The Murdered Mermaid (A Brimstone Witch Mystery Book 6) Read online

  I took Jeremy over to my favourite table. It was next to the window which gave me a view of the town and also a view of the rest of the café.

  As we sat down, the café door opened and Luca entered. He immediately looked our way and I saw his nostrils flaring as if he’d just smelled something revolting.

  Stanley called out from my lap, “Luca! We’re over here. We’ve been to the beach. I nearly drowned!”

  I hissed, “Stanley, he’s not our friend at the moment. He doesn’t know who we are.”

  Stanley’s head dropped. “I forgot.”

  Luca stared at Stanley and I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. Just as abruptly, it was gone. He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure how he should respond to Stanley’s outburst.

  Jeremy got swiftly to his feet and walked over to Luca. He grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m Jeremy Spring. I don’t think we’ve ever met. I believe you’re a guardian in this town. Is that right?”

  Luca gave him a reluctant nod and cast a hostile look my way.

  Jeremy continued brightly, “In that case, I’m sure you’d like to hear about Cassia’s latest case. Well, it’s not really a case yet but we suspect it will turn into one. Join us at the table and we’ll fill you in.”

  “No, thank you,” Luca replied curtly.

  Jeremy wasn’t put off by Luca’s cold attitude and told him briefly what we’d been up to.

  Luca listened silently with no expression on his face. When Jeremy came to the bit about the grindylows grabbing Stanley, the concern came into Luca’s eyes again and he gave Stanley a curious look.

  When Jeremy had finished, Luca said coldly, “Thanks for telling me. The Brimstone beach is not my concern.” He gave Stanley another quizzical look before abruptly walking out of the café.

  Jeremy shook his head at his departure and returned to our table. He said, “Thanks to the spell Astrid put on him, Luca does not like you one little bit. There is intense hate for you, Cassia. I could almost taste it.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “His hate is a temporary thing, I felt that too. It’s not stable and keeps wavering. Did you see how he looked at Stanley? It was like he knew him, but he didn’t know how he knew him.”

  “I noticed that,” Stanley said. His tone was hopeful as he continued, “I think he remembers me. Somewhere in the back of his mind, I think he remembers his good friend, Stanley.”

  I stroked Stanley’s head. “I hope you’re right, but don’t be disappointed if you’re not.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  Jeremy looked over my shoulder and rubbed his hands together. “Gilda’s coming back.” His expression changed and his hands dropped to his lap. “Something’s wrong.”

  Gilda’s face was even paler than usual as she came to our table. Her hand trembled as she gave me the shell. “Cassia, listen.”

  I put the shell to my ear and heard Gia cry out, “She’s dead! Nerita’s dead!”

  Chapter 9

  Jeremy, Stanley and I rushed back to Brimstone Beach as quickly as our broomsticks would allow. From the air, we saw a group of merpeople clustered around a cave a short distance from the café. We landed behind the merpeople who moved out of the way when they recognised us.

  I placed my broomstick at the entrance to the cave and walked slowly in. There was a stillness inside as if the cave were holding its breath. I felt like doing the same. I could feel Stanley’s fur brushing my legs as he walked slowly at my side. Jeremy was right behind us.

  There was a tailed figure lying on the sand near the back of the cave. As I walked closer, the top part of the body came into view. I recognised the short, spiky hair on the motionless head. Nerita’s eyes were open and she stared unseeing at the cave roof. Her face was white and her left hand was resting on her throat.

  I didn’t want to move too close and contaminate the scene. I whispered to Jeremy, “What’s happened to her? Why is she in her mermaid form so far from the sea?”

  Jeremy replied, “I don’t know. Merpeople don’t change into their tails until they’re in the sea. It’s dangerous for them to be in this form on land as they can’t breathe properly.” He crouched at Nerita’s side and looked closer at her face. “It looks like she was struggling to breathe. You can see how her left hand has clawed at her throat, possibly in terror. I don’t understand why she changed into her tailed self so far from the sea.”

  I crouched next to Jeremy and kept my voice low, “Would something or someone have caused her to change into her present form? Could someone have forced her to do it?”

  Jeremy looked into my eyes and gave me a slight nod. It seems he was just aware as me of the merpeople behind us who were listening to our words. He whispered, “This must be the dreadful thing I’ve been expecting.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “I didn’t think it wasn’t going to be this, though. Poor Nerita.”

  Stanley was sniffing the sand. He looked at me and said, “Something doesn’t smell right.” He moved carefully along, still sniffing. He stopped at the side of a small rock and popped his head behind it. “Cassia, there’s something here. Come and have a look.”

  I went over to Stanley and saw what he was looking at. I used a tissue from my pocket to pick up the bottle of water which had been half buried in the sand. Brimstone didn’t have facilities for checking fingerprints yet, but I was hoping I could sort something out in the future. I’d bought something off Amazon which would allow me to highlight fingerprints on objects. It wasn’t much of a start to my forensics department, but it was something.

  I took the bottle over to Jeremy and showed him it.

  He straightened up and said, “That’s saltwater. All the merpeople drink that. Gia sells it at the café.”

  “Why do they drink saltwater?” I asked. “And why would they buy it from Gia if there’s an ocean full of it out there?”

  “Gia filters it first to get rid of any contamination and then she chills it. I don’t know why it’s been left in this cave. Merpeople always take their empty bottles back to Gia.”

  I held the bottle up. It was half full. I said, “What would happen if they drank normal water? Like the water you and I would drink?”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened. “It would be like poison to them.”

  “What exactly would it do to them? Would it…?” I sent a pointed look towards Nerita’s lifeless body.

  Jeremy gave me a slow nod. “It would. The water would cause an immediate change in them from legs to a tail. But we don’t know if it is pure water in that bottle. The label says that it’s seawater. Gia is very careful to keep her bottles of water clearly labelled and in different places in the café.”

  Using the tissue, I took the lid off the bottle and sniffed the liquid inside. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I didn’t get an aroma of anything. I lifted the bottle.

  Stanley yelled, “Cassia! Don’t drink it! It could have poison in it.”

  There was a collective gasp behind me from the merpeople.

  Someone called out, “Nerita has been poisoned! She’s been murdered!”

  I looked over at the crowd and said calmly, “We don’t know that yet.” I turned back to Jeremy. “We need to get this water analysed. Dr Morgan can do that for us. I’d like her to look at the body too. I don’t suppose there are any butterflies around here ready to take a message to the doctor?”

  Jeremy said, “I can summon one. That’s the wonderful thing about your Brimstone butterflies; they are always on call, no matter how far away you are. I’ll go outside and summon one now.” He turned away from me and swiftly left the cave.

  I was putting the lid back on the bottle when a someone came running through the cave yelling, “My sister! Where’s my sister?”

  Conway came to an abrupt halt when he saw Nerita lying on the sand. His face turned as pale as hers. “No!” he wailed. “No! This can’t be! She can’t be dead.” He turned his stricken face to me and his glance went to the bottle in my hand. “What is that?
Has it got something to do with Nerita? What’s in it?”

  “I don’t know yet.” I wrapped the tissue fully around the bottle and lay a hand on Conway’s elbow. “I’m sorry about your sister. I will find out what happened to her. You must leave this area now. I want to examine it fully.”

  Conway looked back at Nerita and tears escaped from his eyes. “I can’t leave her lying here on her own.” He blinked rapidly. “Father. What will I tell Father? His heart will break when he hears about Nerita. What will we do without her?” His voice caught in his throat and more tears flowed down his face.

  I gently steered him out of the cave. The crowd of merpeople moved to one side and their heads hung low. As I walked through them, I was dismayed to see many footprints in the sand. That wouldn’t help my investigation at all.

  Isla came rushing towards him. She pulled him into her embrace and patted his back. “Conway, I’ve just heard the terrible news. You poor thing. You must stay strong at this awful time. You have to be in control. Your people need you to be strong. You must take over Nerita’s duties and obligations immediately.”

  Conway untangled himself. “Isla, I can’t think about things like that now.”

  She stared intensely into his eyes. “You have to. You have to think about the future. Your sister has gone. Your father is too old to do anything any longer. You have to accept your responsibilities. Don’t worry, I will help you. I’ll be right at your side.” She placed her hand on the sparkling comb in her hair and patted it. “It’s time for us to think about our future. I’ll deal with things now. You must go and talk to your father immediately.” She led him away from me and pushed him in the direction of the sea.

  Conway looked too shocked to argue with her. His head was low as he dragged his feet towards the sea. Isla watched him go and then walked towards the cave.

  I jogged after him and said, “I can speak to your father if you like? Ask him to come here and I’ll reassure him that I’m looking into how Nerita died.”

  Conway’s voice held no emotion as he said, “I can’t do that. Father never leaves the sea. I’ll be alright. I have to be.” He didn’t look my way as he walked slowly into the water.

  I heard raised voices behind me and quickly returned to the cave. Isla had her hands on her hips and was glowering at the sobbing merpeople in front of her.

  Isla ordered, “Don’t stand there crying. There’s work to be done. I’m in charge now until Conway’s sorted himself out.”

  I moved in front of Isla and said, “This is a time for grieving. I don’t know how your ruling system works, but I do know that I have authority over your people.” My voice wavered. Was that right? Or did I just have authority when it came to justice work?

  Isla looked unsure at my words. I steadied my gaze and tried to look as serious as I could.

  Isla folded her arms. “How long are they going to take to grieve? There’s business to attend to.”

  “That can wait. I’m investigating Nerita’s death and that could take a while. I’ll be interviewing everyone.” I noticed Isla’s gaze slipping to the left. I added, “Including you. Where were you at the time of Nerita’s death?”

  Isla looked back at me. “I don’t know. What time did she die?”

  I paused and then admitted the truth. “I don’t know yet. I’ll ask you again when I do know. Did Nerita have any enemies?”

  “Yeah, plenty. Me included. She was a bossy mermaid who ordered everyone around. She tried to take over King Taron’s job before he was ready to retire. Conway would have done a better job of ruling our people. I told Nerita that many times. I told her to share her duties with him, but she never listened to me.” She patted the comb in her hair again. “Conway will be taking over now. As his future wife, I’ll be helping him. Have you got any more questions for me? I want to see if Conway’s told his father yet. I’ve got plans for my people and this beach.”

  “Your people?” I felt my eyebrows rising in surprise.

  Isla let out a nervous laugh. “Oops. I’m getting ahead of myself. Can I go? Everyone else has gone back to the sea.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see she was right. The merpeople had all returned to the sea. Heck. I hadn’t taken the opportunity to make a list of their names. I really must hone up on my investigation skills.

  Isla was already halfway down the sand when I looked back. I sighed. I’d catch up with her later.

  Gia came floating over the sand with a roll of ribbon in her hand. She said sadly, “I thought you might need this to cordon the cave off. Your mum used it sometimes when she was investigating an injustice. Would you like me to help you put it up? I’ve also brought a sign that your mum used.”

  I looked at the sign that Gia took from her pocket. I had letters and cards at home which Mum had written to me so I recognised her handwriting. The sign told creatures of all species to keep away from the cordoned-off area. There was a polite thank you on the end of the sign which made me smile.

  Once the cave had been secured, I asked Gia about Nerita and whether she had any enemies.

  Gia said, “I wouldn’t say enemies as such. She was a strong-willed mermaid who was determined to do her job well. She took her responsibilities seriously and a lot of merpeople didn’t like that. Especially Isla. Nerita often gave her security work to do at the outer boundaries of the sea. There are a few krakens and sea serpents out there who don’t obey the rules and like to cause havoc. The merpeople have to keep them in check. Isla didn’t like that kind of work and preferred sunning herself on the beach with her friends.”

  I told Gia about the water bottle and added, “I’m going to get the water analysed. How easy would it be for someone to put pure water in a saltwater bottle?”

  “I suppose it would be easy enough for someone to do that as I have a tap of clear water on that wall behind my café.” She pointed towards a small wall which had a silver tap halfway up it. “There’s a warning sign above it and all the merpeople know to keep away from it. Even a drop of pure water could hurt them. If someone did put pure water in that bottle, I don’t think it would be a merperson because they would put themselves at considerable risk by going near that tap.”

  Jeremy came jogging across the sand to us. He said, “I’ve sent a message to the doctor. I’ve already received a reply to say she’s on her way.”

  “Thank you.” I looked towards the sea. “I’d really like to speak to Nerita’s father. Do you think he could be persuaded to come onto the beach?”

  Gia shook her head. “No. But you can go to his palace, can’t you? Your mum used to do that when needed. She used magic on herself so she could breathe underwater.”

  Jeremy clicked his fingers. “The underwater spell! Of course. I know how to do that. Cassia, do you want to give it a go? You might feel as if you’re about to drown, but that feeling should pass eventually.” He gave me a big smile of encouragement. “And if you do actually start to drown, I’ll pull you to safety.”

  I looked down at Stanley. He said, “I’m not going back into the water. Those grindylows will be after me again.” He lifted his chin and I saw the slight tremble there. “Unless you want me to go with you? I can do that. If you really want me to.”

  I picked him up and cuddled him. “I won’t ask you to do that. You stay here while I go in the water with Jeremy.”

  Gia held her arms out. “I can look after Stanley. I made far too much fish ice cream earlier. It needs using up.”

  Stanley said, “Thank you, but I think I need to be brave and help Cassia.”

  I passed Stanley over to Gia and said, “Stanley, you don’t have to do that. You stay here and keep dry. I’ll be back soon.”

  Stanley looked at me for a moment and then said, “Okay. Don’t be long. Take care. Please don’t drown.”

  “I won’t.” I stroked Stanley’s head and gave him a reassuring smile.

  Jeremy led me to the water’s edge. He rolled his sleeves up and said, “I hope I’ve got the right words
. Your mum used to say the words and I wasn’t always paying attention when she performed this spell.” He pressed his lips together, thought for a while and then nodded. “Yes, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

  Chapter 10

  Jeremy mumbled something and then waved his arms over himself and me. He tutted, shook his head and muttered something about that being a spell for everlasting sleep. He started with his mumblings again and flapped his arms in my direction. My confidence in his spell casting capabilities decreased by the second.

  Jeremy eventually gave me a satisfied nod. “That should do. By the way, are you a strong swimmer?”

  “Not really. Just average, I suppose.”

  “Ah. But you can float? You must be able to float. Everyone can float. Can’t they?” He grinned at me. “Let’s give this a go.” He made a move towards the water.

  I pulled at my T-shirt. “What do we do about our clothes? Will they stay dry or should I take some items off?”

  “They won’t stay dry, but you can strip down to your underwear if you like?”

  With one thing and another, I hadn’t had the opportunity to do a full wash of my clothes and I was now down to the underwear which had seen many better days. I was wearing my slightly grey, slightly baggy underwear now, and no one needed to see that.

  I shook my head at Jeremy. “I don’t mind them getting wet. I can use my magic drying hands on myself afterwards.” I almost felt like adding ‘if we survive’ but I didn’t want to upset Jeremy.

  I took my shoes and socks off before following Jeremy as I didn’t want them weighing me down. As I did so, I said, “What’s going to happen to us? How are we going to breathe underwater?”

  Jeremy moved his hand over my head and face. “There’s an invisible barrier here. It continually fills with fresh air. It’s like one of those old-fashioned diving helmets that people used to wear, but it’s lighter and much more efficient. Just breathe normally when we go under the water. The worst thing you can do is panic.”