He grabbed my elbow. “My God, Lily, that’s brilliant.”
“Brilliant?” I snorted. “It’s my worst nightmare.”
“No, it’s genius. You know how to catch a fish?”
“With bait?”
“You got it, babe. We want to catch Maris, and that van is the biggest can of worms I’ve ever seen.”
* * *
Later that afternoon, I was zipping a sundress, purple high tops, and a faux-fur shrug into a large waterproof bag. Calder watched me with amusement.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re serious? That’s what you’re packing?”
“It could get cold at night.”
Calder shook his head and added a pair of shorts and one of my band T-shirts to the bag, sealing it shut with duct tape.
The rich, tongue-coating smell of melted chocolate wafted upstairs. As soon as we’d got back from the ferry dock, Calder had, as promised, “helped” Mom deal with our revelation about Dad. In his usual way, he’d convinced her that Dad would come back soon and that baking would speed things along.
Five minutes later, she’d given in to a compulsive desire to feed people. Already there were six dozen peanut butter cookies cooling on the counter, and the oven was full of brownies, their molten crusts splitting, releasing an aroma that made me want to stay home.
“Why can’t we just take your car over on the ferry?” I asked.
“Swimming is faster. And cheaper,” he said.
“And wetter,” I added, grousing at the bag. I still couldn’t figure out how we were going to explain our soaking wet arrival. No doubt Calder could make it look good. Amazing, even. I was going to look like a drowned rat.
“True, but I want to test something out. You wanted to help. Let’s see how talented you are.”
“I told you. I’m not going to help you use my friends as bait.”
“Think of it as you getting to help me stop Maris from killing anybody else.”
“It sounds better the way you say it, but I still don’t like it.”
We came down the stairs and Sophie looked up from her book.
Calder said, “When the brownies cool, tell your mom that Lily and I have gone to look for your dad. Tell her we’ll be back sometime tomorrow.”
“Where are you really going?” she asked.
“We’re going over to Madeline to have dinner with Lily’s friends.”
“What’s the big deal? Why don’t you just tell her that?” she asked.
“She’ll want to send food,” I said. “We’re traveling light.”
“You’re swimming over?”
Calder winked at her, and Sophie lowered her voice so Mom wouldn’t hear. “When will you take me with you?”
“When you’re older,” Calder said.
Sophie stuck out her tongue and went back to her book.
Once outside and out of Mom’s view, I stripped down to my bathing suit and stashed my clothes in the bushes next to Calder’s. He was already in the water waiting for me with our watertight packages in a messenger bag strapped across his chest. “Come on,” he said. “Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” I lied as my chin shook and my teeth crashed together with a mixture of anticipation and uncertainty.
“Are you cold?”
“No. Now be quiet and quit harassing me.”
He waited patiently as I waded in until I was waist deep. I dropped under the waterline. When I stood up again, chin leading, my hair fell smoothly against my back and I was ready.
“Come on,” Calder said, coaxing me forward. His voice was deep and soothing, and I felt the hypnotic pull of his thoughts invading my mind. I saw myself in his arms, and I wanted the feel of it as quickly as I could make it a reality. I stared into his eyes and walked a few more feet, until I fell forward into the water and took ten long strokes out to him. He took me in his arms.
“Did you feel that?” he asked.
“Of course. You’ve done that to me before, remember? But you don’t have to. I’ll always come to you.”
“I wanted you to have a recent hypnotic experience to draw on. Now here’s what we’re going to do. What I did there, I projected my thoughts into you.”
“Like you did with Jules.”
He winked. “Right. In the air, the thoughts only go in one direction: out. In the water, it’s like osmosis; the thoughts go freely back and forth, from one mind to the next. But not with me and Maris and Pavati. Not anymore. But you …”
“You think it’s really them I’m hearing?”
“You said you’ve heard other voices before—not just mine and your dad’s. Who else would it be? We’re going to go out into the channel. I want to see if you can hear them, but I don’t want them to hear you. Receive; don’t project. Not yet. I want you to keep your thoughts completely blank.”
“How do I do that?” I couldn’t imagine how that would be possible, particularly when I was out in the middle of the lake in the arms of Calder White.
“Picture your mom’s canvases.”
“Which ones?”
“The blank ones. Think big, white, and blank. Don’t try to put any pictures on them. Keep the canvas as clean as you possibly can.”
“I think I can do that,” I said. “For a while.”
“But at the same time, I want you to listen. You’ve got to listen without reacting. As soon as you react, it will be like slapping paint on the canvas. Don’t be afraid. Don’t get mad. Don’t get curious.”
“That sounds harder.”
“Very. But it’s important. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
“ ‘Do, or do not. There is no try.’ ”
“You’re quoting Yoda?”
He smiled.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
When we were an even distance from both the mainland and the Madeline Island shoreline, Calder looked at me with a serious look. “Exhale,” he said. “Blow it all out.”
“I’ll need air,” I said.
“You’re only doing it to relax. Blow everything out of you. Think blank canvas. Then fill your lungs and I’ll take you down. We’re going to go for a short time. Fifteen seconds. Obviously you won’t have any trouble with that. When I take you back up, you can tell me if you heard anything.”
I nodded, inhaled, and then slowly let everything out. Once I’d pushed all the thoughts from my head, I inhaled deeply, and Calder took me down.
Blank, I thought. Blank canvas. I let the canvas grow bigger, wider, pushing everything else from my vision. And then I was above the waterline again.
“Anything?” Calder asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “I guess you were wrong.”
“I’m not wrong,” he said. “We’ll go to another site.”
We swam north along the shoreline toward Basswood, and I could feel the tension building in his arms the closer we got.
“Would they keep the same campsite?” I asked.
“Your dad and I have already searched the most obvious places. Still no sign, but we’re habitual by nature, and you have an uncanny way of running into them.” He stopped with a nervous glance at Basswood. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said, exhaling, letting the canvas expand in my mind until I was looking into clear, bright light. My head was a vacuum and the world was silent. Calder brought me under, and a tinny ringing filled my ears. And then one word: Die.
I must have flinched, because Calder had me into the air with such a burst of speed I choked on the water.
“Die,” I said. “They’re dying.”
He shook his head. “Someone’s dying,” he said. “It’s not them.”
“I don’t know. It sounds like they’re in pain.”
He looked confused by that. “That’s enough,” he said. “I think we’ve got our proof. Your range isn’t very good, but if you can get close enough to hear them, they can hear you. Next time, no blank slate. We’re going to send them a message.”
br />
“When’s next time?”
“You said your friend has a boat?”
“That’s what Jules said.”
“Then we’re taking them on a boat tour tomorrow. And they should bring their suits.”
The next time we came up for air, we were on the southeast shore of Madeline, right before Big Bay Point. Calder studied the shoreline, looking back and forth between several houses buried in the trees.
“There.” He pointed to the largest house with a bank of windows facing the lake. “That one.”
“You’re sure.”
“Absolutely. I can hear, what’s his name? Phillip? He’s got a big mouth.”
I took the bag from Calder, swam to shore, and ripped the plastic bag open with my teeth. Calder swam up and down the shore, waiting for me to get dressed. I left his clothes in a pile on a rock and started up the long, splintered staircase from the rocky beach to the house.
When I got to the twelfth step, I sat down sideways and waited, picking at the shrubbery that threatened to overgrow the railing. Below me, Calder was pulling himself up onto the sand. His transformation played out in my mind; I didn’t have to look. But I couldn’t help myself.
He was in a fetal position. His broad back and shoulders curled around the rest of his body, with just a hint of a silver, feathery fluke showing. The tension in his muscles made the crisscrossing scars stand out red and angry. His body trembled like a timpani drum. He squeezed his arms around his knees, then exploded outward, his body going rigid and straight with a groaning strain and a wild pop.
No sound escaped his lips, but the pain on his face made me close my eyes and turn away.
When I looked back, he was standing, his torso tapering to slim hips and long legs, the muscles in his scarred shoulders jumping. He opened the bag and stepped into his clothes, his legs shaking as he carefully placed his bare feet on the rocky beach. He shook the water out of his hair and turned to face me.
“I forgot shoes,” he said, but I didn’t answer, too stunned by the beauty of his body. My insides twisted into a tight spring that, when released, was sure to send me sailing into the air. I only hoped he’d be there to catch me when it did.
He climbed toward me, looking exhausted. “Stairs are tough right now,” he said. “I need a sec to acclimate. Maybe we could sit for a while?” He sat on the step below me and rested his head in my lap. I pulled him up so our faces were even. It hurt—the stair digging into my back—but I didn’t care.
“Lily?” a voice asked.
Calder looked up as Jules and Rob came down the stairs.
“What are you doing down there?” Jules asked.
“Oh …” I looked at Calder for a little help, but he seemed to be enjoying something—my reaction or theirs, I couldn’t tell.
“Did you knock on the door?” Jules asked. “We didn’t know you were here yet. Were you swimming? You’re all wet.”
Seriously, Calder? A little help here. This would be an excellent time for that thought-projection thingy.
“We couldn’t help but notice the view,” Calder said. “We thought we’d come down and check it out before going inside.”
“Us too,” Jules said, and she took Robby’s hand.
My eyes followed the gesture and then I looked up at Jules, who looked at me sheepishly. Her and Rob? Well, that was … unexpected.
“Come on,” said Rob to Calder. “I’ll get you something to drink.”
Calder followed slowly, kissing my cheek as he passed. Jules and I watched them go, and then she turned to me with a whip of her hair.
“You and Robby?” I asked. “Since when?”
“I tried to tell you before, but I chickened out. I thought you might be mad.”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?”
“Well, we got together just a couple days after you left, and I thought you kind of liked him. I thought maybe you’d been playing hard to get, but then you have Calder, so I …”
“Jules, you’re worrying over nothing. I’m happy for you. Both of you.”
“It’s nothing serious. It’s just fun to have someone to hang out with for the summer.”
“Sure. Whatever you say. You guys look great together.”
“Yeah, he’s great.” She watched Rob climb out of sight.
“Let’s get up to the house,” I said. “I don’t want to leave Calder alone with those guys for too long.”
“Yeah, God help their self-esteem,” Jules said.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Seriously, Lily. He’s so hot. What’s your trick?”
“I won him over with Tennyson.”
“No, seriously,” she said.
I threw my arm around her shoulder and we walked into the house together. I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Calder already in the thick of things—like one of the boys—laughing with Phillip.
“Hey, Hancock, Cal here says he can give us a tour of the islands tomorrow.”
I bet he did. “Sounds great,” I said, wondering which of my friends would pose the greatest lure for a bloodthirsty mermaid with death on her mind.
26
BAIT
The next morning I stumbled into the kitchen, where Jules was already up making French toast and bacon. Phillip and Rob were at the table, shoveling food in as fast as Jules could cook it.
“Are you two doing anything to help her?” I asked.
Phillip answered with his mouth full. “I opened the orange juice.”
“Where’s Calder?” Jules asked.
“Probably down by the water,” I said. “I think he slept on the dock.”
Jules raised her eyebrows and looked at Rob and Phillip, who stared at me for a long three seconds before going back to their food.
“He likes to sleep outside,” I said.
“Yeah, sure,” Jules said encouragingly. “That sounds great. We should all try that tonight.”
Tonight. My stomach lurched at the word. Would they all be coming home tonight? What was I doing, using my friends as bait? This was twisted and wrong. They should at least be given the opportunity to choose. But who would choose to be a lure? I hated this plan. I had half a mind to call in sick.
“Eat something,” Jules said.
“I’m not hungry,” I said.
Colleen and Scott came out next, Scott’s hair sticking up in the back and Colleen’s mascara smeared under her eyes.
“Attractive, guys,” said Phillip.
Zach trailed out behind them, scrubbing his finger over his teeth. “Did anyone bring an extra toothbrush?”
“Hurry up and eat,” Jules said. “It’s already ten. Half the day will be wasted before we get out on the boat.” She flipped another eight pieces of toast onto a platter and blotted the bacon with a paper towel.
“Calder and I can start loading the boat up. Do you have a cooler?” I asked.
“Already packed,” Jules said. “It’s on the back porch.”
“And my uncle said there are life jackets in a plastic bin out there,” said Phillip. “There should be enough for everyone.”
“I’m on it,” I said, and I hustled out the back door. Calder was already waiting for me. He picked up the cooler without any effort, and I threaded eight life jackets onto my arms. Calder and I wouldn’t need them, but it was good to keep up appearances, not to mention comply with the law.
“I’m going to have to get some of that breakfast,” Calder said. “It smells amazing.”
“You’ll have to hurry,” I said, and then, “Are you sure about this? It doesn’t seem fair, not telling them what we’re doing.”
“You’re going to have to trust me, Lily. I believe in you. You need to believe in me. I won’t let anything happen to them. You’ve got two jobs: First, to keep them happy. Keep them laughing if you can, it will make the emotions stronger. Second, to send the message to Maris. Two jobs, Lily, and neither of them is to worry.”
“What’s the message going to be?”
r /> “I’ll wait to tell you that.”
“Why?”
“A little faith, please.”
I wanted to push him on it. It would help if I had more time to get the message firmly planted in my mind, to repeat it to myself over and over until I could think of nothing else. But I didn’t have time to argue, because there was an explosion of laughter, followed by Rob, Phillip, and Zach pushing each other in a race down the stairs. Jules and Colleen walked serenely behind them. Scott brought up the rear, tripping occasionally because an armful of striped beach towels blocked his vision. A bee circled his head and then flew off toward the trees.
Calder and I had already pulled the rain tarp off the boat and loaded the cooler and life jackets on board. Phillip had the key on a flotation ring. He pulled a thin instruction booklet from his back pocket and flipped through the pages nervously.
“If you want,” Calder said, “I can manage the boat.”
Phillip looked only too relieved. “Yeah, that sounds great, since you know where we’re going and all.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” said Calder diplomatically. “You can drive us home at the end of the day.”
Us, I thought again. Who would “us” be at the end of the day? Calder said to trust him. There was nothing else I could do. Well, yeah, I guess I could ix-nay this whole outing, but what explanation would I give at this point? Everyone had found their seat and kicked back. The guys were slathering on the sunscreen. Colleen dropped sunglasses over her eyes and tilted her head back to catch the sun. Jules handed Calder a muffin.
“You missed breakfast,” she said. “This was all that was left.”
Calder smiled one of those knee-weakening smiles, and Rob scowled. He repositioned himself next to Jules and threw an arm around her shoulders. His territorial behavior reminded me of a show I’d watched on Animal Planet.
Calder started the motor and let it idle. He untied the boat from the cleats, walking it away from the dock and then jumping on as the stern cleared the end. Rob and Zach leaned to their sides to give him room to step down and find his place behind the wheel. I had a sense of pride in how comfortable he was on a boat. I wondered when he’d mastered it. Why take a boat when you can swim? It reminded me how little I really knew about him, his past, the people he’d known, the girls.…