“Erik used his youthful good looks to target his victims. His dad brings the experience and discipline. Working as a team provides them with built-in alibis as well… which is why Erik didn’t leave his house.” Bel grabbed Eamon’s hand and tugged him to a stop. “Olivia and I sat outside his place yesterday in the hopes that he’d lead us to Ondine, but he never left. Significant others are often the guilty party, so he would’ve known we’d look into him.”
“So, Daddy dearest picked up his mess for him.”
“I wonder whose idea it was. Did they both see the mermaid performer drown? Was Dad an evil that sought to corrupt his son? Was Erik the problem, and his father stood beside him to keep him from being discovered?”
“Do you have confirmation that they saw the performer drown?” Eamon slid his fingers through hers as they resumed their search.
“No, but whoever the killer is, he witnessed it. I would bet your entire fortune that the drowning was his tipping point. To be honest, I can’t shake the feeling that the aquarium is playing a bigger role than we think it is.”
“Did the victims ever visit it?” Eamon asked.
“At least one,” Bel said. “There was a photo of her wearing the same necklace as Ariella. We’d wondered if they picked targets based on who bought jewelry from the gift shop, but the cashiers have a high turnover rate, and they’re the only people who could’ve seen which women purchased the necklaces.”
“Maybe the necklace is just a coincidence,” Eamon said. “Maybe simply walking through the aquarium doors was all the killer needed to choose.”
“I found something!”Bel rushed for her partner’s deck, arms laden with coffee and bagels from The Espresso Shot.
“Did you sleep?” Olivia asked.
“Not really… why? Do I look that rough?”
“You look like you don’t need any more of these.” Olivia seized the lattes from her hands and shoved them to the edge of the desk. “What did you find?”
“At the lake yesterday, Eamon theorized that Mr. Prince might not just be using Erik as bait, but that father and son might be working together,” Bel explained. “Which explains a lot.”
“It does,” Olivia said. “And he found proof?”
“No, that would be too easy, and nothing about this case has been easy.” Bel opened the bag, withdrew two fresh blueberry bagels smeared with thick cream cheese, and handed one to her partner. “We were talking about the aquarium, and I mentioned that we think necklaces were how the killer picked his victims. He suggested that the necklaces were random and meant nothing. It was the act of visiting the aquarium that landed a target on the victims, so I spent all night deep diving into the mermaids, and guess what?”
“You found our connection?”
“I found our connection,” Bel repeated. “When we found nothing at the lake, Eamon and I went to my place and searched the mermaid’s histories, records, and evidence.”
“You had Eamon help you?” Olivia raised her eyebrows in disapproval.
“He’s over a thousand years old and can’t die… who better to ask? Besides, he’s not technically a civilian.”
“Is he really thousands of years old?” Olivia’s pupils dilated at that new piece of information.
“I try not to think about it.”
“Is Ewan that old?”
“No, he has a normal life span,” Bel assured.
“And his age doesn’t freak you out?”
“All the time, but focus.” Bel lunged across the table and grabbed her latte. “So, we looked into the mermaids we’ve identified and found one thing in common. Everyone visited the aquarium before they died.”
“Seriously? How did we miss that?”
“Because our killer is a masterclass in patience,” Bel said. “We didn’t notice because I really had to dig to find anything, but it’s there. Every victim visited the aquarium before their death. It took forever to piece the connections together, though, because our killer waited for the perfect time. He didn’t want suspicion falling on him, so he didn’t kidnap them until months after their visits. Some were three months. Some were six. Some were over a year. Twelve whole months. That’s how we missed it. His patience held until the risk of someone making a connection vanished, and then he moved in. But the fact remains. Every single victim visited this aquarium preceding their disappearances.”
“Explains why no one noticed the girls go missing,” Olivia said. “The killer must have studied their schedules and habits during those months. He knew when to take them. I’m more convinced than ever that Ariella’s death is related to the mermaids. Our perpetrator planned his crimes down to the final detail, and then there she was, running from the police. For the first time in ten years, a witness threatened his way of life, so he silenced her.”
“I can’t giveyou our members’ names or unlimited access to our security footage without a warrant,” Sam Flot said as he led the detectives through the aquarium. “But I intend to give you consent where I can. Most of the footage corresponding to the dates you requested has been erased, but three videos remain on our servers. You have my permission to view the recordings from those three days only. I hope you find something useful.”
“Thank you.” Bel fell silent as the director relayed his instructions to the security team.
