Siren's Secret. Debbie Herbert

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СКАЧАТЬ The few times she’d run into him at the YMCA, picking up his brother, she’d been reluctantly intrigued by him. “Besides, you’re not giving enough credit to our local law enforcement.”

      Jet interrupted Shelly’s thoughts of Sheriff Angier. “Where are this hat and knife?”

      “The shed.”

      “I’m going to get them.” Jet dashed off, ready to take action.

      “Don’t get your fingerprints on anything,” Shelly called out. “Bad enough mine are already on there.”

      Lily placed a hand on top of Shelly’s head. “I’m going to get a towel for your hair, fix you a cup of chai tea and then see to that foot of yours.”

      Lily’s image blurred from unexpected tears. Shelly was overcome with exhaustion as the adrenaline rush left her body. “You and Jet have been so good to me since I came here.”

      “We’re lucky to have you, silly.” Lily bent over and gave her a quick hug. “If you haven’t noticed, Jet can be a real pain to live with sometimes.”

      “Yeah, I kinda noticed.” Lily’s kindness lifted her spirits. “I don’t know what I would do without the two of you.”

      * * *

      Ten minutes later, hair wrapped and sipping chai tea, Shelly watched as Lily finished cleaning the knife wound.

      “It could really use a couple of stitches, but if you’re dead set on not going to the E.R., it ought to heal okay with the butterfly bandage,” Lily said, sitting down at the table with Jet and Shelly, each wearing yellow Playtex gloves.

      “I’m fine.” Shelly lifted the soggy hat Jet had placed on the table. “‘Trident Processing and Packing.’ Terrific. That’s not going to help us find him. Half the people who live here either work in the plant or have relatives who work there.”

      They stared glumly at the white baseball cap with the blue Trident logo emblazoned on the front.

      “It may give the police something to work with,” Lily said.

      Jet picked up the stiletto knife. “This won’t. The make is mass-produced. And thanks to being in the water, I’m not sure there’s going to be fingerprints. Was he wearing gloves?”

      Shelly closed her eyes and pictured the killer, seeing again those burning hate-filled eyes. That was the first thing she would always remember about him. She forced her mind to roam the larger picture, trying to pick up details. She opened her eyes abruptly. “Yes, he wore those heavy rubber gloves up to his elbows that fishermen sometimes wear when it’s cold. But I say the knife could still be a clue for the police.”

      “Don’t see how.” Jet examined the blade. “Don’t see any markings.”

      Shelly watched the metal blade flickering under the chandelier’s light and shuddered. He had used this at least twice now to gouge out the eyes of his victims.

      “Sick bastard.” Jet dropped the knife back on the table. “So we’re in agreement. I’ll retrieve the body and put it on shore for the cops to find.”

      “No. You’re not doing it. I am. I’m the one that got us into this mess. If he comes back I’ll take care of him like I should have done in the first place.” Shelly hoped her voice sounded convincing. She couldn’t kill a human but she could, if necessary, injure the killer and help the police capture him.

      “I’ll do it,” Lily said, rising to her feet. “It will be easier for me since I’ve got the voice that can mesmerize if we run into him. Most useful in sinking a boat.”

      Shelly was startled. Lily sounded as if she had experience in doing just that. Long ago, there were a few pockets of mermaids known for violent protection of their sea territory, but the decrease in the mermaid population coupled with human advances in science and sea travel had forced mermaids to abandon such bold, public tactics. No, Shelly shook her head slightly, she was wound up tonight and reading too much into Lily’s words.

      “Guess it’s going to take all three of us,” Jet reluctantly agreed. “Drive the car to Murrell’s Point and park around the bend. This time of night, teenagers will be making out in parked cars, too busy to notice us. By morning at least, a fisherman will discover the body. When we poke our head out of the water, blink the headlights once if the coast is clear, twice if not. We’ll put it on shore with the knife and hat.”

      “Okay. I’ll tell you exactly where to find the body. It’s secured undersea between two large rocks in that huge limestone outcropping three miles southwest from our house. The dead human smell will lead you right to the victim.” Shelly hesitantly picked up the weapon by its handle. “Maybe we should keep the knife.”

      Her cousins stared at her in surprise.

      “Why would we want to do that?” Jet asked.

      “Say the police are suspicious of our guy, but there’s no physical evidence to tie him to the murders. We could plant this on him.”

      Jet shook her head. “But I told you, there’s nothing special about this knife. Even if they found it on him it doesn’t prove anything.”

      Shelly smiled—they were buying into her plan to frame the killer instead of tracking him down on their own and meting out their own form of mermaid justice. “Not yet it doesn’t,” she said softly. “But if we learn his identity we could carve his name and the victim’s initials on the blade and plant it for the police to find. They’ll think it’s some kind of sick trophy.”

      Jet blew out a whistle. “That would be some damning evidence.”

      Lily ran a long, manicured fingernail across Shelly’s cheek. “Now you’re thinking like a true, full-blooded mermaid.”

      A tiny prickle of chill ran down Shelly’s spine at the words. She suspected her cousins could be quite ruthless when it came to preserving their secrets. Just how far would they go to protect their hidden mermaid heritage?

      As far as necessary, whispered a tiny voice in her mind.

      Chapter 2

      Close your eyes, all is well

      Seal your mouth, don’t ever tell

      For if you do, shame will come

      Mama’s Boy falls all undone.

      Shelly rolled her shoulders back with determination. Even with no sleep last night, she couldn’t allow fatigue to interfere with her clients’ therapy. And staying focused on her job helped keep the terror at bay when she pictured the killer she’d encountered the previous evening.

      Eddie made a beeline for the water, eyes focused straight ahead to their objective, ignoring his mother three steps behind him, stumbling in designer sandals.

      Shelly moved between Eddie and the pool steps, holding up a vest. “First, we put on our vest, then we get in the water,” she reminded him.

      Eddie reluctantly let Shelly strap it on.

      “He’s СКАЧАТЬ