Siren's Secret - Debbie Herbert

Скачать книгу

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 too fast for me,” his mom panted as she caught up to them. Mrs. Angier wore black pants and a frilly high-necked white shirt accented with a striking coral necklace. While the rest of the locals sported shorts and T-shirts, Eddie’s mom stood out with her inappropriately elegant attire. The blood-sucking Alabama humidity that had everyone else sweaty and defeated never seemed to affect Portia Angier. “I can’t keep up with Eddie,” she whined, rubbing her temples with a slight wince.

      “No problem,” Shelly assured her.

      It had taken a whole month of once-weekly sessions to get Eddie to accept the water jacket without it being a major ordeal. He was extremely sensitive to the texture of anything against his skin. And it had taken about the same amount of time to stop Eddie from stripping off his bathing trunks the minute he stepped out of the pool.

      Suitably strapped in, Eddie walked down the pool steps and waded around the shallow end, splashing and laughing.

      “Too bad we don’t have an indoor pool at home,” Mrs. Angier said, still rubbing her temples, Donna Karan sunglasses dangling in one hand.

      “Headache?” Shelly asked, getting into the pool with Eddie.

      “The worst. If it’s okay, I’ll head on home and have his brother pick him up.”

      Shelly’s heart did a little flutter. Tillman Angier had a way of making her feel like a lust-crazed teenager. Get a grip.

      “Fine.” She turned to Eddie. “Ready to get started?”

      He was already a step ahead of her. He picked up the kickboard from the side of the pool and began kicking his long legs. Water shot up around him but for all the exertion and noise, he only swam a few feet. “Good job,” Shelly said anyway, and they high-fived.

      Eddie jumped up and down, laughing and spraying water over the side of the pool. Shelly held his hands and they jumped together in mutual delight. The buoyancy and feeling of weightlessness in the water was good for the soul. Besides improving coordination, flexibility and muscle, the warm water provided healing benefits. Shelly speculated that people with a special affinity for water were long-removed descendants of mermaid blood—so far removed they knew nothing of their heritage but were inexplicably drawn to water, especially the ocean.

      She was rewarded with two seconds of eye contact before Eddie looked back down to the clear aqua depths swirling around his body.

      “Time for the ball toss,” she said. She took a twelve-inch beach ball and tossed it to Eddie. Without aiming, Eddie threw it back, the ball landing a good six feet behind her.

      Shelly swam after it and returned to Eddie. “Let’s try again. Throw it to me this time.”

      Eddie slam-dunked the ball in the middle of her face.

      Ouch. Well, she wasn’t specific enough.

      Shelly threw it back and waved her hands in front of her. “Throw it at my hands, Eddie.”

      He did. But after less than half a dozen throws he started humming. A sure sign he was growing impatient. Shelly quickly moved on to another exercise. During the next hour, she alternated coordination tasks with social play. Afterward, she’d return to her office and make notes on his progress. Few things gave her more satisfaction than celebrating clients’ progress.

      “Shoes,”

Скачать книгу