“Yeah, why?”
“Because I think Don would be a kick-ass analyst.”
“I agree, but he doesn’t have the training.”
“And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Is there anything the police department can do to help him? Like an on-the-job training program, or an entry-level position that would help him pay for the education? A student worker position? Anything like that?”
Petreski was quiet for a minute, pulling a slice of pizza onto his plate and licking the grease off his fingers. “I don’t know. I’ll see what I can find out, okay?”
“Yes! That would be great! Thank you!” I grabbed him in a bear hug and he laughed, balancing his plate.
“Okay, okay. But I can’t make any promises. There may not be anything. But if there is, I’ll find out.”
I released him and turned my attention to the pizza, but part of my mind was still going over the conversation Ruby – and I – had overheard.
“She has a secret. Or she knows something someone else doesn’t want her talking about. She’s in some kind of trouble.”
“Hmm?” Petreski grunted around a mouthful of pizza.
“The blonde lady. She said she hadn’t told anyone. So she knows something that someone else doesn’t want her telling, I guess?”
There was a flash of light outside, and the lights flickered in time to the thunderclap that followed.
“It’s getting worse,” Petreski said, glancing at the window. “What kind of secret, you have to wonder. Is she blackmailing someone – or is someone blackmailing her, maybe?”
“It sounded like she needed help, but not from whoever she was talking to. She said she wasn’t asking for anything. And then she told Ruby that they were on their own.”
“Pregnant? Or financial trouble? It’s all just speculation at this point.”
We were silent for a minute, eating and listening to the rain, which had started coming down in earnest.
“It’s going to flood tonight.”
“Yeah. Class will probably be cancelled tomorrow.”
“How’s that going?”
“Fine,” I shrugged. “I’m just getting pre-reqs out of the way at this point. I’ll start getting into the good stuff when the fall semester starts.”
“The good stuff?”
“Abnormal psychology, that kind of thing.”
Petreski snorted and wiped his face with a paper towel.
“What’s so funny?”
“You should take paranormal psychology!” He started laughing, and then laughed harder when I just kept looking at him.
“Ha ha, very funny.” I took a drink of my beer. “I would, though, if they offered it. Maybe I’d learn something useful.”
He stopped laughing at that. “Sorry.”
“Why?”
“I shouldn’t laugh. It’s obviously bothering you.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, it really isn’t. I just wish I understood it better.”
After a couple of minutes I got up and opened a window so I could see outside. There was a yellowish glow from a streetlamp across the street, and I could see water starting to build up along the curb.
“What do squirrels do when it rains?”
“Squirrels? I don’t know. Are you worried about Raymond?”
“Yeah.”
I heard him get up from the sofa and felt his arms come around me from behind. He rested his chin on my shoulder and leaned his head against mine. “He’ll be okay. He knows what to do. Can you sense him?”
“He’s out there, I can tell.”
“Is he worried?”
I tried to relax, to sense Raymond’s chittering consciousness. He felt annoyed, but not frightened.
“He’s fine, I think.”
“Leave the window up a little if it makes you feel better.”
I nodded, and my back felt cold when he turned to go back to his pizza slice.
“You should stay tonight,” I said, flopping down next to him and reaching for my beer.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Hillebrand?”
“No, I just don’t want you to drown, Boo.”
“Oh.” I could hear him pouting, I swear.
“Well, maybe a little of both.”
“Good answer.”
He reached down, threading our fingers together, and we listened to the storm move in.
No One Likes Getting Wet
The grass was wet and I didn’t want to walk on it. A raindrop landed on my nose and I shook my head, not liking the sensation.
“Come on, Ruby. Don’t be such a princess.”
I looked up and saw the blonde lady looking down at me, her face framed by an umbrella. I whined and she smiled.
“I know, sweetie. But if you’ll just do your business we can go back inside, okay?”
Ruby’s full bladder must have won out over her aversion to wet feet, and a few minutes later the blonde lady picked her up and I could see the scene from a new perspective. We were on a street without curbs, and there was a water-filled ditch next to the sidewalk. It looked like the area a little north and west of where I lived, where the houses and lots were smaller, and gentrification hadn’t made as many inroads.
The lady turned, and headed up a walkway to a wood frame house with a covered porch. She put Ruby down just inside the front door, telling her what a good girl she was, and I could feel Ruby’s pride in a job well done as she trotted to the kitchen.
I heard the water running – it sounded like the bathtub being filled. Ruby sniffed at her food dish. It looked like a fresh serving of canned food had been spooned into the bowl. Ruby took a few bites of the food before lapping up a big drink of water. There was a dog bed in the corner, and Ruby headed for it, yawned, and my view of Ruby’s world tilted to one side before she closed her eyes and we both slept.
❧
I wasn’t sure what time it was when I woke up the next morning – was it dark because it was early, or dark because of storm clouds? I leaned over so I could look through the blinds without getting out of bed. The street was quiet, and there were puddles in the low spots. The streetlight was still on.
I checked my phone, decided six-thirty was a reasonable hour to be awake, and opened the weather app on my phone. There was flooding in the low-lying areas, and some of the bayous were over their banks. Morning classes were cancelled, which meant a free day for me. I got up to fix a pot of coffee and took a quick shower.
Refreshed, and with a hot cup of wake-up juice, I slipped back into bed and reached for my e-reader. I gave Petreski a nudge with my foot and he groaned, shifting away from me.
“Foot’s cold. Ass.”
“Mm. There’s coffee.”
“Ngh. What time is it?”
“Sevenish. I don’t have class today. What time do you have to be at work?”
“Ten.” He yawned and slid out of bed. “You said coffee, right?”
“Yep.” I slurped at the cup in my hand. “Hot and fresh. Get it while it lasts. Top up my cup and I’ll tell you about my dream.”
“Dream? I don’t remember you waking up last night.” He brought the pot over and poured more coffee into my cup.
“I didn’t. It was, I don’t know, different somehow.” I told him about the dream, about how it seemed normal, which was strange because I never dreamed about normal things.
Petreski didn’t have any brilliant insights, but he hadn’t even finished his first cup of coffee so I wasn’t really expecting much. He climbed back in bed a minute later, cup in hand, and looked over my shoulder. “What are you reading?”
“A book.”
“What kind of book?”
“Fiction.”
“You’re only this cagey when it’s paranormal romance. More werewolves?”
“No.”
He leaned in closer to the screen. “Finn’s Fins? What’s that about?”
“If you must know, apparently the new thing is mermaids. Or mermen, as the case may be
.”
“Mermen. Okay. And before you ask – no, I’ve never met a merman. Or a mermaid.”
“I wasn’t going to ask. Sheesh.” I was totally going to ask.
“Okay, my bookworm,” he leaned over to kiss my cheek, “I have to get going. Don’t spend all day reading merman books.”
❧
I finished Finn’s Fins and decided to swear off merman books. I preferred my shifters with fur, both on and off the page. I mean, seriously... humans were mammals, and fish were, well, fish. How could someone be part mammal and part fish? How would that even work, biologically speaking? It was only ten-thirty – too early for deep thoughts or lunch, but I had skipped breakfast and my stomach was growling.
I got dressed and checked the weather again. The water levels were going down, no more rain was expected for at least a couple of days, and I had a kitchen full of food.
I went across the landing and knocked on Don’s door. “I can hear you moving around in there. You need to come help me eat some of this food we bought.”
“What?” Don opened his door and squinted at me. “It’s not even eleven. It’s too early for lunch.”
Bridger slipped by him and hopped across the hall and through my open door. “Hah! Got your cat! Groceries, dude. Peanut butter pancakes for brunch.”
“That sounds disgusting,” Don said, but followed me back across the hall.
I told Don about my dream while I fixed the pancakes. He didn’t have any ideas either, so we decided not to think about it for a while.
I wouldn’t say the pancakes were disgusting, but I wouldn’t be saving that recipe. “Maybe if we had some bananas?”
“Probably not.” Don shook his head.
My phone rang, and Don took the plates to the kitchen to start cleaning up.
“Ooh! It’s Petreski!”
“Keep it clean while I’m here!” Don called from the kitchen.
“I’m not allowed to talk dirty because Don’s here,” I said as I accepted the call.
“Um, good, because I’m at a crime scene.”
“Why would you call me from a crime scene?” I asked, although I had a pretty good idea why.
“I’m sorry, Jake, but I need you to come down here right away. Allen Parkway at Waugh.”
“What is it?”
“When the water went down in Buffalo Bayou this morning, someone found a body.”
What the Rains Left Behind
I parked as close as I could get to where Petreski told us to meet him, and we walked towards the scene, stopping when we reached the line of yellow tape. I texted Petreski to let him know we were there, and then we waited, trying not to look like rubbernecking ghouls. The smell of bat guano was strong in the heat and I already felt queasy, even without looking at a body. I felt Don’s elbow dig into my ribs and jumped.
“What?”
He nodded towards the scene and I turned to see what had caught his attention.
Detective Perez was heading straight for us, her curls bouncing like angry little snakes and her Dr. Martens squeaking on the wet grass. Her scowl was even fiercer than usual, and I wondered what I had done now. But whatever had her in full-on Valkyrie mode, it wasn’t me, because she stormed right by us without a glance. We watched her climb into an unmarked car, and I winced when the door slammed.
“Wow,” I said. “At least it wasn’t me this time.”
“She looked really upset,” Don said.
“She always looks like that.”
“No.” Don shook his head. “This was different.”
We both started when the tires of Perez’s car screamed as she sped off.
“Yeah. I think you’re right.”
I turned back towards the activity below, and saw Petreski climbing the hill, his face grim.
“What’s with Perez?” I asked him, when he was close enough.
“Later,” he answered, barely moving his lips.
“So, is it... did you want me here because it’s...”
“Maybe. It could be an accident, a drowning. We don’t know yet, but until we do we have to treat it as a suspicious death. And between us, based on what you told me, I’m inclined to label it a homicide.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just looked over at Don, then back at Petreski, waiting for him to fill us in.
“The victim is Lana Forrester. Does the name ring a bell?”
I shook my head.
“No,” Don said.
“Her roommate has identified her.” Petreski gestured over his shoulder to where a young African-American woman was talking to a uniformed officer. She was crying, and looked like she was on her way to the gym or out for a run, in jogging shorts and a tank top, but what drew my attention was the Chihuahua she held in her arms.
“That dog...”
“It’s the victim’s dog, and her name is Ruby.”
“Shit,” Don whispered.
“Yeah,” Petreski and I responded in unison.
“But if you know all this already,” I asked, “why are we here?”
“Because if Lana Forrester is the woman you’ve been having the dreams about, I need to know for sure. And I need you to look around, see if you recognize anyone else, like the man you saw her with the other night.”
“Do I have to, you know, look at her?”
“Not in the flesh, no. I have a picture on my phone – just of her face. Are you okay with that?”
I nodded, and he gave my shoulder a quick squeeze – as much affection as I knew he would allow himself at a crime scene. “Thanks. Ready?”
I nodded again, and he held up his phone. The woman on the screen was definitely dead, and she was definitely the woman I had seen at the restaurant and in my dreams. Her face was pale and looked waxy, with dark shadows around her eyes and the color leeched from her lips, but it was her. I could feel the burn of tears at the corners of my eyes and blinked hard. Don put an arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him.
“Is it her?” Don asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I hate to ask, but can you look around? See if you recognize anyone? The man from the restaurant – is he here?”
I stepped away from Don and scanned the scene. The slope leading down to the water was dotted with uniformed officers and forensic techs. A couple of people were kneeling over Lana Forrester’s body, mostly blocking her from my view. Along the top of the slope, behind the yellow crime scene tape, a smattering of onlookers watched the activity. Beyond them I could see a van from one of the local news stations setting up.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? Look again, at everyone. I need you to be sure.”
There was an edge in his voice that got my attention. “What are you not telling me? What am I really looking for?”
“You think it’s someone inside the scene, don’t you?” Don asked.
Petreski didn’t answer, which was all the answer I needed. I looked again, focusing this time on the officers milling around. I think if he suspected one of the techs, Petreski would have pulled them already.
“That’s him!” I gasped, stopping myself from pointing at the last moment.
“Where?”
“In uniform, talking to the bald guy in the grey suit.”
“Shit.”
“You knew it was him, though, right?”
“Jake, I need you to go home now.”
“What? Why?”
“Jake, please. I’ll explain later, but this is a giant fuster-cluck and I need you out of it, okay?”
I sighed, annoyed at being shuffled off home, but I nodded. “Fine.”
As Don and I turned to go I took a last look at Ruby, trembling in the roommate’s arms. I looked up, but the young woman was looking at the dark-haired cop I’d seen with Lana. She turned suddenly, and our eyes met for a moment before I turned and followed Don back to the car.
Don Finds a Mermaid. Kind Of.
“Talk to me, Jake. What�
�s going on in that head of yours?”
I shrugged and slouched lower in the passenger seat. I hadn’t even tried to argue when Don took my car keys. He didn’t say anything else and we were home in a few minutes.
About two minutes after I let myself into my apartment and threw myself down on the sofa, Don opened the door without knocking and plopped Bridger down in my lap on his way to the kitchen.
“Huh?” I started scratching the spots behind Bridger’s ears that I knew he liked. “Hey there, little man.”
“You looked like you could use a cat and a beer. That’s the cat, and this is the beer.”
I yelped when I felt a cold bottle against the back of my neck, but reached up to take the drink.
“Best. Friend. Ever,” I said, after taking a big swallow.
“Yeah. And that gets me peanut butter pancakes.”
I snorted and took another swallow. Bridger pulled himself up to rub his face on my chin and I stroked his belly. “He’s not getting very big yet.”
“Vet says he probably won’t get real big. He won’t be a bruiser like your Boo. He was probably the runt, and with the missing leg he probably couldn’t compete well with his littermates for food. But he’s healthy and happy now.”
“That’s what matters.”
“Yep.”
We didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Bridger squirmed around on my lap for a while before sprawling out on the sofa between Don and me and falling asleep.
“I wonder how Ruby’s doing.” I decided to start by focusing on the dog.
“Hmm. I’m wondering why you didn’t have more dreams last night.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, with Wilton you were there for all of it. Murphy couldn’t protect his owner, but he was there, and so were you.”
“Ruby must have slept through it.”
“Slept through what, though? The last thing you remember was going to sleep. It seems like if someone came into the house, or if Lana left, Ruby would have woken up.”
“Yeah. Little dogs are always yapping about something, right? I mean, if there was an intruder, Ruby would be sounding the alarm.”
“So why didn’t she?”
“Maybe she knew whoever came. Or if Lana left, she wasn’t worried so Ruby didn’t worry. And if Miss Nancy’s right, if Ruby wasn’t worried she might not be broadcasting.”
Not a Mermaid Page 3
