by Erin Johnson
I gulped and whispered, "You dropped your disguise."
He inhaled sharply.
"Seriously—be careful."
He nodded, squeezed my hands, and turned around, threading his way through the small, packed hull. I kept my eyes on him until he shouldered up to Chuck and the circle gathered around him.
"So Wiley's all jellied up and Princey can't keep up his disguise around you. This is going to go well when the pirates figure it out," Iggy grumbled.
I shushed him, scanning the crowd, and made my way over to a small group of pirates in the corner. They squatted low on crates or their haunches. I tried to blend into the crowd of scarred, leathery seamen as best I could.
A skinny old guy with an eye patch held his trembling hands aloft. The flickering torchlight cast moving shadows across his face. "I saw it, I did. An eye as big as the ship and as yellow as the sun. It rose from the sea on a wave, then disappeared below it." He shook his head. "Wasn't no storm causing those ship-wreckin' waves—'twas the monster! Kicking up swells as big as cities with its tail."
A hush followed. I wiggled my fingers. "Ooh. So scary." I laughed. "Now you want a real spooky story, back where I'm from there's a man they call R. L. Stine, and he's got a story about a girl who moves—"
The old pirate slammed his metal cup down on the crate beside him. Brandy sloshed over the side, and he fixed me with a fearsome stare from his good eye. "That ain't no ghost story, girl. I saw it, I did!" He jabbed at me. "I saw it seventy years ago, back when we had to worry about monsters in the deep, and I saw it again, just last week." He turned to the other pirates, who hung on his every word. "If you think the seas be safe, you're in for a rude awakenin'."
I frowned. "You saw this monster last week?"
He nodded. "Aye. When the kingdoms came together and banished the monsters to the Badlands, they must've missed one or two." He narrowed his eye. "Or they're gettin' loose somehows."
I really hoped these were the hallucinogenic ramblings of a sea-addled old brain. Another pirate, this one young and blond, shook his head. "I've seen it, too. Waves that seem to have a mind of their own. They follow your ship—it's unnatural."
Another leaned forward, dark bags beneath his eyes. "My brother was on the Seawitch, the ship that went down two months ago—’twas monsters, I say. Sand rest his soul."
The other pirates bowed their heads for a moment. The old skinny pirate spoke again. "We been losing ships, cargo, men—unlike anything I seen in the last seventy-odd years." He shook his head. "It be monsters, I tell yeh, monsters of the deep."
I shuddered. Maybe he was right. Maybe this had something to do with Monsters Rise—maybe Horace meant they will rise and attack again. But then, why did he tell me to find it? The wording seemed odd. "So…." Back to my info-finding mission. "You know that mermaid Bubbles—do you think a monster could've killed her?"
The old guy scoffed. "That girl? Nah. She bought the brandy from us—that's about as close to monsters as she got."
I lifted a brow. "She was your contact? Not Winnie?"
He shook his head and frowned. "Why do you think the queenie ain't here tonight? She don't know about this dealin'. We'd be 'fraid of word getting back to her dear ol' grannie. Back in her day, we couldn't smuggle in so much as a contraband fork, much less monster brandy. Winnie's got much slacker rules, which is good for us pirates, and we want to keep it that way."
I nodded. Interesting…. I thanked them, grabbed Iggy, and moved on as they launched into more stories. Hank still chatted it up with the pirate king, while Maple propped a swaying Wiley up in the corner. Sam wiggled and gyrated in the middle of a dance circle, while the others clapped and sang a sea shanty. And K'ree kicked her feet in the pool beside the mermaids. Valonzy lounged against the side of the hole with a goblet of brandy in her hand, Geoffrey Clarke standing just behind her.
A shout startled me. A couple of pirates drew their swords and jabbed the tips just under Hank's throat. He lifted his hands, his Yann disguise flickering in and out of place. Oh no! I rushed forward, but Fowler threw an arm out, stopping me.
"Hold, lassie. Let's see wha' this is."
I glared at him, but couldn't push past. I rose on my toes to see what was happening. Captain Chuck grabbed Hank by the collar and his disguise dropped completely.
"You lying, two-faced snitch!" Chuck growled into Hank's face.
Hank's nostrils flared and he flushed bright red. "I can explain."
Chuck turned and scanned the crowd. "Nab the others." Pirates closed in around Wiley and Maple, K'ree, Sam, and me. My heart pounded in my chest.
"Don't want to say I told you so, but…."
My hands trembled. "Iggy, so not the time."
"The others had nothing to do with this," Hank ground out between clenched teeth. His wide eyes found mine.
Chuck scoffed, his green eyes hard. "Like sea snakes they didn't." He threw an arm out and paced, his boots scuffing along the rough wooden planks. "They abused our trust to sneak you in—Prince!" He spat the word.
Hank's eyes narrowed and he lifted his chin, as if the swords weren't pointing directly at his throat. My breath caught. "I want to make a deal with you—"
Chuck barked out a laugh. "I'm sure you do!" He lifted his arms wide and the other pirates chuckled.
"—for information on the Badlands Army." Hank lifted a brow. "We'll pay and, since I'm feeling generous, we won't throw you in prison."
Chuck stopped pacing and faced him. He grinned. I couldn't believe I'd ever found that face handsome—the lowlife pirate!
He sneered. "And what's to say we don't just kill you?"
"Um, like, no!"
The room turned as one to find Queen Winnie treading water in the hole to the lagoon. She wiggled her fingers in a wave when everyone turned to look her way.
"Win. When did you—" Chuck stumbled.
"When did I find your secret lair? I followed you idiots—you think you're so secretive." She pouted and crossed her arms under her bosom. "Why wasn't I invited?"
Chuck crouched by the side of the water and held out his hand to his lady. "Winnie… it's just, we have some, uh, illegal substances and I didn't want to embroil you in any scandals."
She snorted. "Like that's ever stopped me." She narrowed her eyes at her fiancé. "Promise you won't leave me out of any after-parties ever again."
He crossed his heart with his pointer finger. "Hope to die."
She giggled and took his hand, and he pulled her to the side beside him. They kissed, while Iggy and I exchanged looks. What was going on?
Chuck stood again. "Sorry, babe, but I've got a lying piece of flotsam prince to kill."
She snorted. "Um, like I said—no!"
Chuck clicked his tongue. "But babe—"
"I said no." She planted her hands on her hips, where her tail started. "He's hot… and, like a prince, and we're supposed to work with the Water Kingdom. It wouldn't be good for politics and stuff."
Chuck let out a heavy sigh, rolled his lined eyes, and waved off his pirates. "Fine—let him go."
The pirates lowered their swords, and I released the breath I'd been holding. Chuck sneered. "Hope you're happy, Win. Now he's probably going to have his inspector arrest us all."
Hank cleared his throat and stepped forward through the tight crowd of pirates. "I should—but I meant what I said earlier. Information on the BA is more valuable to me. You keep up the semblance of a brandy trade, and in exchange for information on the BA, we'll pay you more than you'd get from the mermaids." He glanced at Sam. "So long as you release the lizards unharmed, and keep this secret."
A collective groan went up from the pirates and mermaids alike. Fowler looked on the verge of tears. "Not our special brandy!"
Winnie rolled her eyes. "Oh relax, ya dumb-dumbs. We got plenty a weird stuff we can get jellied on."
Fowler scrunched his nose. "Tha's true." The pirates nodded.
Chuck sighed, then shook the hand Hank held out t
o him. "Fine. Guess we've got ourselves a deal." He grinned and addressed the wider crowd. "Enjoy what ya got, 'cause it's our last shipment." He gave an exaggerated wink.
Hank shot him a look.
"Yeh're really serious about this, man?"
Hank lifted a brow.
Chuck groaned. "Fine—it really is our last shipment. Drink up, mates!"
Just as the chatter picked back up, a loud shriek brought the party to a halt again.
Geoffrey Clarke crouched next to the pool. Valonzy slammed her goblet down and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "Did you kill her to keep her from talking?" She shook him, screaming now. "Did you kill her?"
Geoffrey swatted at her hands, trying to pry them away. Conversation stopped, all eyes focused on the two of them. The bald pirate got loose and scrambled back, while tears streamed down Valonzy’s face. "She would never have worked with you! Never, you creep!"
Chuck stepped forward. "What's this about?"
Geoffrey scowled. "Nothing. Mermaid's drunk and rambling."
Chuck addressed Valonzy. "What's this about?"
She took a deep breath, her chest heaving. "He asked me if I'd take over buying the brandy now that Bubbles is dead. I'm wondering if he killed her 'cause she wouldn't deal with him. He's trying to keep the brandy trade going and cut you out."
"I know he is." Chuck gritted his teeth. "Mutineer."
Geoffrey scrambled to his feet and held himself slightly crouched. "You're going to believe her?"
Chuck strode up to him, his chest out. "Yeah. And I'm going to believe Bubbles—she told me about your meeting the night she died."
Valonzy gasped. "So that was why she went off with Geoffrey?"
Chuck nodded. "And she came to my cabin afterward to tell me he'd offered to pay double my price to cut me out." He glared at the bald pirate. "She wouldn't give me your name without a discount on the brandy, but it wasn't hard to guess who'd be stupid enough to try something like that."
"So you weren't sleeping together?" Valonzy sighed, her shoulders slumping.
"Duh." Winnie rolled her eyes.
Valonzy lifted both her hands, her cheeks streaked with mascara. She looked at the queen. "So you knew they weren't sleeping together? Why'd you get so pissed?"
Winnie grinned and shrugged. "I knew she was always into the clams—particularly your clam."
Valonzy blushed. "That's sweet of you to say."
Winnie batted her lashes at Chuck. "But it did look suspicious, and I wanted to make sure Chuck would fight for me. Plus…" She lifted a brow. "A little drama's good in a relationship. Making up's all the fun."
Chuck winked at her.
I stepped forward. "So Chuck, you didn't kill Bubbles to cover up your affair."
He shook his head. "Course not, love, we wasn't having one."
"And you didn't kill her because she was doing deals behind your back—in fact she came to you when Geoffrey tried to edge you out?"
Chuck nodded. "Exactly, why would I kill her? She was a great business partner… she did try to extort a discount out of me for this traitor's name, but eh—I would've done the same."
I turned to Winnie. "And you were never really that upset, so you wouldn't have killed her?"
Winnie looked stricken. She placed a hand on her chest. "Me? Of course not, she was my best friend." She sighed. "I think it was easier to pretend to be mad about her and Chuck, than to be all sad that she's gone." She pouted and tears streamed down her face. "Maybe Valonzy killed her out of jealousy?"
"What the—"
Everyone looked at the blue-haired mermaid. "Me? Why would I have killed her? I loved her! I never even got to say goodbye."
Winnie sniffled. "I believe you."
"Aw." Valonzy, tears on her cheeks, waved the queen over and hugged her tight, pressing the queen's cheek to her bosom. While she stroked her head, Valonzy used the opportunity to peek at Winnie's chest.
I shook my head. At least no one had to worry about Valonzy being able to move on. And unless she was just a great actress, I didn't see much motive for her to have killed Bubbles. That day we'd tanned on the rocks she'd seemed upset at not knowing where her girlfriend was, and jealous maybe, but not guilty.
Chuck pointed at Geoffrey. "That leaves you, mate. You're a villainous snake who'd betray his own captain. You probably killed her when you found out she'd ratted you out."
Geoffrey glared but held up his hands. He blinked at them, turning them over and over again. Then he shook his head and squinted at Chuck. "She was my contact, my way to gain power—no way would I have killed her. Especially, since I had no idea she snitched. I'm just trying to save everyone's lives."
Chuck scoffed. "What are you talking about?"
Geoffrey sneered. "You've seen them. The waves that don't move like waves. Reports of ships being lost at sea on clear, sunny days. There be monsters about!" He slammed a fist into his open palm. "And I planned to do something about it. If I'd gotten the mermaids’ trade I would've been richer and more powerful than you and everyone would've elected me pirate king. And I'd have taken measures to arm our ships, and protect us against the monsters!"
Chuck lunged forward… then rocked back… then steadied himself. He blinked rapidly. "What—what do you think I'm doing?" He threw an arm out toward Winnie. "Why do you think I'm marrying her? With a mermaid alliance, they'll assure our ships safe passage. They can patrol the seas and sing to calm the waves." He looked at his frowning fiancée. "Oh… and also, I'm marrying her cause I'm totally into her and she's superhot."
Winnie nodded her approval.
Geoffrey scoffed. "This mermaid court is lazy and constantly wasted—you see that yourself. They're not going to keep our ships safe—we need to take concrete measures, or we'll all end up at the bottom of the snea! I mean, sea."
Chuck and Geoffrey glared at each other, each swaying slightly. Geoffrey's knees buckled and he grabbed a rafter to stay upright. Chuck reached for his sword but pulled at the wrong hip, and just grabbed a handful of his own shirttails. "I challenge you to a duel, you mutineer!"
"Accepted!" Geoffrey held up his fists, ready for a brawl. But then he caught sight of his hands and grew wide-eyed. He gasped and backed away. "Get them away from me." He held his hands at arm's length.
Mmkay....
The two pirates stumbled around, one terrified of his own hands, the other tugging at his own jacket and turning himself in circles. I looked behind me. Maple used both hands and her full body weight to push Wiley upright against the wall. His head bobbed and he lightly patted his teeth. "They're growing so fast!"
Maple turned my way and mouthed "Help."
I nodded. Guess the special brandy had kicked in. The duel, if you could call it that, continued, until the men collapsed on the ground and stared at the ceiling. The other mermaids and pirates who'd partaken began to dance, swat at imaginary enemies, and moan about how slow time was moving.
Hank tilted his head toward the exit. "Shall we?" I nodded, and the rest of the bakers and I followed him out, Sam and Maple propping Wiley up. We piled into the rowboat, Hank cast the spell, and we sped out of the secret cave and back to the mermaid city. As the boat skidded along the waves, and the Sansea winds whipped a mist across the prow, I pulled everyone into a huddle.
"I think I know who killed Bubbles."
21
A Plan
I put my arm around Hank to my right and Maple to my left. Iggy sat in the lantern at my feet. I looked around the circle, at what had become my new family, and felt a warm glow—and it wasn't just Iggy. I'd tried to find a murderer a couple of times before this. It felt good to not be doing it alone this time. Wiley, K'ree, Maple, Hank, and Sam stared back at me, their faces lit from below with my flame's golden light.
"All right. So, I'd been thinking Winnie, Chuck, or Valonzy were our most likely suspects and that they killed her because of her affair with Chuck. Either he wanted to cover it up, or the girls killed out of jealousy."
&n
bsp; Beside me, Maple nodded. "But there was no affair."
"Exactly. Personally, I don't think any of them did it."
K'ree nodded. "Agreed."
Wiley shrieked and lurched away from an imaginary enemy, nibbling his fingertips.
"Right. So why else would someone kill her? I think it's related to the smuggling."
Hank nodded. "I agree… but again, I don't get the sense that Geoffrey or Chuck did it. Geoffrey didn't know she'd betrayed him, and he needed her cooperation to become pirate king. And she went to Chuck with the information, so he didn't have a motive."
Wiley groaned and petted Maple's head. "You're so beautiful." Tears filled his eyes.
Maple gave a nervous chuckle and batted his hands away.
I nodded. "So, who'd want to stop the smuggling?"
Sam frowned. "Sssomeone who caresss about the poor sssalamandersss."
I titled my head side to side. "An angle I hadn't considered. Good thought, Sam." I leaned forward. "But I was thinking, someone who seemed upset at the lack of rules and decorum, who would've been horrified to learn of mermaids at court being involved in smuggling."
Maple gasped. "Delphine."
Wiley gasped, too.
I nodded.
Iggy blazed brighter. "It's always the grandma."
"It makes sense, right? The old queen said she regrets giving up the throne and hates the way her granddaughter's running things—how out of control the court is. If she got wind of smuggling that might embroil Winnie in a scandal, she might have done something drastic to put an end to it. She wants to keep the drug smuggling quiet."
K'ree frowned. "But Delphine? You really think an old lady could strangle Bubbles?"
Maple bit her lip. "Bubbles was pretty drunk that night."
Wiley burst into uncontrollable laughter and pressed his hands over his mouth. Oh my.
Iggy scoffed. "She was more than drunk. She'd had the brandy balls. You see the slobbering idiot Wiley's become—well, more of one."
Maple shot Iggy a look. "Hey. He took one for the team."
I lifted a finger. "And Delphine wears a ring that could've made the puncture on Bubbles's neck."
