Seeing Blue: A Mermaid Mystery [EXCERPT]

1. Monday, 06:32

"And this girl was on the boat when you woke up?"

Inessa confirmed the policeman's question for the fifth time since arriving at the station.

"But you don't know how she got in."

Inessa shook her head. Inspector Buxton span around in his leather chair, rolling his pen between his fingers.

"And what is your name?" he asked.

"Sarah," Inessa said, her feet fidgeting beneath the chair.

"And your last name?"

"Woods."

He typed it down on his computer.

"Thank you, Sarah," he said. "Thank you for bringing this girl to our attention. You may call your parents to pick you up, now."

Inessa squeezed her bottom lip through her teeth. "Actually . . ." She trailed off. Buxton looked up at her with an expectant expression. What should she say? That she had no family members to contact? That she didn't even have a phone with her?

"If you don't mind," she said, "I was wondering if, perhaps, you could let me stay with the girl a little longer. You know, just until I know she's okay."

Buxton scratched the top of his bald, chocolate-brown scalp. "I'm afraid we can't do that for confidentiality reasons," he told her. "She will be in the hands of the hospital now. Her medical details can only be disclosed to close friends and family members."

"Does she have any?"

Buxton sighed, looking fed up with Inessa's questions already. But still, he tried to stay polite. "To my knowledge," he said, "we are still trying to identify the girl."

"But—"

"No." The inspector cut her off. "I can assure you she will be in good hands—I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of our teams. But I must stress that there is nothing more we can do for you."

"Come on, sir."

Inessa turned at the new voice. She noticed the female officer who sat in the corner of the room, watching the exchange. "She did rescue the girl, after all. I know it goes against protocol, but she at least deserves to know how the girl is doing."

Buxton glanced at his colleague briefly before turning his attention back to Inessa. He didn't say anything, just scowled, causing Inessa to squirm in her seat. He didn't trust Inessa, and he made no attempt to hide it.

"I'll give her a lift down to the hospital so she can meet the girl when she arrives," said the female officer, making Buxton's decision for him. She beckoned for Inessa to follow. With hesitation, Inessa followed her out of the room. She tried to avoid the sergeant's curious glances, fiddling instead with the frayed cuffs of her blue hoodie.

It was quiet at the station that morning. Their footsteps echoed along the empty corridors.

"I don't believe I've seen you around," the officer said after a while. Inessa didn't respond. "I'm Sergeant Hammond."

The woman's warm smile was not returned; Inessa didn't feel like smiling. Hammond opened the door of the station and they stepped out into a pool of sunlight.

"It has certainly warmed up since this morning," she commented when they stepped out into the open air. Her local accent was rich. "Hopefully, we should start to see more tourists today. Always a troubling time for Buxton—so many of them take the legend to heart!"