Anne Brown - Lies Beneath

A man sitting at a nearby table stared at her mouth.

I couldn’t blame him. For better or worse, nature had designed us all to attract the human eye, but Pavati was a particularly gorgeous specimen as monsters went. Unlike Maris’s and Tallulah’s pale complexions, Pavati’s was caramel and melted chocolate. Like a Bollywood superstar, she had square shoulders, a narrow waist, and dark-lashed eyes that glowed lavender. She was, as Maris called her, “The Perfect Bait.”

Even I, her own brother, could fall into her hypnotic trap and find myself fantasizing about her in unhealthy ways. It was a disgusting and humiliating experience, even when I knew she was doing it to me on purpose. “Just for laughs,” she’d say.

Pavati , I groaned mentally. Maybe I wasn’t totally innocent when it came to toying with my victims before the kill, but at least I did it to ease their fears. Pavati could be downright devastating in her allure. If this Jason Hancock was the one we’d been searching for, he didn’t stand a chance.

Pavati studied my gloomy disposition and chuckled to herself. Maris was less amused by the depression I’d allowed myself to fall into. She narrowed her eyes at me. “We are right this time,” she said.

“I’m keeping an open mind.”

“He’s moving his family to Bayfield—to the old house. What are the chances? This is the right family, Calder. It’s him.”

Now she had my attention, but I tried to hide my excitement just to piss her off. “Let’s say, just for kicks, you’re right, and you’ve found him,” I said. “How do you plan to do this?”

A smile slowly spread across Maris’s face. Pavati looked up quickly.

Tallulah slid her chair closer to me and linked her arm through mine. “Isn’t it good to have him back?” she asked the other two. She kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand; I squeezed hers back twice before slipping my hand away. This outward image of family harmony was like manna to Tallulah. If it were just the two of us, maybe this family would actually work. But there was no use hypothesizing. We’d never be rid of Maris.

Tallulah turned toward her. “Tell him,” she said.

Maris nodded once, happy to have the floor. “We’ve been watching the family for a while,” she said; her eyes glowed silver.

“I assumed as much.” I rocked back in my chair again.

“He has two daughters.”

“They’re close to their father,” said Pavati.

“And?” I asked.

“They” —Maris paused for dramatic effect—“are our ticket. To him .”

I rocked forward, slapping the chair legs onto the floor. “Geez, Maris, isn’t that a little … sick?”

She smiled and sat back in her chair. “Thanks.”

“Seriously?” I glanced hopefully at Tallulah. Was she in on this? “Do we have to make this more complicated than necessary? Why involve children? If he is who you think he is, why not let Pavati just do her thing?”

“Sounds good to me,” Pavati said, perking up.

Maris rolled her eyes. “He’s married.”

“So?”

“ Very married. I don’t think he’s the type to fall for the beautiful-girl-in-the-water routine.”

I shook my head. “Obviously you don’t know men.”

Maris leaned in. “He killed our mother, Calder.”

“No. He didn’t. Tom Hancock was the debtor. His son is only the collateral.”

“You know what I mean.”

“What makes you think Jason Hancock knows anything about his father’s promise? Or what breaking that promise did to Mother? Or to us?”

“What are you saying?” Maris asked, her voice wild and incredulous. “You don’t want to collect on the debt?”

I leaned in, encouraging her to whisper. “Of course I do. I want Jason Hancock as much as you do. I’m just saying … if this Jason Hancock is really Tom Hancock’s son … there’s no reason to make this more dramatic than necessary. Let Pavati lure him in. Once he’s in the water, we can all take part in dragging him down. We can all get our justice that way. Short and sweet. Done. Then we each go our own way.”

“Why don’t you want to stay with us, Calder?” asked Pavati. Her full bottom lip thrust out in a seductive pout. The man at the neighboring table licked his lips reflexively.

“Have you three looked in the mirror lately?” But I was only looking at Maris. Summers were bad enough. The thought of wintering in New Orleans with my sisters was beyond imagination. “A solidarity of vengeful mermaids? It’s charming.”

Maris’s eyes flashed with an electricity that made the overhead lighting fizz and blink. A pimply-faced boy who got too close stutter-stepped away. The other patrons looked up at the ceiling.

“I’ll tell you what, Calder White.” She spit my name through her teeth. “You play nice. Do this my way. And when it’s over, I promise you can leave without us ever bothering you again.”

“Maris,” Tallulah pleaded.

Maris waved her off. “What do you say, Calder?”

It was tempting. I’d been with my sisters since I was three. From then on, I’d been tethered to them, our minds connected by an invisible thread I could not sever. When Mother died, Maris became the head of our little family—now only she had the power to cut someone loose. If Maris was suggesting she’d let me go … No, it was impossible to imagine. But if she meant it … Well, if I ever missed my sisters, I could find them. But it would be on my terms. No more emergency summonses. No more guilt trips. No more physical urge to reconvene each spring. Independence wasn’t natural for our kind, but I never claimed to have come to this life naturally. Maris never let me forget that .

Tallulah’s fingers tightened around my bicep, and Pavati looked back and forth from my face to Maris’s.

“Deal.” The word was bitter on my tongue. Tallulah made a softly strangled sound, but I didn’t look at her. “What do we do now? Assuming you’re right.”

“You get close to one of the sisters,” said Pavati.

“How?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Maris leaned over the table and ran her fingers through my thick curls. “You’re not entirely hideous.”

Tallulah fidgeted as Maris touched me.

Laughing, Pavati tossed her hair, and her necklace jangled. Beads of sweat popped up on the upper lip of the man to her left. My eyes darted to him, and he quickly looked away.

Pavati drew closer, putting her arm around my shoulders. “Get invited to the house, Cal.” Her breath was still warm from the Mississippi Delta, and her full lips brushed my ear as she said, “ Meet the parents. Be the boyfriend.”

I nodded. The proposed seduction played out in my mind like a movie—the fake smiles, the deceitful kiss …

“Get Jason Hancock to trust you,” Pavati continued. “Tell him you’ve never been fishing. Let him invite you out on the lake.”

I closed my eyes.

“Then we’ll just show up,” she said brightly.

I pictured the three of them transformed, circling the boat like sharks, their lithe bodies cutting through the water, then slinking over the rail.

“Then what?”

“He’ll beg for mercy. He’ll ask us why,” Tallulah said, her voice ringing.

“We’ll take our time,” whispered Pavati.

“We’ll tell Jason Hancock about his father’s boat accident,” said Maris. “We’ll tell him how our mother saved his father.”

“For a price,” chimed in Tallulah.

“We’ll tell him that his father was weak. That he promised his infant son in exchange for his own miserable life. We’ll tell him that our mother agreed. We’ll tell him,” Maris said, spitting through her teeth, “that Tom Hancock may have broken his promise, but he, Jason Hancock , still belongs to us.”