“Aw that’s too sweet, Femi.”
“It’s in the lunch box. It’s only a sandwich.”
I rub Femi on the shoulder. “Come on. Everyone’s in here.”
Femi follows Casey and me into the living room.
Femi gasps, places both hands on her face and says, “Shut the fuck up! Oh my god! North Villa!”
North smiles nervously. It’s apparent that he’s a bit nervous, but he’s also seasoned. He stands up and extends his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he says. “And you are?”
Unlike Casey, Femi pushes her glasses up and pats her hair, but she keeps her distance, only settling for a handshake instead of an all out ambush. “Femi. Yeah, I’m Femi Hollowell.”
“Nice to meet you Femi Hollowell.”
Femi fans herself. I sigh and go into my kitchen. I grab a bottle of lemonade from the fridge, pull out a glass and full it up.
“Thank you,” Femi says. “You know that lawyer I told you about? The one who your brother hired to work on his behalf?”
“Yeah, what about her?”
“Would you believe she was found dead in her apartment last night?”
I scratch my head. “You’re shitting me, right? What the hell is going on?”
Femi shakes her head. “I saw it on the news last night.”
“The news?”
I go into my study and come back with my tablet computer. “What did you say that lawyer’s name was again? Eloisa something.”
“Eloisa Bradbury.”
I search for Eloisa Bradbury. Immediately a brief article pops up on her murder. According to the article, she’s a top attorney. She’s known for defending supernaturals. What I find most impressive about her is the fact that she’s gotten a couple of sea witches off. As I’m reading, I realize that her name sounds familiar.
The sea witch who calls herself Valerie had a sister called Kismet. I busted Kismet some time ago for illegal trade of singing voices. Turns out she stole those voices from some very famous singers, and after she stole their voices, she killed them. Sick sea witch couldn’t just leave them alive, she had to wipe them out completely, off of the face of the earth.
Had I put two and two together, I might have suggested that my brother hire someone else to defend him besides the illustrious Ms. Bradburry. I have a hunch that Eloisa Bradbury is all about defending folks even if their guilty. It was quite obvious that Kismet was guilty. Eloisa lost that case which is a good thing. But the fact that she’s a defender of the guilty might have come off in court and got my brother hung.
How did my brother know her? Did she solicit him or did solicit her? Maybe someone in her office knows, an assistant or a partner. I’ll have to check it out.
Chapter Fifteen
In the living room, Casey’s on her cell. “Okay, ma. I’m coming chill out. Everything is fine.” She huffs. “I gotta go. My mom is having a cow over everything that’s going on. She saw your brother on the news. Are you going to be okay for a while?”
“Of course I am,” I say.
“Not physically, Willow. Emotionally?” Casey asks. She can see right through me. That’s what friends are for I guess.
I bite my lip. I’d rather no one mention my emotions right now. Eventually after a lot of chit chat, everyone leaves except North.
Casey gives Femi a ride. Thank goodness. Poor girl looked wiped out. It was sweet of her to come check on me on me though. I hope she holds up at the bureau. I’m sure she will. She’s a tough cookie. And I think I’ll hold off on asking her for favors. I’d hate to see her get into any trouble.
It’s just me and North alone in my living room when he grins at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You really are pretty.”
“I really am busy,” I say. “I have a lot of work to do today. What about you?”
“You need a sidekick? I could tag along.”
“Not really. Especially not one like you. You draw attention everywhere you go.”
North grins.“That might be a good thing. I could cause a diversion. Hey, are we still on for that dinner tonight?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Sounds good.”
North leans in. I step back. Then I move forward again. He grabs my hand. I feel heat move through me. He’s only touching my hand. He says goodbye.
I give him the wink and gun.
“I mean it. If you want me to tag along today, I’d be happy to.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“No. I know you can handle yourself.”
I try to shield a bit of a smile. I think North is worried about me. Makes sense. People are dropping like flies. If anything maybe I ought to be worried about him.
“Do you have some sort of security detail you can call up, I mean, it’s hot in these streets.” I cut my eye’s at North.
He licks his lips. “Do I look like I need a bodyguard.”
“Muscles don’t mean shit,” I say in jest.
North laughs. “Remember six. Don’t be late.”
I give him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ll be on time.”
Doctor Stone is waiting for me in the coffee shop when I get there. She smiles curtly and nods her head when she sees me. I sit down.
“Can I get you something?” Dr Stone asks me.
“No, thanks.” I’m not in the mood for coffee. I don’t want the jitters today. Plus I guess I want her to cut right to the chase.
“So, this is what I’ve got. The magic used to kill your brother caused his insides so turn to mush. Now, the only being I know of capable of doing such a thing would be someone who does water magic. Most likely his death was caused by a sea witch. I combed through files, made some calls. No one has seen this sort of thing done before, at least not in a long time, and the last person to die this way was a mermaid by the name of Philomena. She found herself dead on the night of her wedding. Her husband went to the restroom and when he came back he met Philomena complaining of chest and stomach pains. When her suffering escalated to coughing up blood, the paramedics were called. She died before her body crossed the emergency room threshold.”
“Is there a last name on this Philomena?”
“Yes, her husband had a last name.” Doctor Stone scrolls down her tablet. “Ah, yes, her last name was Thurgood.”
“Philomena Thurgood. Got it.”
“I Googled her name myself. The sea witch who turned her was tried, but she wasn’t convicted of killing Philomena. She was actually in for something else. Fraud of some kind.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I can take it from here. Any idea on when you’ll be able to release my brother’s body?”
“SWLEB coroner’s office is picking the body up tonight. Apparently, they’ve been instructed that to hold on to the body a little, in case there needs to be any further investigation in Balthazar’s death.”
“Yeah sure, like they’ll do any further investigation.”
Dr. Stone nods.
I wonder what the bureau is up to. I’d think they could care less about my Balthazar’s death.
“I so appreciate your help Dr. Stone,” I say. I stand up to go.
Dr. Stone fans me away. “Please, call me Olivia. And no need to thank me. Just doing my job.”
“You risked your reputation to help me.”
“I’d like to think that I risk my reputation by not helping you.”
“Still,” I say. “I thank you.”
“You’re absolutely welcome. If you ever need anything else please let me know. And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” I lower my head.
Dr. Stone gathers her belongings and leaves the coffee shop. I sit there for about a second before I yank out my phone. I search for Philomena Thurgood. If I find out who killed Philomena Thurgood, I may be able to find out who killed my brother. Problem is if there’s no information on who killed Philomena Thurgood. That person is likely to be out
at Alcatraz. Funny how I’ve been avoiding that place for most of my career, and now I just might have to go there anyway to find out who might have killed my brother. I hope not, but we’ll see.
After digging around on the internet for a long while, I finally find out that a sea witch by the name of Peety was the one who turned Philomena Thurgood into a human. I also find out that it was Eloisa Bradbury who represented said Peety. Sea witches don’t have last names, neither do mermaids.
The only reason I have a last name is because I have a human father. I hope there isn’t more than one Peety at Alcatraz, but first, I’m going to pay a visit to Miss Eloisa Bradbury’s law office. Even though she’s dead, one of her associates may know how she came to represent my brother.
Chapter Sixteen
The office where Eloisa Bradburry’s used to work is in the Mid Wilshire Area, not too far from the LaBrea Tar Pits and my favorite diner for pancakes.
I don’t bother to call her office first. I don’t want to tip anybody off there. People are easier to pin down with questions when they don’t know the questions are coming. Now, I’m going completely on the assumption that somebody working in Eloisa’s former office has the information I’m looking for. If they don’t, well then I’ll hit a dead end.
The office building, a tall slab of concrete covered with windows, is the sort of office building where people have to be buzzed in. So I push the intercom button. It’s the sort where you buzz a particular suite number for an answer. The directory is posted on the wall.
Sweat drips down my chest onto my stomach underneath my shirt because it’s so damned hot. I wipe the sweat from forehead. The sun hates me.
I give the sun a dirty look to let it know that I’m mad at it for being so damned violent. And of course the sun is indifferent to me because it just keeps on shining.
A voice crackles through the intercom system. “Can I help you?”
“Pizza delivery for Bradbury and Bernstein,” I say in reply.
“I don’t think anyone ordered a pizza. Oh, unless one of the file clerks did. Okay, sure, come on in.”
The door buzzes. I yank it open. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me in the office without an appointment if I told them that I was a new client. I figure the pizza thing works better. By the time they figure out that no one ordered a pizza, I’ll already have my foot in the door.
Before I enter the building, I spy a camera. I guess the camera and the person on the other side of that intercom don’t talk much because I don’t have a pizza in my hand.
I ride the elevator up to the seventh floor where the law office is located. I get off the elevator. The doors to Eloisa’s firm exist directly across from the elevator door.
I pull one of the glass doors open. A woman, sitting at the front desk, gives me the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen. So much for good customer service. She has a black eye so maybe she’s just in a bad mood. Maybe she got in a street fight the night before.
I walk forward towards the desk and suddenly I’m frozen. I try to move but I can’t go anywhere. My lips move though. “You put a spell on me?”
“Yes, I did,” the receptionist says. “You don’t have an appointment.”
“You do know that it’s illegal to use spells on humans without their permission.”
“You’re not human. I can smell your fish from a million miles away. Agnes!”
A woman with gray hair and broad shoulders and dressed like it’s winter, comes out a side office. “Yes, Jessie, what is it?”
“You let this fish in? Without an appointment?”
Agnes clutches her pearls. “I don’t know anything about a fish. I only let in a pizza delivery person.”
“Are you the pizza delivery person?” Jessie asks.
“Uh, no.” I think quickly. “I followed them in though. They went down the hall.”
Jessie squints at me. “Liar!” She spins her finger around. My body turns with it like one of those ballerina’s in a jewelry box. “Show up again without an appointment and it will be worse.”
“Did somebody say pizza,” I hear a male voice say behind me.
“No, Mr. Bernstein. Some miscreant showed up without an appointment. She’s there. But don’t worry about her. I told her.”
“Turn her back round, please Jessie,” I hear the man say.
My body spins back around. “Hi,” I say.
“Excuse, Jessie. She’s rude. I might actually be able to fire her now that Eloisa is dead. Release her now Jessie.”
Once I’m loose, I give Mr. Bernstein a thumbs up. Mr. Bernstein has a friendly face. His hair is short, blond, and buzzed close to his head. His blue eyes are almost as striking as the size of his limbs. He’s pretty buff.
Jessie leaps out of her chair. “You have another appointment coming soon!”
Mr. Bernstein shoots Jessie a condescending look. “We won’t be long, Jessie, relax.”
Mr. Bernstein tips his head at me to indicate that he wants me to follow him, so I follow him down the hall and into his office. He motions for me to have a seat.
“I won’t keep you long, Mr. Bernstein,” I say. “I’ll get right to the point. See, my brother was Balthazar. He was accused of murdering April Villa. Miss Bradbury was going to represent him in the matter.”
“Ah, your brother was Balthazar, yes. I’m so sorry for your loss. So, you came to talk to me about your brother’s case going forward? You want to file a suit against the bureau for his death, am I correct, since he was in their care? Well, I’m sorry, Miss Dubois, I don’t work those sort of cases. But I do have a friend I can refer you to.”
“That’s not why I’m here actually,” I say. “I’m here to find out how Miss Bradbury came to work for my brother. I want to find out whether he sought her out or she sought him out?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Mr. Bernstein says. “He sought her out.”
“Why?” I ask out loud. I don’t mean the question to be for Mr. Bernstein. I’m sure he doesn’t even know the answer to my question.
“Because Bradbury was the best at defending sea witches. I’m guessing Balthazar wanted the best lawyer for his situation.”
“Oh, no, you’ve got it wrong. Balthazar wasn’t a sea witch. A mermaid prince yes, but a sea witch no.”
Bernstein stretches back and crosses his hands behind his head. “Your brother was a sea witch. A powerful one too. He told Bradbury so, client privilege and all that.”
My mouth hangs open. Balthazar a sea witch? That didn’t make any sense. “First of all, how could Balthazar be a sea witch? Anatomically he was a mermaid. He didn’t have tentacles.”
“He was quite powerful. I bet he learned to mask his tentacles from the time he was a child. Everyone knows sea witches have the ability to shapeshift, but he was powerful enough to hold his form for very extended periods of time. Pretty impressive.”
I shake my head. “That just isn’t possible.”
Bernstein raises an eyebrow. “Fine. I’m just telling you what I know. You want the name of that lawyer I mentioned earlier. The bureau is asking for a good suing the way they’ve been carrying on lately.”
“No, thank you,” I say. “You’ve done plenty.”
I leave Bernstein’s office. I stop by Jessie’s desk on my way out. “You use magic on me again, and I’ll blacken your other eye. That’s a spell eye isn’t it? And you can’t heal it?”
Jessie gives me the evil eye. I feel it. I hope it doesn’t stick.
Chapter Seventeen
Magic mixes up in all kinds of ways. Even in ways unexpected. I think about this fact as I speed to the beach. Before I make my way into the ocean, it occurs to me that I’m running out of time before I’m supposed to be at the dinner with North.
But I’m not leaving the House of Mermaids until I find out what this is about—this nonsense about Balthazar being a sea witch.
I hurry to the palace. I find my mother in her bedroom brushing her hair. “So now you know,” she says.
/> She must have been spying on me through her oracle.
“I don’t understand. How could Balthazar have been a sea witch?” I ask.
“Balthazar was not Ali’s son. He was the son of a great sea witch I’ve know since I was a babe. His mother served as counsel to my mother. The sea witch and his mother shared a special skill, apparent in all sea witches.”
“What special skill is that?” I ask.
“The ability to take any shape that they want. No one knew they were here.”
“Did Ali know that Balthazar was a sea witch?” I ask.
“No. Ali loved me. Even when others told me that I was dreadful, he ignored their voices. That made him a strong leader, but it also made him open to deception. I conceived Balthazar for Ali because Ali couldn’t have children. He didn’t know it, but I did. I knew there was nothing wrong with me, considering that I already had you. I knew that his crown would be more secure if I gave him a son. I had Balthazar’s father use the glamor on Balthazar until he was old enough to do it himself.”
“What other secrets have you kept from me,” I ask.
“Well, there is one.”
My heart beat speeds up. “What do you mean?”
“Your legs. I had a sea witch put a spell on your legs when you were a baby.”
“What! I have fins?” I ask.
“No. It’s just that I wanted you to be able to fit in with the humans. I figured that if I made so that you didn’t get your fins at involuntary times, you’d have a much easier time passing as human when it became necessary. And there was no way you being a sea witch was going to serve you well. I had high hopes for you then. I still do now.”
I look down at my legs. Then I look back up at my mother. “So what now?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I will be in charge of the House of mermaids now. I’ve already consulted Balthazar’s biological father. He has agreed to remove the spell from your legs. With Balthazar gone, I’m going to need you to start working your way back and forth in between the realms. Soon this throne will become yours. I have big dreams for the House of course before I go. And, one of those dreams is for the House of Mermaids to be able to go on the other side of the glass and make a home there if they wish. My hope is also that humans will lift their silly bans against sea witches. Not all sea witches are bad. Some of their magic can be used for good.”
Don't Feed the Mermaids (The Mermaid Files Book 1) Page 10