Chapter 33

Cindy

Ben walked up the stairs leading to the Red Leaf Inn, near the center of downtown. According to his secretary, this is where Cindy Allison was staying. As he passed through the luxuriously appointed reception area, the attendant on duty smiled and murmured a greeting and asked how his establishment might be able to help him. When Ben gave him Cindy's name, the man walked back to his terminal and called up the information. Learning that she was in Room 243, Ben thanked the attendant and began walking for the elevator.

As he rode to the second floor, he pondered what he actually knew of her. A background check had revealed a lot of this woman's past. Born twenty-two years ago to Margaret Wu and Bobby Allison, she had been educated in her hometown of New York. She had gone to state college and got her associates. So much for her education. Her professional career was a bit more varied. Started as a checker for Wang's near her neighborhood, she moved over and accepted a position as receptionist for Tannison and Co., also of New York. She worked there for two years during her college, and then became a secretary for William, Alfred and Mary of New York, where she worked with Megan. According to their boss, they were a bang-up duo who always got their work done on time. Ben had been around long enough to hear bullshit when he heard it. He guessed because both were young and good-looking, that their boss kept them around to fog the heads of potential clients.

The elevator arrived with a ding, and he stepped off onto the red carpeted hallway. The wall was painted a pleasant blue, and adorned with pictures of various famous artworks. Typical hotel décor; offensive to everybody. Striding down the hall and trying not to glare, Ben arrived at door 243. Steeling himself, Ben knocked politely on the door.

"Just a minute! You don't have to break the door down. Geez." Came the feminine voice inside. Ben huffed irritably. He hadn't been breaking the door down. He had half in mind to turn around, but thought about how many days this woman had been searching for her friend. It was going to make it very difficult to lie to her, but Ben would do what he must. There was no other choice.

The door flew open to reveal a petite, dark-haired woman with half-Asian and half-European features. She stood barely shoulder high to Ben, who was a fairly tall man, and she scowled up at him with dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that read: HOPE FOREVER in white letters in a pink heart. Some sort of cancer event shirt, Ben supposed. She did not look happy.

"Miss Cindy Allison?" He asked tentatively. He was pretty sure this was her, she answered the description Megan gave him at least.

"Oh, my God, did you find her? Please tell me you found her. Is she alive? Is she hurt? Where is she? Is she here? Or is she at the hospital? Just tell me she's all right!"

Ben blinked at the sudden verbal onslaught. He was caught flat-footed, and had to think fast if he wanted to retain control of the situation. He proceeded along the lines he had thought of earlier. "No, Miss Cindy, we have not found her. We are making inquiries now that we have high hopes about. What we have found is―"

"Oh, my God! You found her body didn't you!" Her face sagged in horror. "I've seen this on TV. You found her and you don't want me to worry, that's it, isn't it?"

Ben felt like grabbing the woman by her shoulders and shaking some sense into her head. He restrained himself manfully and managed to keep control of his temper. "Miss Cindy, we haven't found her yet." He growled. "We are in the process of making inquiries. I believe you can help with the investigation. If you stop behaving like a two year old and start acting like an adult!" Okay, maybe he wasn't in as much control of his temper as he thought. He braced himself for the accusation of police brutality and sobs of uncaring cops.

Cindy's eyes flashed and she drew herself up and opened her mouth to deliver a verbal flaying, but stopped and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she took another. And another, until she looked up at him and managed a weak grin. "You're right." Ben was barely able to keep his jaw from dropping. In his experience, no woman would hesitate to give a man a good screaming at, especially if they had reason. "I've been so stressed out lately from my investigations and then tonight―" she shuddered and took another breath. Raising her hand to her forehead, she looked lost. It was time to strike.

"Miss Cindy, we may have a promising lead to the whereabouts of your friend. Recently, a cell phone we believe belongs to her was found at the lake. It's still there, and we would like you to positively identify it for us." Ben held his breath. If she had investigated thoroughly, she would know that the cell was recovered early on in the investigation. It was a big risk here, and Ben just hoped his luck held out.

Ben knew he was on a roll when Cindy nodded tiredly and stepped out of the room. "Let's go." Was all she said. Ben led the way down to the parking lot and climbed in his police cruiser. He knew fundamentally that it was not the best way to avoid notice, but while the vehicle may cause some talk, him driving around in his regular car was sure to be noticed. It was the price he paid for being police chief.

Along the way, Ben wondered if Cindy even realized how late in the day it was. No doubt she had been settling in to bed when he arrived, the sun had just about sunk on the horizon. Vivid golds and purples were still visible in the night sky. It was turning into a spectacular evening, and Ben felt his lips quirk upwards in a small smile. It was going to be a hell of a night; especially for Cindy, who was totally unaware of what was going to happen. She was going to be in for quite a shock. Ben just hoped she was up to it!

They pulled off on the same leaf-covered road that Megan had driven down on her way to the Enchanted Threads. Megan was staring out the passenger side window while Ben concentrated on his driving. The thick carpet of leaves was making the road slick, and he had to fight to keep the car from fishtailing or sliding off the road entirely. They hadn't exchanged a word since the hotel, and Ben was fine with that. He wasn't here for the conversation anyway, so he felt surprised when Cindy spoke quietly while looking at the dark forest beyond the glare of the headlights.

"Is this where she disappeared?"

Ben couldn't see any reason to lie to her, and most likely she had read the reports of where she had disappeared. Ben couldn't blame her for missing the entrance; it was so overgrown it had actually been a boater that had spotted the car. "Yes." He said simply.

Cindy stared hard out the window, as if she could see through the veil of time and night to when her friend had driven down this lonely stretch of road. "I wonder what drew her down here." She said half-to herself. "There clearly hasn't been anyone here in a long time. What could have made her come this way?"

She was talking to herself, but Ben felt obliged to answer anyway. "We believe she was lured down here specifically because it was remote and for…other reasons that we have determined."

"You mean so someone could rape my best friend and dump her body unnoticed?" Cindy said flatly. Her tone and the brusqueness of the question startled Ben completely, and he looked over at her in some surprise before feeling the car start sliding and with a curse wrestled it back into the lane. With the car back under control, he turned back to the question. Answering this was going to be difficult, he had to be careful not to arouse suspicion. He fell back on the old standby.

"We aren't sure." He said carefully. He was referring to the official "we" and not the other "we". It was a fine point, he admitted, but it allowed him to be truthful without giving away anything. "We don't have a body to autopsy, so we can never be sure. However, I'm hopeful that nothing like that has happened."

Cindy gave a sardonic smirk. "A hopeful cop that hopes a murder victim didn't suffer when she died."

Ben felt a flush rise in his cheeks and tried to turn the tables back on Cindy. "What makes you so sure she is dead?" he asked.

Cindy snorted. "Look, despite what you may think, Megan was my best friend. We did everything together: shopping, nail salons, boys, everything. We were tight, and I know she would have called if she could. That she can't, tells me that she is in trouble. The fact that she abandoned her purse, car and wallet tells me that it is very bad trouble, and that tells me she has either been kidnapped or dead. I called her folks, and checked in with the boss, no ransom demands. A kidnapper would want money or whatever. So, we rule out cash. She had a small apartment, and the office keys. Our office handles low-end adjustment claims, and the occasional car accident, not big stuff like criminal cases. Our office isn't Fort Knox.  If someone wanted information, they could just walk in for it. That rules out work-related. So, all that is left is used, abused and dumped."

Ben was highly impressed with her reasoning. He would put her in homicide any day. She was wrong in this case, but she had analyzed the situation exactly how he would have. He found himself actually smiling. What made it even better was the spectacular surprise awaiting her.

The car pulled up near the deserted fisherman's shack. The small lot in front of it was deserted save for them, and in the brilliant light from the car, it cast a definite, sinister cast to the building. He had suggested it for a meeting place because most people didn't come out this way, and it was a fair distance from Mermaid Rock, so there was less chance of running into an idiot with a camera.

Cindy looked around with some interest, seeing where her friend had vanished. She frowned at the empty lot in consternation. "Hey, I thought you said your CSI guys were here with some evidence you wanted me to look at?"

Ben put on a nonchalant face. "I guess they must have finished early. Let's take a quick look around, see if you can spot anything we might have missed. I'll check the woods, you check near the water. We'll meet back here in five." And with that he stepped out of the car, clicked on his flashlight and tossed it to her. Removing a second from his belt, he trotted towards the woods, just managing to refrain whistling under his breath. The rest was now up to Megan.

Cindy stared at the retreating back of the Chief, fighting a rising fear. A scene from Sudden Danger</u> kept running through her head, where the bad guy dressed as a cop lured the girl away from her parents and kidnapped her. It was ridiculous of course; this guy was the police chief. Besides, he had had plenty of opportunities to do her in, they had been travelling alone for more than an hour. He wouldn't bring her out all this way just to…No, she was being silly. Giving her a mental scolding for watching way to many crime shows, she stepped out of the car. Swinging the light around, she stared at the empty building. According to the guy that had interviewed her (After which, she had thoroughly grilled him), evidence had shown she had entered that building willingly. She couldn't possibly imagine Megan going in there; the hack was decrepit. She had never used the term before, but she had to admit it fit this time. The sole window was boarded up, the building seemed to sag in on itself, the wood had a slight sheen to it, like the walls were slimy, and she swore the roof appeared to have a thick layer of moss on it.

All in all, it was a hideous building. She had no choice though, not if she wanted to be thorough. She steeled herself, and then briskly marched to the shack. She wanted to get this over as quickly as possible. Stopping at the entry-way, she played her light over the inside. It had one big open room in the center, like a warehouse would be. She guessed that the owner would have curtain walls or something to organize the room, or simply leave it open. There was clearly nothing here at all. Time to go.

As she turned on her heel, she heard a splash nearby, and her heart jumped into her throat. Giving no sign of her unease, she shone the light on the shore, half-expecting to see a murderer or the chief staring at her. Instead she saw nothing. A fish jumped then, or perhaps a frog. She gave a small giggle. She was jumping at shadows. Next, she would start seeing ghosts!

"Ciiiindy!" a voice moaned off to her right.

Cindy froze, her heart beating wildly. The hair on her arms stood straight out in fright. The ghosts had come for her! She gulped and tried to wet her suddenly dry mouth, but couldn't find the moisture.

"Ciiindy! Over here! Near the water!" Called the voice again.

"M-megan?!" Cindy asked hesitantly. "Is―is that you?"

"Of course, silly. Who'd you expect? The boogeyman? I'm near the water."

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Cindy cried as she began running down the dock. Near land, she jumped of the edge and hit the pebble beach in stride. She sprinted down the shore, light playing down the coast, searching for Megan.

"Stop! You've passed me!"

Cindy threw on the brakes and spun around. How could she have passed her? There had been no one there. More carefully, she walked back with her light bobbing back and forth.

"Cindy!" the call came…from her right, it seemed. A frown came to her face. That couldn't be right, Megan was…in the water? Maybe she was in a boat.

Cindy turned and stopped dead. She felt completely numb, her friend was sitting on a rock several feet from shore, giving her that sweet smile she remembered so well. Cindy felt her mind muzzily asking why she was only wearing a strip of brown cloth that seemed to be made from leather, but didn't pay attention. Below her navel, where her legs should be, she had a friggin' TAIL!

"Hey Sin," Megan said softly. She seemed to be nearly crying. "It's been a while."

It couldn't be real could it. It….just….couldn't. Cindy took one step forward, and then grey swirled in front of her eyes. A foul smell cleared the fog away, and she coughed hard, pushing the vial away from her nose. She was on the ground, the hard rocks of the beach pressing painfully into her back, her head pillowed on something soft. Above, the stars shone brightly, and a corner of Cindy's brain wondered what constellation she could be seeing when they were blotted out by Ben's flashlight. It was only then she realized she had fainted.

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

"You fainted." Ben said tersely as he shined his light in her eyes. She wasn't about to ask what he was doing. Probably trying to make sure she didn't have a concussion. She chewed on his words slowly. She had never fainted before, why would she…? Memory rushed back and she gasped. A pair of hands gently gripped her head.

"Cindy! Please! I'm so sorry. I hadn't thought…I mean, I never meant…I didn't mean for you to get hurt!" Came the anguished cry from above her head.

"Megan!" Cindy sat upright and twisted around. Her friend sat right behind her, tears trickling down the corner of her eyes. It hadn't been a dream! Megan was here! Laughing and crying at the same time, Cindy embraced her best friend, hugging her fiercely. "Oh, my God, I can't believe I found you!" she heard a noise and realized she was sobbing. Megan was too.

"I should leave the two of you alone." The firm voice of Ben pulled her back and she leaned far enough back that she could glare at Ben.

"You knew"

"Yes." He freely admitted. The nerve of him! She had been so frightened and now he made light of it! She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, when Megan tightened her hug warningly.

"Cindy, I asked him to keep it quiet. Besides, would you have come if he told you I was a mermaid and wanted to see you?"

"Well, no." she confessed. "But still…" Her glare was back full force. "I thought you had lured me out here to…well…you know." Her courage failed her and her cheeks flamed. He had been  nice and professional, and she had thought such horrible things.

"That I was going to kill you?" Ben said with a smile. "That's good. It kept you alert and focused. I would hope that if this happens again, you are ready. By the way, nice reasoning back there. Completely wrong, of course, but you figured out the most likely scenario very well."

"What scenario?" Megan asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing." Cindy said hastily, shooting a look over her head at Ben. She didn't want her friend to know that she had given up on her. Now, if only he would get the hint. He didn't.

"Cindy used good logic to come to the conclusion you had been killed." Ben said matter-of-factly. Cindy felt her face flame some more, and Megan looked over at her with some surprise, and amusement, which deepened the red. "How?" was all she said though.

"Cindy apparently, and I'm not sure how, either got a copy of the report or a verbal account and managed to retain the information. She knew where you had disappeared at anyway, and a lot of the forensics. She knew you had left behind your car, keys, purse and wallet, and probably your cell phone, although I used the excuse that we found one that probably belonged to you up here and wanted her to ID it for us. From that she deduced that you had not gone willingly. From the location, she figured you had probably been lured here to be taken without witnesses, and from the lack of ransom demands to your family, work or friends, she figured you had not left the lake alive."

Cindy had shrunk considerably during the recital, feeling ashamed. To her surprise, Megan looked thoughtful. "Yes, perhaps in a way I was murdered out here." She must have caught the shocked look on Cindy's face when she twisted around to look at her. "Well, I was turned from a human to a mermaid and now live in a lake. You can't tell me that the same Megan you remember would do all that!" A small smile played at her lips.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I gotta know, how did you get turned into a mermaid?" Cindy asked, curious.

"Well, it started when I tried on that costume…" Megan began.

"Wait, a costume?!" Cindy asked incredulously.

Megan's silver laugh filled the night. Delight and joy bubbled up in Cindy when she heard it. Why, she was not sure, but it felt good.

"I can't tell the story if you keep interrupting, silly."

Cindy was chagrined. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"It's all right. Now, remember when we were on the phone last time? You told me about the office Halloween party that was costumed, and you wanted…er…thought about going as a pair of mermaids?" Cindy was grateful that Megan wanted to spare her from thinking it was her fault, but it already was. Yes, Yes, it is YOUR fault! Her mind howled. Telling it to shut up, she nodded to show she remembered. "Well, as you hung up, I spotted this little sandwich board that advertised Enchanted Threads, a costume shop. I was delighted of course, and drove out here near the lake. It was kind of creepy, and I thought about turning around, but I wanted to grab the costume and leave, so I made myself go in. Inside…" Megan continued on about Roland and the costume from the back. She seemed embarrassed that she had wanted a costume slightly better than Cindy's, but Cindy didn't care. Hell, in her place she probably would have done the same. Her hands clenched in anger as Megan dispassionately outlined the changing process, how when she got the door opened and fell out, there was no sign of costumes of that the shack had even been inhabited except for a banner blaring NO RETURNS. How the water called to her, and how she had started living out in the lake. It was all so much for Cindy to take in. She felt stunned clear down to her toes.

"…and then the chief brought you out here so we could be together." Megan finished. She took a deep breath when she finished and looked at Cindy's face a bit anxiously. "Cindy, are you all right?" She asked nervously.

That was a very good question, was she all right? Cindy mulled over the story and decided that yes, she was all right. She felt terrible that she had put her friend on this track, but Megan seemed happy with her life, which Cindy found odd, but wasn't going to say anything. In a way, it seemed as if she had found her niche in life, and Cindy wished her the best in it. She was struck by a sudden longing though, and bit of jealously. She opened her mouth to tell her it was all right, but what came out instead was "Can I go swimming with you?"

Megan's eyes widened. Then she laughed. "Of course! I would love it. Tomorrow, late in the afternoon. Here, so no one else finds out.  OK?"

Cindy nodded. She had actually meant now, but Megan's suggestion made sense. She wasn't exactly dressed for swimming!

The chief cleared his throat. "This reunion is touching, but I would like to get home sometime tonight."

Megan nodded. "I won't keep her much longer chief. But, how about a song before I go?"

Cindy blinked. A song? But Megan could barely sing. Cindy remembered the time she had brought a karaoke machine home for a weekend. They had played for a while, but hadn't managed anything special with it. Megan had low scores. She had the voice, but she couldn't carry the tune. Then she started to sing.

Was it music? Was it Heaven? Cindy didn't know. The beautiful voice echoed around her, through her until her heart beat in the same rhythm as the song. It danced on the air around her, and as the words flowed, the sky seemed to brighten, and all other night creatures fell silent to listen.

When the last note was sung, the world seemed to echo it. Cindy finally remembered to start breathing again.

"That…that was so beautiful." She whispered. It didn't seem right to speak after…that.

"Thanks." Megan whispered back. She hugged her fiercely. "I'll see you tomorrow.

The chief gathered her up, and she made her goodbyes. During the road trip back to her hotel, she couldn't stop thinking about Megan, and the story she had told her. As they reached the outskirts of town she realized something; he hadn't been surprised to find Megan. Granted, she had known about her, but something Megan had let slip during her story nagged at her. That Ben had been looking for her at the lake. That he had known to look in the lake for her suggested something, but what?

They were getting close to the hotel when it clicked. "Someone else has been changed by Roland too!" She blurted out.

Ben cursed and swerved the car, half entering the other lane before getting back in his. Cindy hung on for dear life.

"Who told you!" Ben demanded angrily. He searched her face, looking for any hint of a lie. Cindy wished he'd keep his eyes on the road!

"No one!" Cindy said quickly. "IjustrealizedithadtobesobecauseitmadesensewhenMegansaidyoufoundherinthelake!Youhadtoknowwheretolookandthatmeantyouknewshewasalreadyamermaid,whichimpliesthatyouhaveseenthisbefore.Nowpleaseputyoureyesbackontheroad!"

Ben stared at her a second more, processing what she had said, before grunting and returned to driving the car. Cindy let out her breath finally, it would take longer for her heart to stop racing. For a moment, she had been afraid that she would die in that car, and not see Megan again.

"You're right." Ben said finally. "Two young girls, daughters of friends of mine, were turned into Centaurs on Halloween. They were kidnapped by a circus travelling through town. It goes by the name of Nightshade's Show of Wonder, and probably a dozen others. Their names were…"

"Sylvie and Taryn." Cindy whispered, her eyes wide. She was shocked, but not nearly as much as the Chief was. He actually stopped the car this time and turned to her.

"All right, how did you know their names?" He demanded.

"Because," she said. "They're on Videotube, and they're all over the internet.