Great Shark Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

with a great white shark,” said Henry. “What’s it like?”
    A faraway look came over Mac’s face. “It’s an amazing experience,” he said. “They’re such beautiful, powerful animals. Once one bit me—but when it realized I wasn’t its usual dinner, it swam away. I went right back in the water as soon as the wound healed.”
    “Weren’t you scared?” asked Benny.
    “I make sure to be careful,” Mac said. “But I wouldn’t let fear keep me from my exciting work. I did all kinds of research out in the open sea, swimming with all kinds of sea creatures.”
    “Do you go in the tanks with them here?” Jessie asked.
    “We sure do,” Mac said. “Not just me, but the other divers also. We have to clean the windows, do repairs, help injured animals, things like that. When we first brought the great white in, we had to walk it around the tank.”
    “You were in there with that shark?” Benny asked him, amazed. “Weren’t you scared?”
    “It’s frightening, yes,” Mac said. “But we had to keep the shark alive. Unlike other kinds of fish, sharks need to move, to have water go down their throats, in order to breathe. The shark was sluggish, so we took turns swimming it around, until it was swimming on its own.”
    Mac was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice sounded weary and sad. “We worked so hard to keep this shark alive, and now someone wants to kill it.”
    As the others watched the great white shark, Violet went back to take another look at the other shark tank. She’d noticed something—something that was different from the way that tank had looked the day before. But she couldn’t figure out what it was.
    On their way back to their cabin, the Aldens stopped by the Dolphin Arena. Emily was in her small office next to the stands, looking through some papers on her desk.
    “What did Mac say?” Emily asked as soon as she spotted the children.
    “He went to speak to Ms. Carver but she was out,” Henry said.
    “She’d better have a pretty good explanation,” Emily said.
    “Are you all done here?” Jessie asked.
    “Just about,” Emily said. “That was my last show for the day. If you’ll wait a minute, I’ll walk back to the cabin with you. We can go as soon as I find my card key. It’s been missing all day.”
    “It has?” Jessie said.
    “Yes,” Emily said, looking puzzled. “It’s very strange. I never lose things.”
    “We found one in town,” Violet said. “We didn’t know who it belonged to, so we turned it in to Ms. Carver.”
    “Really?” Emily said quickly. “Where did you find it?”
    “In front of Wilson’s,” said Jessie.
    “Wilson’s?” Emily repeated. A strange look flickered across her face.
    “Have you been there lately?” Violet asked.
    “Have I?” Emily said. “No, um—”
    “It was robbed!” Benny interrupted.
    “Oh, my goodness,” Emily said. “Do the police know who did it?”
    “No,” said Benny, “but they said it looked like an outside job.”
    The other children laughed. “An inside job,” Jessie corrected him.
    “Oh, yeah,” Benny said, his face turning red.
    “What was stolen?” Emily asked.
    “Some diamond jewelry,” said Jessie.
    “Diamond?” Emily asked.
    “Yes,” said Jessie. “Is something wrong?”
    “No,” Emily said. “It’s just … I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
    “So anyway we found a card key there,” Jessie said, pulling the key out of her pocket and showing it to Emily. “Ms. Carver said we could use it.”
    Emily took the key and turned it over. “No, this isn’t mine.”
    “How can you tell?” Henry asked. “Don’t they all look the same?”
    “I put my initials on the back,” Emily said.
    “Why don’t you just go get another card from Ms. Carver?” Violet suggested.
    “Oh, well …” Emily paused. “I’m so busy. …”
    “We could go ask her for you,” Jessie offered.
    “No!” Emily said quickly. Then she smiled. “I mean, that’s okay. I’m