Real Mermaids Don't Sell Seashells (18 page)

“I'm clean.” Officer Ensel's sinister voice rang through the air. I couldn't tell where it was coming from because it was so dark, but he was close. Very close. “Nobody can pin anything on me about that kid. Now give me my keys!”

“Ahh!” I yelled as Ensel jumped out from behind the canvas tent and lunged toward me. I threw his shirt over his head to distract him then made a break for it. That's when a set of headlights whizzed toward me and screeched to a stop in front of the Straw Market.

“Faye!” I recognized the taxi van right away. She jumped out and ran after Ensel, brandishing her handbag.

“Yeah, you
better
run, Carl Jr.!” she yelled at him as Ensel ran off, toting the backpack on his shoulder. “Wait till I tell your mama what you been up to, terrorizing little girls! You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The flashing lights of a police cruiser came from the other direction and screeched to a stop in front of Señor Frog's, trapping Ensel against the outdoor patio as Faye hurled insults and swung her handbag at him from the other direction. Two police officers jumped out of their cruiser, and soon Ensel was on his knees with the backpack on the ground and his hands over his head.

I clutched Ensel's other shoe to my chest as everyone else piled out of Faye's van. There were Mom and Dad, the Martins, the Blakes, and Cori, Trey, and Luke.

“Oh my gosh,” I said, trying to keep from shaking as they huddled around me to see if I was okay. I wasn't sure if it was because I was still drying off from being wet or because of what had just happened, but I welcomed the sweater Dad draped around my shoulders just as the police slapped handcuffs on Ensel and read him his rights.

“I'm guessing your hair isn't wet because you forgot to dry it after your shower,” Dad said.

“Yeah, about that…” I began.

“Cori, Luke, and Trey explained everything,” Mom said.

“So you're not mad?” I asked.

“Oh, I'm
plenty
mad,” Dad replied. “But first, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm okay,” I said.

I guess that gave him license to go off on me because I listened for a full five minutes to his rant about how we'd come to the Bahamas to
relax
, not to get drawn into another mer fiasco, and how could I worry my mother like that and did I know there are
sharks
off the coast of Paradise Island?

“Thanks for the reminder, Dad,” I muttered, with the memory of my good buddy shark-a-doodle dancing in my head. But, I didn't think it was the right time to bring that up. Maybe another time. Another lifetime!

“The point is, you have no idea what's underwater here in the Bahamas! Are you crazy, swimming around here like that?”

“It was for a good cause,” I said hopefully, pointing to the police cruiser. “Look, we caught the bad guy.”

Just then, Faye arrived, still brandishing her handbag at Ensel as the police shut the cruiser's back door on him.

Mom gave Dad a warning look to get him to shush, so we didn't spill our mer secret to Faye.

“We'll talk about this later,” Dad muttered.

“The absolute nerve of that man,” Faye said when she finally calmed down after the police cruiser drove away. “First he helps kidnap poor Dillon. Then Cori tells me he takes Jade here on a wild boat ride around the harbor.”

Ah, so that's the story Cori made up. Good girl.

“Did he hurt you?” Faye asked.

“No, I'm fine,” I assured her.

“Well, let's get everyone home,” Faye said as she headed for the van. “I hear tomorrow's the big day and everyone needs their beauty sleep.”

“It
has
been a long day,” Mom said as she held the door of the van for me to climb inside.

“No joke,” I replied, collapsing into the seat next to Luke. He put his arm around me (very good sign!) while Dad gave him the evil eye.

“Not now, Dad,” I said, resting my head on Luke's shoulder and fighting to keep my eyes open after a fun-filled evening of dragging my tail along the Bahamian coastline.

The last thing I remembered about that night was a big green frog in a sombrero waving to us as we pulled away.

“
Five dollars each. Three for fifteen!” I called out from Dillon's colorful blanket, surrounded by white and coral conches. The warm Caribbean sun made the shells sparkle, and a brisk wind carried the salty scent of the ocean from the harbor.

Rayelle's mom had gotten Raymond to tow Dillon's boat back to the Straw Market with his water taxi. She'd set up the blanket with his shells next to her booth, and Rayelle, Cori, and I spent Saturday morning manning Dillon's Treasures while Dillon was being kept at the hospital for observation.

“Dillon should really think about adjusting his sale prices,” Cori joked after she finished packing up a conch for a middle-aged couple with matching fanny packs.

“I dunno,” I replied, picking up one of the conches and admiring the pearly interior of the shell. “You know what they say—you get what you pay for, and these are pretty awesome.”

Looking at the conches just added to the happy feeling of knowing Baldie and Ensel were safely behind bars, Eddie and Bobbie had a plan to sail back to Florida with Henry, and Mom and Dad were (hopefully) getting married that night.

“So,” Rayelle said, looking up from a message on her phone. She'd been texting with Dillon all morning while he waited for the doctor to release him from the hospital. “Word on the street is that Ensel's backpack was filled with cold medicine.”

“Cold medicine? Is it flu season in the Bahamas or something?” I asked.

“No,” Rayelle said. “They use the chemicals in the medicine to make a dangerous kind of street drug called Grip.”

“Wow, can you believe all this?” I said to Cori. Sure, it was only shrink-wrapped, waterproof cold medicine when I dragged the backpack across Nassau Harbor, but I shuddered at the thought of how dangerous the cargo could be once the drug dealers got hold of it and transformed it into something much more potent.

“Unbelievable. And scary.” Cori said.

“Oh my gosh.” Rayelle put a hand to her mouth as she continued reading Dillon's message.

“What?” I asked.

“Dillon had told me Charla and her friends were bad news, but I had no idea this was all going on. Look!”

Dillon admitted to Rayelle that he had worked as a messenger for the group of kids who sold necklaces at the Straw Market. The same group who gave us a hard time earlier that week. Only, the necklaces were just a cover-up for dealing Grip.

“Now I know how that girl could afford such expensive accessories!” Cori exclaimed as we kept reading Dillon's text over Rayelle's shoulder.

“He says he stopped being the gang's messenger once he figured out what they were really up to. He even helped Kiki's boyfriend, John, get clean when John almost lost his job at Dolphin Lagoon for being high. But Dillon had no idea Ensel was behind it all,” Rayelle continued as she texted a message back to Dillon.

“That Ensel guy was a real jerk, huh?” I said.

“Not exactly in the running for Cop of the Month,” Cori agreed.

“So…” I said to Rayelle. “Your mom seems to have had a change of heart about Dillon.”

I stole a glance at her mom as she worked on a straw hat. She caught my eye and smiled.

“Yeah,” Rayelle whispered, looking up from her phone. “I told her about how Dillon helped me last year. She's kind of coming around.”

“So are you guys going to start dating or something?” I asked, trying to get the dirt.

“I'm not sure,” Rayelle said shyly. “We'll see.”

“Well, he'd be crazy not to ask you out,” Cori said.

I looked at Cori and laughed. “I thought you were on the brink of giving up on guys for good.”

“What can I say—I'm a hopeless romantic at heart,” Cori said.

We hung out for another hour or so and sold a few more shells, but all too soon it was time to head back to the hotel so we could get ready for the big night.

“Okay, so we've sold ten of Dillon's shells and there are six left,” Rayelle said, counting up the money. “It won't make up for missing a whole week of sales, but hopefully it helps.”

“Thank you, honey,” Rayelle's mom said with a grateful smile as she tucked the money into an outside pocket of her money belt. “I'll be sure he gets it.”

“So what do we do with the rest of these?” Cori said, motioning to the shells. “Should we put them back on his boat?”

“Well, I can either buy that ‘It's Better in the Bahamas' T-shirt I saw earlier or clean out Dillon's stock for tonight's festivities.” I pulled out my wallet and counted thirty dollars to put with the rest of the money for Dillon.

“Good choice,” Rayelle said as she helped us pack up the rest of the shells and take them to the water taxi.

Raymond was waiting for us at the dock. He took the bag from Rayelle as we stepped into the taxi boat, and all of a sudden a wave of sadness washed over me, knowing I would be leaving the Bahamas in the morning and heading back to Port Toulouse. What would be waiting for me when I arrived back home? Rumors? Whispers? Sidelong glances?

And what was I leaving behind? Sun and surf? But more than that. New friends. Great friends. Faye. Dillon. And Rayelle.

“Hey, Rayelle,” I said as I stepped into the water taxi. “My mom and dad are having their wedding party tonight. Why don't you come with your grandma? Bring Dillon too if he gets out of the hospital in time.”

“Wouldn't miss it,” Rayelle said with a wave and a beaming smile as the taxi pulled away from the pier.

•••

“What a crazy week,” I said, flopping onto my bed once Cori and I got back from the Straw Market. “I thought the Mermish Council thing this summer was whacked, but this week could have ended really badly. Especially for Dillon.”

“I'm really sorry I gave you such a hard time about the whole Dillon thing,” Cori said. “Count that as a total fail for me in the friend department.”

“Hey, you're still staying here with me at the Asylum while your mom and dad are living it up at the Eutopia. If that doesn't prove your friendship, I'm not sure what does,” I joked.

“Yeah, but you knew something was wrong, and I kept trying to blow it off.”

“Well, to be fair, I thought I was going a little crazy too,” I replied.

“But I made it seem like you were being paranoid because of everything you've been through this summer when it was the opposite,” Cori added. “You, my friend, have excellent merma-drama radar.”

“Merma-drama radar?” I asked with a laugh.

“Built-in radar for mermaid drama. It's your superpower,” Cori said.

“Maybe I should get
that
on a T-shirt,” I joked.

“Well, actually…” Cori got a sly look on her face and pulled something out of her bag. “It's not the same but I hope you like it. Just a little something to thank you for such an awesome week.”

It was a neon blue T-shirt with white lettering that said
Mermaid
Hair, Just Don't Care.
And just my size!

“I love it!” I said, pulling it on over my tank top. “But you realize I won't be able to set foot outside in this thing, right?”

Cori laughed. “I wouldn't set foot outside in that thing either, but mostly because it doesn't match anything I own.”

Luke and Trey arrived just then. Things had been so crazy, I wasn't sure where the Cori-Trey thing stood after their squabble the night before. And if the Cori-Trey thing was weird, would that make things weird for the Jade-Luke thing?

“Hey,” I said as I answered the door.

“We have arrived!” Trey exclaimed, diving onto my bed to grab the TV remote. Soon,
Flunky
and
Blob
cartoons were blaring in the background.

“Nice shirt!” Luke said as he sat beside his brother. “So, you guys all ready for the big day?”

“I think so,” I said, going to Mom and Dad's door. “I should check if my parents need anything.”

“If they can hear you knock over the sound of the TV.” Cori rolled her eyes at Trey as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

So, the Cori-Trey thing wasn't quite back online apparently.

Dad answered the door.

“Hey, Jade,” Dad said as he popped his head in through the doorway. When he spotted Luke and Trey, his face took on a four-star general look and his voice dipped an octave. “Hello, boys.”

“Hello, Mr. Baxter,” Luke and Trey said in unison over the
Flunky
and
Blob
laugh track.

“Dude,” Luke whispered to Trey as he wrestled the remote from him and turned down the volume on the TV.

Dad sneaked a glance over his shoulder at his room, making me wonder if something was wrong.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“It's just…we got a call from the hotel catering staff. Because of all the other weddings and our last-minute plans, they can't make the sushi I special-ordered for your mom and the cake is a no go. Your mom is on the phone trying to order another cake right now, but it doesn't look good. Plus, we still won't know about the officiate until the last minute, and there's no way the flute player can make it because she was double-booked with another wedding at the Eutopia—”

“Dad! Slow down,” I said, grasping his arm. The guy was wound up tighter than a ball of Gran's yarn. This was no way for Mom and Dad to spend their last day in the Bahamas, worrying about whether or not they could get California rolls for their beachside wedding. I owed it to them to take their mind off their troubles, so I looked around the room at Cori, Trey, and Luke, thinking up a plan.

If the four of us could stop an international drug-smuggling operation, surely we could help Mom and Dad on their special day. “Tell you what—why don't you guys chill out for the afternoon? What's done is done, and I'm sure it's all going to work out.”

“I don't know…” Dad looked over his shoulder again to where Mom was on hold with the cake people. It killed me to see the pained look on her face on what was
supposed
to be one of the happiest days of her life.

“Well,
I
know,” I said, going into their room and taking the phone from Mom to hang it up. “Mom. Call Bobbie, Mrs. Blake, and Mrs. Martin. You guys are going to the spa for the afternoon. Dad, get the guys on the phone. There are four of you, right? Perfect for a golf foursome. Make it happen!”

Luke, Trey, and Cori stood at the door to our room and nodded in agreement.

“But there's so much to do!” Mom said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “The food, the music…”

I looked at all my friends, and Luke smiled at me, realizing I had a plan brewing. We may end up with Cheez-Its and our best rendition of “Gangnam Style” for music, but I knew, despite our disagreements, that if anyone could come up with a solution to Mom and Dad's last-minute worries, it was the four of us.

“Leave it to us,” I replied with a smile.

•••

Cori and Trey decided they were in charge of music because apparently I have no taste in music, so I decided I'd take care of snacks with Luke because that was an area I definitely excelled in.

While Cori and Trey went back to the Eutopia to make a wedding playlist on Trey's iPod and hopefully find a docking station to amplify the music, Luke and I headed to a food market a half mile down the road.

“Okay, so we have potato chips, pretzels, paper plates, napkins…” I looked in my basket to take inventory and sighed.

“What's the matter?” Luke asked.

“I just don't know if this is going to cut it,” I replied. “I was really hoping there would be more dessert stuff to choose from since they don't have a cake, but without an oven or a stove to prepare anything fancier, this looks like the best we're going to do.”

“I'm sure it'll be great,” Luke said. But I could tell he was still hunting around the market shelves for something better.

“Yeah, but it's just such a far cry from what my parents ordered earlier this week. My dad had even arranged for my mom's favorite sushi as a treat, since she loves seafood so much,” I said.

Luke got a look in his eyes, and I followed him two aisles down where he picked up a box of Rice Crispies.

“Sushi, huh?” he asked. I followed him to the next aisle, where he grabbed marshmallows and a box of Fruit Roll-Ups. “Trey has this thing he made for a bake sale once. Do you guys have a microwave in your room? And a fridge?”

“Yeah…” I said slowly. “Why?”

“Well then, I've got you covered,” Luke replied, tossing a final bag in the basket as we got to the cashier. “As long as your mom doesn't mind gummy worms in her sushi.”