It was a dark night, the moon partially obscured by clouds, but a dark shape bobbed a little way out from the hull.
“Do you see it?” The same guy pointed again.
I squinted, trying to make out what it was. A seal maybe? The clouds parted and moonlight scattered across the water illuminating—a body.
A woman beside me shrieked and spun away, her date taking her in his arms. A moment later, Chief Jack Taylor pushed his way through, gripped the railing, and leaned over. A muscle in his jaw jumped and he turned around, spreading his arms wide.
“Alright, everyone back. Now!”
His gravelly voice held authority, and everyone, Peter and I included, backed away.
“What is it?” a woman with a deep voice cried.
I turned as the jazz singer, the one I’d seen crying in the bathroom earlier, pushed through the double doors from the ballroom. Light spilled out behind her and the moonlight caught the white sparkles of her dress, lighting her up.
Her chest heaved. “What’s everyone looking at?”
Chief Taylor nodded at an officer nearby, who stepped forward and ushered the singer back. “Police business, ma’am, please stay away from the railing.”
“Why?” The whites surrounded her dark eyes.
“Oh goddess! It’s him—it’s Dylan!”
I turned to my left. On the upper deck, Davies’s date slumped, and two men in uniform dove to catch her. Her eyelids fluttered, and she threw a hand to her forehead.
Peter and I exchanged wide-eyed looks. Davies was the body in the water?
“No!” The singer shrugged off the officer who’d escorted her back and rushed to the railing. She sucked in a shuddering gasp when she spotted the body and then rocked back, holding the wooden rail, and launched herself over the side.
“Holy crab,” I muttered, frozen. Had I just seen what I thought I’d seen? I needed to lay off the drinks for the rest of the night.
“Snakes!” Chief Taylor cursed, teeth gritted.
The crowd rushed forward to the railing, morbidly curious I guessed, to see the second body. But instead, a deep purple fin dipped below the waves, and a few moments later the singer appeared next to Davies. He floated facedown in the water, his blond hair soaked. She slid an arm across his chest, rolling him to his back, and kicked back toward the ship. Her purple iridescent scales shimmered just below the surface of the dark water.
I raised my brows. “She’s a mermaid.”
Beside me, Peter blew out a breath. “I thought we were going to have two bodies to fish out of the sea tonight.” He dragged a hand slowly down his face, bags below his eyes.
I grimaced. Yeah… this was probably not turning out to be the best policeman’s ball ever.
Chief Taylor, his eyes on the mermaid and the officer below, barked out an order. “Lower down a rowboat.”
Several officers jumped to obey. The pulley squeaked as the rowboat was lowered. It knocked against the side of the ship on the way down and finally settled onto the gently churning sea.
The singer gripped the edge of the boat and hauled herself into it, her shimmering tail taking up most of the space. She then reached over and hugged Davies to her chest, leaning back to drag him in behind her.
Officers used the pulleys to haul them back up, and once the boat reached the edge of the railing, a dozen officers rushed forward. Several grabbed Davies and laid him out on the deck, while a few others helped the singer out. She magically transformed back to being human and dropped down beside Davies, sobbing. She shook his pale, limp body, and his head rolled over so that I could see his face. His unseeing eyes stared blankly up at the night sky.
“He’s dead!” she sobbed.
Gasps rose from the crowd.
“Alright, alright, nothin’ to see here. Back it up.” Inspector Bon stepped forward, palms out. “Move along, folks, police business.”
Another officer frowned at him. “We are the police.”
Bon’s eyes widened for a moment, then he scowled. “Well… back up anyway.”
Chief Taylor shot the inspector a hard look, and Bon’s big ears reddened.
“I’ll uh—just—check on something over here.” Bon edged away from the chief and I barely bit back a grin.
The blond, Davies’s date, staggered up, half supported by an officer on each side of her. Mascara streaked down her cheeks and her lips curled back, her face contorted with anger. “Get away from him!”
The singer glanced up at her, glaring, then went back to crying over Davies’s body.
The blond pointed a trembling hand at the mermaid singer and looked around at the watching crowd. “She’s probably the one who drowned him anyway!”
10
PARTY'S OVER
I grimaced and leaned closer to Peter. “This is getting juicy.”
He shot me an uncertain look, and I attempted to look sober. “I mean… so sad.” I swung my attention back to the melodrama unfolding in front of me.
The blond, Davies’s date, staggered forward into the little clearing around the body.
“Nanka….” One of the officers tried to coax her back, but she shrugged him off.
Nanka pointed at the sopping wet singer who still crouched beside Davies and addressed the crowd at large. “I saw her and Dylan arguing earlier tonight!”
The singer rolled her red eyes and dragged herself to her feet. She raised a brow at Nanka. “And why would I jump overboard to save him if I’d just killed him? Hm?” She stuck a hip out and shot the blond a challenging look. “Besides, you must’ve been mistaken. You need to get your eyes checked.”
Nanka sniffed. “Hardly. I know what I saw.”
Bon stepped forward, waving his hands over the body. “This is a crime scene, and until further notice there is to be no—”
Chief Taylor cleared his throat, and Bon glanced at him. Taylor jerked his head to the side. “Stand down.”
Bon’s chest heaved, and he pressed his lips tight together but gave the chief a short nod and, again, backed
