A Watery Death (A Missing Pieces Mystery Book 7) (13 page)

It took me about thirty minutes to take everything downstairs from the attic, with a follow up shower to get all the dust and cobwebs off me. I figured I’d have to borrow the golf cart to transport all of it to the shop the next day. By that time, I’d have everything shined up and polished. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad day at Missing Pieces tomorrow after all.

I changed clothes, wearing a long, cotton wraparound skirt in a vivid shade of blue. My white top was casual but dressy and showed off my tan as it draped off one shoulder. I put on a little lipstick and ran a comb through my hair. That was as good as it was going to get.

Treasure meowed from the bed as I put on a new pair of white sandals.

“I’m so sorry, but things have been hectic. I’ll take you to Missing Pieces tomorrow for sure. And Baylor won’t be there. Okay?”

He didn’t sound moved by my promises. Instead he jumped down from the bed and wandered into the hall. He looked carefully both ways, still not liking Mary Catherine’s cat springing out at him with no warning. I’d thought he might just have to get used to Baylor being around, but when I married Kevin and moved to the Blue Whale, he wouldn’t have that problem.

I carefully looked around myself as I went down the familiar stairs to the kitchen and living room. The house was old and worn, but it was everything I’d ever known. It wasn’t going to be easy going to live with Kevin, but I hoped the perks that came with it would be worth it.

As I walked to Wild Stallions, I chided myself about getting old and set in my ways. I was reluctant to give up my childhood home for a wonderful man, possibly a family of my own, and the great old inn that was a remarkable spot.

“I don’t know what more you could ask for,” I said to myself. “As changes go, this one could be awesome.”

Peggy and Steve were fun to chat with over dinner. Her work trying to create plants that would help feed the world—and her reluctant stories about working as a forensic botanist to solve murders—were fascinating. Mary Catherine, as usual, added her own brand of charm to the conversation and talked about recent families she’d enlightened about their pets.

I told stories of pirates and treasures and even did a small example of my ability by guessing that Peggy’s watch had been a gift from her father.

Kevin and Steve barely noticed that we were there at all. Their conversation was intense and quiet but only between them. Peggy muttered that we should have made them sit farther apart at the table. Both men looked up when we laughed at that.

All the while, I kept my eyes on the setting sun and the smooth gray water of the Currituck Sound, watching for a head to bob up or a large tail that cleaved the water.

Chapter Twelve

After dinner, Peggy and Steve went back to their friends’ house where they were staying. Mary Catherine hung around, trying to decide if she should stay to see the merman.

“Perhaps four of us might be a bit much for Tovi.” She stared over the edge of the boardwalk where the kayaks launched. Hundreds of fish were jumping out of the water trying to get her attention.

“I don’t know. He says he knows humans. He must know we think there’s safety in numbers.” I smiled at her.

“She might have a point,” Kevin said. “Whatever he has planned might not happen if there are too many of us around to stop him.”

“I don’t think I can convince Tess not to be there,” I said. “She’s waited all her life for this.”

“I’m just going home,” Mary Catherine decided. “I suppose Horace will be gone until late.”

“Probably so.” I told her about our encounter at the house. “He takes being chief as seriously as he did being sheriff. He won’t rest until he knows what happened to Captain Lucky.”

Kevin nodded. “That’s his job. I’m sure you wouldn’t want him to be any different with it.”

Mary Catherine and I smiled at each other.

“All right then. I’m going home to read a little and give Baylor some extra attention,” she said. “I’ll see you later, Dae. Be careful. I’ve heard that the seafolk can be impatient with humans and even ferocious.”

“I will.” I saw Tess coming toward us on the boardwalk. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Kevin was going to stay. “I’ll sit in the corner, and he won’t even know I’m here. I don’t want to leave you alone with him, Dae.”

“She won’t be alone,” Tess said. “I know about what we’re dealing with. I won’t let either of us get into any trouble.”

“Thanks but I’ll feel better if I stay. I suppose this is something you’ve always hoped for, seeing a real merman.”

“Oh yes. A lifetime fascination for me.”

“I promise not to disturb your study of the undersea life.”

“That’s fine, Kevin,” I finally told him. “I don’t think two extra people will bother Tovi. He seemed very outgoing. Let’s go inside. I told him I’d wait for him there.”

We went into Missing Pieces, and Kevin was as good as his word, sitting in a chair toward the back of the shop while Tess and I sat on the burgundy brocade sofa. I left the front door open for my guest, my heart starting to beat faster as I realized he could be there at any time.

“Maybe I should put on some water for tea,” I said nervously.

“I doubt Tovi will want our tea,” Tess said. “I’m sure his diet is much different than ours.”

“Do you have any idea what antargatis means?” I asked her. “A friend of mine heard it mentioned, and we were wondering if it has anything to do with seafolk.”

“It’s a very old term for what may have been the first seafolk,” she said. “I’ve never heard them referred to by that name—only in text books. Where did your friend hear it?”

A gust of wind blew in from the sound. Pairs of people laughed as they walked, arm-in-arm along the boardwalk in the twinkling lights that came on right after sunset. Scents of cooking food mingled with the smell of the water.

And then there was a figure in the doorway—not Tovi.

“I am Lilly, Tovi’s sister. Are you Dae O’Donnell?”

I stood up and approached her.

Lilly was similar to her brother in height but had a smaller build. She was pale too, and her eyes changed color. But she had long greenish-tinged white hair that ended around her waist. She was as naked as Tovi had been.

“I’m Mayor Dae O’Donnell,” I introduced myself. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Dr. Tess Horner.” Tess put out one hand to the mermaid.

Lilly looked away, possibly not recognizing the custom.

“I apologize that my brother couldn’t be here. He was kept away and asked me to come in his stead. What is it that you wish of us?”

Tess giggled, but immediately put a hand over her mouth.

“Tovi was talking to me about the death of a friend of mine—Captain Lucky,” I said. “We were going to meet to talk further about it.”

She held her pointed chin high and stared at me coldly with her ever-changing eyes. “Your captain was even less than human and deserved to die.”

I saw Kevin slowly get to his feet and stand beside his chair.

“Surely you don’t mean that,” I suggested to her. “You didn’t even know Captain Lucky. Tovi was worried that we might think one of your people killed him. Do you know anything about that?”

Lilly was looking at Kevin but didn’t back down. “No doubt my brother killed him so that I would not need to.”

“Why would your brother want to kill him?” Tess asked.

“Because he made a fool of me.” Lilly turned sharply toward her. “Humans and my kind were never meant to meet. Do not summon one of us again with the coral horn. Only disaster and death can come of it.”

The three of us watched as Lilly turned and ran off the end of the boardwalk. Her splash attracted curious eyes as Tess, Kevin, and I looked off the side rail.

“Look there!” Tess shouted. “I see her.”

Kevin’s eyes followed where she pointed. We both saw the large blue and gold tail come out of the water as Lilly dove down and disappeared.

Tess put her hand to her forehead. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it. I finally saw a mermaid.”

“At least you saw a woman you believed to be a mermaid based on what Dae told you about a merman,” Kevin said.

She rounded on him. “I took pictures. Did she look human to you?”

He shrugged. “There are lots of different-looking humans, Dr. Horner, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“I know what I saw. I knew what I was looking for,” she argued. “We’ll get more proof. You’ll see. Even skeptics like you will be convinced.”

There were a few of the same blue, orange, and gold scales that I’d picked up from the pier the day Captain Lucky had died. I pointed them out to Tess who immediately put on gloves and opened plastic cases she’d had in her bag to take samples.

“What happened to the seafolk being friendly?” Kevin asked as we went back into Missing Pieces.

“Tovi was friendly, in a way. Obviously his sister, not so much.”

“I know you and Dr. Horner feel like this is a miracle, but I still think it’s a scam. It’s possible Lilly actually killed Captain Lucky and is setting us up to think a mermaid did it. You said the death looked like it was staged, Dae. She might have killed him and then come up with this idea to get out of it.”

“I don’t think that’s what this is, Kevin. I don’t understand Tovi and Lilly’s involvement with this, but I believe they do live in the sea.”

“Keeping the whole seafolk thing out of it, Captain Lucky was known for his romantic affairs. I know they’ve ruled out the gambling angle, but being dumped by the most popular man in town is definitely one of the oldest reasons for murder.”

“I haven’t told Gramps about this.” I glanced toward the door where Tess was still collecting samples. “I didn’t think he’d appreciate the mermaid angle either.”

“But he might appreciate anyone going to so much trouble to make herself appear innocent,” he concluded. “I think you should tell Horace about it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Tess came back in raptures about the samples she’d found.

“This could be more conclusive than seeing one of them.” She held one of the small plastic boxes up to the light. “I can’t wait to examine it.”

My cell phone rang. It was Gramps.

“Dae, if you want to take your friend the biologist out to the Andalusia, you’re gonna have to do it tonight. Crime scene techs are finished, and a judge has agreed to let the ship sail again tomorrow.”

“Thanks. We can do that.” I glanced at Tess and explained that we would have to go to the ship right away before everything was cleaned up.

“That’s fine with me, Dae.” Tess grabbed her bag. “This is all I came for and more than I expected. Thank you.”

Kevin insisted on going with us. I knew Gramps didn’t care since he often asked for Kevin’s opinion on things, just like Chief Michaels and Sheriff Riley did.

We rode over to the gambling ship in Kevin’s blue golf cart with signs painted all over it for the Blue Whale. There were still crowds in the streets. It was no wonder that the owners of the Andalusia wanted to reopen and take advantage of the thousands of people here for the weekend.

Tim was stationed at the end of the long pier that led to the ship. He still looked angry and confused. I knew him well enough to know that nothing had changed between him and Trudy.

“She’s still saying it’s off,” he told me as Tess and I waited for Kevin to park the golf cart. “She says I don’t know her well enough which means she doesn’t know me well enough. How am I supposed to get past that, Dae? It’s bad enough that her parents hate me.”

“Trudy’s parents don’t hate you,” I advised. “They just want what’s best for her.”

“And that’s not me. I get it. I wasn’t even good enough to take over for Chief Michaels. Instead they hired someone from outside the department who’s probably too old to work.”

I lifted a brow.

“Sorry. I got carried away. Of course your grandfather is in good shape and can handle this. But I know that’s what Trudy’s parents are thinking.”

“Mating rituals are always complicated,” Tess said. “But usually the male that doesn’t give up is the winner of the female’s affections.”

“Thanks.” Tim didn’t look as though he had any idea what she was talking about.

Kevin joined us, and it was another ride on a cart, a shiny gold one, up to the boarding ramp. All the lights on the Andalusia were on, making a gorgeous display in the darkness.

Gramps was waiting on the ship for us. I introduced him to Tess, and he shook hands with Kevin.

“I hope you’ll be able to tell us something about what happened here, Dr. Horner,” Gramps said as we walked together to the stateroom.

“I’ll do my best, Chief O’Donnell, though you may not care for my theories.”

He frowned and glanced at me. I shrugged and looked the other way. I just told him she wanted a look at it. I knew he wouldn’t like it when she started talking about seafolk.

The large room appeared almost the same as the last time I’d seen it—no Captain Lucky on the bed, thank goodness. Everything else was still covered in various forms of sea life. It was dried now as it hadn’t been when I’d found him.

“This is fascinating.” Tess walked slowly around the room, peering at everything as though it was already under a microscope. “And you say the whole room was soaking wet when you found him?”

“Yes. The rugs squished under my feet, and the walls and ceiling were wet to the touch. It reminded me of that time we pulled what was left of that old boat out of the water at the beach. Remember, Gramps?”

He nodded. “It was still like that when I came on the case. It’s dried a lot now, but some of it was wiped down by the crime scene techs too. I don’t have anything back on that information yet. But the ME says cause of death was definitely drowning. He had a sharp blow to his head which probably rendered him groggy or unconscious, but wasn’t cause of death. We think he fell into the water after that. Captain Lucky had seawater in his lungs. It probably happened off this pier.”

I thought about the scales I’d found on the pier. I knew then that they belonged to the seafolk.

Kevin frowned at me. I knew what he was thinking—Lilly drowned Captain Lucky and then pretended to be a mermaid. In that theory, I supposed Tovi would be her accomplice.