Bull Shark

Morning.

- Morning was an hour ago. It's nearly lunch.

What's all this?

- Well, the mayor came in for his 9:00,

he wanted you to know that he waited for 20 minutes,

which was 19 minutes longer than he wanted to.

I told him you were sick

and we would follow up to reschedule.

Fish and Game called twice.

Seems they need someone to draft a policy

on the definition of a buck deer.

You got a call from Nolan Holt this morning,

and your sponsor left another message.

He wants you to call him back.

What'd Nolan want?

He didn't say.

It sounded important, though.

How so?

- When I told him you were otherwise indisposed,

he asked that you hurry every chance you get.

- Call the mayor, reschedule for lunch tomorrow.

- Mm-hmm. - What's the name

of that seafood place he likes?

Oceaner?

That's the one.

- Make sure they bring out those hush puppies.

- Mm-hmm. - He likes those.

After that, call Fish and Game, tell them anything

with a hard antler protruding through the skin

is a buck deer, same as last season

and the hundreds of seasons before that.

And your sponsor?

Forget it.

You sure?

I'm busy.

Mm-hmm.

And Nolan?

I'll handle that one myself.

You gonna get that?

You know, one of these days,

that thermos is going to catch up with you.

- Well, lucky for you, you'll be here

to tell me I told you so.

- The worst time to hear I told you so

is when you ended up saying it to yourself.

Thanks, Reema.

Hello? Yes.

What's up, partner?

Hey, Nolan.

So, what'd you wanna show me?

What's the phone call about?

Check it out.

Whoo-whee.

- Nolan, why is there a shark in the back of your truck?

Isn't she a beauty?

- That's not what I asked. Where'd you get this?

Went and got it in Surf City,

me and my buddy were out fishing.

Got 'em something big.

It's crazy.

Why do you have it?

Why do I have it?

Why do you think I have it, son?

I'm gonna sell it.

You're going to sell it?

Yeah.

You know, the teeth, jawbone.

Sometimes people like to eat the fin and shit.

I'll make a killing.

Great.

It's fucking bloated.

Are you sure it's-

- Stop stirring shit, don't worry about it.

All right, all right.

Cut that shit out.

You gotta get this thing out of here.

Take it back where it came from.

Why?

- Because this is a small town, Nolan.

Once word gets out, you got a dead shark near the lake?

People are going to equate all this to sharks

being in the water.

That don't make any sense.

Everybody knows that no sharks swim in freshwater.

It's the perception, Nolan.

I don't need to explain that to you. Just do what I ask.

I want this thing back in Surf City today.

You got it? - Goddamn, man.

Well, can I keep a fin at least?

Get your ass on the road now.

- A tooth? - Do it!

You piss me off. - Goddamn it.

I knew I shouldn't have brought it here in the first place.

Hey! What the hell you doing?

You can't just come in here unannounced, Gary.

Unannounced?

I call your cell, you don't answer.

Your office, no call back.

I mean, seriously, do you even get my messages?

Besides, you always leave key outside

in case you go AWOL.

- Did it ever occur to you I might just be busy?

- Don't bullshit a bullshitter, man.

You were coming up on 100 days.

- I had shit with work, Gary, Dottie and the kid.

- And this is how you get them back?

They don't have room for an addict.

And from what you've told me,

they've made that pretty damn clear.

When's the last time you actually ate something?

You know, if you keep facing in the right direction,

this thing's really pretty simple,

but you've gotta keep walking.

I'm trying, Gary.

I should've called you.

- Well, have you seen her? The kiddo?

It's been three weeks.

I don't know.

I drove by the house the other night.

Well, look, I'm here to help,

and I'm a hell of a good listener.

I'll put on some coffee.

Thanks, Gary.

Catching anything?

Not a damn thing.

What's in it?

Coffee.

- Ah, shit. - You got a license

to fish out here?

- That's none of your damn business, Gary.

Just worry about taking care of me.

That's a full-time job.

I bet it is.

I appreciate you either way.

- You can do this deal, brother.

One day at a time.

Did you ever slip up?

I did, several times.

Hey, you know what?

I wouldn't trade this way of life,

and I wouldn't trade my sobriety for anything in the world.

You'll get there.

Yeah.

Oh, I shit my pants.

If he thinks I'm driving back down south,

he got another thing coming.

Whoo.

Man, you're a heavy son of a bitch.

Here you go, Betsy, into the water.

There.

8:30.

Here.

There.

It's just coffee today, Reema.

Lunch with the mayor went well.

What's that look? What?

What?

The sheriff's here to see you.

Send him in.

Oh.

Wilson.

Spencer.

What can I do for?

You hadn't heard?

Heard what?

Got a dead girl on the lake.

Where's the body?

- What's left of it, coroner's office.

There's a bunch of boats in the water

a couple of miles up the coast from where we found the girl,

I sent a couple of my guys up there to bring them in.

What'd you tell them?

Lake water tests.

Figure that'd give us some time to figure out

what we're going to say.

We?

- We hadn't had a murder in this town in 60 years

and now, in a goddamn election year?

You're the warden.

I deal with criminals.

You deal with animals.

- Well, Sheriff, I think I deal with more criminals

in this town than you do.

What makes you think it's an animal?

- They pulled that out of the middle of her back,

lodged into her spine.

Yeah, that's a shark tooth.

Impossible.

- Listen, I don't wanna cause a panic

in town with the locals.

Word gets out we got a shark in the lake,

you can forget all about tourists.

- Sheriff, if there were a shark in these waters,

as rare as that would be, the chances of attacking

and killing a swimmer like that doesn't add up.

They don't come into freshwater.

We don't have reefs.

Slaughterhouses? No.

Nothing here to keep them interested.

All right, then.