Not a Mermaid

by Madeline Kirby

  Things seemed to be stalling out all over the place. I told Petreski everything I had learned from my chat with Gloria, but nothing had come of it yet. Standing’s finances were being examined, and Miletti had been questioned more than once by this point, but there hadn’t been any breaks in the case.

  All of which meant that I finally got to go out for dinner with my boyfriend. I should have known it was too good to be true, because when a break finally came it was while I was trying to enjoy a slice of something Dani would not have approved of at House of Pies.

  “Oh, fuck me,” Petreski muttered, eyes fixed on a point across the room.

  “Well, I was thinking maybe later we could...”

  “Ssh!”

  “Oh, it’s going to be like that, is it?”

  “Jake, please. Would you just... Can it really be this easy?”

  “Can what be this easy? What are you talking about?” By now it was obvious he wasn’t talking about what I was talking about.

  “Frank Forrester. He just sat down at the counter. We’ve been looking everywhere for him, and he just walks into House of Pies and sits down in my line of sight? Seriously? I’ve gotta call Stanek.”

  I drank my coffee and pushed crust crumbs around my plate with my fork while Petreski made his call.

  “I’m going home alone, aren’t I?” I asked when Petreski ended his call.

  “Yeah. Sorry. Look, here’s my car keys,” He handed me his key chain, and I had to tug a little to get him to let go. “Just, be careful, okay?”

  “I’ll be super extra careful. Don’t worry, okay?”

  “Hmm. I’ll text or call you later, let you know how things are going, but I don’t know if or when I’ll be done tonight. Sorry.”

  “I get it – it’s okay. I’ll see you later.”

  Petreski went over to sit on the empty stool next to Forrester, and I passed Stanek coming in as I left. He gave me a nod, his face grim, and headed over to join Petreski and Forrester. I sat in Petreski’s Honda, watching through the restaurant window as Petreski and Forrester stood, and the three of them made their way outside, climbed into an unmarked sedan, and drove off.

  True to my word, I was super extra careful driving Petreski’s car back to my place. For lack of anything better to do, I used one of the Whataburger bags I found in the passenger seat to gather up used napkins and fast food wrappers. My man is not a slob, but it was obvious he spent way too much time in his car, and Dani would be horrified by all the junk food he ate.

  Don was working, so I used my key to let myself into his apartment. Bridger was asleep on the sofa, but woke up and stretched when I turned on the light.

  “Hey there, little dude,” I said as I scooped him up. “Looks like it’s just us tonight. You wanna watch a movie with your Uncle Jake? Huh?”

  He made a weird little noise when he tried to meow and yawn at the same time.

  “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. But I get to pick the movie.”

  Bridger seemed cool with this, and was asleep on my lap when Cat Perez scratched at Don’s door halfway through the latest Thor installment.

  “Surprise!” I said, when I opened the door. She huffed and stalked past me to join Bridger on the sofa. “Don’s not here, and Bridger and I are watching a film full of manly derring-do and feats of strength and bravery. You can join us if you want, but you’re not allowed to complain about the movie and I’m not providing snacks.”

  She curled up at the end of the sofa, Bridger tucked up against her. I assumed this meant my terms were acceptable, and resumed the movie.

  I don’t know how late it was when I woke up, Bridger spooned against my chest and something warm pressed up behind my bent knees. I looked over my shoulder and could just make out Perez, curled up and sound asleep. This would have to be my little secret – Perez would deny it with her dying breath. I put my head back down and was asleep again in a few minutes.

  The next time I woke it was Don shaking me.

  “Dude. Jake. Why are you asleep on my sofa? Petreski dump you?”

  “What the? No! What’s wrong with you?!”

  “Well, why are you here, then? Thought you had a hot date.”

  “Petreski found Forrester and took him off to question him. I came home and watched a movie with Bridger.”

  “Forrester? They found him?”

  “Yeah. Get this. We’re sitting in House of Pies having dessert, and Forrester just walks in and sits down at the counter. Petreski just about died. He called Stanek and they took Forrester off in Stanek’s car, so I came home.”

  I checked my phone, but no texts or calls. “They must still be questioning him or processing him, or whatever they’re doing.”

  “But you saw him? Forrester? What did he look like? How did he seem?”

  “Oh, uh, old I guess. About my dad’s age.”

  “Your dad’s not old. He’s only 52. He was a father at your age.”

  “Shut up! Really? Huh.” I hadn’t thought about it like that before. “Okay, then a bit older than that. Sixtyish, I guess. Grey hair, cut super short. Really tan and lean. He was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt. He could have been any other guy you’d see on the street.”

  “How did he act?”

  “I don’t know. Hungry? I didn’t hear anything any of them said, and he didn’t give Petreski a hard time about going with him. They didn’t cuff him. Nothing dramatic.”

  ❧

  I went back to my own apartment and stared at the murder board for a while. I had added in all the latest information from Gloria, and picked up the marker to make a note that Forrester had surfaced.

  I was dozing off when my phone chimed with a text message. Petreski was still at the station and I wouldn’t be seeing him tonight. I wasn’t surprised, and it was late, so I took myself off to bed. Tomorrow was Wednesday, and Wednesday meant pull-ups.

  Friends and Frenemies

  “I guess four really is your max right now.”

  I squinted up at Dani. She was silhouetted against the sky and I couldn’t see her expression.

  “Ugh. I had a late night.” Who was I trying to kid? Four really was my max. “But next time I’ll hit five, and you’ll meet Miss Nancy.”

  “Oh, I’ll meet her anyway. Come on.” She reached down to help me up and we continued our walk.

  “Really? I thought I had to do five.”

  She shrugged. “Eh. I just said that to give you some incentive. To see if you were blowing off the work. But if four is all you can do, even with incentive... well, at least now I know what we’ve got to work with.”

  I sighed and focused on walking without falling down. I had to admit it wasn’t taking it out of me as much as it had a few days ago. I told her what had kept me up – that Frank Forrester had been picked up by the police last night.

  “Good,” she said. “Maybe now they’ll figure something out.”

  “You think he did it? You think he killed Lana?”

  “Well, it doesn’t make sense when I think about it. I mean, why would he? He didn’t approve of the way she lived her life, but they hadn’t had contact for years as far as I know.”

  We finished our walk mostly in silence, and when we parted ways in the parking lot we made plans to visit Miss Nancy that afternoon.

  ❧

  Of course, Miss Nancy was charmed by Dani because Dani was trying to make me take care of myself. Bleh.

  She gave Dani a once over, then led us back to the kitchen for tea, which she served in mugs this time.

  “Wonder Woman!” I whispered in awe as she set the mug in front of her new friend.

  “Tsk. If I give you Superman will you behave?”

  “Probably not,” I admitted. I got the unicorn again and sucked it up.

  “Don’s not with you today?” She asked. Dani perked up at Don’s name, and I knew there was no way Miss Nancy could have missed that.

  “Not today, no. I wanted Dani to meet you. For some reason. I’m not sure why,” I ro
lled my eyes, but in a totally mature way.

  Miss Nancy smiled at Dani and patted my hand.

  “Jake gets notions,” she said.

  “Cosmic nudges?” Dani asked, a small grin on her face.

  “If you like. I find it best to just go with it. More often than not, he’s right.” She patted my hand again and poured herself some more tea. “So, Dani, how did you meet Jake?”

  “It’s kind of complicated, I guess. He’s a client, so that’s how I met him, but now he’s just kind all over my life and up in my business. Oh! But not in a bad way, though!”

  “No, of course not. He has a habit of doing that, doesn’t he? But he means well.”

  “I do! I really do!” I felt the need to defend myself for some reason.

  “Yes, dear. That’s what I just said. Why don’t you go outside and cut me some of those roses along the back fence?”

  I had been dismissed, apparently, so took my mug with me and grabbed the clippers and basket from the mudroom on my way out. I dawdled about the backyard, admiring the beds of herbs and flowers as I made my way to the back fence. I set my mug down on a flagstone and started hunting for the perfect blooms. I don’t know how long I’d been back there, but it must have been a while because Miss Nancy sent Dani out to find me.

  “Miss Nancy’s wondering whether you’ve been kidnapped by aliens or tripped and knocked yourself out or what?” Dani asked as she came around a hedge.

  “Ha ha ha.” I picked up the basket and my mug and we walked back to the house. “You ladies have a nice chat?” I asked.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “What’d you talk about?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Ooh! So me, then.” I grinned.

  “No. Not you. Just none of your business.”

  “Jacob, stop being nosy and bring me those flowers!” Miss Nancy called from the top of the steps, and I jogged the rest of the way to hand her the basket.

  “Any tea left?”

  “Yes, but it’s gone cold. That’s what you get for dawdling.”

  ❧

  Dani seemed thoughtful as she drove me home.

  “About Miss Nancy,” I said.

  “Hmm?”

  “It’s just that you mentioned those women talking about her in Pilates.”

  “My lips are sealed. Besides, Miss Nancy doesn’t strike me as the Pilates type, and I doubt she suffers fools.”

  “Too true. I figured you’d get it.”

  “Yeah. She did say something though... something about you.”

  “Uh oh. Do I want to know?”

  “She said you have a gift.”

  “Oh. Well, I don’t know if it’s a gift, necessarily.”

  “She said a lot of things, actually, but what it all boiled down to was that I could trust you, and I’d be hard pressed to find a more loyal friend.”

  “Wow. That’s humbling.”

  “You’ve still gotta pay for training, though.”

  As Dani drove off I turned to go into the apartment building. I stopped to check my mail, tossed the junk in the recycling bin, and headed for the stairs. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Perez sitting on the steps – not in Cat form, but human, dressed in her usual grey jacket and Dr. Martens.

  “Oh, geez!” I put my hand to my heart. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “No, but it would be a perk,” she answered, but it didn’t sound as wholehearted as it might once have.

  “You waiting for me? Or Don?”

  “You, of course.”

  “Look, you’re not messing with him, are you?”

  She glared at me for a moment before answering. “No. He’s a nice guy with a nice cat. I don’t mess with nice people.” She stood and I stepped around her. She followed me into my apartment and started to examine my bookshelves.

  “I’m a nice person, and you mess with me.”

  “I don’t mess with you,” she said, not turning from the bookcase. “You just don’t appreciate my winning personality.”

  “Your – did you just make a joke? For real?”

  She shrugged.

  “So, what? Are we calling a truce?”

  She turned then, and leaned against the bookcase, arms crossed. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that you’re not going anywhere. But there’s something about you that draws people in. I’m not sure I like it. It feels... dangerous... to me. And I don’t like anything that could put Petreski in danger.”

  “And you’ve never attracted anyone dangerous before?” I asked, thinking of Standing.

  “Yeah. I had an ex who was a murdering asshole. I get it. But that’s the kind of danger I understand. What you’ve got going on is different. It’s not normal.”

  “I can’t believe I’m having a conversation about what constitutes normal with someone who can turn into a Cat.”

  “Again, that’s pretty straightforward, and for Petreski and me it’s just part of the day-to-day. It’s physical, not metaphysical. Dreams, clairvoyance, seeing through the eyes of others... that’s different. It takes you places you don’t belong. It brings you pain and uncertainty and questions, doesn’t it?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t argue with that.

  “And has it helped, really? You’ve seen things happen, but have you been able to do anything productive about it?”

  She was asking the hard questions I hadn’t wanted to ask myself. She was right, too, if I thought about it a certain way. But only a certain way. Sure, I had never seen a killer’s face, but I had seen enough to raise questions to answer and leads to follow.

  “Bridger,” I said. “If I hadn’t had those dreams I never would have found Bridger. He would have died.”

  “And that makes it worth it?”

  “I think so. Yeah, he’s just one small life, but he was totally worth it. Don’t you think so?”

  She looked down at her feet. She had to know I was right. She still didn’t look happy when she met my eyes again.

  “You have to know I would never do anything to put Petreski – or you – in danger,” I told her. “I just tell him what I see. What he does with it is up to him. He’s a grown man. He weighs the risks and makes his own decisions, and we both have to let him.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not what I’m getting at, though – not entirely.”

  “You’re afraid.”

  “What? Don’t make me laugh.”

  “You are. Not of me, but you’re afraid of something, aren’t you?”

  She shook her head again, her curls bouncing. “I don’t think afraid is the right word. I like things to make sense, and this doesn’t make sense.”

  “Yeah, well, join the club.”

  When Perez left we still hadn’t reached a resolution. We each just had to accept that the other had Petreski’s back, and learn to live with each other. At least I had a clearer picture of where I stood with her, even if I had no idea what I could do about it.

  “I need a nap,” I said to the empty room after she left.

  There was a scratch at the window closest to the live oak and I opened it a few inches. “Hey, Raymond. You hungry?” I went to the kitchen for some sunflower seeds. “Don and Bridger aren’t here, so you can come in if you want.”

  He hopped in and sat on the windowsill, waiting for his seeds.

  “Steer clear of women, Raymond. They ask a lot of questions and make you think heavy thoughts.”

  Raymond studied me while he nibbled at a seed. Bits of hull fell on the floor below him.

  “Try to keep the mess outside, okay buddy?”

  He twitched his tail, but turned so that the hull crumbs fell on the ledge outside.

  “Thanks.”

  I get it. This is definitely not normal. Damn Perez for making me think about it, but either there was something odd about me, or a magical squirrel had set up shop outside my window.

  Speaking Frankly

  It wasn’t until that evening that I found out what happened
after Petreski and Stanek left House of Pies with Forrester the night before.

  “My gut tells me he killed Standing, but there’s no forensic evidence linking him to it. Or to Lana’s murder. But Lana... I don’t know.” Petreski shook his head.

  “What don’t you know?” I asked from the kitchen as I got plates out of the cabinet. I joined Petreski on the sofa where he was opening takeout cartons from the Chinese place we favored.

  “Too much,” he sighed. “But he denies having anything to do with her death, and I believe him.”

  “But everything I’ve heard about him –”

  “From a single source, who may or may not be reliable.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Okay, fine. Yeah, we ran background on him, and he’s not someone I’d want my daughter bringing home, but that doesn’t make him guilty of every crime in the vicinity. The problem is, you have your dreams, and your feelings, and I believe you – I believe they’re reliable – but they’re not evidence. I can’t arrest someone based on dreams and feelings.”

  He was right. I knew he was right. Maybe that made Perez a little bit right too, much as I hated to admit it. This had to be what she was getting at – knowing what happened was one thing. Proving it, though, was another. A jury wasn’t going to take it on faith because some college student who’s obsessed with paranormal fiction had a dream.

  “Yeah, but he kicked Lana out, right?”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean he could bring himself to kill his own daughter.”

  “So what about her phone calls? Did you ever figure out who she talked to that night?”

  “Yeah. Three calls – Miletti, Standing, and Forrester – in that order.”

  “So it would have been Forrester she talked to when she said she guessed she was on her own. Did she ask him for help? She had to have been desperate to call him. Like he was her last resort.”

  “Mm,” Petreski nodded, his mouth full of shrimp fried rice.

  “So where has he been? He wasn’t at his place, and no one had seen him in Brenham.”

  “He said he had a change of heart the next day, after he talked to Lana. I don’t know – he seemed sincere. Said he tried to call her back later, and when she didn’t answer he drove to Houston. Says he stopped for gas, so we’re checking that out. But my suspicion is it will check out.”