A Mischief of Mermaids

by Suzanne Harper

  “Really!” Mr. Malone halted, his face bright with interest. “That sounds like an excellent lead.”

  “Exactly,” Will put in hastily. “And we want to follow it on our own, because—”

  He hesitated and cast a wild look at Poppy.

  “Because it’s time we tested our investigation skills,” she finished smoothly. “After all, we’re going to go into the family business someday, right?”

  Mr. and Mrs. Malone both stopped. Mr. Malone carefully set the tripod and telescope down on the deck. They looked at Poppy and Will for a moment, then turned to smile at each other. Even from a distance, Poppy could tell their eyes were getting misty.

  “Oh, great,” Will muttered. “They’re about to have a ‘I’m-So-Very-Proud-of-You’ moment.”

  “Oh, Emerson!” said Mrs. Malone in a trembling voice.

  “I know, Lucille,” Mr. Malone managed to choke out. “I know.”

  Will sighed loudly. “We’re taking off now, all right?” he yelled. “See you later!”

  “Wait!” Mr. Malone stepped to the railing. “Before you go, I wanted to tell you”—he paused, blinking, to clear his throat—“well, just hearing that you all want to follow in our footsteps . . . it’s every parent’s dream. . . .”

  He choked up again.

  “There, there, dear.” Mrs. Malone patted his arm, then smiled tearfully at Poppy and Will. “Your father and I are”—she took a deep breath—“we are So Very Proud of You! We can’t wait to hear about the first paranormal discovery you make on your very own!”

  Chapter

  THIRTEEN

  “I wonder what Mom and Dad would say about this discovery,” muttered Will as Franny shot up out of the water and did a somersault over their kayaks, landing with a giant splash.

  “Aggh—Franny, stop it!” said Poppy, wiping water off her face. “I don’t think they would be too pleased, actually.”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “Maybe they’d like having a mermaid in the family. They could study her close to home.”

  “All the more reason why we can’t tell them,” said Poppy.

  Franny popped up on the other side of Poppy’s kayak. “Hey, guess what?” she said. “I can breathe underwater!”

  “Yeah, that’s great, Franny,” said Poppy, distracted. “Nerissa, are you sure we’ll find Coralie at the cove—”

  She glanced over her shoulder at Nerissa and saw a stricken expression on her face.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about finding the others,” Nerissa said. “I think they’ve found us.”

  Franny stopped swimming. “Others?” she asked. “What others?”

  Suddenly, there was a swirl of water and three mermaids appeared. They were smiling strange smiles at Franny as they slowly swam around the two kayaks.

  Poppy recognized them. There was the blond girl, the one who had reminded her of Franny—what was her name? Oh, yes. Ariadne.

  And there was the girl with the spiky black hair and pointed chin. Poppy remembered her name, too. Kali.

  And the older woman with silver hair . . .

  “Hi, Coralie,” said Nerissa in a subdued voice.

  “Nerisssssa,” said Coralie, drawing out the name with a hiss. She swam closer. Franny moved her arms in the water, trying to back away, and bumped into Ariadne.

  “Don’t worry,” the blond girl crooned. “We won’t hurt you. We just didn’t know there were any other mermaids in the lake, that’s all.”

  Franny gulped. “I—I’m not really a mermaid,” she whispered.

  The other girl laughed. “You didn’t have to tell us that,” she said. “Your skin is too pink and your eyes are too warm. In fact, I’d think you were human if it weren’t for—”

  “That tail,” said Ariadne. “Although it does look rather familiar. . . .”

  She dove under the water, then reemerged on the other side of Franny. She shook her head, drops of water scattering in the sun, and directed a cold smile at Nerissa.

  “Why, it looks a bit like Nerissa’s tail,” she said innocently. “How could that be?”

  Kali dove down as well, then emerged from the water on the other side of Poppy’s kayak, laughing. “And Nerissa has what look like”—she tried to stifle her giggles and failed—“human legs!”

  Ariadne’s mocking laughter joined Kali’s. Nerisssa blushed.

  Coralie narrowed her eyes. “Now, then,” she said. “What is this all about?”

  Poppy couldn’t help feeling sorry for Nerissa. Apparently, letting one’s cloak out of one’s possession was one of the worst things a mermaid could do. When Nerissa confessed that she had stuffed her cloak in a backpack and gone off to spend time with mortals, her voice barely rose above a whisper.

  “How could you be so careless!” said Coralie. “It’s bad enough that you had to run away and try being human. Still, everyone gets a little restless when they’re young; everyone wants to take a few risks. But to let your cloak out of your sight and then to have it stolen by a mortal—”

  “I. Didn’t. Steal. It,” said Franny. “I just tried it on.”

  Coralie tilted her head to one side and looked closely at Franny. “You knew it wasn’t yours, did you not? And I’m sure Nerissa told you not to touch it.”

  “Well, yes.” Franny bit her lip and looked embarrassed. “But I couldn’t help it! It was so beautiful. . . .”

  Her voice trailed off. For a long moment, there was nothing but silence.

  Then Coralie smiled.

  Poppy’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Coralie’s smile was warm and friendly and forgiving. It should have made Poppy feel better, but it didn’t. Instead, it made alarm bells go off in her head.

  “Of course, my dear. I quite understand.” Coralie’s voice had changed, too. It was as warm and melting and sweet as honey on hot toast. “The temptation must have been impossible to resist—especially since the color looks simply stunning with your eyes.”

  For the first time since the mermaids had arrived, a slight smile appeared on Franny’s face. “It does?”

  “Absolutely!” said Ariadne. She swam over to Franny. “And your hair is lovely,” she added. “Almost as nice as mine.”

  She lifted a strand of her own hair, then dropped it. It fell to her shoulder in a perfect curl.

  Franny gulped. “Th-thank you,” she said. “Ho-how do you keep your hair looking so great? I mean, if you’re in the water all the time—”

  Ariadne cast her eyes down, as if embarrassed by the compliment, but Poppy could see her sly smile. “I’ll show you if you like,” Ariadne said. “You will see. Your hair will be the envy of every mortal.”

  “That would be great!” said Franny, beaming. “Thank you so so so much!”

  Poppy frowned. Why were Coralie and Ariadne being so nice all of a sudden? The alarm bells got louder.

  “Er, Franny, listen,” said Poppy. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea—”

  She was interrupted by a Jet Ski zooming by. Poppy caught a glimpse of Colt’s white-blond hair, then the Jet Ski slipped in between two sailboats and was gone. She turned to see Franny sighing and gazing wistfully after the Jet Ski.

  Kali’s sharp eyes had noticed it, too.

  “Do you know that person?” she asked Franny. “Do you like him?”

  Franny blushed. “No, of course not,” she said, too quickly. “I mean, I do know him, his name is Colt, he’s my friend Ashley’s brother, but I’m not interested in him at all. . . .”

  Ariadne met Kali’s eyes. They both smirked.

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” Kali said, “Because if you did like him—”

  “We could show you how to make him notice you,” said Ariadne.

  Franny hesitated. “Really?”

  “Don’t listen to them, Franny,” said Nerissa.

  Poppy twisted around in her seat. From the look on Nerissa’s face, she was hearing the same alarm bells as Poppy.

  “Why not?” Franny swam closer to Ariadn
e and Kali. “They’re just being nice.”

  “Nice!” said Nerissa in disgust. “Mermaids aren’t nice. And we’re not friendly or helpful or kind, either. Those two are up to something.”

  But Franny wasn’t listening.

  “Try turning your head like this,” suggested Ariadne, tilting her head and glancing up from under her eyelashes. “Then look like this”—a teasing smile appeared on her lips—“and then wave like this. . . .”

  She fluttered her fingers in the air.

  Franny copied her exactly.

  “Perfect,” said Kali, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Before you know it, you’ll have boys jumping off their boats to be with you.”

  “Oh, yuck,” muttered Will.

  “How long do we have to listen to all this girl stuff?” asked Henry, making a face.

  Coralie raised an eyebrow. “Girl stuff?” she repeated, outraged. “May I remind you that we are mermaids?”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we know. But still . . . this is kind of gross. No offense.”

  Coralie gazed at him speculatively for a moment. “None taken, I’m sure,” she said coolly.

  Then she waved a hand in the air, rather like a conductor giving an orchestra the cue to begin.

  Immediately, Kali and Ariadne swam over to join her. The three mermaids turned to face the kayaks and began singing.

  Poppy shivered. The song sounded like nothing she had ever heard before. The music was haunting and unearthly; the words slipped away as soon as they were sung, so that they remained frustratingly out of reach. She frowned, concentrating harder. If only she could pick up one or two phrases, something that she could write in her logbook later on. . . .

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a mighty splash. Poppy turned to see Henry in the lake, treading water and staring at Kali with a dazed expression.

  Kali flashed him a beguiling smile. He began swimming toward her.

  “Henry! What are you doing?” Will shouted.

  Ariadne began singing again. This time, she was singing a song that seemed to slip up and down the scales. It sounded like golden sun pouring on a meadow of flowers, like a summer breeze floating down a country lane, like cool water rippling over river rocks—

  Splash!

  Poppy blinked in disbelief. Now Will was in the water, too, and swimming straight for Ariadne.

  “Will, Henry, come back!” she shouted. “Get back in the kayak.”

  But Will and Henry kept swimming with that same dazed look on their faces.

  Coralie lazily circled Poppy’s kayak. “I don’t think they want to leave us,” she murmured, her gray-green eyes bright with amusement. “Perhaps all that gross girl stuff is more powerful than they thought. . . .”

  Poppy glared at her. “What are you doing to them?”

  “Why, nothing,” Coralie said innocently. “We’re just singing. Nothing more.”

  “Right,” snapped Nerissa. “And that song will make them swim until they’re so tired they can’t swim anymore and then they’ll drown. Cut it out, Coralie!”

  The amused look in Coralie’s eyes vanished. “I must have heard you incorrectly, Nerisssa,” she said. “Surely you didn’t just give me an order? Not when your friends are all in such danger?”

  Poppy caught her breath. She looked at Will and Henry, who were doggedly swimming around Ariadne and Kali, and at Franny who was humming to herself as she floated in the water, practicing a flirtatious wave.

  “Please stop,” said Poppy.

  Coralie gave her a long look, as if she was trying to decide what to do.

  “Please,” Poppy said again. “We need your help.”

  “Hmm.” Coralie tilted her head to one side and smiled faintly. “Well. Since you asked so politely—”

  She waved her hand again. Instantly, the singing ended.

  Will and Henry stopped swimming. They looked at each other, then glanced around, as if puzzled to find themselves in the water.

  “Hey,” said Henry, “what happened?”

  “Yeah, I don’t remember getting out of the kayak,” said Will, frowning.

  Kali and Ariadne snickered. Coralie contented herself with a cool smile.

  “Precisely,” she said, flicking a glance at Poppy. “Perhaps you will think twice before you mock mermaids again, hmm?”

  “Look, can someone tell us what happened—” Will began.

  “Just get back in your kayak!” said Poppy. “I’ll explain later.”

  As Will and Henry swam to their kayak, Kali said, “Come on, Franny. Let’s swim over to those boats.” She pointed to a few sailboats tacking their way across the water. “They’ll be telling the story about how they saw mermaids at the lake for years!”

  “Ooh, yes, let’s!” said Franny, her eyes sparkling as she began swimming away. “That sounds like fun!”

  “Wait a minute,” said Nerissa. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Franny stopped long enough to give her a bored look. “What?”

  “You’ve got to change places with me,” Nerissa snapped.

  “Oh, right,” said Franny as her attention drifted back to the Jet Ski, which was now roaring toward them. “But you know, I feel as if I’m where I’m supposed to be right now—”

  She dove under the water, then reemerged moments later on the other side of the kayak.

  Coralie glanced from Franny to Nerissa, a thin smile on her face. “And you certainly look as if you’re in your element,” she purred. “What would be the harm in staying a mermaid for just a little longer?”

  “Coralie!” Nerissa’s face was white with shock. “You don’t want to keep her with you, do you? I mean, she’s a—a mortal.”

  The older mermaid lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “Well, dear, you were the one who wished to walk on land,” she pointed out. “And Franny seems to enjoy being a mermaid. What’s the harm in giving you both a day of fun?”

  Poppy said, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, do you, Franny?”

  “What?” asked Franny vaguely.

  Ariadne and Kali moved closer to Franny and began swimming lazily around her. Every once in a while, they would cast a slyly amused glance at Poppy.

  Franny didn’t notice. She was too busy slowly moving her arms back and forth in the water and watching the ripples she made with a rapt expression. “Look, isn’t that pretty?”

  “Listen to me!” said Poppy sharply. “You were terrified when you turned into a mermaid. So now you want to change back to a girl, right?”

  Franny looked up from the water and smiled dreamily. “Sure,” she said. “But let’s do it tomorrow. I’ll meet you in the cove after breakfast and we’ll change places then.”

  “An excellent solution!” said Coralie.

  Poppy glanced at Nerissa, who was chewing her lip and frowning. “What do you think?” Poppy asked in a low voice.

  Nerissa shrugged. “I guess I can wait one day,” she said grudgingly.

  “Okay,” said Poppy. “Tomorrow after breakfast.” She hesitated. “Franny, you will remember, won’t you?”

  “Of course,” Franny said, but she sounded as if her mind was someplace else. “I won’t forget, I promise.”

  And then she dove into the water and disappeared.

  Chapter

  FOURTEEN

  When they got back to the houseboat, Poppy was nervous that her parents would ask if they’d seen any signs that UFOs had landed, such as burned circles on the ground or strange lights in the sky. And she was afraid that they might decide to call Franny, just to make sure that it was all right for her to spend so much time on her new friend’s boat.

  She shouldn’t have worried. As soon as they got back, Mr. Malone pounced.

  “We’ve been waiting for you,” he said. He was sitting at a table on the deck and peering down at a half dozen photos. “Just look what I have here!”

  They gathered around the table and peered over his shoulder. Each photo showed a series of
blurry lights lined up in a V shape.

  “Your mother just developed the photos we took the other night,” Mr. Malone said. “Look at that pattern of lights! Aliens are clearly sending us a message. The only question is—what are they trying to tell us?”

  There was a short silence as everyone stared blankly at the photos.

  “The lights are in a V shape,” Mrs. Malone suggested helpfully. “Let’s put our thinking caps on. What could that mean?”

  “V for Victory?” Poppy suggested.

  Mrs. Malone frowned. “What sort of victory?”

  Henry brightened. “Maybe they are planning to invade,” he said. “And they’re planning to win.”

  “You can’t declare victory before you attack,” Will said scornfully. “I think that looks like a slice of pie.”

  “You’re just hungry,” said Poppy. “That doesn’t look anything like a piece of pie.”

  “It does if you squint,” Will insisted. “Maybe that’s what the aliens are saying. They’re hungry. And they like pie.”

  “Okay, if we’re going with a food theory, it could also be a slice of pizza,” Poppy pointed out.

  Will nodded seriously. “So the real question before us is this—is it more likely that an advanced race would travel interstellar distances for a cheese and pepperoni pizza? Or for an apple pie? Our phone lines are open.”

  Mr. Malone swept the photos together and picked them up. “I can’t believe my own offspring are mocking a serious scientific endeavor,” he said. “When I was growing up, children had a sense of curiosity. They were filled with wonder at all the mysteries the world had in store. They spent time observing the world around them, noticing the odd, the unusual, the unexpected. . . .”

  Poppy had heard this lecture many times before. She glanced over her father’s shoulder and saw Franny leap from the water, do a double somersault, and dive back into the lake.

  “The strange, the mysterious—” intoned Mr. Malone.

  As if to cap off her performance, Franny turned her tail as she hit the water and slapped the surface with a resounding smack. Water flew through the air, wetting everyone on the houseboat deck.

  “They didn’t dismiss or ignore things that were unusual,” went on Mr. Malone, dashing water from his eyes. “They paid attention—”