Plates were flung.
"Are you out of your mind, woman!?"
"Shut your old mouth, you pathetic excuse of a husband!"
"So what if I accidentally spilled the can of tuna in the sink?"
She threw another plate at him.
"You crazy bitch!"
She grabbed another plate. He went to the drawer and took a plate. "You will not be touching this plate; I will eat off it, and you will eat on the floor!"
"I'm going out!" She stormed to the door. "You can't do anything! What kind of husband are you? It still amazes me that I even asked you for a child.
"You can't give birth, woman! How many times does the doctor have to state it? You shut up and clean this mess you've made; do something!"
She laughed. "You're one to talk! You lie to everyone about being a police officer when you're just a useless fisherman!"
"Get out of my sight, whore!"
"With pleasure, you prick!" She slammed the door. He sat down and turned on the TV. He heard his wife scream outside. He slammed his fist on the sofa and went out. "What is it now, dear?" He screamed.
On the beach was a desecrated human corpse.
***
The courtroom was located near the harbor and offered a nice view through the window where seagulls flew. The room was yellow, filled with fishing paintings from the 1800s. Most of the town gathered, they were all old and alarmed at the grisly sight of a murdered woman. The person could not be identified, only chunks of flesh remained. The people talked loudly amongst themselves.
John Brody, a middle-aged man wearing glasses with rough, brown skin, is known as the town police officer despite not being an officer himself. He is a fisherman who hasn't caught a fish in 75 days. He sat near the judge; the town's mayor was set to arrive, but he got drunk and died in a car accident this morning. The town of Little Hope became only louder with the constant chatter. The judge, for several minutes, had been unable to stop the racket as he couldn't find his hammer.
One old sailor, an experienced whaler whose name no one knows as he carries no documentation and never speaks, had a thick white beard, blue eyes, and wore a blue sailor's outfit. He had large muscles but looked like a corpse. He flipped the table and ran to the crowd, screaming, "AHGGHHG AHGGHG AHGHG AGHGHG AGHGH GAAR GGARR."
"No, sir, please, sir!" He stopped when he heard the judge and sat down.
"Listen, people," the judge said, "we must find the killer!" One man stood up and said, "What if... the killer is among us?" The crowd gasped, and everyone began yelling, "I have an alibi; I was getting my dick sucked last night!"
"I was beating my wife!"
"I was wasted at the bar!"
John Brody covered his ears; he just wanted this to end, as he was told there would be free cookies after the meeting.
"I know who the killer is," said a young, handsome man with a nicely combed beard, golden hair, a charming smile, and nice clothes, walking confidently but humbly. "Well, who is it? Speak, man!" said the judge, sweating.
"The killer... is very much among us," they gasped. The man continued. "But!... he is at sea! You see," he chuckled to himself, "the killer... is a shark." Again, the crowd gasped. "But not to worry; I am a shark expert, and I know how to lure this beast out and kill it. But in order for me to do so, I will need two volunteers to help me."
"Of course, sir!" stood up the judge. He pointed to John Brody, "Our sheriff, he is the best man for the job, and who can forget?" He pointed to the man who flipped the table, "him... yes."
The young man nodded. "I am Jonathan Harker; I will handle this job for free." John Brody looked at the judge and said, "I'm getting paid for this, right?"
"Yes."
The meeting was dismissed, and there were no free cookies. The judge went to Harker and whispered, "You can use the drunken sailor as bait."
John Brody stood from his chair as Harker approached him, saying, "Would you be so kind for us to strategize together at your place?" John Brody placed his hands in his pockets and said, "It depends. You got any free cookies?"