by Rose Pressey
***
Shelby and I had spent a great deal of time getting the office ready. Now we were meeting the others so that we could go to the festival. All of the things were set up for the guys to ask questions of the mermaids and with any luck get the recordings on their phones. I wanted evidence of what they’d been up to.
Now I wondered if maybe we shouldn’t go to this festival in case the mermaids saw us. But I kind of wanted to be there as well in case something went wrong. So we’d just keep our distance and be there if the guys needed us.
Before leaving for the festival I got my chance to speak with Shelby alone about the things I’d discovered. Now that I found out she’d been dating the murdered guy I had to wonder why she never mentioned this. It was kind of a big deal. I didn’t know exactly how to handle the subject since it could be sensitive. She could be really traumatized by this. I know I would be if in that situation. I just had to come out now with it because I had to know. She could have clues to his death and the fact that she never mentioned it was just plain weird.
Shelby was sitting in the car with me while we waited for the others. We sat in silence for a bit. She must have felt me watching her because she looked over at me.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Actually, I’m not sure,” I said.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
“It’s something I heard and I just have to ask.”
“Is it about me?” she asked.
“Kind of,” I said.
She frowned.
“Yes, it is about you, I guess. I was told that the murdered man was your boyfriend. Why didn’t you mention this to me before?”
She immediately looked down at her hands. “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want you to think that I was doing anything wrong.”
“Why would I think that?” I asked. “This is a tragic thing that happened. You can certainly tell me about it. Are you suspicious of the mermaids like I am? All the times that I mentioned it,” I said.
“Well yes, I am, but I still didn’t want to say anything. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“We can continue to research this and discover if the mermaids had anything to do with it,” I said. “We shouldn’t give up.”
“I think they are too dangerous for us to look into this anymore,” she said.
“Don’t worry, Shelby, I’ll continue my quest. Just let me handle it,” I said.
“Do you really think you should do that?”
“I know I should,” I said.
“If you really think so she said. I absolutely think so.”
“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing until I get to the bottom of this. Can you tell me anything about the case at all?”
Now that I knew she had some knowledge of her boyfriend’s coming and goings I assumed she could tell me something that might be of value to the case.
“I don’t know that he had any enemies,” she said. “He never told me about that.”
“Where did you meet him?” I asked.
“We met at a nightclub.”
“Was it the club we went to?”
“Yes, that’s the one,” she said.
“How long had you been dating?” Movement caught my attention.
Jack was headed for the car. Shelby might not want to talk in front of him.
“That long. We only dated for six months.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.
She chuckled nervously. “This is almost like being interrogated by the police.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bombard you with questions.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I just haven’t really wanted to talk about it, you understand?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said.
I didn’t understand, considering she hadn’t even told me this information. I thought it was important to be honest with me. Didn’t she want to find the killer? I suppose everyone handled these things differently though. So I couldn’t blame her.
I just have one other question and then I promise I won’t ask any more.”
She didn’t look as if she wanted to answer one more question, but she nodded in agreement. Jack had noticed we were talking and walked stop outside the car, acting as if he was on his phone.
“When was the last time you saw him and where was he right before this happened?”
“It was the night before. He came over to my house. I don’t know why he would’ve been at the mermaids’ house.”
“That’s what I intend to find out. The mermaids have to talk some time.”
“But how can we get them to talk? If the police can’t get them to talk then I hardly doubt that you can. No offense,” she said.
“None taken, I guess.”
Oh, there was one more thing. I found a ring outside the mermaids’ house. It was like the ones they wear. It had your name in the inscription.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Why would they have a ring with my name?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you,” I said.
She shook her head. I don’t know, but it’s scary to think they would do something like that. Maybe they know another Shelby.
I sighed. “Yes, maybe so.”
Everyone came out to the car stopping our conversation. I certainly hadn’t learned much.
After a short drive we pulled up to the location and found a parking spot. It was still hot outside and the sun was beating down on us. Music from the festival spilled out onto the street and led us in the right direction.
We walked around a little bit until we finally spotted the group. It looked like they were having a great time. But I supposed that was part of the plan. I was anxious to get some kind of information.
“Do you think I can text Hayden right now and ask how it’s going?” I pulled out my phone.
“I don’t see why not,” Jack said.
“It’s not like they’re going to know you’re texting him,” Jennifer said.
I typed out the message and hit send. After staring at the screen for several seconds, I said, “Why isn’t he answering?”
We spotted him pull out his phone and look at it. Then he put it back in his pocket.
“He’s totally ignoring me,” I said. “Why would he do that? This is not part of the plan.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to call attention to the fact that he got a text,” Shelby said.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. We’ll just keep following them,” I said.
We continued to walk behind them down the path toward the stage where the bands were playing. A crowd started to gather in front of us and I lost track of the group. I was trying to get around these people, but they kept stopping in front of us. By the time we managed to get around them I had completely lost track of where the mermaids had gone.
“Where are they?” I asked as I scanned the crowd.
This was just great. Now the guy wasn’t answering me and we’d lost track of them.
“I don’t trust them with the mermaids,” I said.
“They can take care of themselves,” Jack said.
“You underestimate the mermaids. Where could they have gone?”
There really weren’t that many places to hide, although there were some concession stands and other buildings that were at the bottom of the boardwalk.
“I can sniff them out,” Lily said.
“I don’t think I want you looking for them. You’ll end up getting in a fight if you find them.”
“Oh, come on, Rylie, give me a little bit more credit than that,” Lily said.
“Sorry, Lily, but I just can’t. Not after what I’ve seen from you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Fine. I’ll just go find them on my own.”
I grabbed her arm. “No, you won’t.”
She growled at me.
I placed my hands on my hips. “Don’t you growl at me, Lily Friedman.”
“Fine. I’m just going bac
k to the car,” she said as she turned on her heel and headed out through the crowd in the opposite direction.
“Do you trust her?” Jennifer asked.
“Not in the least. But it’ll just have to wait because I’ve got to find the mermaids right now. Let’s check over in that direction,” I said, pointing across the way toward the stage.
The three of us headed across the way, weaving through the crowd, all the while trying to keep our eyes out for the group.
Chapter 22
As soon as we arrived one thing about the crowd stood out to me. A lot of the concert-goers had fangs, which of course meant they were vampires.
“Jack, did you see there are a lot of vampires here?” I asked.
He surveyed the crowd. “I hadn’t noticed until now.”
The thought crossed my mind that maybe vampires in attendance was the reason the mermaids agreed to come here. I had no evidence to back that up, but the idea was still in the back of my mind. Could the rumor that the mermaids wanted to do something to vampires be true? Why would they want to target vampires? Of course, Jack didn’t seem concerned. He had a tendency to brush off things and never give them a second thought.
People stood around the perimeter of the festival, almost as if they were guarding the place. Were they security? I was pretty sure they were only watching the vampires. Maybe I was just being suspicious at this point. This was nothing unusual, I told myself. I was just here to find out why the mermaids were lying to us about Jennifer and Shelby.
“They probably went that way,” I said, pointing across the way.
“Let’s go check it out,” Jack said.
As we reached the area I thought I saw a glimpse of the mermaids out of the corner of my eye. We followed in that direction.
“We have to hurry because they’re quite a bit ahead of us,” I said.
I was almost positive it was them. It was the mermaids and their so-called dates.
It looked as if they were happy together, laughing and joking. Obviously they wanted to be there. Since the mermen didn’t answer my text messages I had no way of knowing if they were still helping us. It hadn’t been for my lack of trying to send additional messages. He just wasn’t answering.
It looked as if they were headed toward one of the parked cars. If they got into the car and took off then we wouldn’t know how to find them. Should I call out to them before they got into the car? I supposed it wasn’t much of a decision, so I yelled at them. They stopped and looked back at us. The mermaids looked extremely irritated that I had disturbed them.
“I want to talk to you,” I yelled out.
My command did absolutely no good because they got into the car and started it. Without even a word to acknowledge me. The roar of another engine caught my attention. I glanced to my right. Lily was there in the car.
“Get in,” she said.
“What are you doing, Lily?” I asked.
“Do you want to talk to them or not? They’re getting ready to drive away. We’re going to follow them.” Lily revved the engine again.
Something told me that this was a bad idea, but I did as Lily asked. Jack, Jennifer, Shelby, and I got into the car. I was sure I would regret it later. But I really wanted to know what was going on with these guys. And the fact that they weren’t answering me was making me furious. Maybe they’d told the mermaids about my plan. Regardless, I needed answers tonight.
As we piled into the car with Lily the thought crossed my mind if I should allow her to drive.
“Lily, don’t get us killed,” I said as I buckled my seatbelt.
“I’ve got everything under control.” She pushed the gas and the car lunged forward.
Screams and groans echoed through the car as we all complained about Lily’s driving. The mermaids had already taken off and the car was a good distance ahead of us. Lily squealed the tires as she sped away. They pulled out onto the road. Lily hurried so that she could get behind their car.
“I have a feeling that they know we’re following them,” I said.
“Oh, they won’t know that,” Lily said. “Besides, even if they do, I’ll be able to keep up with them.”
“This will not end well. I have a bad feeling about this,” I said.
“You have a bad feeling about everything,” Lily said.
Whoever was behind the wheel of the other car was driving erratically. Therefore, I figured they knew that we were behind them. I tried to text the guys again, acting as if I wasn’t mad. But of course, I got no response.
“This is just so weird,” I said.
Lily almost sideswiped a car while switching lanes. The car honked and she flipped them off.
“It wasn’t their fault,” I said. “You cut them off. You’re going to get us killed or arrested so slow down.”
“Do you want to catch that car or not?”
“I want to catch it, yes, but I want to be alive when we catch them.”
“We’re gaining on them now. I can’t stop now.” Lily clutched the steering wheel with a death grip.
“I don’t want you to hit another car either, so slow down,” I said.
She slowed down for a couple of seconds, but then she sped up again.
“We’ve almost got them now. I have to keep going.”
Even with her craziness Lily was doing a good job of keeping up with the car. The mermaids were like maniacs.
“I can’t wait to see where they were going,” I said.
Though I didn’t know for sure what we would do once we caught up with them. They wouldn’t talk to us at the festival, much less after we followed them like crazy stalkers.
The surrounding area started to look familiar. A short distance later and it finally hit me.
“We’re right back where we started,” I said. “Lily, what have you done?”
“What do you mean? I followed the mermaids. They’re still up there.” Lily squinted. “Wait a minute. No, that’s not their car.” Lily squinted again as she tried to make out the license plate. “Is that an O?”
“I don’t know. I thought you were following the right car. I knew I should’ve driven.”
“I’ll tell you what, Rylie Cruz, you’re not perfect and don’t you tell me what to do.”
We were back at the festival again and had lost the mermaids. I wasn’t sure how long ago we had lost them or how far back. Maybe they’d come back to the festival too.
“We should look around and see if we spot them,” Jennifer said.
“I think we should just call it a night,” Jack said.
I was beginning to think he was right. Two seconds later a guy appeared in front of the car. Lily slammed on the brakes. Screeching of tires echoed around us.
“Oh, my gosh, you almost ran over him,” Jennifer said as she jumped out of the backseat and ran up to Freddie.
We all got out of the car as well.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” he said. “She didn’t actually hit me with the car. It was really close though.”
We all looked to Lily.
“What are you doing running out in the middle of the road?” Lily asked.
“This is a crosswalk, idiot,” Freddie said.
Lily lunged at him, but Jack grabbed her before she could attack. She kicked for a few seconds before calming down. Lily had made progress in controlling her temper. I felt like a proud mama watching her baby reach a milestone. Lily was lucky that he didn’t call the police and report her reckless driving.
“All right, that’s enough of that,” I said.
“I’m taking over the driving,” Jack said.
I motioned for Lily to hand over the keys. She glared at us for a moment but then reluctantly handed Jack the keys. She never argued with Jack much. Jack climbed behind the wheel to move the car into a parking space and out of the road. We stepped onto the sidewalk to talk more while we waited.
“What are you guys doing?” Freddie asked.
“We were
looking for your friends,” I said. “They took off with the mermaids and they won’t answer my text messages. How close are you with these guys?”
“Well, that’s odd,” he said. “They always do what they say they will. I thought they were great guys. But I suppose we’re not the best of friends.”
“Do you have any explanation why they would ignore me?”
“Not a clue.”
“Maybe they will answer you,” I said.
“I can give it a try,” he said as he pulled out his cell phone.
Jack had parked the car along the street. Lily was still pouting that she was no longer allowed to drive. She would just have to get over it.
Freddie held the phone up to his ear to call his buddies.
“Oh, look, a food stand. I’m hungry.” Lily pointed.
She grabbed Shelby’s hand. “Come with me to get a hot dog.”
As Lily dragged Shelby away, Shelby looked at me for help. I grimaced. When Lily was hungry it was best to feed her.
After a short time, Freddie said, “They’re not answering.”
“I just don’t understand it,” I said.
A few more seconds and he hung up. He shook his head. “Sorry. No luck. I’m really sorry that it didn’t work out.”
“Not as sorry as I am,” I said. “And I don’t know whether I should be worried about these guys or just assume that they didn’t want to do what they were supposed to do.”
Freddie crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Sorry again.”
“Sorry, Rylie,” Jennifer said.
Freddie took Jennifer by the hand and pulled her to the side. Leaving me alone on the sidewalk. Where was Jack? I peered down the street but didn’t spot him. My anxiety spiked. I spotted the car, but no sign of Jack. Hurrying my steps, I headed in that direction.
When I turned the corner, I spotted Jack on the ground. He seemed a bit dazed.
I ran over to him. “What happened? Did you fall?”
He was getting up to his feet now. “I’m fine now.”
“Thank goodness. So you fell?”
“No, someone grabbed me from behind again. They’re going to have to be a lot stronger than that if they want to take me away.” He chuckled.