by Davy Ocean
Why do moms do that, by the way?!
Anyway, I have to put a stop to this now.
As everyone in the square is looking up at Dad and not at me and Rick, we swim right up to the front of the town hall before anyone notices. I tug on Dad’s fin.
“Dad! It’s us. We’re back!”
“Not now, Harry! Can’t you see I’m busy trying to organize a search party?”
“Who for?”
“For you and Rick of course! Now will you please stop interrupting! As I was saying, I’m reminded of my great-grandfather Harrison Hammer, who once got lost in the wilderness beyond the shelf for three and a half weeks, while prospecting for whelks. He was only able to survive by eating whatever he could find from under rocks! To think that Harry, here, might-”
I tug harder on his fin and flick his dorsal with my hammer.
“Harry! For goodness’ sake, I’m trying to get these people to go out and find you!”
He swings back around, puts the megaphone back to his mouth, and . . .
Clang!!!!
(That’s the sound of his brain finally figuring out that I don’t need rescuing.)
“Harry!” Dad yells. “And Rick! You’re back!”
“Yes, Dad, we are!” I snap. “So can you please stop shouting through the megaphone?!”
The next few minutes are a blur of cheering and hugging-and trying to avoid Mom spitting on her handkerchief to wipe a smudge of sea-sand off my face.
When things finally start to calm down, and Rick’s parents have come over to give him a cuddle, Mom asks me what happened.
But before I can open my jaws, Rick blurts, “I was captured by the leggy air-breathers and held prisoner inside their Sea-Planet Theme Park. It was terrible, and then they captured Harry and he was terrified. I thought it would be a good idea to trick them into letting us in the pool nearest the sea and then I decided that we’d break through the wall and escape and here we are. Easy!”
The lies tumble out of Rick’s mouth like pops from Joe’s bottom!
I look at Rick with eyes wider than the Mariana Trench (which is very wide-poolgle it on your computers and see).
I think Mom and Dad can tell from my face that I can’t believe what Rick’s saying. Mom whispers something in Dad’s ear. He nods and picks up the megaphone again. . . .
Oh no!
“Dad! No!” I start waving my fins at him to stop, expecting him to say something totally embarrassing again. But he doesn’t. He just asks, “What about you, Harry? How did you get mixed up in this?”
“At the end of the day, Harry, on the mean streets we only need one weapon, our wits and a good old hard dose of truth.”
That’s two weapons, Imaginary Mike, but thank you for pointing out what I need to do. I take the megaphone from my dad.
“Math was never my strong point, kid. You go get ’em, Harry Hammer, Super Agent Shark Detective: Instrument of Truth, Justice, and the Hammerhead Way!”
I take a deep gill of water and start speaking into the megaphone. “The truth is I went looking for Rick when I found his jacket on a rock in the Shallows. I know how much he loves that jacket and he would never have left it behind unless he was forced to. I knew he had to be in danger-so I continued on into the Shallows alone.”
The crowd gasps. Everyone looks at Rick. He grudgingly nods. The crowd gasps again.
“And that’s when I was captured,” I continue. “But I came up with a plan to get us out-inspired by my great hero”-Dad puffs his chest up with pride-“Mike Hammerhead, Shark Detective.” Dad’s puffy chest deflates like a burst balloon. “It was my idea to put on a show for the leggy air-breathers so we’d get put in the pool right next to the ocean. Then I saw a crack in the wall of the pool with my hammer-vision, so we pounded the crack during our show until the wall broke and we could escape. And we escaped in the finest display of sea acrospratics the ocean has ever seen.”
The crowd double gasps. Everyone looks at Rick again. He double grudgingly nods. The crowd double gasps again.
“Hooray for Harry!”
Everyone is hugging us and cheering again. Tony, Ralph (looking hungrily into my mouth to make up for his missed meals), and Joe appear from the crowd. Tony and Ralph swim up and down waving their fins like victory flags in the current.
But Joe starts mumbling in my ear. “I’m so glad you weren’t turned into shark-fin soup for leggy air-breathers to suck up through straws. I’m so glad your hides weren’t turned into shoes, because imagine how rawful it would be having stinky leggy air-breather’s weird-shaped feet inside you all day. And I’m so glad your teeth weren’t turned into necklaces for leggy air-breather’s to-”
I put a fin over Joe’s mouth.
His bottom instantly starts to pop.
“Can’t you just be glad we’re home?” I say with a grin.
“I am,” says Joe. “Let’s hope you don’t get run over by a whalebus or a taxicrab though. That would be a horrible welcome home.”
I start to giggle. “You’ll never change, will you, Joe?”
Joe waves his tentacles in horror. “No! Changing is really scary!”
Laughing, I swim away to join the celebrations.
I feel awesome! Not only have I solved my first proper mystery, but Rick has had to admit that I was the real hero who saved him. Hopefully, I might avoid a few flubbers over the next few weeks at school. After all, Rick totally wouldn’t want to get caught flubbering the shark who saved his life: Harry Hammer, Shark Detective: Instrument of Truth, Justice, and the Hammerhead Way!!!
THE END
Meet Harry and the Shark Point gang. . . .
HARRY
Species: hammerhead shark
You’ll spot him . . . using his special hammer-vision
Favorite thing: his Gregor the Gnasher poster
Most likely to say: “I wish I was a great white.”
Most embarrassing moment: when Mom called him her “little starfish” in front of all his friends
RALPH
Species: pilot fish
You’ll spot him . . . eating the food from between Harry’s teeth!
Favorite thing: shrimp Pop-Tarts
Most likely to say: “So, Harry, what’s for breakfast today?”
Most embarrassing moment: eating too much cake on Joe’s birthday. His face was COVERED in pink plankton icing.
JOE
Species: jellyfish
You’ll spot him . . . hiding behind Ralph and Harry, or behind his own tentacles
Favorite thing: his cave, since it’s nice and safe
Most likely to say: “If we do this, we’re going to end up as fish food. . . .”
Most embarrassing moment: whenever his rear goes toot, which is when he’s scared. Which is all the time.
RICK
Species: blacktip reef shark
You’ll spot him . . . bullying smaller fish or showing off
Favorite thing: his black leather jacket
Most likely to say: “Last one there’s a sea snail!”
Most embarrassing moment: none. Rick’s far too cool to get embarrassed.
About the Author
DAVY OCEAN has traveled the seven seas in search of good seafaring shanties and fishy tales. He currently resides in a small fishing town that overlooks Shark Point and allows him uninterrupted access to the antics of a small community of hammerhead sharks and its fellow ocean neighbors.
AARON BLECHA is an artist who designs funny characters, animates silly cartoons, and illustrates humorous books. His work incudes illustrations for the bestselling book series George Brown, Class Clown. Originally from the United States, Aaron now lives with his family by the south English seaside.
Aladdin
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READ ALL THE SHARK SCHOOL BO
OKS!
#1: Deep-Sea Disaster
#2: Lights! Camera! Hammerhead!
#3: Squid-napped!
#4: The Boy Who Cried Shark
#5: A Fin-tastic Finish
#6: Splash Dance
#7: Tooth or Dare
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin paperback edition August 2017
Text copyright © 2017 by Hothouse Fiction
Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Aaron Blecha
Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.
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Cover designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2017 by Aaron Blecha
Library of Congress Control Number 2016959296
ISBN 978-1-4814-6550-2 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-6549-6 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-6551-9 (eBook)