any light. That led her to believe that it was probably past midnight now. Trying to sleep again, she closed her eyes. When they shut she left the world into a deep, restless sleep.

  “Marc! Don’t go in the water! Please don’t go in the water!” She screamed across the beach to her brown, curly haired love. “It’s dangerous! Don’t go in!”

  She had just arrived to the beach, it had taken her some time to get here. Too long. She had been in the middle of a lab project that she hadn’t wanted to quit. After getting a call from Tony, she left the lab as fast as she could. Tony had told her that Marc was going for a surf. He was going to Stinson Beach. He wanted to regain his love for surfing. Tony had sounded worried and now she was too. It wasn’t the right time to surf on the beach. Even Cathy, who wasn’t a surfer knew that.

  “Marc! Stop! Don’t go any further!” She called out running closer towards him. He was too far away to hear her cries. He had already gotten on his board and had started paddling out to the deep ocean. All she could do was watch in horror. She knew what was coming next. She didn’t want to watch. “Marc!” She feverishly called again knowing that he still couldn’t hear her. She couldn’t give up now. Maybe there was still a chance he would turn around and come back to the shore.

  She had reached the end of the beach. All that was left was water. If she went any further she would be in the danger zone herself. Giving herself a moment to think, she decided that it was safer to wait here. If she went in, she might not come back out alive. Beaches like this had a strong under tow, she wouldn’t be able to survive that by hand and foot. Looking around her, she saw a surfer who was sitting by the shore. Maybe he would lend her his board so she could go in and follow Marc.

  Walking over to him, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She was too late once again. She looked back into the ocean and heard a piercing scream of pain. The gray fin was over his body. The struggle had begun. “No! No! This can’t be happening! Not while I am here! I have to stop this!” She yelled as she gave up the fight for the board and ran into the ocean. The water was cold. She didn’t know how the surfers managed getting in the water at these temperatures. Feeling her body freezing over, she couldn’t move. She felt stuck in place. Stuck in time. Watching a horrible fate unravel right in front of her.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” He screamed as the shark attacked his stomach. He punched and kicked as hard as he could, but he couldn’t move. He was stuck inside a shark’s jaws.

  “Marc! Hold on, I am coming!” Cathy started paddling again, trying to get back out into the sea where Marc was. It killed her inside to hear him screaming like that. He sounded like he was in the worst pain of his entire life. She didn’t want it to end like this. She didn’t want to watch him die right before her eyes.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” He screamed again, but this time it wasn’t as loud. He was losing the fight. He was losing air. His body went completely limp and his cries went silent. His body was lifeless as it sunk beneath the dark sea as the shark still chased him underwater.

  “Nooooooo!” Cathy screamed with vengeance. Marc was gone and she was still in the water with his killer. She had to fight for justice for Marc, but she didn’t have the right tools right now. She wanted to know who did this, what creature it was. Loving animals had always been her nature, but this shark had killed the love of her life. Something had to be done.

  She looked underwater, trying to search for the creature. It had to be a shark. She had seen the fin from miles away. A human wouldn’t have been eaten by a whale or a dolphin. Creatures like that were not interested in a human as a snack. She didn’t think sharks were either. Marc did look like a seal in his wetsuit and it was October. Meaning it was sharktober. The time when sharks were so hungry, they turned into senseless killers.

  She bent her head underwater one last time, hoping to get a glimpse of the evil killer that had brought Marc to his death. Looking at her straight in the eyes, was a great white shark. Her eyes didn’t look evil, she looked like a creature who had eaten something by mistake and was sorry. Cathy felt a twinge of sympathy, but that soon went away when she recognized that Marc was gone and was never coming back all because of this creature’s mistake.

  The shark stopped looking at her and turned away. She started swimming away quickly. As she turned, Cathy saw her crooked fin. It was shaped just like a key. Could it really be Mandy? Cathy started to think. It just couldn’t be who she thought it was. That shark was her friend. Mandy was not a killer or was she? Cathy came up for air and then went back underwater to catch a glimpse of the shark one last time. It wasn’t there anymore. She wondered why the shark hadn’t attacked her too. This was starting to be the strangest dream she had ever had. Cathy was almost one hundred percent sure that it was Mandy who killed Marc. This only meant one thing. Revenge.

  Cathy sat up in bed breathing hard. She couldn’t believe that she had just dreamed about Marc’s death. She wondered if it had really happened that way. If he had just been surfing and then a creature had attacked him so carelessly. She didn’t want to think about it any longer, but it was engraved in her brain. She was still breathing hard just thinking about it. It was the worst dream she had ever had. The worst part about it, was that it wasn’t just a dream. It was real life.

  She looked over at her sister who was still sleeping. Cathy didn’t want to wake up Carly again. Her sister needed her sleep. She felt bad enough that she was pulling Carly through this. Plus there was only one person she could really ask for help. One person who would be able to help her solve all of this. She looked inside her drawer of her nightstand. It was late, but she knew that he would answer. She knew just who she would call.

  Chapter 14

  “Cathy?” He asked practically speechless as he answered the phone. “What’s going on?” He sat up in bed, trying to comprehend what time it was. There wasn’t any lights shining through the window, so he figured it was still late at night. Possibly it was the middle of the night. He wondered why she would be calling him so late. It had to be an emergency.

  “Hey. I need your help. Something horrible has happened. I tried sleeping but I just had a terrible dream about it. I’m really sorry to wake you up, but I just had to talk to you. It’s important.” She whispered quietly into the phone. The last thing she wanted to do was wake Carly up again. She loved her sister, but sometimes when she woke her up she did get cranky. Cathy knew she had to do this on her own this time. She had to be strong and face her toughest fears.

  “What happened? Is everything okay? I can come over there if you want me to.” He said fully awake now.

  “It’s Marc. I don’t know if you heard, but a missing person’s report was filed a few days ago. Officer Sanchez called me and he said Marc was attacked by a shark on Stinson Beach three days ago. He died right after he was attacked and they can’t find the body. That’s at least what they told me. I need your help to find the shark. I just had a dream that it was…it was…oh I can’t say it, it’s too bad.” She let out a small sob as she silently remembered her horrible nightmare.

  “Cathy, I am so sorry. What a terrible loss
. Marc was a fantastic person. He will be missed. What were you going to say? You can tell me I am here for you. I understand that this is a tough time for you.”

  “He was a great person, I miss him so much already. Since they haven’t recovered a body, I still believe that he might be alive somewhere. I haven’t lost hope just yet, but it’s looking like he’s gone. And I think it was Mandy. I just had a dream that it was Mandy who attacked him. Can you meet me at our regular place? Thanks so much for understanding. You are truly an amazing friend.”

  “Of course. I will be there right away. I will see you in ten minutes. Be careful driving, it’s late. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” He said with caution.

  “I will be very careful. Once again, thanks so much. You are the best.” She said getting out of bed and throwing a sweat suit on. She wanted to be comfortable for what she was about to do. Having to face Marc’s alleged killer could be a touchy thing to do. She wasn’t really looking forward to it, but it had to be done.

  “No problem. Bye.” He ended the call as quickly as it had been started and Cathy knew he had been the perfect person to ask for help.

  “I just have to write a note for Carly, pack my book bag and get another jacket.” She mumbled to herself. She picked up everything she needed and gently closed the door to her bedroom. Carly appeared to be sound asleep and Cathy let out a sigh of relief. Heading into the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee. The warmth of the drink lit her up inside. She could feel herself and her body regaining all of the strength it had lost in the past forty-eight hours. Taking another sip, she set it back on the counter and went out the door. She was ready to face the morning and bring Marc righteousness. No matter what it took.

  * * *

  “Thanks so much for coming,” She said giving him a quick hug as she followed them into the lab.

  “It’s not a problem at all. I know this is a tough time for you. I want to help you through it.” He answered with sympathy.