Deep Betrayal Page 0,20

at me like a bull and jerked his head toward the back room. What could I do but follow?

He wheeled around and grabbed my arm in a too-tight grasp.

“Hey!” I said, prying his fingers loose.

“How come you never answered my texts?” he asked, shaking me.

“Texts? That was you? You’re my unknown caller?”

He tossed my arm, and I staggered back. “Who did you think it was?” he hissed through his teeth. “I figured once you saw the picture you’d know it was me.”

“What picture?”

He rolled his eyes and put his hands to his greasy hair. “The link to the photo I sent. The one of that beached bitch who tried to kill you.”

I felt sick and dropped down onto a chair. “Why would you take a picture?”

“Proof!” He slapped his hand flat against the wall to accentuate the word. “I wanted you to know she was really dead. I thought if you knew, you wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. Then you’d come back.” He lowered his voice and whispered, “I thought you’d want to help me.”

“I wasn’t afraid, Jack. And I already knew she was dead. I was there. Remember?”

“Yeah. I remember,” he said. “Apparently better than you do.” He seethed. “They tried to kill you, Lily.”

“No,” I said, as calmly as I could. “They didn’t. Only one did, and you only know half the story.”

“I know all I need to know. You’re brainwashed enough to let one of them keep hanging around. I suppose it’s him?”

“Who?”

“Don’t play me, Lily. This place reeks of incense.”

There didn’t seem to be much point in lying, so I shot back, “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Me? Don’t you be surprised. Don’t come crying to me when your precious merman takes off for good. I warned you. That’s what they do. He’ll mess with your head. Then he’ll be gone.”

When he said it like that, it resurrected the old fears I’d had during my exile. I tried to muffle those doubts by remembering what Calder had said at the pool: I need her, I need her, I need her. Of course, that didn’t negate what Jack was saying. I supposed there could come a day when Calder didn’t need me anymore. And I couldn’t deny that his need hadn’t meant anything over the thirty-two days he’d been gone, without a word to me.

“I thought you liked the mermaids,” I said. “I thought you loved Pavati. You told me once you secretly hoped you were one of them.”

Jack laughed darkly and it raised the hair on my arms. “Funny thing happened on the way to a cliff last May. I finally grew up. I realized what a fool I’d been to think Pavati cared about me.

“Mermaids are only in it for themselves. They take, take, take. If they give us anything, it’s only a tease so we stick around long enough for them to take some more. They don’t care about us, Lily. And they’re all the same. Don’t. Trust. Mermaids.”

Dad and Mr. Pettit came into the back room as Jack’s last word dropped to the floor. Gabby followed, looking embarrassed and like she wished she’d found something better to do tonight.

Fortunately, both our moms were busy in the kitchen talking hotdish recipes, so they were oblivious when Mr. Pettit reproached Jack, saying, “Oh, for Pete’s sake, would you shut up? This is getting ridiculous.”

“What’s it to you?” snapped Jack.

“Dad, Jack, please don’t,” Gabby said.

“If you want to make a fool out of yourself,” Mr. Pettit said, “talking to news reporters, spouting your mouth off to the police, for God’s sake, that’s one thing, but when people start asking me about it, when you start embarrassing the family, pushing this nonsense on these good people, it’s gone too far.”

“I was only talking to Lily,” Jack said. “You’re the one making this a bigger thing than it needs to be. And I’ve probably got a much more receptive audience in ‘these good people’ than I’ll ever get from you.”

Dad silenced Jack with a look.

“Excuse me,” I said. I pushed around Jack and ran for the stairs. When I got to my room, the box spring and mattress had been made right. Calder was gone. The vacancy took my breath away.

Gabby followed me up. “Hey, um, I’m sorry about that.” She gestured behind her toward the stairs just as the front door slammed. “We should have left Jack at home. He is seriously messed up. Even more than before.” She tried to laugh, but failed.

“No more than