Siren's Secret

by Debbie Herbert

  And the only witness to his crimes would be dead.

  He flipped the channel to CNN, disappointed there were no more local newscasts until morning. At noon, when a Mobile news station had announced a missing woman, shown her picture on the screen and then her grieving parents, begging for information on her whereabouts, Melkie had felt a jolt of electric energy travel up his spine. He’d studied her photograph closely, a smiling twentysomething with auburn hair and sparkling hazel eyes full of youthful energy. Her name flashed on the bottom of the screen, “Alice Hargrove.” If she was such a good girl she wouldn’t have gone to that sleazy bar in the red-light district. Bitch was a whore like any other woman.

  All those people looking for poor Alice and only he knew where she lay buried. Boo-hoo. He grinned at Rebel before glancing in the left corner of the den.

  Those sparkling hazel eyes belonged to him now.

  * * *

  “Boo-boo hurt.” Eddie pointed to the middle of his forehead where a purplish knot had formed.

  Portia roused herself from the couch and yawned, the half-moons under her eyes staining her pale face.

  “Is it time to give him another ibuprofen?” Tillman asked.

  “What time is it?”

  “A little after two in the morning.”

  She rose on wobbly legs. “Yes. I’ll take a couple, too. I’m not feeling so hot myself. Come on, son.”

  They went to the kitchen as Tillman sank into the recliner and stretched out his legs. “Wake me up at two forty-five if I’m asleep,” he called out. The ability to catnap came with the job territory, but when his mom shook his arm thirty minutes later he felt worse for the shut-eye.

  “Blue light.”

  Eddie jumped in front of Tillman’s bleary field of vision, waving his arms. “Blue light.”

  Portia shook her head and sighed. “Your dad spoiled Eddie with that.”

  A pang of nostalgia caught Tillman by surprise. As a special treat, Dad used to take him and Eddie out in the patrol car late at night. Once they hit some lonely back road with no one around, Dad would turn on the sirens and blue light. They’d hoot and holler with excitement, pretending they were cops chasing the bad guys. Well, he did anyway. Eddie just liked the sound-and-light show. Tillman had outgrown it by his early teenage years, Eddie had not.

  “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll take Eddie with me this round and you can get a little more sleep.”

  Eddie ran to his room to get dressed. Portia didn’t argue. Around this house, you took sleep when you could.

  Eddie reemerged in record time wearing inside-out green shorts and an Alabama Crimson Tide T-shirt with the tag at the front instead of the back. Good enough for the middle of the night.

  His brother raced past him to the car while Tillman grabbed a couple of juice packs in the fridge. Maybe Eddie’s energy would rub off on him.

  Eddie buckled himself in as Tillman backed out of the driveway. “You buckle,” Eddie said, pointing to his seat belt. Before they were even out of the neighborhood, Eddie reached for the switch to start the show.

  “Not yet. A little farther out.” By the time they got to Dark Corners Road, Eddie was jumping up and down in the seat.

  “Now?” Eddie asked, fingers extended over the switch.

  “Go for it.”

  The dark silence erupted in a flash of blue and a wail of sound. Tillman studied Eddie’s face as he grinned and erupted in laughter. Eddie rarely laughed, but when he did, he did it unreservedly and with total abandon. They continued for miles and Tillman wasn’t sure who had the most fun, Eddie with his treat, or him watching Eddie being happy. Finally, Tillman switched it off, unable to bear the noise any longer. His ears would be ringing for a while as it was. Nothing to wake you up like a 3:00 a.m. siren.

  “All done,” Eddie said.

  “All done. I’ve got to swing by a couple of houses and then it’s back home.”

  Even Happy Hollows was quiet this time of morning. He slowed by Pellerin’s house. Officer Donnell waved from a parked cruiser. A TV still flickered from the home and the dog appeared at the window.

  “Ugly,” Eddie commented.

  Pellerin pushed aside the flimsy drapes and scowled at them. Before Tillman could stop him, Eddie’s hand shot out and flipped on the siren switch.

  Pellerin’s jaw dropped while his dog howled—as did every other dog in the Hollows. Tillman hastily turned off the siren, but it was too late. Lights blinked on at each house, doors opened and people stumbled outside to see who had been busted this time.

  He should be angry. There would probably be some complaints at the office tomorrow.

  But what the hell. Shit happened. As Tillman looped out of the dead-end street, he unrolled his window and waved to the spectators. Eddie mimicked him and did the same.

  “Let’s drive around a bit,” he said as they left. “I need to talk and you need to wind down.”

  Tillman rattled off facts about the Pellerin case in the rambling, free-association way he talked with his brother. Somehow, talking to Eddie helped crystallize his ideas.

  “...and he had a tough upbringing. Mom a prostitute, older sisters who left home early, no friends. No telling what kind of bad things he saw growing up.”

  Eddie clamped his hands over his eyes. “No see bad.”

  Tillman looked at him thoughtfully. “No see bad, huh?” An image of the victim’s mutilated faces came to mind with their empty eye sockets. “Think he got rid of the eyes because he didn’t want to see ‘bad things’? Or maybe,” he mused, “he didn’t want the women to see the bad things he would do to them. Doubt he’ll ever tell us why. Could be he doesn’t know the reasons himself.”

  Tillman drove by Pendarvis Road to check on Shelly. He gave Eddie a stern glance. “Don’t hit the siren again.” He kept one hand on the steering wheel and one hand over the switch—just in case.

  Officer Langham was parked by the house. He’d offered to spot-check during the nights as he made patrol rounds. Tillman pulled alongside him and they both unrolled their windows.

  “Seen anything?” he asked.

  “Nothing, boss. A couple of them went out for a few hours earlier, came back with a bunch of shopping bags.” Langham smiled and waved at Eddie. “You riding shotgun tonight? Donnell said you woke up half the bayou.”

  Eddie’s hand went for the switch. “Blue light.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Tillman said, stopping him in time. “Carry on, Langham.” As they eased away, Tillman noticed a light shining upstairs. Unfortunately, he’d never made it to Shelly’s bedroom so he didn’t know if she was the one awake. He pointed at the house. “That’s where your swim teacher, Miss Shelly, lives.”

  Eddie grabbed the door handle. “Go see?”

  “No, it’s too late—or early—depending on your point of view. Besides, I’m probably the last person she wants to see.” The words tumbled out, spilling from deep within as Tillman wrestled with all his confusing thoughts and poured them out to his brother. He drove past their own home, wanting to keep talking.

  “So you see...Shelly’s different. Shocked the hell out of me, actually, when she came out of the water and onto the boat.” Tillman dug in his pocket and drew out the bit of fish scale he’d salvaged. “What do you think?”

  Eddie took it and twirled the scale close to his eyes. “Pretty.”

  “Let me see.” Tillman examined it. Iridescent shades of silver, purple, pink, green and blue shimmered on its surface. “I didn’t notice that before. But you’ve got to admit this whole thing is weird. I mean—it’s not normal.”

  “Not normal,” Eddie drawled out the words, testing them in his mouth. “Not normal.” He cocked his head to one side and tapped his chest. “Like me?”

  Tillman almost ran off the road. Damn, just how much did Eddie really understand? He hesitated, thinking through his answer. “You’re special,” he said at last.

  But Eddie’s head lay against the car seat, eyes closed. Evidently, his
monologue worked as well as any sleeping pill.

  Not normal. So what if someone wasn’t normal? Who the hell was, anyway? No one in his family could be considered normal by the bayou’s small-town standards. Normal was boring and predictable. All that was extraordinary and startling originated from the uncommon. And breaking with the familiar added a freshness and zest to life.

  Tillman set the sliver of mermaid tail fin on the dashboard, where the moonlight reflected the multifaceted, twinkling pastels. The effect was magical and mesmerizing.

  He again envisioned Shelly coming out of the sea and climbing aboard the boat. But this time, now that the initial shock had worn off a bit, he recalled the graceful curve of her hip where it joined her tail fin, the glitter of her merform rippling under the moon.

  She was beautiful, perfect in her own unique way. No, she was even more beautiful and desirable because of her shifting, unlike any other women he’d ever known. Shelly had treated his difficult mom and brother with compassion and understanding. She had risked losing her only family by exposing her secret to him, and she had tried to lead him to the killer when she could have swum away. No doubt that’s what her mermaid cousins would have done in the same situation.

  I’m such an ass. Tillman slammed his fist against the dashboard. He had to get her back somehow, and hope she would forgive him.

  * * *

  One package of incredibly amazing microfiber cloths, three jars of skin-care miracle creams and a dozen pairs of bargain discount earrings later, the beam of a car headlight entering the driveway made Shelly pause over a selection of imported wines. Probably one of the cops. Even though she hadn’t been sleeping and had been mindlessly shopping online, the buzz of her cell phone had her on full alert. She picked up the phone and sighed in relief when she recognized the number.

  “Tillman? What is it?”

  “I hope the light on is from your room and I didn’t wake you.”

  “I’m up.”

  “Look out your window.”

  She pulled aside the curtain and saw Tillman exit a vehicle, phone to his ear. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. Can you let me in the back so I don’t wake your cousins?”

  “Be right there.” Shelly hastily pulled on a T-shirt and shorts and finger-brushed her hair into some semblance of order on the way downstairs. She opened the door for Tillman, taking care to lock up behind him. “If nothing’s wrong, then I hope you’re here with good news.”

  “It’s nothing to do with the case.” He stuck his hands in his uniform pockets and gazed toward the den. “I just wanted to talk.”

  Shelly silently led him to the den and turned on a Tiffany table lamp, casting the room in a soft caramel halo of light.

  She could guess where this was going. Tillman regretted his ill-treatment earlier and had come to apologize. He still didn’t want her but, being a Southern gentleman, he would try to end it graciously. She sat on the couch, folded her hands in her lap and tensed, preparing for the blow.

  Tillman stood at the window, back to her. So he couldn’t even look her in the face. Shelly stiffened her spine. “Go ahead and spit it out. You came to tell me it’s over. A mermaid girlfriend is just too weird, too freaky.”

  He spun around. “Hell, no. I came to apologize.” Tillman rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. “It was a shock seeing you like...that. And it shook me that if you had a secret that huge, well, what did I really know about you?”

  “I’m still the same person,” she said quietly. “Can’t help my genetics.”

  He sat beside her. “I realize that now. Actually, Eddie helped me figure it out.”

  A hand fluttered to her throat. “Really? How did he do that?”

  “He reminded me there are different kinds of normal.” He placed a large, callused palm over her hands. “What you are is...special.”

  She tried to read those dark gray eyes. “You don’t find my mermaid form revolting?”

  “No. I was in shock last night. Though I admit it will take some getting used to,” he confessed.

  “There’s no reason for you to get used to anything.”

  “There’s every reason. Unless you toss me to the curb.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “Couldn’t blame you if you did. I’ve been a lousy boyfriend.”

  Shelly rose and took a chair opposite Tillman, needing distance. She seemed to lose her good judgment when he was too close. “You don’t want someone like me. You may think you do at the moment, but our differences will only make us both unhappy.”

  “You can’t know that,” he argued.

  “Yes, I can. I witnessed it twenty years growing up. My parents were both miserable. Dad stifled Mom and she resented it.”

  “But I wouldn’t—”

  “Stop. Just stop.” Shelly put her hands over her face for a moment to regain her composure. “Don’t give me false hope. Do us both a favor and get a normal woman. I bet Marlena never gave you this much trouble.”

  Astonishment swept the rugged planes of his face. “Marlena? Where the hell did that come from?”

  “You mentioned her name the first time you walked in my home.” Shelly’s face warmed. “Forget it.”

  “Marlena means nothing to me. You’re the one—” He stopped and looked down at his hands. “I don’t know the right words, Shelly. All I can say is you’re the most exciting woman I’ve ever met. The first time we touched at the pool when we both bent down to pick up Eddie’s bathing suit—remember?—I wanted you then.”

  She nodded. The contact had been intense, immediate.

  “I knew we’d be good together. I just had no way of knowing how great it would be making love to you.”

  Even from six feet away, erotic heat crackled between them. She took a deep breath. “The chemistry’s hot. But it doesn’t mean we’re right for each other.”

  “Damn it, Shelly, don’t let your parents’ bad marriage convince you we would end up the same. I’m not your father, I would never stifle you.”

  “So you say. But if you insisted we move from near the sea, then—”

  “I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to.”

  Shelly’s brow furrowed and then cleared. “Because you don’t want to leave Eddie.”

  “Puts a real damper on your love life when you’re responsible for someone with special needs. Not exactly a chick magnet.”

  She jumped to his brother’s defense. “Eddie’s wonderful,” she said hotly. “Any woman would be blind not to absolutely adore him.”

  Tillman’s mouth upturned slightly and his eyes sparkled with bemused wonder. “You might be the only woman on the planet to believe that.”

  She dismissed his opinion with a shrug. “If someone loves you, nothing else should matter.”

  He raised a brow. “Exactly.”

  Damn. Threw my own words right back at me. Shelly decided on a diversionary tactic. “Shouldn’t we focus on capturing Pellerin—instead of us? I want to explain what happened that night, if you’re ready to listen.”

  “I’m doing everything possible to get him. We’ll have the bastard soon. And I can guess what happened. You saw him dump China’s body while you were swimming and he saw you. That’s why Pellerin is after you. Then you convinced your cousins to put Wang’s body on the beach so it could be found.”

  Tillman leaned forward, eyes bright with curiosity. “But what I don’t know is how you managed to get his knife.”

  Shelly grimaced. “It was nothing clever or courageous on my part. When I dove to escape Pellerin, he threw it at me and it lodged in my tail fin. I didn’t even know it until—”

  Tillman leaped to his feet, roaring. “He stabbed you?”

  She put a finger to her lips. “Shh. You’ll wake everyone.”

  “How bad did he hurt you?” Tillman’s jaw clenched as he came and pulled her from the chair.

  “Not bad. The knife lodged in the tip of my tail. When I got out of the water and my legs returned, I had a c
ut in the webbing of one foot.”

  His gaze shifted to her feet. “The day after China’s body was discovered I saw you limping when you got out of the YMCA pool.”

  “Now you know why. I kept the knife, hoping it might be useful later. We carved his name and the victim’s initials on it to help you link him to the murders.”

  “Shit. The bastard almost got you.” Tillman roughly pulled her to him. “I can’t wait to nail that psycho.”

  His voice was fierce and husky against her ear, his cheek stubble against the side of her face sexy as all get-out. Her body responded instantly. Before she lost herself in his touch, Shelly placed her hands on his chest and pulled away a few inches. His eyes darkened with desire, the pupils unnaturally large with only the faintest tinge of pewter lining them.

  She couldn’t deny him any longer. Couldn’t deny her own needs. She loved him and wanted to fight to make it work. Tillman was right; her parents’ fate didn’t have to be their fate. “If we’re going to...” She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “We have to be clear on two things.”

  He patted his pocket. “If you’re talking about condoms, we’re good.”

  She gave a throaty laugh. “Not that.”

  “Hurry up and say what you’ve got to say.” He grinned. “I’m an impatient man.”

  “If we see each other again, promise me two things. First, and most important, you can’t tell anyone we’re mermaids. Not just for us, but for the safety of the entire mermaid race.”

  “I would never tell your secret. Number two?”

  “Promise you won’t try to change me.”

  His brows drew together. “Don’t see how I could even if I wanted to.”

  “You could object to my ocean swims like Dad did with Mom.”

  “She didn’t stand up for herself?”

  Shelly nodded. “I think she always regretted it. Mom was sickly, pale and more depressed each year that passed. I won’t let a man do that—” she lowered her voice to a whisper “—no matter how much I love him.”

  “I promise on both counts.” His breath was warm against her scalp as he spoke.