The Mermaid and the Murders

by Rachel Graves

  “Absolutely,” I texted.

  Her reply came almost immediately. “As soon as class lets out. I’m so over this.”

  I sent her back a “<3”. In a few hours, Edgar was going to find out how stupid he’d been to hurt my friend.

  ****

  Getting into the car with Sam felt like the best part of my day. I closed the door, shutting out everything else.

  “Hi,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Hi yourself.” He smiled back and leaned in for a quick kiss. I wanted another kiss, but a car behind me honked, reminding me that I didn’t have time. “How did it go with your mom?”

  “Okay.” I thought about it for a second. “I guess. We were right about the beach being important to oceanfolk. Mom says everyone loved it. Unfortunately, there was a real estate developer with a criminal background, probably Heather’s dad. He loved it, too.”

  “Why would Heather’s dad kill Heather?”

  “I don’t think he did. But I know he ordered the attack on my father. Mom watched it. I was there too, but she kept me safe.”

  He put a comforting hand over my own. “I’m sorry.”

  For a second I could only nod, but then I found my tongue again. “Me too. It sounds like it was pretty horrible, like they’d been living with the fear of something happening for a long time. They even talked about it, about how my mom would keep me safe. That’s how it happened in the end.” My throat closed in sadness, and I took a second before I tried to speak again. “So Heather’s dad: he did the developing. Ryan’s dad did the building. And Tiffany’s dad got the condos approved. I don’t know who killed my dad, maybe all of them, maybe just men they hired.”

  “Is there anyone else involved with the deal?”

  “I don’t know. How would we find that out?”

  “The Internet, maybe? If the condos were developed by a public company, the shareholders list might be on public record. We might have to go to the courthouse for that though.”

  “Or we could ask my mom again.”

  “Or the gallery owner guy who told you about your dad in the first place.”

  “Edgar,” I supplied. “And there’s something you should know about him.” I told Sam the story of Ashley and Edgar’s night, how he’d used her to draw out the tax collector. His first thought was my first thought.

  “Is Cogan still alive?”

  “I checked last night and I didn’t see anything that said otherwise. I think we should—”

  “DelMar, out of the car!” Mr. Whosley screamed at me through the car windows. “I told all the drivers to get inside five minutes ago. Why weren’t you listening to me?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. We were talking.”

  “Uh-huh. Get inside, DelMar. Now!”

  Sam gave my hand a squeeze and we headed into the classroom. We sat through a lecture on safe driving in forced silence. Finally, the bell rang, letting us escape into the hall.

  This time, it was Ashley who stopped me from talking to Sam. “You’re never going to believe what’s going on.” She grabbed my arm and tried to steer me away from Sam. Even with the crush of oncoming students, he didn’t let her pull me away. Ashley didn’t notice; she whispered under her breath, “Guess who’s dead?”

  “What? Who?”

  She handed me her cell phone. There was a news article on the screen, saying that Lewis Cogan was dead. Edgar had sent her the link with a winking smiley face.

  “Seriously creepy,” I said as I looked at the article.

  “Beyond creepy. You’re still coming with me, right?”

  “Totally.”

  “What’s creepy?” Sam asked.

  Ashley looked a little startled, like she hadn’t realized he was there. “It’s nothing.” She pulled her phone back. “Some guy Danika and I have to deal with.”

  “Is it Edgar?”

  Ashley gave me the meanest look I’d ever seen.

  “Let me explain, Ash.”

  “There’s nothing you could say.”

  She started to turn around, but then Sam spoke. “I’m not human, either.” He kept his voice low, but she heard it.

  “What?” She turned and looked at him, narrowing her eyes.

  “I’m a salt golem.” He spread open his hands in a gesture of surrender.

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Prove it.”

  “How?”

  That stopped her. It even stopped me.

  “Yeah, how would he even prove it?”

  “Cut off his hand. A real salt golem could grow a new one.” Ashley sounded sure of herself, and more than a little mean.

  “We don’t have time for that. We need to go see Edgar. If it makes you feel any better, he doesn’t drown and I’ve kept him under water for hours at a time.”

  “Oh I bet you have.” Her voice filled the words with lustful meaning and I blushed because she was right. “So he knows everything?”

  “Pretty much,” I told her.

  “Fine, whatever. You’re still coming with me, right?”

  “I’m going, too,” Sam declared. We both started arguing with him. Finally, we decided that Ashley and I would go in her car while Sam would follow in his. He’d stay outside though, only coming in if we needed help.

  ****

  The last customer in the gallery walked out as we walked in. Edgar smiled up at us from the counter. “Two lovely ladies. I admit when I asked you to come by, I didn’t think you’d bring a friend.” He gestured at Ashley, and for a second I thought he might try to kiss her.

  “I didn’t come because you asked. I came because you wouldn’t stop texting. I never want to talk to you again,” Ashley told him.

  “What? Why?”

  “Just because, okay? I’m done.”

  “But we had such a good time. I don’t get it.” He sounded sweet and sorry, like he really did care about her, and I could see Ashley start to doubt herself.

  “Ashley, tell him,” I urged her.

  She nodded, then steeled herself, pulling her shoulders back. “You used me. You used me to murder someone.”

  “So?” Edgar raised his eyebrows like she’d said good morning. I was suddenly very glad to have Sam outside waiting for us. “I don’t understand what the problem is. You wanted to do it. I just showed you how.”

  “That’s not true!” I yelled. “Ashley never wanted to hurt anyone!”

  “Oh, come on, Danika. You weren’t there, were you? You don’t know anything about it.” His smile made my skin crawl. “Now, why don’t you leave us alone? Ashley and I have lots of fun things we could be doing.”

  “No.”

  “I said, go away.” He emphasized the words and I felt a compulsion come over me, a push for me to walk out. Instead, I dug my nails into my palms and stood strong. “You’re not a siren, Edgar.”

  “You’ll never know what I am.”

  “You’re a murderer,” Ashley spoke up. “You used me to get that guy out of his house and then you cut his throat. You killed him.”

  “Prove it.” Edgar spoke with a calm anger. “And be careful before you say anything, because you might think the normal people around here won’t believe me when I tell them about you, but that won’t save your life. They’ve killed our kind before.”

  “Our kind?” I drew his eyes back to me, knowing Ashley couldn’t handle his rage. “You mean they killed my father.”

  “Yes, they did. Your father and a lot of other good people. Savage Beach was our town. Our place to be safe and they ruined it.” He shoved the papers on the counter aside, angry. “And here you are, accusing me of being the bad guy. You should be thanking me. I’m your hero. I’m the one who’s keeping you safe.”

  “I don’t want to be safe,” I spoke very quietly, because I wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth. “Not like that.”

  “Me neither.” Ashley wasn’t quiet at all. “I’m sorry I did those things with you. But I never want to see you or speak to you again. It doesn’t matter what you a
re. If you don’t stop, we’ll stop you.”

  He smirked again, about to say something, when Ashley sang very quietly, “Shut up, Edgar.”

  I could see the rage in his eyes, but he didn’t open his mouth, didn’t say a word.

  Ashley didn’t look triumphant; just tired. “Come on, Danika. Let’s go.”

  We waved to Sam as we got in her car. He texted me to call him when I got home. I replied that I would.

  I thought Ashley was taking me home; but when I looked at her, I wasn’t sure. We’d gone halfway down the street before she spoke. “You were right. Confronting him helped.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “And I think I am going to talk to Ms. Cohen.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I mean, not about the siren stuff; but I can talk around it. I’m pretty good at that. And, you know, it wouldn’t hurt to hear what she has to say.”

  “I hope it helps.”

  “You want to hang out tonight?”

  I wanted to see Sam, to tell him what Edgar had said, to talk to my mom about Edgar, to try to hunt him down. I wanted a way to resolve all of this, but I knew Ashley needed me. “Sure.”

  ****

  I stayed late at Ashley’s place, eating the dinner her housekeeper cooked for us. Her dad was on tour somewhere, so we’d hung out in his studio. Ashley sang for me, and she sounded great. If there was ever a way around the siren thing, she’d be a rock star. Then again, if there was a way around the siren thing, she might not want to be a rock star.

  I called Sam the minute Ashley dropped me off. He picked up on the second ring, starting with “Tell me everything.”

  After I did, I brought up the two most important parts. “Something Edgar did made me want to do what he said. It made me want to walk out of there when he told me.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “I could resist it, but I think that’s because I felt it. Like, if he’d been more subtle, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

  “So we need to make sure you’re never alone with him.”

  “We need to make sure no one’s ever alone with him. What if that’s how he got Ashley to sing? Or how he gets people in the water?”

  “You think it works on dry-landers?”

  “I have no idea. I know it worked on me. Ashley said something about sirens training giant squid. When she told me, I thought the murderer might be a siren; but now I think it’s Edgar.”

  “That’s a big leap.”

  “Not really. He said something about defending the beach, how he was the hero. He might think that. He might really believe that killing the people who wanted to develop the beach is a great thing for our community.”

  “That doesn’t mean he won’t hurt you. He’s still a threat.”

  “You’re thinking about that gang, aren’t you? About how they were a threat and you…” I didn’t want to say killed them, not out loud. “Took care of it.”

  “I was.”

  I wished I could see his face. Wished I could try to guess at his emotions. Was he upset? Sad? Should I back off?

  “Come over,” I said.

  “I’m already in the car,” he admitted.

  “What if I wanted to spend the night alone?” I let a hint of teasing into my voice.

  “I’d tell you to go ahead, and I’d stay outside in the car.”

  “What if I spent the night on my reef?” I started teasing him but then I realized that was a great idea. “Did you check the tides?”

  “For tonight?”

  “No, for the days the bodies showed up. Did you check when the tides came in and out?”

  “No, do I need to?”

  “I’m going online now. I think we might be able to tell when the bodies were dumped. We know he had Ashley call the tax collector out in the middle of the night, right? So if the tides are right, then we know—”

  “That he’s killing people in the middle of the night,” Sam finished my sentence. “But I don’t see how that helps us.”

  “It’s 9 now. If he dumps someone else, we might be able to catch him in the act.”

  “Who’s left to kill?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know when; I just know where. Want to sleep under the water with me?”

  “I’d love to.”

  ****

  I texted Ashley with my plan. She wished us luck and promised to cover for me at school if anyone asked. I didn’t know how long we’d be gone. Would Edgar dump a body tonight or tomorrow? A week from now? I thought about Ryan, getting taken on a Sunday night, and the tax collector called out and killed on a Friday. It didn’t seem like Edgar was following a pattern, so it might be a while.

  My mom had known Edgar, had been his friend. If I sang to her, she’d come. I didn’t want to introduce her to Sam, but I wanted her help with Edgar.

  I called Sam back. “How close to my place are you?”

  “In your driveway.”

  “Damn.”

  “Problem?”

  “I want to ask my mom for help, and I don’t think she’ll like you too much.”

  “Because I’m a salt golem?”

  “Because you’re a boy.”

  “Oh.” I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “Maybe she’ll ignore me.”

  “Maybe. Are you sure you want to risk it?”

  “I’m sure I’m not letting you anywhere near where Edgar is dumping the bodies alone.”

  I walked out of the front door and saw him standing there, his arms folded across his chest with steely resolve. “Okay.”

  I came down the stairs and gave him a long hug. For a second I relaxed into the feeling of his body, strong and safe against me. Mom might go after him, she might go crazy and try to hurt him; but for this one minute, I didn’t have to worry about that.

  “Let’s go,” I said, when I’d indulged enough.

  “We don’t have to do this you know. That attorney, Rebecca, she knows some people. They could help.”

  “It’s my reef, Sam. And this guy, he was my dad’s friend. That makes it my problem. We might be under the water for a few days, a week; I don’t know. If you get bored or you want to head home, I understand. But I’m not giving up on this.”

  “Then I’m not, either.” He kissed me, and then wrapped his hand around mine. “Let’s go swimming.”

  We locked the cell phones in his car, then left the key in my kitchen. We were silent as we walked to the beach. But as I stripped off my skirt and gained my tail, I knew there were a few things I needed to say. “I’m going to sing for my mom. The song, well, it might not be that great for you to hear.”

  “I can take it.”

  “Just be prepared. And if she goes for you, I’ll get in the way. Don’t fight back.”

  “Got it.”

  I felt tension in him, and for once getting him into the water didn’t make me think about sex. “You won’t be able to understand us when we talk. At least, I don’t think anyone but mermaids can understand our language. So if Mom says something you need to know, we’ll go to the surface.”

  “Danika.” He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I trust you. Everything is going to be fine.”

  I didn’t believe him. So instead of replying, I kissed him, my mouth against his, my hands on his face. I tried to put everything I felt into that kiss, because as I pushed us into the water, me wearing a bikini top and him in shorts, it felt like we might not come back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I swam out to the reef fast, singing as I went. Sam turned his head away from the sound, but he didn’t frown. So while it might not have been wonderful, I didn’t think it hurt.

  The look on Mom’s face when I got to my reef hurt. “Who is that?” Her short, clipped words told me everything I needed to know about how she felt about Sam.

  I let go of him. He sat down on the sand. He didn’t float; but sat, watching my mother, oblivious to her fury.

  “Sam. He’s…” What? My boy
friend? My partner in crime? All I could really come up with was, “Mine.”

  “I see.” She looked around me to watch him some more. “He’s not dead.”

  I shook my head a little, trying to get fresh water into my gills and answer the question she hadn’t asked. “He’s a salt golem.”

  “Better than a dolphin shifter, I suppose.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Dealing with your father’s people was almost more trouble than he was worth.”

  “Almost?”

  Her whole face softened, as if she remembered something pleasant but then the emotion passed and she went back to being Mom. “What do you need?”

  “I need your help with Edgar, Dad’s friend.” I floated in front of her and started to tell her the story. The more I spoke, the more tense her body became. By the end of it, the part where Ashley and I confronted Edgar in his shop, she looked about ready to kill.

  “Stop!” she shouted at me, and put up one hand. I waited, watching her try to master her emotions. Her teeth were out, a mermaid’s last weapon. They meant her patience was almost gone. She shook her own head, bringing water into her gills, and then stretched out her tail. “Edgar is an aqueous.”

  I tilted my head to the side, ready to ask her what that meant when she put up her hand again. I waited and in a few minutes, she started again. “They can control sea life. All of it. And mermaids, well, we’re sea life.”

  “Sirens?”

  “Not as much.”

  “Salt golems?”

  “You’ll have to ask him.” She pointed to Sam, who watched us without a hint of understanding on his face. “Edgar swore to me he would never use his abilities on my pod.” She balled her hands into fists. “He swore.”

  “But today…”

  “Today he used them on my daughter.” Her words filled with pure anger. “It’s unforgiveable.”

  I’d seen her rage before. I’d caused it. But I’d never seen anything like this. Her anger made her eyes narrow, her sharp teeth pushed out her face. Water seemed to swirl around her, as if Mother Ocean was furious, too.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I’m going to confront him and end this. There’s a chance he’ll run. If he does, I’ll find him.”

  “Unless I find him first,” I said.