Mermaid Moon

by Colleen Coble

  “Any idea who the man might have been?” Danny asked.

  Mallory rose and paced the floor. “Dixie had never seen him before, but I’d like to know where my dad got the money to buy that big boat. Dad was a simple man—a mailman. Since Mom’s death he’d lived on about forty thousand dollars a year. Luckily, he owned the house free and clear, but that boat was easily two hundred thousand dollars. Where’d he get it?”

  Danny stroked his red mustache. “That’s a real good question, Mrs. Davis. It should be easy enough to find out how he paid for it. I’ll get back to you on that.”

  “The guy was some kind of businessman from the way Dixie described him. What if he was a loan shark or something? Maybe Dad was gambling and made enough money to buy the boat, then lost it all and was in debt to that guy?”

  Danny held up a big paw. “Come into the wind. I never knew your dad to gamble, did you?”

  The animation on Mallory’s face evaporated, and she shook her head. “He thought gamblers were the stupidest people on the face of the earth. But he was lonely. Maybe his views changed. I just don’t know what to think.”

  At the pain in her voice, Kevin wanted to go to her side and slip his arm around her waist, but he forced himself to stay where he was by the garden window.

  Danny clapped his hat back onto his head. “I’ll make some inquiries about that boat, check with some bookies I know. I don’t want you to worry. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Kevin blocked his exit to the door. “And what about the arsonist? That’s worrisome on its own, Sheriff. Someone broke into Mallory’s house in Bangor, and now someone has burned down Breakwater Cottage. It’s not just about her dad, but about her.” When the color drained from her face, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. “Someone killed her dad, and I think that same someone is after her. We have to get to him first.”

  “Ayuh, and I plan to do just that.”

  Kevin curled his fingers into fists and stared at Mallory. “We’ll keep you safe, Mallory.”

  Trust replaced the fear in her eyes. “I know you’ll both do your best, Kevin.”

  Would his best be good enough? What if he hadn’t been there today and the girls had all been in the house? The place went up so fast. They would have been overcome by smoke before they could get out.

  The bed squeaked as Mallory sat on the edge of the mattress. She felt Kevin’s presence in this house like the whisper of wind on her skin or the way the sun emerged from a cloud and caressed her arm with a hint of warmth. Everything in the house exuded his strength and compassion. If not for him, she’d have no choice but to return to Bangor and whoever waited for her there.

  She’d known he hadn’t forgiven her for what she’d done, but seeing his rage today had her rethinking her options. Maybe her dad’s insurance would pay for her to stay at Hotel Tourmaline, but sorting it all out would take time, and she didn’t have the money to stay there on her own. Kate didn’t have room, not with Claire there right now. Aunt Blanche lived too far away. The options weren’t good.

  Carol shut the door behind her and held her finger to her lips. She winked at Mallory. “Well, that didn’t turn out too badly. Nice digs, and I think I can stand to look at him over the breakfast table.”

  Heat settled in Mallory’s cheeks. “If I’d had any choice, I wouldn’t have come here.” She told Carol about the argument.

  Carol settled onto a straight-back chair by the door. “There is enough heat flowing between you two to rival molten lava. That kind of chemistry isn’t something to ignore, and he’s bound to still be mad. I can see a lot of love was there once, and I think it’s still there. You moved on, but I don’t think you ever got over him, not really. This will give you a chance to see what’s still left.”

  “There is nothing left but bad memories. He made that clear.” Mallory didn’t want to talk about it. If she let herself linger on what used to be, she’d go crazy.

  She rose and walked around the room, the wood floors cool against her bare feet. The pictures on the walls drew her attention. She studied one of Kevin holding an infant swaddled in pink. “Sadie’s a newborn here. He’s so proud.”

  “He’s a good dad. You can tell she’s his main focus. He’s lived here all his life, hasn’t he? What about his family?”

  Mallory turned and went back to the bed. It was time for all of it to come out. “His family has lived here for generations. His dad was a game warden, too, but he never wanted Kevin to go into that field. His dad dropped out of medical school when Kevin’s mom was pregnant with him. He always made Kevin feel that he’d ruined all the plans he had for his life.”

  Carol winced. “The things parents saddle their kids with.”

  She didn’t want to go there. Mallory had enough regrets of her own. “Kevin was a whiz at science, all subjects really, but he won every state science award out there. His dad wanted him to go to med school.”

  “But Kevin didn’t see it that way?”

  “Exactly. He loved being outdoors, and he wanted to protect Maine’s wildlife. He’s happiest when he’s walking the old trails and rescuing orphaned animals.”

  “He’s a caretaker at heart. You can see that with how he is with his daughter. And how he is with you, too, really. He was Johnny-on-the-spot when he found out what had happened. That would have been a good trait in a doctor too.”

  “He would have been miserable cooped up in an office all day long.” Very few people knew the truth. “Kevin was going along with it though, just to keep the peace. He started college here in Maine, and I started at a small community college. He came home to see me every weekend and never looked at another girl. We had plans for our future. He graduated college early, then got accepted to med school. Then I got pregnant.”

  Carol’s green eyes went wide and she straightened. “What? Not Haylie?”

  “No, no.” Though she’d often wished that Haylie was Kevin’s. “We were going to get married so he never went to med school. I tried to talk him into going, but I think he was glad for an excuse to do what he really wanted. I miscarried right after that, two weeks before our wedding. His parents hated me, and I felt Mom’s death was a punishment. All I wanted to do was run. So after her death, I . . . I just up and left.”

  Carol put her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Mallory. What a mess. No wonder you didn’t want to come back here. And Kevin didn’t go back to school after you called off the wedding and left town?”

  Mallory’s eyes burned as she shook her head. “He said he didn’t want to be a doctor anyway. He was accepted by the Park Service and trained to be a game warden.”

  What might have happened if she and her mother had never fought that morning? How might life have been different?

  “There’s more. It was my fault my mom died. We had a terrible argument when she found out Kevin and I weren’t going to go through with the wedding. I said some terrible things to her. Told her if I were her real daughter, she wouldn’t treat me that way.” She swallowed the boulder in her throat. “Mom was so mad and upset with me that she forgot to check the fuel gauge on her boat. When it ran out of fuel, she was stranded in the crosshairs of the storm.”

  Carol touched her hand. “I’m so, so sorry. That has to have been hard.”

  “I keep thinking about her final moments when she knew she was going to die.” Her voice broke. “I hope she knew I didn’t mean any of it. She was the best mom ever.” Mallory closed her eyes and called up her mother’s face. How many times had she wished for a chance to make it right?

  “What about his parents? I assume they were opposed.”

  “Totally opposed. They didn’t speak to him before I left, and he didn’t want to talk about them when I asked. I’ve heard through the grapevine that he hasn’t spoken to his father in years. Kevin’s younger brother, Mike, became a neurologist in Boston, so he’s the favored child in his dad’s eyes.”

  “Did you get along with them?”

  Mallory thought of the y
ears of tiptoeing around them and shook her head. “His mother always seemed a little jealous of me, and his dad was indifferent. That all escalated when Kevin told them he wasn’t going to med school. They had to blame someone, and I was the easy target.”

  Carol twisted a lock of hair around her finger. “Does he see his mom?”

  “Kevin meets her for lunch or coffee every couple of weeks, but he’s never been back to the house. His dad has never even seen Sadie. Mike has three kids, and I guess that’s enough for him.”

  Carol’s eyes narrowed. “For someone who professed no interest in the handsome game warden, you know a lot of details. Who is the grapevine that kept you informed of all of it?”

  Mallory looked away. “Aunt Blanche.” She wasn’t about to tell Carol how often she pumped her aunt for information over the years.

  “What about his mom? If that were my son, I’d take a frying pan to my husband and straighten out his attitude.”

  “I’m not sure what the situation is there. Aunt Blanche could only repeat what she’d heard, and the gossip was mostly about Kevin’s dad. Being a game warden, too, he is a public figure up here.”

  She stopped and thought again about the situation. With both of them working as game wardens, hadn’t they run into one another on occasion? How was that handled? If the opportunity came up, she would have to ask Kevin.

  SIXTEEN

  The cell phone on the table next to Kevin finally penetrated the near coma he was in. He knocked his watch to the floor as he fumbled for it. “Game warden.” His voice was hoarse.

  “Adelaide Wilson here, Kevin. You need to go to Dixie’s house right away.”

  “Dixie?” Righting the clock, he saw it was eleven. He hadn’t been asleep all that long.

  “She runs the post office on Walker’s Roost. She posted on Facebook that there was an intruder in her yard.”

  He rubbed his head. “Oh, right, sorry, I wasn’t thinking. She hasn’t called me.”

  “I tried calling her and she didn’t answer. I think something is wrong.” Adelaide sounded even more upset than she usually was.

  His feet landed on the floor. “I’ll run out there, but it’s going to be a good hour before I arrive so don’t go calling anyone else.”

  “I won’t. You’re a good boy, Kevin.”

  He grinned. She was eighty-five if she was a day, and he didn’t mind that she called him a boy. Some days he wondered where the years had gone. After jerking on his jeans and a sweatshirt, he grabbed his gun and headed for the door. A light was on under Mallory’s door, but instead of disturbing her, he left a note by the coffeepot, then drove to the harbor and boarded his boat.

  The stars were out in abundance as he rode the choppy waves and drank in the scent of the sea. Some days he wished his job involved a little less babysitting and a lot more action. He’d likely get there and find Dixie fast asleep. At least he hoped so.

  He docked his boat and climbed the hillside to the post office. Dixie’s house was behind the older building, and as he approached, he saw the porch light on and her front door standing open. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he unsnapped his holster and put his hand on the grip of his gun.

  Mounting the steps, he peered through the open door but didn’t see anyone. “Dixie? It’s Game Warden O’Connor.”

  No answer. He pushed open the screen door and stepped into the entry. The house was small and a little ramshackle on the outside with clapboards that hadn’t seen a paintbrush in at least twenty years. In spite of its exterior, the inside was neat and clean and smelled of lemon wax. The floors were old pine but shiny with care.

  He moved through the house, checking both bedrooms, the kitchen, and the living room. No one was inside the place. Back outside, he went around the side of the house to the small barn that housed her goats. The things were nuisances, often escaping their pens. He’d lost track of how many times he’d come over to help her herd them back inside. The barn door hung open, too, and a dim bulb tried valiantly to illuminate the cavernous interior.

  “Dixie?” He stopped and listened. Was that a groan?

  He quickly stepped inside and called for her again. This time he heard the groan quite clearly from one of the stalls to his right. Still on alert with his gun at the ready, he stepped to the back stall, past the one that housed the goats. They milled restlessly and bleated as he passed them.

  He saw Dixie’s bare foot before he saw her. In a red nylon nightgown, she lay crumpled in some old hay. He knelt by her side and touched her arm. It was cold so he knew she’d been out here awhile. A horse blanket hung on the wall, and he grabbed it and spread it out over her. Did he dare turn her? He pulled out his flashlight and flipped it on.

  A gash bled on her left temple, but he saw no other injuries in a cursory inspection. Her gray hair lay spread out around her. He gently rolled her over, and she winced at the light in her face, then opened her eyes. “Don’t move, Dixie. It’s the game warden.”

  “Warden.” She rolled her head from side to side. “Hurts like a nettle.”

  “What happened?”

  “There was a man.” She swallowed and lifted her head a bit. “Don’t just stand there eyeing me like a calf looking at a new gate. Help me up. I’m indecent.” She tugged at the hem of her nightgown.

  “I’m not sure you should move yet. Your head is still bleeding.”

  She made a shooing motion and sat up. “You’re as bad as an old woman. I need some tea in my belly and some ice on my head. I’m going to the house. You can come along, or stand there looking silly.”

  Shaking his head, he helped her to her feet. “Let me carry you.” He made a move to sweep her into his arms, but she smacked his arm.

  “You’ll do no such thing. There will be rumors flying that we’re having an affair before you know it. Next thing I know, Walker will throw me over.” Her back erect, she marched toward the door, though she wobbled just a little.

  Grinning, Kevin caught up with her. “There could be worse things said about me.”

  A hint of a smile lifted her weathered face. “You should be married. A tongue as glib as yours shouldn’t be loosed on single women.”

  He chuckled as he glanced around the moonlit yard. There was no sign of whoever had struck her. He waited to ask more questions until they were inside her neat kitchen sipping hot tea and eating homemade chocolate-chip cookies.

  He put down his cup. “Now tell me what happened here tonight.”

  She fixed him with a stare. “You’d better take good care of your lady, Warden. I think she’s in trouble.”

  Kevin had gotten Dixie to the sofa and had pulled a beige afghan over her. She already had more color in her cheeks, and her eyes were bright and alert. She’d already wound her gray hair into a bun and stuck a pencil in it to hold it tight. He handed her a cold washcloth.

  “I don’t think you’re going to need stitches. Once the bleeding eases off, I’ll put some butterfly tape on it. But if you’re dizzy at all or have a headache, you should go to urgent care.”

  She pressed the washcloth to her oozing cut. “You sweet thing, I’m not going to the doctor. I’m as healthy as my goats. I’d like another crack at that man though.” She pumped her fist in the air. “I should have taken a shovel to his head.”

  He pulled the armchair closer to her and took out a notepad and pencil. “Can you tell me what happened and why you think this has anything to do with Mallory?”

  “I couldn’t sleep so I was playing around on Facebook when I heard the back door creak. It only makes that sound when it’s opened so I knew someone was in the house. I shot out a message on Facebook and closed my computer.”

  Her hazel eyes narrowed, and she sat up a bit more. “I crept out of my bedroom and into the hall closet. Once I heard his steps go into my room, I went right out the door myself. I have a shotgun in the barn so I was heading for that when he caught me.”

  Imagining the scene made him wince. “He caught you in the bar
n?”

  She nodded. “I was just reaching for the shotgun when he grabbed my arm and spun me around. His head was covered with a ski mask so I can’t give you a description beyond the fact that he was about six feet tall and of average build. That’s about as helpful as a hose in a rainstorm though, I know.”

  “He mentioned Mallory?”

  She nodded and turned the cloth on her head over to the other side. “He asked what I’d told Mallory about him.”

  Kevin leaned forward. “What did he mean by that?”

  “I think he’s the same fellow who was arguing with Edmund that day out on Mermaid Point. I saw enough of his eyebrows through the mask to know he had gray hair like that guy. That’s the only thing I can come up with. They were both too far away for me to identify him even if he hadn’t been masked. But let me tell you, it sure made me wish I could have read the name of that boat.”

  “Me too. What did you tell him when he asked?”

  “I told him I gave Mallory his name. He shook me like a rag doll, then threw me into the wall.” She touched her head. “I reckon this was God’s punishment for lying, but the fellow sure got my back up. I wanted to scare him.”

  Kevin sat back and frowned. “You might have put Mallory in more danger, Dixie. If this guy thinks she’s after him, he’s likely to intensify his efforts to get to her. He’s already broken into her house in Bangor and burned down Edmund’s house.”

  “I heard about the house. It doesn’t seem possible that sweet old cottage could be gone. But the fire doesn’t seem to have been set to try to kill her. She wasn’t even inside.”

  “That’s true. We don’t know what this guy is after. I think it might have been to burn up whatever evidence he thought was inside the house.” He picked up the first-aid kit beside him on the table and opened it. “Let’s bandage that cut.”

  She didn’t flinch when he sterilized the cut and bandaged it. “I’ll run you to urgent care.”

  “I already told you I’m not going anywhere. If I need to I’ll see the doctor tomorrow. Right now all I want to do is go to bed.”