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Health & Fitness

'Summer of the Shark' Chapters 93-95

Is there a shark in Candlewood Lake? There is in "Summer of the Shark," which takes place in a lake just like Candlewood. The story continues weekly Sunday mornings.

Chapter 93
Later that morning Tillitson and Piccolo returned to the office and told other deputies they had seen the shark and fired shots at it. They gave them and the Lake Authority the location and told them to be especially diligent in that area. Piccolo ordered two more patrols for the day, but they would of course be useless.

Piccolo called Ann and told her the all night stakeout hadn’t been successful. She accepted it without question having reluctantly gotten used to the fact that he was not going to tell her details about the investigation. He did tell her they had seen the shark and fired at it. A half lie, but a necessary one.

“Will you be home tonight on time?” she asked.

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“I’ll be late,” he said. “We’re stepping up the patrols and I’ve got other work to do. I should be home before ten.”

“Okay.”

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“Ann?”

“Yes.”

“Love you. This whole thing is going to be over soon.”

“I hope so. We need to get back to normal again. Love you too. Bye.”

*

Two hours after sunset Piccolo and Tillitson were at the Sunset Cove launching ramp. They backed the refrigerated truck from Florida down the ramp and slid the dead shark into the water. A sling had been placed around the body with a towing hook at the top. They ran a line from it to Piccolo’s own boat brought over from Dawes Marina.

With the shark in tow they made their way across Echo Bay without any running lights. It was a clear night with a half moon silhouetting Pine Island off to their left as they passed through the narrow inlet into Brookdale Bay.

They continued on slowly through the inlet. The Shores’ moorings were up ahead, white floating buoys without boats attached because of the shark threat. Tillitson shined a spotlight on them as they drew nearer. They wanted to get as close to the beach as possible. Piccolo put the motor in neutral. He and Tillitson drew the tow rope up to the transom and unhooked the sling. Then together they let the dead shark float free in the water. It sank below the surface.

“Good,” Piccolo said. “It’s high enough in the water to wash ashore.”

“Yeah the winds picking up,” Tillitson said facing into it. “That’ll help.”

“Jimmy’s going to get a surprise tomorrow morning when he rakes the beach.”

“That’s for sure.”

Jimmy D’Amato worked for the Shores community. He still raked the beach every morning with a tractor even though it was closed to swimming. There were still people, mostly mothers and their young kids who used it.

“I feel like we ought to celebrate or something,” Tillitson said looking at the dead shark below them.

“Let’s wait ‘til tomorrow,” Piccolo said. “After people accept this as the real thing.”

Chapter 94

The call came into the Sheriff’s Department shortly after 9AM. The dispatcher couldn’t contain himself and ran into Piccolo’s office.

“The shark washed up onto Arrowhead Shore’s beach sheriff,” he said catching his breath. “You must have hit it when you were out on patrol. They saw two bullet holes in it.”

“You’re kidding,” Piccolo said, putting on the best act he could. “Where’s Roy?”

“I’ll get him,” the deputy said hurrying towards Tillitson’s office.

Roy appeared in the doorway beaming.

“We got him Sheriff,” he said, hurrying to shake Piccolo’s hand. Piccolo hugged him while he whispered to him, “boy are we two lying bastards.”

“Yeah, it took awhile, but we finally got him,” Piccolo said for the benefit of others who were now gathered in his doorway. “But let’s keep the celebrating for later. We’ve got to get over to Arrowhead Shores.”

He gave instructions to the dispatcher not to mention anything on the radio about the shark until being contacted by either Tillitson or himself. The press would be monitoring the channel and he didn’t want them alerted until they had seen the shark.

Then they left for the Shores’ beach.

*

When they arrived there were almost fifty people surrounding the dead twelve foot shark lying in the sand. Jimmy and others had apparently dragged it up from the water’s edge. The two bullet holes were clearly apparent, one just behind the left eye, the other back of the dorsal fin.

Piccolo and Tillitson examined it closely to see if the towing harness had left any tell tale markings. There were none they could see.

“Great job Sheriff,” someone in the crowd said. “Let’s hear it for the Sheriff and his guys.” The crowd burst out with applause. Piccolo looked beyond them and saw his Cherokee pulling up in the parking lot. Ann hurried toward the beach. The word had spread fast.

She broke through the crowd, saw the shark and hugged him.

“It’s over now, isn’t it,” she whispered in his arms.

“Yes,” he said holding her close. “It’s over.”

He told Tillitson to radio the dispatcher. It wouldn’t take long for the press to arrive. Plenty of questions would be asked, but he would have to lie about most of them. The truth about a young boy seeking revenge for his father’s death, devoting his life to accomplishing it would remain secret with Tillitson, himself and the federal government.

The press would most certainly ask how the shark had survived in fresh water for almost a year and a half. He would answer that studies would have to be made to try and find the answer. Dr. Morton, who had involved himself with every victim would certainly want to examine the shark, but would be denied in deference to experts in Florida. Per his agreement with the FBI, no definite conclusions would be reached.

He would tell the press that how the shark got into the lake still remained a mystery. No criminal involvement had been found that they could determine, but an investigation would continue. That investigation of course would be like the Loch Ness one in Scotland; never coming to a conclusion

Chapter 95

THE LAKE IS OPEN!!! read signs at over thirty entrances to the lake. The word CLOSED had been crossed out on every one, replaced by the word everybody had been waiting for..OPEN!

It was Saturday and Arrowhead Shores beach was filled. Everybody had gotten the news yesterday on radio and television. Reporters were everywhere interviewing anyone who would talk to them. Questions about the shark, how it had gotten in, how it had survived were pushed aside. Who cared? The lake was open again and there was nothing more to worry about.

Piccolo and his family had arrived shortly after nine and found nobody had gone in the water yet. “We’re waiting for you sheriff,” one of their neighbors shouted at him. “We want you and your family to be the first ones in.”

The Piccolo family joined hands and ran together into the water. “Last one out to the float is a monkey’s uncle,” Piccolo shouted as he dove in. They all swam as hard as they could, together stroke for stroke, until Mike finally pulled ahead.

“Ha, beat all of you,” he said triumphantly scrambling up onto the float. They followed him up to the cheers from the shore. Then everybody else jumped into the water.

Piccolo and Ann sat with their feet dangling off the float while Mike and Mark tried to push each other off.

“I’ve been waiting for this day a long time,” Piccolo said putting his arm around his wife.

“So have I,” she replied. “Now I hope to see more of you again.”

“You will. I promise.”

Mike finally pushed his brother off the float. Mark hit the water laughing and splashed it up on all of them.

“Do you think Mark’s nightmares will go away now?” she asked as Mike dove in after his brother.

“I think he’ll be having too much fun in the water to have them again.”

“I’m glad you never gave up trying to kill that shark,” she said looking into his eyes.

“I couldn’t do that. It was my job.”

“No it was more than that. I know it.”

He didn’t answer, preferring to let it go.

But she continued.

“Whatever you couldn’t tell me I know you had a reason for. I shouldn’t have gotten upset over it.”

“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have.”

She was startled for a moment, but then saw he was laughing at her expression.

She reached over and pushed him into the water.

He fell backward and let himself go underwater. How good it felt. Then he realized that the shark, the mechanical monster that had terrorized the lake, was less than a couple of hundred yards away lying on the bottom. Years from now they would still be talking about the summer of the shark, but right now he didn’t care.

Arrowhead Lake was open again.

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