Lies Beneath

by Anne Greenwood Brown

  “Calder, can you help me with this?” Sophie asked. “There’s too much tape. I can’t open it.” I got up and took my car key out of my pocket. I sliced through the tape and gestured like a magician’s assistant at the contents—mostly nappy stuffed animals.

  “I seriously doubt he’s dangerous,” said Lily. The sound of pulling and cutting tape followed her words.

  “Wouldn’t matter,” Jack said. “I could take him.”

  “Neither one of us needs your protection, Jack,” said Gabrielle.

  “What are you taping on your walls?” Jack asked. I heard the faint rush of air as someone ripped something out of someone else’s hands.

  “What do you like better, Calder? Pandas or frogs?” Sophie asked.

  “Hmm? What? Oh, frogs, I guess.”

  She handed me a green stuffed animal. “You can have that one, then.”

  “They’re pictures of famous poets,” Lily said.

  “Looks like a bunch of old dead guys,” Jack said.

  “Dude, don’t be such a philistine,” Gabrielle said. There was the sound of someone, probably Jack, pounding his chest like a gorilla.

  “Besides,” Gabrielle continued, “how is this any weirder than the crap on your walls?”

  “That’s art,” Jack said. “And my paintings aren’t crap.”

  “Right,” Gabrielle said. “They’re inspired.”

  Light footsteps fell in the hallway, and I looked up to see Lily standing outside Sophie’s door. She’d lost the beret, and her hair was messed up. She stole a nervous glance at me. “Everything okay in here?” she asked.

  I wondered if maybe Jack Pettit was right. Was I acting too familiar too soon? I always had a hard time gauging normal human behavior. Pace yourself, I told myself. Time to back off.

  Hancock called up the stairs to the Pettits. “Gabrielle, Jack, your dad’s ready to go.”

  Jack was immediately beside Lily, his eyes doing little to mask his disapproval of me or his disappointment in leaving. His chest inflated with air and his earlier look of confusion returned. This time I was sure I wasn’t imagining it.

  I stood up, dropping the frog onto Sophie’s bed. “Well, I guess that’s it,” I said a little louder than necessary. I stepped into the hallway. “Hope to see you all soon.” Some of you more than others, I added mentally, throwing Sophie a parting wave. Lily frowned.

  “You’re leaving?” Sophie asked, clutching a matted bear to her chest. “Already?” Her eyes grew round, and her bottom lip projected. “Don’t you want the frog?” She reminded me of a smaller, human version of Pavati.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said, retrieving her gift. “Of course I do.”

  The Pettits’ van passed me as I walked to my car. So did the rest of the movers, looking weary. One of them massaged his own shoulder before climbing into his vehicle. One guy looked under his truck for his missing sweatshirt.

  I drove down the road a half mile and parked at a nearby boat launch before doubling back on foot. I had strict instructions from Maris to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could, so I prepared to study the Hancocks for the rest of the afternoon, to see what they did when they thought no one was watching.

  I sat in the pine branches, spying through the newly uncovered windows. Hopefully, I’d learn something of value that would keep Maris off my back for the night. Maybe she’d actually let me sleep.

  The late-afternoon sun drew long shadows across the Hancocks’ front yard. It was cold in the trees. And quiet. The Hancocks were settled in. Mrs. Hancock was in the kitchen, unpacking boxes. Through another window, I could see Hancock assembling a bookshelf.

  Lily lay belly-down on the living room floor, her knees bent and her feet crossed in the air. She was reading a book but not turning the pages. She seemed to be reading the same lines over and over, mouthing the words as she read them. Memorizing them?

  Sophie played nearby. She had her Barbie and Ken dolls in bathing suits, swimming through the green shag carpeting like they were crossing the channel. When her shaggy lake came to the base of the gun cabinet, Ken and Barbie turned into rock climbers and scaled its mahogany doors.

  On the other side of the glass panes, the Hancocks lived their lives, oblivious to the danger I posed. Somewhere in my history, in some distant memory, I remembered what it meant to be a family. Or at least something close. It bothered me that I’d have to disrupt this peaceful picture. Doubt gnawed at my gut. Maybe I couldn’t do this. Maybe I didn’t have it in me. But if I couldn’t complete my assignment, Maris would never release me.

  I was such a hypocrite. Why was it okay to destroy a family when I knew what it meant to be destroyed? Because this is justice, I reminded myself. And it’s justice deserved.

  I squirmed in my hiding spot. Do something, people, I urged. Say something. The silence dragged on. I imagined my first report to Maris: “We have underestimated our enemy. They are lethal. We are in serious danger of the Hancocks boring us to death. Abort, abort, abort.” I was just about to laugh at my own self-entertainment when a clatter of dishes shattered the silence. I jumped and pulled farther back into the branches.

  “Carolyn! Are you all right?” Jason Hancock was on his feet. The girls stared at each other for a second before running after him. I climbed higher to get a better view. Carolyn Hancock sat on the kitchen floor, curled into a ball in the center of a debris field. An empty box marked Everyday Dishes lay on the floor beside her.

  “I thought this was supposed to be one of my good days,” she whimpered into her knees. Lily knelt beside her mother and helped Hancock pull his wife to her feet.

  “It’s okay, Carolyn.”

  “How is this okay?” she asked.

  “It’s only dishes, Mom.”

  “Stupid dishes.” She picked up a plate that had managed to survive and smashed it against the floor. “Stupid house. Stupid body.”

  “Carolyn honey … Shhhhh, baby, it’s okay.”

  Sophie let out a sob and ran for the stairs. Lily followed, calling after her. Mrs. Hancock cried into her husband’s shoulder. “Don’t ever leave me,” she said, and she laid her head against his chest.

  He supported her as they walked to the couch. He grabbed her cane as they passed through the kitchen door.

  “As if I could.”

  “Jason, what are we doing here?”

  “You know what we’re doing here. It’s going to be good for all of us, Carolyn. You’ll see.”

  “Restful climate,” she said with disgust. “We could have gone anywhere. Why here? Why now? How is this supposed to make things better?”

  Hancock’s gaze drifted to the ceiling. From the upstairs bedroom, Sophie’s wailing cry filled me with shame.

  9

  INDECISION

  My sisters and I surfaced one at a time, fifty yards from the Hancocks’ shoreline. Behind the house, treetop silhouettes pierced the pink and purple sky. We’d been repeating this scene every summer for over forty years: swimming back and forth in front of the house, watching the windows, hoping for some sign of the family’s return. It felt strangely dreamlike to be seeing light in the long-darkened windows.

  Our bodies bobbed in the inky water, nothing more than shadows. We had no concerns of detection. Tallulah broke the silence.

  “What have you decided, Cal?”

  “The little one.”

  Tallulah looked pleased with my choice. Relieved, maybe. Pavati, not so much.

  Maris nodded. “She’s smaller. Weaker. How will you do it?”

  I grimaced. “She likes pretty things. Pavati?”

  She turned at the sound of her name, but I kept my eyes straight ahead.

  “She’ll follow you,” I said.

  “Of course she will.”

  “I want you to play with her. Be nice. Show her things. Let her have a good time. Keep her out past dinner.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Tallulah, can you be gentle?”

  A worried look crossed her fac
e. “How gentle?”

  “You’ll need to knock her out. But you can’t kill her. Can you do that?” Of the three of my sisters, she was the most likely to pull it off. I stared into her eyes as her mind processed my request. I could imagine her hands around Sophie’s neck, slowly cutting off her oxygen, while Pavati smiled into the little girl’s face, telling her she looked sleepy and didn’t she just want to take a nap?

  “I think so. If I’m careful.”

  “What about me?” asked Maris.

  “I don’t want you to do anything.”

  She feigned offense, but then added, “You’re probably right.”

  “When she’s unconscious, carry her to the rocks. They’ll search for her. I’ll join the search party.”

  The girls nodded.

  “When she wakes up,” I continued, “you can tell her she fell. I’ll carry her home.”

  “You’ll be their hero,” said Pavati.

  “That’s what I’m thinking,” I said. “It’ll also give me reason to go back and check on her. Hopefully, they’ll want to thank me. That’s where your fishing trip will come in, Maris.”

  A slow, thin smile spread across her lips. Her hair floated on the surface of the water like spilled cream.

  “I’ll take over from there,” she said.

  I shrugged. “Whatever.”

  The light in the dormer window lit a path across the side yard toward the water. We could see Sophie’s face. She was brushing her hair.

  “Is that the one?” Pavati asked, a look of adoration filling her eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “Such a pretty little girl.”

  “I guess so.” My voice fell flat.

  “If I had a daughter,” said Pavati, “I’d want her to look just like that.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know just what to do. I’ll find her tomorrow.” She pressed down on me and pushed herself upward, rising from the water. Then she dipped her head and dove into the lake. Maris and Tallulah followed without the slightest splash.

  I remained behind, watching Sophie in the window. She stood up and walked out of sight, then flipped off the light. I was just about to follow my sisters when the front door slammed and another figure stepped off the porch and started walking toward the water. I was transfixed. Was Jason Hancock going to come to the water’s edge? Could it be this easy? I felt like a crocodile lurking at the shore, watching a zebra come down for a drink.

  Involuntarily, I floated closer.

  But it wasn’t Jason Hancock. It was Lily coming down to the boat dock. She kicked off her sandals and hitched up her skirt before sitting at the end, letting her legs dangle off the edge of the dock and into the freezing water. Was that normal?

  I dropped beneath the surface like a weighted line and searched for her scent. It was sweet, with a spicy edge like oranges or pine needles. When I resurfaced, I only let my eyes and nose break the waterline. I didn’t realize how close to shore I’d come, and my first instinct was panic. I dropped an inch.

  “You don’t have to be so sneaky. I know you’re there,” she said.

  Shit. My heart hit my stomach like a fist. Flash! I was gone. I swam north twenty yards to a willow branch that hung low over the water like a bench.

  Jason Hancock was walking the length of the dock toward his daughter. He was rubbing some kind of balm into his bare arms, and it made his skin glisten even in the fading light. “Sorry, hon,” he said. “You just looked peaceful sitting there. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders while I, lurking in the shadows, worked to lower my heart rate. I peered over the willow branch at them.

  “Y’know Mom’s pissed about the house,” said Lily.

  “She’ll get over it.”

  “It’s a pit, Dad. The whole place is falling apart, and you’re not exactly a handyman.”

  He smiled. “I’ve got help, remember? You’ve always been too much of a worrier. Your mom will be fine.”

  “I heard what she asked you,” Lily said. “How is this move supposed to make things better for her?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ll give you that Bayfield’s more quiet than Minneapolis, but is it really going to improve her health? I’m just wondering if moving here is more about your curiosity than anything else.”

  “Lily Anne Hancock, your mother has always been my number one priority. All I’ve ever wanted is to make sure she’s taken care of.”

  “Easy, Dad. I’m just wondering about Grandpa’s stories. Maybe you just wanted to—”

  “How do you like your room?” Hancock asked.

  “Don’t avoid the conversation, Dad.”

  “This is a conversation. It’s a question.”

  “Fine,” said Lily. She bobbed her head slowly, considering her words. “It’s nice, I guess. Cozy.”

  Hancock tested the water with his fingertips and groaned softly. “So maybe you’re a little bit right. This move is for your mom, but I can’t deny that it feels good to be here. I don’t know what it is, Lil, but it’s like this lake is calling me. Sometimes I really regret not having learned to swim.”

  “If we were back in Minneapolis, you could take lessons at the Y.”

  Hancock smirked and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “You’ve been a good sport. I know you miss the city, but thanks for giving this a shot. Leave the worrying to me, Lily. I’ll take care of your mom. You try and have some fun.”

  “Fun. Sure,” Lily said. “Did you know Bayfield is, like, the apple capital of the upper Midwest?”

  Hancock chuckled and withdrew his arm. “Maybe you and Sophie should go exploring tomorrow. Check out the town, the woods.”

  I perked up at his suggestion and ventured out from under cover.

  “Yeah. Sounds great, Dad. I’m sure Sophie would love a hike in the woods.”

  Ah, sarcasm. This girl was more my style.

  Jason Hancock threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, maybe not,” he said. “She’s never been the outdoorsy type.”

  Lily lay against her father’s shoulder. “I love you, Dad.”

  I dove for the bottom and took a course toward Basswood. Someone might have argued I was meant to witness this father-daughter moment—that it was a sign Hancock and Lily had a stronger bond than I’d originally thought. But even though the older girl was more my type of target, I couldn’t abandon our plan just for personal preferences. Sophie was the girl. Besides, I didn’t really believe in signs.

  10

  BEST-LAID PLANS

  All night I worked on the details of my plan. Synchronicity would be important. Our art of persuasion would have to be spot-on perfect. What I hadn’t factored in was the weather, and that was one thing I couldn’t control. Well, one of many.

  The new day brought with it a change in atmospheric pressure that prickled my skin and squeezed my temples. There was an electrical charge buzzing between the tree branches, and the animals in the woods had all gone silent. How long could the rain hold off?

  It was three o’clock when the Hancock sisters finally set off on their forced-march expedition into the woods. They stepped out their door just as the Pettit’s Handyman & Cabinetry van pulled into the driveway. Jason Hancock followed his daughters out and greeted Mr. Pettit. Gabrielle and Jack climbed out of the passenger-side door. They jogged around the front to say hello to Lily.

  As for me and my sisters, we’d only been on land for a few minutes. They were somewhere north of the Hancocks’ house, while I lurked in the trees just outside their front door. My leg muscles, still newly morphed, trembled beneath me. I leaned against a tree for support and strained to listen to the Hancocks’ and Pettits’ conversation.

  Waves crashed against the shoreline, making it harder to catch everything. Something about fixing the roof, obviously. The Pettit man gestured at his kids. He nodded at Sophie. Gabrielle Pettit didn’t seem to be saying much. The men talked and pointed at
the house. There was a moment of unexpected silence from the lake, and Lily said, “We were going to explore the woods.”

  My back straightened, and I leaned forward.

  Jack Pettit shook his head. He braced his hands on the toolbelt around his hips and pointed up at the sky. It had been overcast all morning, but now the clouds were less of a gray canvas and more like churning ashes. I looked anxiously at the Hancock girls to see what they’d decide.

  Lily shrugged, and I rallied. She obviously didn’t like being told what to do. If she was anything like me, she’d storm off into the woods. Of course, that stubborn streak could pose a problem for me, too, if she refused to follow my lead and separate herself from her sister. Right on cue, Lily kissed her dad’s cheek and stomped off, dragging Sophie behind her.

  I hit the Send button on my cell. “They’ve left.… Yes, both of them.… Due west.… I don’t know. You’ll have to think of something.… Wait, let me see.” I closed my eyes and inhaled. The familiar scent of oranges filled my nostrils, only more diluted by the air than it had been in the water. “Oranges,” I said, then searched past that scent for Sophie’s. I choked on the sudden dryness of the air. “And talcum powder.… Yes, I’ll follow for a while, but I don’t want to get too close. Where are you?… I’ll call if they change direction, but you should pick up the scent in fifteen minutes.”

  Lily still had her little sister by the hand. Sophie didn’t seem to be sharing any of Lily’s enthusiasm for adventure. She was complaining about something and gesturing at her sandals.

  They followed a worn deer path until it intersected with something man-made. The new path was lined with timbers stripped of their bark. Wood chips filled the borders. Sophie’s ankles turned on the soft path and she stopped with a stamp of her foot. She folded her arms across her chest. I marveled at Lily’s patience.

  “Here, take this,” said Lily. She removed her cardigan and handed it to her sister, leaving herself in only a lacy tank top. “Better?”

  Sophie nodded and Lily’s mouth slipped into a smile I didn’t recognize. Was it mockery? No, it didn’t seem to be that, because she slipped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed. It was something softer. I paused and rummaged through the catalog of human expressions I kept in my mind. But it wasn’t a human expression I landed on. It was my mermaid mother’s. I could almost hear her saying, There, there, now, Calder, isn’t that better? You know, if you spent more time swimming and less time visiting the shipwrecks, you’d stay warmer.