Seawitch

be soon—before the fish faces can regroup and come after us or Paul’s boat.”

I was ashamed to admit that I’d almost forgotten about Mambo Moon. It lay outside the overlap but that didn’t make it safe and I had no idea what may have happened to it while Solis and I were in the dobhar-chú’s cave. I looked at my watch and picked a course of action, no matter how wild and stupid it was—even the faultiest plan put in action swiftly is better than working out a perfect plan and squandering the time to execute it.

“I assume they’ll move at or just before sunset when we’ll have the sun in our eyes. There’s not much time. So we’ll have to be ready to go before they move. How long until sundown?” I asked Fielding.

“It’s pretty dusky now so . . . maybe two hours to darkness, ninety minutes to red sun—that’s what the dobhar call sunset.”

“All right. In one hour the dobhar-chú and the otters need to be in place as far into the overlap perimeter as they can get without being spotted. Father Otter will know the strategic points for placement. You need to scout and find where the other ghosts are and get into a hiding place where you can get to them quickly once the sun is nearly down. I’ll deal with the sea witch and her daughter.”

“I thought you wanted me to be the go-between.”

“I need those ghosts more than I need you dangling like bait. Besides, I don’t think Jacque will let you get close enough to issue the invitation I need.”

“Jacque . . . ?”

“You said the sea witch is a redhead. The woman who was on Pleiades until Father Otter came to talk to me at the marina is a redhead. The name she gave was Jacque Knight, and if she’s not the sea witch, I’ll be the proverbial monkey’s uncle.”

Solis interrupted. “Could it not be Shelly who is the sea witch, as we discussed?”

“I don’t think so,” I replied. “The revised story doesn’t fit that scenario, and if you were a powerful magic user looking to unseat your parent, would you keep her around afterward?”

Solis shook his head. “No. Then this business about virginity and power was the truth? But how does one have a child if that is true?”

“I don’t know that it’s true or not—I can’t even guess at this point. Shelly was a mermaid. She’s still a mermaid. She just never became the sea witch, but there’s no way to know why and my speculation may not be correct in any case. The sea witch used to roam the Sound and destroy ships but she couldn’t keep the door open this time and then she lost a significant percentage of her ghosts. She’s got to be pretty angry at Fielding here.”

“Didn’t I say she carried a grudge?” Fielding asked. “She never lets go of anything.”

“You did. And I intend to use that to my advantage. But we have to get back to Mambo Moon first. Fielding, you find the other ghost receptacles and get ready to grab them when the sun goes down and bring them to me. Recruit other dobhar-chú or the otters if you need to; we have to get those things away from here or there will never be any peace.”

“What about Jacque and Shelly?”

“What about them?”

“Aren’t you going to . . . destroy them?”

“I said I would deal with them; I didn’t say I’d kill them. That’s not what I came here for. I won’t stop your clan from doing what it needs to and if my goals force me to do it, I will kill them both, but I won’t put my job aside to do yours.”

“But—”

“I already helped you and your clan. Now you return the favor. That’s the deal. That’s as far as it goes.”

Fielding looked flabbergasted, but it was the truth: I hadn’t come here to play avenging angel for the wrongs done to the dobhar-chú or the merfolk. “Someone once called me the Paladin of the Dead and that’s what I am. My job is to get justice for the dead, not to settle scores for the living, no matter how magical.”

“But I hired you—”

“When? I was already on this case when you showed up. And you never offered me anything but false answers. You’ve never offered me any payment. I am not working for you. I’m working for something bigger and meaner than Father Otter or any clan of sea witches or even the insurance company. You’ll get what you want if it works with the rest of my own plans, not because I owe you anything or feel you’re the injured party. If you don’t like that, maybe next time you should offer something better than lies.”

I turned my back on him and started for the dark passage that led back to the bay. Solis fell in behind me in a few steps, saying nothing as we were joined by an escort of otters and a single dobhar-chú the size of a rottweiler.

Nothing stopped us all the way to Mambo Moon.

TWENTY-SIX

When Solis and I stepped back on board, the decks of Mambo Moon were a mess. The skirmish between the merfolk and the dobhar-chú had sent a lot of sea life tumbling over the sides of the boat, and Quinton and Zantree were still clearing it away when we returned. Finishing the job killed about twenty minutes of the hour or so that we had before I’d have to be in place to bargain with and distract the sea witch from the snooping presence of Fielding and his relatives. Explaining what I needed to do took another ten minutes and resulted in an argument I didn’t win.

I’d just finished summarizing the events and discussion in the otter cave and said, “So, Quinton and I will take the bell to the dock while Paul and Solis move the boat out as close to the bay’s mouth as possible. I’ll use the bell to get the sea witch’s attention—”

Solis said, “No.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“I will not allow you to put yourself into the first line of fire.”

“Not your decision, Solis.”

“I believe it is. I am a policeman; you are not.”

“This is no longer a police matter. You have the answers you came here for. Your case is closed one way or the other. You can attempt to take Fielding in or not as you see fit, and I have the background info I need to put the insurance case to bed, too. All that’s left is the concerns of the dead and the magical. That’s my field.”

He shook his head. “Nonetheless, I will not be sidelined while you put yourself in danger. I can’t allow it.”

“I can’t take you both: Mambo Moon requires two crew, since Paul will need a lookout while he pilots.”

“Quinton is the more experienced boat hand. And it makes more sense for me to come with you than to stay here.”

I sighed and shook my head in exasperation. “Things are going to get very weird out there—”

“And the earlier parts of this day were not?”

“Not like it’s going to get. A few ghosts in the engine room and some talking otters is not even in the ballpark. Quinton’s been through this sort of thing with me before.”

“And you trust him more?”

Way to put me on the spot. “That is not the issue.”

“Then what is?”

“Well, if you want the truth, I don’t think your family would forgive me if I got you killed.”

He laughed a single hard bark of irony. “Eventually Ximena would understand. But Mama Gomez . . . she’s the one you should fear.”

“I do.”

“Most of the neighborhood is afraid of her.”

“Which surprises me not at all.”

“And does not change the situation. I will go with you.”