The Murdered Mermaid (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 6)

by April Fernsby

  The cloud of butterflies hovered a few feet in front of us and moved closer to each other.

  At my feet, Stanley whispered, “What are they doing? Are they making some sort of shape? Are they trying to tell us something?”

  The butterflies settled themselves into a more recognisable shape.

  Jeremy’s voice trembled as he said, “This can’t be happening. I can’t believe what my eyes are seeing.”

  I smiled as the butterflies formed a large 3D image of Mum’s head and shoulders. The butterflies stopped moving their wings and Mum’s features became clearer.

  Stanley leant his shaking body against my legs and whimpered, “Cassia, I don’t like it. It’s scary.”

  I picked him up. “It isn’t scary at all. I think it’s a message from Mum. Stanley, look at Mum’s lovely face. The butterflies have got her features just right. They’re even making her eyes blink.”

  Jeremy said, “You must have triggered the butterflies when you opened the lock. How did Rosalyn know you’d be coming here?”

  Mum’s butterfly lips opened and her lovely voice came out, “Cassia, my beautiful daughter, if you’re receiving this message it means that I’m not there at your side and I apologise for that. Our work as justice witches is dangerous and I always knew there was a risk that I wouldn’t see you grow into the beautiful young woman that I’m sure you now are.”

  A small butterfly rolled down Mum’s cheek and looked like a tear falling.

  Jeremy was sobbing quietly, but I didn’t feel anywhere close to tears. A wonderful warm feeling was flowing through my body like the gentle warmth of the sun. Seeing Mum’s face in butterfly form was making me feel incredibly loved. I basked in the feeling.

  Mum continued, “I’m glad you found your way to this lighthouse. If you are here as part of your investigation work, you will find many of my notebooks tucked away inside.” Her lips moved into a smile. “You will also find many other delightful things that I’ve kept for you over the years including letters I’ve written to you in case I wasn’t going to be around.” Her lips wobbled and another butterfly rolled down her cheek.

  Jeremy broke into louder sobs and slid to the ground with his head in his hands. I knew I should comfort him but I wanted to hear what else Mum had to say so I ignored him for the moment.

  Mum continued, “I thought this way of delivering a message would be a good idea, but now that I’m saying the words, I can see how difficult this is for me. I hope it’s not too hard for you to receive this message.” She attempted another smile which only caused more butterflies to act as tears. “Maybe I won’t need to send this message. Maybe I’ll be right at your side when you begin your work as a justice witch. Maybe.”

  My heart twisted at the pain in her face. The butterflies were doing a remarkable job of catching her every emotion.

  Mum cleared her throat and said, “Cassia, I’m going to stop this message now because I feel like I’m going to burst into tears soon and I don’t want the poor butterflies to replicate that. I’m glad you’ve made your way to this amazing part of Brimstone and I know you’ll enjoy discovering my belongings, and yours, inside the lighthouse. You have been a blessing in my life and I love you so very much. Remember that always. I love you so very much.”

  Her last few words were barely audible and many butterflies tears tumbled down her cheeks. Jeremy was becoming hysterical with his cries now and Stanley let out little sobs in my arms.

  I watched as the butterflies slowly dispersed until Mum’s face was no longer visible. But the butterflies hadn’t finished with me yet. They rearranged themselves into the shape of two big arms and moved towards me. They enveloped me in those arms and an intense feeling of love swept through me. I’d never felt anything like it before and it was incredibly powerful. I felt more alive than I had done for years.

  All too soon, the Mum/butterfly hug was over. The butterflies flapped their wings gently at me before fluttering away.

  Stanley raised his little head and said, “That was beautiful.”

  “It was,” I agreed. I looked down at Jeremy. “There’s no need for tears. Mum wouldn’t want us to be sad.”

  Jeremy turned his blotchy, red face to me, sniffed and said, “I know. I can’t help it. I’m such a wimp. You should send me back to my hometown immediately. I’ve been no use to you, no use at all.”

  I put Stanley down then pulled Jeremy to his feet. I wiped his tears away and said, “We’ll have none of that, Mr Spring. I have loved having you with me and you’ve been very helpful. Let’s go inside now. There could be important information waiting for us.” I gave him a bright smile.

  He puffed his chest out. “Right, I’m ready. I’ll try to keep myself together.”

  I turned back to the lighthouse door and pushed it open.

  Chapter 23

  We stepped through the door and onto a welcome mat which had been decorated with many varieties of butterflies, not just the Brimstone ones. I inhaled and immediately detected the light aroma of Mum’s perfume. It immediately took me back to my childhood days and I remembered how she used to put a little squirt of her rose perfume behind my ears.

  Stanley was already scampering up the spiral stairs to our left so I followed him. I noticed the images of many sea creatures painted on the wall as I ascended. Behind me, Jeremy intermittently let out a small sob which was quickly followed by an apology.

  He said, “It’s just as I remember. Every little detail. Oh, the good times I had here with Rosalyn! The memories are flooding back.”

  We found Stanley at the top of the stairs staring out into the circular room. He shook his head slowly and said, “It’s a round room. There’s not one single corner; not one.”

  I leant down and stroked his head. “What did you think it was going to be like inside?”

  Stanley looked up at me and replied, “You never know in this town.” He turned his attention back to the room. “Isn’t it beautiful in here? I love all the pastel colours and paintings on the walls. The furniture looks the same as what Esther has in her house. And it smells so fresh, almost like roses.”

  “That’ll be Mum’s perfume,” I said to him. “You can’t stand there forever; go and investigate.”

  Stanley nodded and padded further into the room.

  I took a moment to look around. The room had a living area to one side complete with a large, comfy-looking sofa, and a small kitchen to the other. There was a curtained-off area opposite the living area, and through a gap in the curtains, I could see a double bed. There were two bookcases near the sofa which were packed with DVDs. I smiled as I recognised the mystery shows that Mum and I watched together. Being so young, I never understood what was going on, but Mum always tried to explain them to me.

  Jeremy pointed to the TV at the side of the bookcases and said, “I thought that was an enchanted box until your mum explained it was a television set. She said they’re very common in your world. This is where we used to watch things on the box together.” He nodded in the direction of the curtained-off area. “There are some drawers under the bed and I think that’s where Rosalyn kept her notebooks.”

  “I’ll have a look at those soon,” I told him. I stepped further into the room and walked over to one of the windows. It looked out over Brimstone Beach to the right and I could see a few merpeople sitting on the sand talking amongst themselves.

  Stanley trotted over to my side and said, “There’s a fridge over there. Do you think there will be any food inside? All this exploring has made me hungry.”

  “I doubt there will be anything inside it,” I said, “unless…” I walked over to the fridge and opened it. “unless,” I continued, “the lovely Gia has put some food in here for us. Which she has.”

  I picked up the note which was resting against a plate of sandwiches and read it:

  ‘Cassia, I had the strongest feeling that you would be visiting your mum’s lighthouse soon so I thought I’d pop a few things in the fridge for you and Stanle
y. I hope this is ok with you. Love, Gia.’

  Stanley let out a little chuckle. “She’s just like her sister. They are so thoughtful. What has she put in there for me?” He poked his nose into the fridge.

  I gave him a few seconds to have a good sniff and I looked at the painting on the wall behind the fridge. More merpeople. The images showed mermaids and merman swimming hand in hand. The mermaids had sparkling combs in their hair. There was a large painting of a wedding ceremony too. Everyone looked extremely happy.

  Jeremy noticed me looking at the pictures and said, “It’s been a long time since we had a wedding at Brimstone Beach. I hope Conway is able to go ahead with his marriage to Isla despite the loss of his sister.”

  Stanley turned his head away from the fridge and said, “Unless Isla is the one who murdered his sister. Then she won’t be going anywhere. Cassia, there’s a tub of cream at the back of the fridge. Would you mind pouring some for me, please?”

  Jeremy said, “Let me do that for you, my friend. I need to make myself useful.” He looked at me and suggested, “Why don’t you have a look at the bedroom area and see if you can find those notebooks?”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  I walked over to the curtained-off area and pulled one of the curtains back. My heart gave a little leap of joy as I noticed the two pillows on the bed. One of them had Mum’s name embroidered on it, and the other one had mine. A flash of a memory came to me and I recalled how I used to lie in this bed with Mum after a day at the beach. I could almost feel her hand brushing my hair to one side. I remember lying on the bed, looking up and seeing stars. Stars? Was that right?

  I lowered myself onto the bed and looked upwards. Tiny, twinkling stars had been painted on the ceiling. I recalled how Mum had asked me to count them before falling asleep. Of course, I never managed to count them all. And, being young, I couldn’t count to high numbers anyway.

  I settled myself more comfortably on the bed and gazed up at the stars. My eyes felt heavy and I decided to close them just for a moment.

  The next thing I knew, Stanley was whispering in my ear and telling me to wake up. I woke up with a start and looked around me. It took me a second to remember where I was. The room was dark now and lamps had been lit around it.

  I sat up abruptly and said, “What happened? How long have I been asleep? What day is it?”

  Stanley explained, “It’s still the same day. You fell asleep for a few hours. You looked so peaceful lying there that Jeremy and I decided to let you have a rest. Did you have a good sleep?”

  “I had a wonderful sleep. I was dreaming about being at the beach with Mum. We made the most enormous sandcastle. Have you had something to eat and drink?”

  “Yes, Jeremy sorted me out. He found your mum’s notebooks and he’s taken them back to The Brimstone Hotel. He said he wants to go through them carefully and that you should have the night off and just enjoy being here. I agree with him.”

  “That’s kind of Jeremy to do that for me. I hope he finds something useful.”

  Stanley said, “He also found some letters that your mum has written to you. He’s put them on the bedside table.”

  I turned my head and looked at the pile of letters which had been tied up with a pink ribbon.

  Stanley continued, “There are thirty letters. Are you going to read them now?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll wait until this investigation is over.” I smiled at the letters. “I can’t wait to read them, but if I start now I know that all thoughts of the investigation will go out of my mind.”

  “You’ve got more self-control than I have,” Stanley said. “There are some sandwiches in the fridge for you. I think you should have something to eat.”

  “Maybe later. I’m not very hungry yet.” Shall we continue investigating the lighthouse? The light at the top must be on by now. I want to see how it works. Do you want to come with me or are you ready to settle down for the night?”

  Stanley had already leapt off the bed before I’d finished my sentence. “Let’s go!” he declared and jogged towards the second set of stairs at the left of the room.

  Stanley raced up the stairs and I ran after him. We came to a door at the top and Stanley stood to one side to allow me to open it. We walked out onto a small, circular area which had a round, glass room in the middle of it. Light was pouring from the room. A balcony ran around the glass room and there was a chest-high wooden rail on the outer edge of the balcony. I moved over to the glass room and peeped inside. A tiny piece of stone had been placed on a table in the middle of the room and a glass dome was protecting it. I picked Stanley up so that he could see it.

  Stanley said, “That looks like shadowstone. Wow. That tiny piece is giving off all this light.”

  We’d come across shadowstone before. It was a magical substance which provided heat and electricity to Brimstone.

  Keeping Stanley in my arms, I walked away from the glass room and had a stroll around the balcony. We could see the moonlight reflecting off the sea and heard the water rolling along the sand. At the other side of the balcony, I could just make out the distant lights of Brimstone town. It seemed very far away.

  We listened to the gentle crashing of the waves for a few minutes and then returned to the main room. Stanley insisted that I have something to eat before going to bed. I did so and thoroughly enjoyed the cheese and pesto sandwich that Gia had made for me.

  It wasn’t long before the emotions of the day began taking their toll on me. I settled into the bed with Stanley at my side. We snuggled down into the covers and said goodnight to each other. With the sound of the waves in the distance and Stanley snoring gently at my side, I was soon fast asleep.

  When I opened my eyes in the morning, my feelings of peace fled in a second. On the floor in front of me was a sparkling hair comb. It looked like Isla’s hair comb.

  Chapter 24

  As soon as Stanley woke up, I showed him the comb.

  “Is it the same one?” he asked. “Does it belong to Isla?”

  “I think so. I’ve had a good look at it and it seems to be identical. Stanley, I don’t like the idea of Isla coming into the lighthouse when we’re asleep.”

  “If it was her,” Stanley pointed out. “She denied putting it in Esther’s apartment and she told us someone stole it from her. What if the same creature stole it from her again and placed it here? Perhaps they’re trying to give us a strong message about Isla?”

  “You could be right.” I stroked his little head. “Did you have a good sleep?”

  Stanley stretched out across the bedcover. “I had a marvellous sleep and I’m ready for a day of action.”

  “I’m ready to get aggressive with my interrogations. I’m determined to track Rex down and find out exactly what went on with him and Nerita.” I stood up and moved over to the kitchen area. “After breakfast, of course.”

  “Of course,” Stanley agreed.

  It was another thirty minutes before we were ready to leave the beautiful lighthouse.

  Before we left, Stanley said, What about your mum’s letters? Are you going to take them with you?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll come back for them later. It will be something to look forward to.”

  We left the circular room and heading down the stairs. The door at the bottom was ajar and the key was on the inside of the lock.

  Stanley sniffed the bottom of the door and declared, “It smells like the sea.” His nose wrinkled in disgust.

  I examined the door and said, “Everything smells like the sea around here. There’s no sign of forced entry to the lock. I wonder if Jeremy locked the door when he left last night?”

  “He can’t have done,” Stanley pointed out, “if the key is on the inside of the door. Unless he used magic to secure it when he left? He might have done that.”

  We left the lighthouse and I made sure the door was securely locked before turning away from it. A yellow butterfly fluttered over to me and hovered in the air. I
held my hand out and it landed on my palm. Jeremy’s voice sounded urgent as he declared:

  ‘Cassia, come quickly to the café! I’m holding Rex prisoner. You need to get here as quickly as you can because I’m not sure how long I can keep him here. He’s a big chap. Love from Jeremy.’

  I gave the butterfly a reply to say we were on our way. We jumped onto my broomstick and headed towards the café. Despite being little, the butterfly was ahead of us all the way.

  When we walked into the café, we noticed Gia standing near the counter with her arms folded and a grim expression on her face.

  I walked over to her and said, “Thank you for filling the fridge up in the lighthouse. We really appreciate it.”

  She gave me a small nod. “You are more than welcome. I hope you’re here to talk to Rex. Jeremy is struggling to keep him tied up.” She pointed towards the corner of the café and continued, “Rex is going to be out of those magical ropes any second now.”

  I looked towards the corner of the café and saw Rex pinned to a chair by an invisible force. His face was red with effort as he attempted to move his arms and legs. Jeremy was standing a short distance away with his arms outstretched and flashes of green light were shooting from his fingers. Jeremy’s face was just as red as Rex’s.

  I quickly walked over to them and said to Jeremy, “What’s going on? What are you doing to him?”

  Jeremy wheezed, “I’ve used invisible ropes to bind him to that chair. But I can’t hold my magic in place much longer. Have you seen the size of his muscles? Can you do something to help me?”

  Rex called out, “Release me! Immediately! I’ve done nothing wrong to warrant this kind of imprisonment. I only came in here for a bottle of water.”

  I said to Jeremy, “Thank you for holding him here. You can stop using your magic now. I’m sure we can be civilised about this.” I turned my attention to Rex and said, “I’d like to ask you a few questions about Nerita.”