by Kira Barcelo
“You mean the story that could get you locked up in a tank of water with thirty scientists studying you for the next twenty years?” The reporter chortled. “I’d risk my reputation on that. Gladly. It’d probably net me the Pulitzer.”
“Ah, Eddie, Eddie. Such illusions of grandeur.” Dan knew he was further angering him by laughing and shaking his head. “First of all, it’s The Tribune, not The New York Times.”
“See, but that’s the beauty of it. I don’t have to write for The Times. I’d be breaking the story about a merman—a mythical creature, a life form that we never knew actually existed.”
“And you’d be a laughingstock. It’d be the end of your career. I’m trying to help you here, buddy. Let me explain something to you. My kind has existed for a long time. We’re talking centuries here, not years. We haven’t lasted that long without becoming extinct not by being stupid.” Cautiously, he lowered his voice. “We know how to hide from your two-legged species. Especially those of you looking to make a name for yourselves at the expense of our freedom. So, no, you would not be getting the Pulitzer. But you would be getting electric shock treatments and nice basket-weaving classes. Now I’d hate to see that happen to a brilliant journalist like you.”
“That…that wouldn’t happen to me.”
Dan took advantage of the man’s uneasiness. “But you’re not one hundred percent positive it wouldn’t happen, now are you? So why take the chance, Eddie? Especially when you’ve got a real story here. This man O’Keefe and his guys just escaped Attica. That’s big! You know how big that story’s gonna be when we get him sent back there? And I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re the man who gets that scoop.”
“You will?”
“Eddie, you have my word as a gentleman. Only leave Sadie out of this. That’s all I’m asking you. Oh…” He offered his most gentile smile. “And be a good joe and drop that whole merman jazz. Have we got a deal, Eddie?”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
That wasn’t a good enough answer. “How’s that?”
“Yeah. Fine. We got a deal.” The reporter hesitated on his way out the door. “Just for the record, I don’t want her endangered, either.”
So maybe Ed Gage wasn’t as much of a slug as he’d originally pegged him as being. But he was still a slug. Evidently, though he did have some sense of honor in him, Dan realized as he followed the reporter out of his office.
He watched Gage only grunt a greeting to Sadie before storming out the door and letting it slam behind him. Sadie, who’d been sitting in one of the chairs that faced Ruby’s desk in the reception area, flew into his arms. If there was any doubt in Ruby or Martin’s mind that she was his girl, that doubt was removed right then.
“Oh, Dan, you must’ve heard about this,” she began. “I’m so scared, Dan—”
“Uh, baby, c’mon. Let’s go for a walk.” He guided her towards the door, then turned to his partner and secretary. “I won’t be long.”
* * *
“He followed Linda Fortenberry. That’s what happened,” Dan declared after hearing her story. “He knows she’s all the family you have and he knows she’d lead him right to you. So he followed her that morning when she went to see you at Miss Johnson’s.”
Sadie drew in a shaky breath. Her nerves had calmed down now, ever since she’d been near Dan. He hadn’t taken any chances with O’Keefe on the loose and had driven her all the way back to his place. There, on the rear porch, he’d sat her on his lap and held her until she was somewhat more tranquil than when she’d first gotten to the office.
“What am I going to do, Dan?” She rested her head against his shoulder.
“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. You’re not going to Linda and Pop’s for a while.”
“But they’re expecting me for supper.”
“That’s all right. I’ll see Linda today. That’s as much for her safety and Pop’s, besides yours. And you’ll be going out of town for few days until we get O’Keefe back where he belongs. And that’s behind bars.”
“Going out of town?” Alarmed, she lifted her head. “But I have to go to work. Mr. Barrett needs me.”
“Listen to me, Sadie. O’Keefe’s a criminal. A desperate criminal. He took a big chance this morning with the FBI on a manhunt looking for him. You’re in danger. Now I’m putting you on a train and getting you out of here for a while.”
Sadie slipped off his lap. “Putting me on a train? To where?”
“I don’t know. Well…” He thought for a moment. “I’ve got an aunt who lives in Kings Port. You can stay with her for a few days.”
“And what’s going to happen to you?”
“I’m gonna be busy. I’ll be on O’Keefe’s trail. He’s going right back to prison if I have anything to say about it.”
“And I’m going to stay here—with you—if I have anything to say about it!”
“As a matter of fact, you don’t.” Dan inched closer to her and rested his hand on his thigh. “I thought we talked about this already, Sadie. You weren’t going to endanger yourself anymore.”
“But I want to stay with you.” Even though her lower lip quivered, she held up her chin stubbornly. “I’ll tell you what. I won’t get in the way. I won’t go to work—even though I hate that, I really hate that, because I’m letting David frighten me out of living my life. But I’ll stay at Miss Johnson’s. Or—or I could stay here. At your place. And I’ll stay out of your way.”
“Sadie, you’re going on that train. You’ll be going to my aunt’s home, a good fifty miles from here. She has a house out in the country. I’ll send you for you when it’s safe again, which will be when O’Keefe’s back in jail…or dead.”
“I’ll get on the train. But I can’t promise I’ll stay on the train.”
Her breath caught at the back of her throat. She already knew what that stern look meant, since she’d seen it come across Dan’s face enough times now.
“You know, your friend Ed Gage,” he pointed out. “He might be right. Maybe it’s not you David O’Keefe wants to see dead. Maybe it’s me. I’m the one who had him put behind bars.”
“And I’m the one who helped you do that. That’s even more reason for me not to leave you. That’s even more reason for me to get off that train and come back here to you.” Sadie swallowed hard. “I suppose I’ll get spanked for that.”
“Baby, you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll get a spanking for that. Hell, I’m this close to making you cut your own switch and taking you over my knee right now. You’re lucky I don’t have time right now. I told Martin I wouldn’t be long.” He pointed an index finger at her. “But I’ll have time later, young lady. You get off that train and I gotta worry about you on top of everything else, and I’ll wear out that switch and the bath brush on your naughty backside.”
Was it her imagination or did that porch bench suddenly become very uncomfortable? She shifted her weight from one cheek to the other, the memory of that spanking in the car still painfully vivid. Still, that wasn’t enough to discourage her from trying.
“I’m not sure what I mean to you, Dan McCallister,” she said. “But I haven’t really cared about anyone for a long time the way I care about you. I hate the thought of something or—or someone taking you from me.”
“Baby, you don’t know what you mean to me? You should know by now that I love you.”
She hadn’t been expecting those words. But hearing them was one thing; accepting them was another.
“You do? You love me?”
“’Course. It should be obvious, Sadie. I think I’ve loved you since before they took you away from me. I’ve loved you since you loved David.”
“I don’t think that was love. That was obsession, not love.” She smiled at him, feeling safe enough to add, “with you it’s love, Dan.”
He kissed her. “I’ve waited a long time to hear that. But now that I’ve found you I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I know, but that’s how I feel, too.”
“I’ll be fine. You’re the one in danger. And this isn’t the time for this, but Sadie…” Dan’s brow creased with concern. “You do know that if—if you were to become my wife and we had kids—”
“Yes! I’d love that. I’d love that so much.”
“But, Sadie, you know there’s a chance, a good chance, that those kids would be…like me?”
“You mean…?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We could have a little mermaid or merman. Or they could all be a brood of merfolk.”
Sadie’s jaw dropped. “I’d have to let my babies go out to the open sea?”
“Not by themselves. Not when they’re young. I’d be with them.”
“Well, fine,” she agreed with some reluctance. “But only if you’re with them, Dan.” She laughed. “I’m talking as if that’s already a reality.”
“Not yet. But I hope it will be. Soon. Now…” Rising to his feet, he drew her up by the hand. “Let’s hurry and get to Miss Johnson’s.”
“What for?”
“So you can pack a few things. You shouldn’t be gone for too long, but you should pack enough for three or four days, at least. I’ll call my aunt after I drop you off at the train station, let her know you’re coming.”
“But, Dan, can’t we talk about this first?”
“Sure. Let’s talk.” He folded his arms across his broad chest. “You’re leaving on that train today, Sadie. I’m putting my foot down and I don’t want to hear another word about it. Unless you want to board that train with a bottom that stings like crazy. I’d be more than happy to oblige.”
To drive the point home, Dan drew his hand back as she walked in front of him, aiming his open palm right for her pretty rear end. Sadie moved quickly, protecting her behind with both her hands.
“If I have to sit on a train for fifty miles,” she said with a playful smirk, “then save that spanking for when I get back.”
Dan chuckled. “Well, if you’re a good girl, I won’t have to spank you at all. I can save something else for you. Now let’s go. I think we can get you on that train before this afternoon. I got a ticket for your old boyfriend, too—only I’m sending him somewhere he really won’t want to go.”
Chapter Seven
Watching the way Ed Gage’s pen moved as he wrote made Dan marvel. He wouldn’t have believed it was humanly possible for a human being to write that fast. But then, in Dan’s opinion, reporters weren’t like most humans.
“So let me get this straight,” Gage reiterated. “To O’Keefe, this is about more than just revenge then?”
“Looks that way. To the whole bunch of those punks, this is about money.”
“Eighty thousand bucks. Damn. And they had it stashed away at an old abandoned farm?”
“Yeah, down in a well. That was all money they robbed from banks.”
Gage laughed heartily. “Except a farmer in the area noticed the thug they sent for the money, thought he looked suspicious, and the local boys in blue caught him before he had a chance to flee. Astute gent, wouldn’t you say? Still leaves three more criminals out there, though, including Dave O’Keefe.”
Dan shook his head at the cigarette from a pack of Pall Malls the reporter offered him. He consulted his watch.
“There’s more to come, but I gotta go now,” he said.
“All right. Will you be in the office later?”
“I’ll be out. It’ll be a long night with those guys. But there’s a man called Frank Hughes. He’s with the FBI. He’ll have more details for you.”
Gage flipped his notebook open again and jotted down the agent’s name. “Frank Hughes. Gotcha. I’ll be in my office getting this baby to press this evening, if you get any anything else.”
“Sure.”
“And Dan…”
Now what? He’d already turned and was headed back into the train station. Gage lit up a cigarette for himself and took a long drag of it before saying, “You and your girl, you two be careful.”
“I’ve got everything taken care of. But thanks, Ed.”
As far as Dan was concerned, that didn’t change a thing. He still didn’t like reporters, didn’t trust them as far as he could throw them. But maybe he’d had Eddie Gage all wrong.
Inside the station, standing by her suitcase, Sadie had been waiting for him. She looked too pretty not to kiss, even out there in public, with people hurrying by on their way to purchase tickets or to board their trains. The sad wail of a whistle, along with the chugging sounds of a passenger train coming in, filled the air, which smelled heavily of fuel.
Despite the smoky air, the woman before him looked fresh and gorgeous. Wearing a pale blue dress with white heels and a matching hat, she smiled up at him.
“Eddie Gage get his story?” she asked.
“Yeah, some of it. As it happens, I guess you’d say.”
“So he ain’t so bad, huh, Detective?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Trust him?”
“Hell, no!” He’d answered so forcefully that she laughed, bringing a big grin from him. “For you, this must feel like you’re right back where you started from, eh? Back in the same train station you were in when you first came here?”
“It does. But I know I’m not the same person I was when I first got here.” Sadie blinked hard. “You wouldn’t, by any chance, change your mind about my leaving?”
“Not a chance. And, baby, it’ll only be for a few days.” He wrapped an arm around her. “My aunt’s great. You’ll like her. And I’ll send for you as soon as this is all over. And then…”
“Yes? And then what?”
“And then I’m…I’m gonna make you my wife. If you’ll have me as your husband, Sadie. If you’ll marry me.”
“You know I will. I will marry you, Dan McCallister!” With moist eyes, she hugged his neck. “And I’ll miss you every second I’m away from you.”
“I’ll miss you, too, baby. It’ll feel like ages until I can hold you again.” They were cutting it so close, time-wise, but he stole another kiss and a little more time, holding her in his arms. “You got everything?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Let’s get you out of this place, baby. To someplace safe.”
Only a few minutes to spare. That was all the time he had, enough to help her onto the train before it pulled out of the station. Sadie held onto the railing and leaned over to kiss him again, full on the mouth. Beneath them, the train began to move slowly along the tracks. Though the kiss ended, he walked beside the train with her hand still in his.
“Call me tonight,” he told her. “I should be home. And if I’m still out on this case, call Miss Johnson. She’ll let me know you arrived safe and sound.”
“I will.”
“Okay. I’ll see ya, doll.”
“See ya, baby!”
A commotion arose behind them. Dan heard shoving and screaming before he turned.
“Watch out! He’s got a gun!” a man’s voice cried out from the crowd.
Automatically Dan reached under his jacket, pulling his .38 from its holster at his waist. The sound of bullets being fired pierced the air and a passing train porter fell to the platform floor, writhing in pain.
David O’Keefe emerged from the sea of bodies. Though it had been a while, Dan would have recognized him anywhere. He wasn’t a very large man, no more than a few inches taller than Sadie. The years hadn’t been good to him, that was for certain. Once known for his charm and baby face, it seemed like that time behind bars had eaten away at his looks. His face was harder, and for a young man, his hair had thinned drastically. He brandished a weapon, slicing the air with it.
“You should’ve never done that, Sadie!” O’Keefe shouted, his face twisted with ugly emotion. “You were mine! You belonged to me—not that damn cop!”
Taking aim, Dan fired his gun. More deafening screams followed seconds before O’Keefe went down.
“Oh, d
ear God—the girl! He shot her!”
He twirled around in response to the woman’s voice behind him. He’d heard O’Keefe’s gun go off, he’d seen him pull the trigger.
But it wasn’t until Dan saw Sadie lose her grip on the railing, falling from the train and in a heap on the platform, that he realized she’d been shot.
“No…baby!” He ran to her and sank beside her.
To his alarm, there was already a pool of blood collected beneath her small, slender body. With his right hand he clutched his gun, his left reaching for her hand. The warmth was fast seeping out of her body.
“Baby, can you hear me?” he pleaded.
Uniformed patrolmen were making their way through the crowds trying to disperse on the platform. The train’s conductor must have been notified somehow, because the cars had stopped moving. Passengers were at the windows, looking on with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
Sadie said nothing, only gave her head a little nod. Her eyes became glassy.
“Hold on, baby, hold on,” Dan urged. “Don’t leave me, baby. Hold on for me. Please.”
Another gunshot. Dan’s head shot up. Of course—O’Keefe hadn’t gone there alone. A droplet of sweat trailed from his brow into his eye and he blinked, then saw O’Keefe’s accomplice coming through the frenzied crowd.
Again he fired his gun, his jaw clenched as he pulled the trigger. Suddenly he saw one of the cops turn and shoot in his direction.
Crazy fool—what the hell was that guy doing? But then something struck him, something that sounded like a firecracker going off close to his ear. So hard that his teeth rattled right before he felt blinding pain going through his head, and then black spots appeared before his eyes. Seconds later he slumped forward, covering Sadie’s body with his own.
* * *
How did he get there? Hadn’t he just been at the train station?
And more importantly…where was Sadie?
Something felt different about him as he rose to the water’s surface. His body was already going through the transformation from merman to human. That was it—that was the difference! His body was smaller somehow. Lighter. Looking down at his hand, he realized he was wearing that ring his mother had given him, the plain silver one with the sapphire. The one that had been taken from him shortly before they’d sent him to that awful place.