I took a moment to drink in the beauty and tranquillity of the place, then removed the string of pearls and broke it with a sharp yank, pouring the tiny iridescent beads into the palm of my hand.
“Sisters of the river!” I called. “I come bearing offerings!”
With that, I flung the pearls toward the river. They fell in a shimmering rain, pebbling the smooth surface of the water.
I didn’t have to wait long before the river roiled in answer, dozens of lithe figures flitting through the water in response to my summons: naiads with milk-white skin, undines with hair trailing like glassy kelp, quicksilver nixies darting like minnows. They dived deep into the green waters in pursuit of my offering. I’d never seen so many in one place, and the sheer loveliness of it made my heart ache a little. That lasted for as long as it took the head cheerleader of the aquatic mean girls to open her mouth and speak.
A naiad surfaced before me, her alabaster shoulders bobbing above the water, disdain on her beautiful face. “What manner of offering is this?” she demanded, holding up a bead between thumb and forefinger. “These are cultured pearls.”
Inwardly, I sighed.
“Forgive me, sister,” I said aloud in a humble tone. “They were the best I could obtain on short notice.” I gestured at an undine behind her who was threading pearl beads through her glimmering hair. “Do they not enhance your beauty?”
The naiad gave a sniff, her gaze skating over me and lingering pointedly on my white Keds. “What do you seek, halfling?”
“A young man drowned in the river the night before last,” I said. “I would know how.”
The naiad reared up in the water, baring a pair of coral-tipped breasts I had to reluctantly admit were pretty exquisite. Capable of luring a man to a watery doom? That, I couldn’t say. “Do you accuse us?”
“No.” My voice hardened. I held up my left hand, revealing Hel’s rune. “Look, I’ve observed the protocols out of courtesy, but I have the right to ask. What do you know of the events that transpired that night?”
Pursing her lips, the naiad called to the others in a foreign tongue, silvery and lilting. The others responded in kind. In the golden light of dawn, their faces were inhuman, lovely, and utterly unconcerned.
“I know it was naught to do with us,” the naiad said dismissively.
“Okay, but what happened?” I persisted. “According to his friends, he entered the river of his own volition, and began having difficulty swimming about halfway across. Can any of you confirm it?”
The naiad assumed a look of outrage. “Now you accuse us of failing to come to his aid?”
“I’m not saying that!” I said with irritation. “I’m just asking you to bear witness. You must have seen—”
She jerked her chin at me. “We have answered your question, Hel’s liaison! Nothing more is required. I am sorry a mortal boy is dead, but I swear to you on my oath, it had naught to do with us.”
“Yes, but—”
“You have my oath, halfling! You come to us bearing cultured pearls, shod like a peasant, and think to earn our goodwill?” The naiad’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “Farewell.” With a flicker of movement, she turned and dived, and like a shoal of fish, the others followed suit.
Within seconds, there was nothing more than gilded ripples on the surface of the water to mark their departure.
I swore, my tail lashing in frustration. “I’ll be back!” I called. “Your oath isn’t enough! I need to know what you saw, you heartless bitches!”
In answer, a rill of silvery laughter hung in the air.
Naiads, gah!
Ten
Disgruntled, I reported to the police station.
It wasn’t a good scene. Patty Rogan, the day clerk, beckoned me aside as soon as I entered the station. Behind the frosted glass on the door to the chief’s office, I could make out several figures and hear raised voices.
“What’s up?” I whispered to Patty.
“The chief and Cody are in there with a reporter from the Appeldoorn Guardian,” she whispered back. “The Vanderhei family’s making a stink in the papers. They’re demanding that the chief either disclose details of the investigation, or rule it an accidental death and order the kid’s body released.”
Oh, crap.
“Do we have the autopsy results?” I asked.
Patty shook her head. “The ME’s office is backed up. It might be a couple of days yet.”
With a reporter in the station, I decided this would be a good time to keep my head down and concentrate on paperwork. I grabbed a seat at the corner desk and typed up the notes from yesterday. When the reporter departed fifteen minutes later, I didn’t even look up. As soon as the door had closed behind him, the chief called me into his office.“Daisy.” Chief Bryant took a seat at his desk, his chair creaking beneath his weight. His face looked old and careworn. He gestured at Cody, whose expression was tense and guarded. “I’ve heard about the results of yesterday’s investigation. Anything new to report?”
I shook my head. “The naiads and the other water sprites say they had nothing to do with the Vanderhei boy’s death, and that I believe. Beyond that, I’m afraid they were uncooperative.”
The chief sighed. “So we can neither confirm nor deny any of the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death with absolute certainty?”
“At this point, no,” Cody said bluntly. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“Not your fault, son.” Chief Bryant gazed into the distance. “I just wish it wouldn’t be so goddamned easy.”
“Easy?” I echoed.
His gaze returned, sharpening. “To rule it an accident. Close the book on it and move on. It’s what it looks like. It’s what the family wants. It’s what the county sheriff’s office wants. Hell, it’s what everyone wants. And if I don’t, it could bring a shitstorm down on Pemkowet. Is it worth it?”
I glanced at Cody.
He looked away.
“What we know doesn’t add up,” I said. “Not yet. As far as the naiads go, there are . . . other avenues I can pursue to get them to talk. Or at least one that I can think of. But it’s up to you, sir.” I paused. “How big a shitstorm?”
The chief grimaced. “Big.”
“With all due respect, sir, fuck ’em,” Cody said softly. “This is our town.”
For that, along with myriad other reasons, I could have kissed him.
“Yes, it is, goddammit!” Chief Bryant slammed his hands down on his desktop. “All right. I’m going to lean on the ME’s office. Brody Jenkins is taking heat, too. I have a feeling he’s stonewalling us on the results of the preliminary. Fairfax, follow up on yesterday’s leads. Track down Ray D and find out what those college boys wanted with him. Johanssen . . .” His gaze slewed my way. “You look nice.”
I flushed. “Thanks.”
He cleared his throat. “Go ahead and pursue your . . . other avenues. But before you do, I’d like the two of you to restore the victim’s personal effects to the bereaved parents.” He reached into a drawer and plunked the evidence bag containing Thad Vanderhei’s wallet onto his desk. “Reassure them. Let them know we’re on the job, working every angle, tracking down every possibility. See what you can find out about their son’s activities.” He paused. “And while you’re at it, ask if they’re missing a bottle of Macallan.”
Double crap! Not an assignment I looked forward to.
I caught Cody’s eye and made myself nod. “Will do.”
Since there was no point in putting it off, ten minutes later we were in a squad car heading north toward Appeldoorn. “Chief’s right,” Cody said to me. “You do look nice.”
I’d taken the time to stop by my apartment and exchange my Keds for a cute pair of strappy sandals before I went in to the station. “Thanks.”
He didn’t mention calling Jen, and I didn’t bring it up. Instead, I told him about my late-night visitor.
Cody listened in silence, his expression turning grim.
“Do you think it might be related?” I asked him.
“Hard to say.” He glanced at me. “Do you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“There’s no telling what kind of hornet’s nest we might have stirred up.” Cody turned down the old country road toward south Appeldoorn. “Maybe you should think about staying somewhere else for a few days. Maybe stay with your mom or your friend Jen.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I don’t think that second one’s exactly an option right now. And if I’ve picked up a stalker, I sure as hell don’t want him following me to my mom’s place. It’s okay; I can take care of myself.”
He cocked a dubious brow at me. “If you say so, Pixy Stix.”
There was no mistaking the fact that the Vanderhei family was wealthy. Their house, situated on Big Pine Bay, could only be described as a mansion. The grounds were beautifully landscaped and maintained. A three-car garage faced the street, and the driveway was made of some kind of fancy paving stones instead of poured concrete. Although it wasn’t in Pemkowet township, it actually lay less than half a mile beyond the outermost limits of Hel’s sphere of influence, an invisible boundary nonetheless marked by a tangible sense of loss and listlessness as Cody drove past it.
I wondered how the Vanderheis felt about the proximity.
The doorbell was answered by a teenage boy with dark shadows smudged beneath his eyes and a marked resemblance to Thad Vanderhei, maybe sixteen or seventeen, slender, good-looking in a forgettable way.
“Good morning, son,” Cody said in a gentle tone. “I’m Officer Fairfax, and this is my associate, Miss Johanssen. You must be Ben.”
“Benjamin.” The boy’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “You’re here about my brother?”