Alternatively

Absquatulate

He was the first to arrive on the scene, but not the first of the public. Local police had taped off the beach entrances, but news crews and curious clusters pressed the boundaries. It was nothing he hadn't handled before; one time he had responded first to a sphinx call and that had been utter PR chaos. He just had to flash his badge, spout some confusing jargon, and maybe turn on the frequency jammer to temporarily ruin electronic devices.

He flipped his sunglasses down on his head and slammed his car door shut, scanning the early morning horizon. How he loathed a morning mission, but when a call comes in about a mermaid dead on the shore, he couldn't resist a shoreside mystery. He marched through the throngs of chattering people, their conversations creating clouds in the air. If the air was going to remain chilly, he was not going to look forward to being doused in sea spray.

"Aye yo, Percy!"

He paused at the end of the parking lot, looking back as Will jogged towards him. "Morning, Sunshine."

"Ha ha," he drawled, dark circles under his eyes defined in the misty light. "Doesn't look like you got here too much before me."

"Mm, well, you wanna check it out?"

"And not wait for our superiors? Who do you take me for, a delinquent?"

So Percy, rolling his eyes, loudly announced that stand back, the interns were there to assess the situation. Typically, a registered officer would attend a scene with them, but the rules were generally lax depending how the case turned out. If everything was kept low key and the higher ups arrived not too long after, all was well.

He appreciated the learning opportunity of the internship, but he thought it was time he was officially signed on.

The sea was choppy and agitated, something that didn't settle well in his gut. They trekked down to where three cops stood around a body shaped lump on the shore, covered by a wet blanket. He'd only studied a few mermaids up close, and they were just dissection forms. You can only do so much when your subject is dead and priorly mutilated, deeming it suitable for lab students.

Hopefully, this one wouldn't be too badly damaged. He actually wanted to learn from a field run for once.

"Mornin' boys," the first officer cheerily piped. "Hope y'all had your coffee."

The both of them grumbled, cracking their knuckles and trying to perk up.

"Ah, get over it. Around five, two joggers found her washed up here. We managed to reach her twenty minutes after, kept the prying eyes away. Called you in on site."

Will knelt before the body, pulling back the sheet. "No one touched her, yeah? I'm worried the bacteria affected the respiratory system."

"How do you know that's what killed her?" Percy peered down, unable to get a good look.

"Gills are sealed shut, like in defense."

"The joggers say they didn't touch her upon discovery," the same officer added. "Dead when they found her."

"Are they still around?" Will looked up. "We'd like to get their statements."

As the other two officers pointed him in their direction, Percy took his place beside the mermaid as he snapped on gloved. She was a lot prettier than their lab subjects, and that wasn't where the differences ended. They had all been the typical maids of legend, flourishing perch like tails and all. This particular mermaid exhibited more shark like features, her gray caudal fin wicked sharp and angled. He scanned both skin and scale for external wounds, only finding a mild gash below her ribs. It wasn't even infected.