Brody closes the public beaches. A fisherman named Ben Gardner is hired to catch the shark and Brody watches him from the beach through binoculars. Though he is a “very poor swimmer” (50), Brody wants to take a small boat out to see how Gardner is handling his task. When Brody and Hendricks arrive at Gardner’s boat, however, Gardner is missing. Instead, they find “strange” (52) damage to the boat and “smears of blood” (53). Finding a shark’s tooth, Brody suspects the worst has happened to Gardner and returns to shore with Hendricks. They leave Gardner’s boat anchored out at sea.

Meadows is waiting for Brody on the dock. He introduces a scientist and ichthyologist named Matt Hooper. Meadows has called Hooper to help them “figure out what’s going on” (54). Later, Brody calls Gardner’s wife and immediately regrets that he did not share his bad news “in person” (55). He sends a neighbor to comfort the grieving woman but feels that he must “defend himself” from the suggestion that Gardner’s death is his fault (56). After the call, Brody describes the situation to Hooper. The scientist is convinced that

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