Mulder knocked on Scully's motel room door and hoped she would be in a better mood today than she was yesterday. Long car trips and dead bodies must not agree with her. Along with sheriffs who aren't frumpy enough to her liking. She answered the door after a moment.
"Morning Scully," he told her with a smile. "I brought us bagels," he said holding up a bag.
"Good I'm starved. I didn't get dinner last night," she told him, greedily taking the bag.
They went into her room and sat down at the table and opened up the bagels.
"So what do we have planned for today," Scully asked taking a big bite of her bagel.
"I was thinking that we'd rent a boat. There's an island out there that I'm interested in getting a closer look at."
She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"A boat? Mulder, the last time we rented a boat we sank it."
"True, but this will be different. We'll be more careful," he told her. "I'd kind of like to take the boat out at night too and see what might lurk once the sun goes down."
"I don't know what you're really expecting to find. A mermaid perched on the rocks?"
"Maybe? I mean, something or someone is out there killing men and I think it has to do with that island," he explained.
"What makes you think that?" she wondered.
"Just a hunch. But first I wanted to do some research on the town to see if anything like this has happened here before, so I was gonna hit up the town library."
"What do you want me to do while you're doing that?" she asked eating more of her bagel.
"I was thinking you could go back to the station and check out the medical reports on the other victims and see if there was anything they might have missed. See if they reported any strange bruising like what you saw."
Great, she had to go back to the station and see Sheriff Miss America again, she thought to herself.
"Alright, I'll see what I can dig up," she told him. At least if he was at the library and she was at the station Mulder wouldn't be spending any more time with Liz the wonder sheriff.
They finished up their food and got ready to leave. Mulder was going to drop Scully off at the station while he headed for the library and they'd meet back up later. Scully wasn't looking forward to seeing the sheriff again and it wasn't just jealousy this time. She just didn't like her. She had no logical reason for feeling that way about her, but call it women's intuition. Something was off with her and Scully didn't like it. She was too nice and sweet. It was annoying. But she'd put away her feelings for the sake of the case and hope that Liz would just leave her alone with the files and not try to make small talk. Once they were there, she got out of the car and headed in.
"Good morning Agent Scully. It's nice to see you again," the sheriff greeted her.
"I'm here to check out the medical files on the other five victims."
"Oh. Sure. Let me get them for you."
As she went to her file cabinet and began rooting through it she glanced over her shoulder at Scully. "So where is Fox this morning?"
"Agent Mulder is at the library," she said, refusing to call him Fox so maybe the sheriff would take a hint that it wasn't appropriate to be so familiar with him.
"What's he hoping to find there?"
"I'm not sure. A history of the town and whether or not there've been any other unexplained drownings, I guess."
"I've never heard of that and I've lived here all my life. He could have just asked me," she said with a smile.
"With all due respect, I think he just wants to make a thorough search and since you're not the town historian I don't think he can go off just your word."
The sheriff just looked at her and smiled. Scully was pretty sure it was a fake smile, much like the one she was giving her as well.
"Well, I hope he finds something useful. I was hoping to see him again today."
"Why is that?" Scully asked curiously.
"Oh I don't know. I like him. He's a passionate man. And he has some interesting ideas about this case. Plus he's a little dreamy and not bad to look at."
The sheriff knew she was pushing Scully's buttons and that made it all the more fun for her. She could tell Scully didn't like her.
"He's dreamy? What are you, 12?" Scully scoffed.
The sheriff laughed.
"I'm just saying he's got a certain charm. Surely you've noticed. You two have worked together awhile, I assume."
"We've worked together for six years. And yes, he's got charm. But this is business. I'm surprised you'd be so unprofessional," Scully informed her.
"As I said to Fox last night, we're not too formal around these parts. And I was just making an observation." She tossed the case files onto the desk and looked at Scully. "Here are the other victims. But I don't think you'll find anything of use here."
Scully grabbed up the files. "I'll be the judge of that," she muttered. "Is there someplace private I can go to look these over?"
"There's an interrogation room down the hall. God know it's collecting dust. Nothing bad ever happens here."
"Well something bad is happening now," Scully informed her.
"Yes, and I do hope we figure it out."
Scully nodded and took the case files in her hands. She trudged down the hallway and found the empty interrogation room. She sat down at the table and began combing through the ME reports. She was shocked to find out how incomplete they were. It was as if the ME just glanced at the body and said, 'yep he drowned' and instantly marked it as accidental. It didn't appear any actual examining occurred at all. All the bodies had contusions and scrapes on them, but it didn't appear to delve any deeper than that. She got up from the table and went to find the sheriff again. She found her sipping coffee at her desk while looking out the window. Scully cleared her throat to announce her presence.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" the sheriff asked pleasantly as she noticed Scully in the room.
"No, I didn't actually. Were any of these bodies actually examined? I'd like to talk to your ME."
"He's not here right now."
"Well can you get him here? I have a lot of questions for him."
"I'll give him a call."
Scully waited as she made the call and listened in on what was being said.
"Hi Jonathon, it's Liz. Things are going well. Yeah. Listen I have someone here who wants to talk to you about the drowning victims. She's from the FBI. No I don't know what she wants to ask you. I know. I know you made the reports. She already looked at them. Okay. Can you just come down here? Alrighty. Thanks Jonathon."
The sheriff looked up at Scully.
"He'll be here in a jiff. He just lives down the street."
"Just send him to the interrogation room when he gets here, okay?"
"No problem," the sheriff smiled at her.
Scully walked away and shook her head. Something was not right here. And those fake smiles were getting on her nerves. She was ready for this case to be over.
After a short while a man came into the room where Scully sat absently looking at the photos in the files. He introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Jonathon. The medical examiner. I hear you wanted to speak to me."
He extended his hand out for her to shake it, which she did.
"Agent Scully. I just had some questions about your reports on these bodies. It seems you ruled all of these deaths accidental, but I can see from some of the pictures there are indications of handprints near the shoulder areas on several of the victims. Didn't you notice that?"
Jonathon scratched his head and glanced at the photos.
"Well we just attributed the bruising to post mortem marks where the bodies were pulled out of the water."
"But you can see a clear bruising that was definitely not made post mortem. You can tell."
"That's not how I saw it," he told her. "Besides Liz said they were all terrible accidents so I just figured there was nothing much to find on the bodies. They all drowned tragically. Case closed."
"Sir, with all due respect, it's not 'case closed'. These men were held under the water. It wasn't an accident."
"Ah, I don't know about that. That's not what my findings were."
"Well your findings are grossly negligent. Just because Liz tells you it was an accident, you didn't feel the need to delve deeper?"
"No ma'am. I didn't. And if it's all the same to you, I stand by my findings."
"Well I stand by mine too. I think these men were intentionally drowned," Scully told him.
"Who would do something like that?" Jonathon wondered.
"That's what my partner and I are here to find out."
Sometimes she hated dealing with small town law enforcement agencies. They didn't always do a thorough job. Either because they didn't have the resources or because they just weren't as skilled as they were in the bigger cities. Places that never saw crime often didn't even know what they were looking for when it was right in front of them. Plus it hadn't gone unnoticed by her that the sheriff had her hand in this too. She just concluded they were accidents and the ME followed her lead. Why would she do that? Did she really think it was impossible there was any other explanation? It was suspicious to her and gave her just one more reason not to like the woman.
"Well I do hope you find what you're looking for, but I think accidents just happen," Jonathon told her.
"Yeah they do. Just not this many. But thank you for your time and coming down here to talk to me," Scully told him. She'd gotten all the information she needed.
"No problem. Have a good day Agent Scully."
He left the room and she sat back down in the chair. It was all so obvious to her that these were no accidents, but she still didn't have a suspect in mind. Mulder's crazy idea still didn't sit well with her. She felt like they were at a dead end, especially without the cooperation of the local authorities. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mulder, it's me. Did you find anything out at the library?"
"Yeah I did as a matter of fact. Seems like this isn't the first time this has happened. I think you're going to find this quite interesting. Did you find out anything with the medical reports?" he asked her.
"Yeah, but no one here seems to believe me. I talked to the original ME and he still thinks it's all just a big accident. But I saw bruising in the photos that matched the victim I examined. I think all the men were drowned intentionally," she explained.
"I'm pretty sure you're right. I knew as much before we even got here. But the ME didn't believe you?"
"He stands by his findings. But it seems Liz is the one who urged him to think they were accidents. He didn't really look very hard."
Mulder chuckled a little. "You say her name with such distaste."
"Well I feel pretty distasteful against her. I'm not sure she's the best sheriff. She's just seeing what she wants to see so she doesn't have to deal with a serial killer in her town, under her watch."
"I just think she's not used to crimes like this. She's naive. Just cut her a little break," Mulder said with a sigh.
"You're defending her?"
"No I'm not defending her. I just think that this is way above her head. In fact, it may be above all our heads because we still have no idea why those men went into the water in order to be drowned. That's what I want to find out," he told her seriously. "Have you asked about a boat yet?"
"No I haven't done anything except look at these files and annoy Police Barbie and the ME."
"I'm pretty much done here so I'll come pick you up. We'll go get that boat so I can check out the island," he informed her.
"Hurry."
"I'm on my way."
She hung up the phone and sighed to herself. She couldn't wait for Mulder to get back. Not just because she was tired of the police station but because she always felt better with him around. They didn't always agree either, but at least she knew he was in her corner this time. Plus she was curious to hear what he found out at the library.
He arrived finally and he was greeted by the sheriff.
"There you are, Fox. I was hoping to see you again today," she told him with a grin.
"Here I am. In the flesh. Is Scully around?"
"She's down the hall in the interrogation room. I don't think she likes me very much."
"Aw, I'm sure that's not true. Scully is just very intense in her work, that's all," he made excuses for her to save face.
"Well she intensely questioned my medical examiner and made him feel inadequate and about three feet tall."
"She just has a difference of opinion about what happened," he told her. "Why were you so sure they were accidents?"
The sheriff looked at him a moment and then shrugged. "I just couldn't fathom it being anything else. Especially the first few times. After that I did begin to wonder a little, but the medical examiner assured me the cases were all the same. Accidents. You have to understand that we just don't have murders here so my mind never went there."
"It's not entirely true that you don't have murders here. I found out some interesting things at the library."
Just then Scully walked into the room, having heard Mulder's voice from down the hall.
"Mulder, you're here. Are you ready to go see about the boat?" she asked him hopefully.
"A boat? You guys are getting a boat?" the sheriff asked.
"Yeah, we wanna check out that island. I'd like to take it out at night too just so we can see what might be out there in the dark when no one can see."
"I have a boat. I'll take you guys out there myself if you'd like," the sheriff offered.
"That would be perfect," Mulder told her with a nod.
Scully sighed softly. More time spent with the sheriff. That woman was on her last nerve and she didn't even have a good reason why, and she knew it. She just couldn't help herself.
"Great, let me just get a few things in order," she said with a smile. "So what did you find at the library that was so interesting? You were about to tell me."
"Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that myself," Scully told him.
"Well it seems as if thirty years ago, the same thing happened. Seven drownings, all single men. The police back then ruled the cases 'suspicious accidents' but they never did find out any information or suspects. Then it just stopped and they figured it was just something in the air I guess because the cases were all closed and never looked at again," he explained to them.
"That is interesting," Scully agreed.
"Yeah it is," the sheriff agreed.
"I thought you said there had never been anything like this before and Agent Mulder should have just asked you," Scully looked at the sheriff pointedly.
"That was before my time, I'm afraid. I never heard about it though. I was just a baby then," she said defensively.
"I think there was a lot done to hush up these drownings. They didn't want to cause panic in the town. I'm not surprised you'd never heard about it," Mulder told her.
"Do you think the number seven is significant? Are we waiting on one more victim before this whole thing stops? Or do you think it's just a random number?" Scully asked him curiously.
"I think the number is significant because I also found out that the same thing happened in another town just up the coast from here. That was eleven years ago. Seven drownings, all men, this time ruled suicides by the police. And then it just stopped."
"So we have one more victim to go. Only problem is, we don't know who it is, when it'll happen or who is doing this," Scully sighed.
"I need to get on that boat. In the other town all the bodies were found near another rocky island. I feel like the deaths are occurring there. They ruled those deaths suicides because all the men were found on the rocks of the island as if they'd jumped to their deaths."
"That makes it different than our case. There's no evidence of jumpers here," the sheriff interjected.
"Tides are different and they're carrying the bodies to shore. That doesn't mean they didn't originate at the island," Mulder explained. "Plus if this is what I think it is, the Sirens wait on the rocks. That's where they set up camp and wait for their next victims."
"Let's get on the boat then," Scully said with resolve.
She was ready to go along with the theory somewhat, though she doubted they'd be lucky enough to find a Siren just sitting there waiting to be found. If such a thing existed she was pretty sure they'd be hidden very well.
They drove down to the pier and followed the police car. Mulder was anxiously tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove and Scully looked out the window.
"You know, Sheriff Dunbar is being really helpful. I don't think she had a clue before what she was dealing with," Mulder told Scully.
"I still don't like her."
"Why not? She's very nice and pleasant, even if a little naive."
"Why do you care if I like her or not?"
"I don't. I was just pointing out that you could take that moody scowl off your face at any time and it'd be great," he teased her.
"I do not have a moody scowl," she protested. "It's more of a pouty annoyed face."
"Well as cute as that face is, you should just relax Scully. She's helping us. And hopefully we'll find something soon and we can leave this place."
"I hope we find something soon too because I am ready to leave. It's cold here on top of everything else," she said with an even more pronounced pout.
"Oh pouty, look at that lip. I'm gonna get it," Mulder laughed as he reached over and grabbed her lip playfully.
She swatted his hand away from her and started laughing.
"Will you stop? What are you trying to do?" she asked with a grin on her face.
"I was trying to make you laugh and mission accomplished," he smiled at her.
There was nothing like hearing Scully laugh. He lived for that sound. He didn't hear it often enough, but when he did, he relished it. He loved the way her nose would crinkle up and her eyes would sparkle. He wished he could hear her laugh forever. He knew she didn't particularly like this case and the sheriff had a big part in that. He didn't know why though. She certainly had no reason to be jealous. Sure, Liz was a beautiful woman, but she was no Scully. It didn't even enter his mind to think anything other than professional thoughts about her. But he kind of liked seeing how territorial Scully could be over him. It wasn't the first time. In fact, she always got a little huffy and weird when other women were involved in their cases. It was cute, he thought. Not that she ever had anything to worry about with any of them. Even if they liked him, the feeling was never mutual. He thought she should know that by now.
They pulled up at the pier and Scully noticed that it wasn't far from their motel. In fact, it was just a few blocks away. They got out of the car and headed over towards the sheriff. She was standing next to a police boat with big lights on the top of it and a sheriff's sticker on the side.
"What do you use this boat for?" Mulder asked her.
"We mostly use it in the summer months when people come to the beach and party a little too hard sometimes. I patrol the waters by the shore just to make sure everything is status quo. I don't usually need it in the winter."
They all climbed aboard and Mulder directed the sheriff where he wanted to go.
"Out by those rocks where the island is. I want to get as close as possible," he told her.
"You can't get too close because it's so rocky, but I'll do my best."
"Do you think it's possible to get close enough that I could jump off and explore the island?" he wondered.
"Explore the island? There's nothing there but some rocks," the sheriff pointed out.
"Yeah, but there could be cave like areas. A place for someone to hide."
"I can't get you that close, but there's an inflatable raft you could use if you really had your heart set on it," she told him.
"That will work."
The sheriff looked at him confusedly. Why was he so eager to get on that island? He would never find anything. She couldn't believe he was actually going to float over there in a raft. It made no sense.
"Feel like climbing some rocks, Scully?" Mulder asked her.
"Me? No, not really. I can just watch you from here," she told him.
"Aw, where's your sense of adventure. It'll be fun. Come on, you're coming with me." He was insistent.
Scully just looked at him and her pout threatened to come out again, but she held it back. I guess this was part of her job. Climbing rocks in the middle of the ocean to look for mermaids. If anyone had told her she'd be doing this ten years ago, she would have laughed in their faces. But times had changed.
They made it out to the island and from the boat you could see nothing but rocks and bits of grass and sand. Nothing interesting. They couldn't get very close, but Mulder undid the raft and tossed it into the water. She grabbed a life jacket and followed him down. The sea was really choppy and she just hoped they wouldn't make victims seven and eight with the drowning. They kept themselves anchored to the big boat with a rope and then pushed out towards the island.
"Mulder, this better be worth it. I'm not really wearing my rock climbing shoes."
"Neither am I, but you gotta trust me that there's something up there to find."
She was trying to trust him like she always did, but this idea wasn't his best one ever. And Mulder realized as they got closer that it wasn't his most brilliant idea ever either. The rocks were a lot steeper and slipperier than they looked from the boat.
"Think we can pull this off?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure how we're going to get up there without falling and killing ourselves."
If it was anyone else besides Mulder, she never would have gotten into that raft. But for him, she did crazy things. He brought it out in her. She put her faith in him and usually he was always right. But sometimes she questioned herself for following him so blindly into every little caper he cooked up.
They made it to the rocky shore and Mulder attempted to get out of the boat and grab a rock. He lost his footing and crashed down hard into a rock and ripped part of his shirt. But he didn't give up easily. He grabbed on another place and pulled himself out of the raft and onto the rocks. His feet were wet from the waves crashing over the rocks and he noticed his arm was bleeding, but he at least made it out of the boat. He helped Scully get out and she had an easier time at first. Her little feet perched on the rocks better than his did.
"So now what?" she asked him as they stood on the rock covered shore with the waves lapping at their feet.
"We try and climb up. It looks like a good spot over here to try." He motioned towards the left and she saw a less jagged area with more to hold onto and a sandy pathway leading upwards.
The sheriff watched them from her boat and just shook her head. They'd never make it to the top. It was impossible. She never should have suggested the raft in the first place. She just had no idea Mulder would accept that crazy offer. She watched as they slipped and slid back down several times in their effort to get to the top. She sighed and hoped that if they died she wouldn't be held responsible.
They were part way up the side of the hill when they finally found some decent rocks to grab onto. They were almost up to the top. They both wondered to themselves how the hell they'd get down again, but small victories. They wanted to concentrate on one thing at a time. And right now, they were almost in the clear. Mulder got to the top and stretched out his hands to help Scully up. He yanked her over the edge and they both went tumbling back towards the ground and landed in a heap in some grass. Scully lay on top of Mulder, breathing heavily and staring into his eyes. They both felt the stirrings of something deeper, but now was no time to get caught up in that. But Mulder had to admit that having her laying on top of him was a huge distraction. She gazed into his eyes.
"Mulder…" she started.
"Yes Scully?"
"Did I ever tell you this was the worst idea you've ever had?"
The moment was broken and she rolled off of him and tried to straighten herself up.
"Look at my clothes. This blouse was new."
"At least it's not ripped like my shirt."
"You owe me a new blouse and possibly a foot massage later," she grumbled under her breath.
They each stood up and looked around. There wasn't much to see except grass and sand and curiously enough, white wildflowers. Mulder bent down to examine a flower.
"Don't you think this is odd? Flowers in the winter," he said to her.
"Maybe it's a species that thrives in the cold?"
"I don't know. I just know the legend of the Siren tells of meadows of flowers being in their vicinity. They'd lay in the meadow and wait for someone to come along."
"Well I don't see any Sirens lying in this meadow."
"I bet we might if it were nighttime," he told her as he looked around.
"Mulder we are not climbing this again tonight. You can, but I'm not," she said insistently.
"I wasn't suggesting we climb at night. I just meant I don't think the Sirens come out in the daytime. They're nocturnal."
"Where are they hiding then? There aren't any caves up here like you suggested. And there's no old take out containers or bonfire pits to prove anyone has been up here. In fact, after that climb, I think it proves that no one would willingly swim to this island at all."
"I never said anyone went here willingly. They were in a trance from the song," he reminded her. "And I don't know where the Siren is hiding. Maybe she spends her days somewhere else? Like under the ocean. If it's a mermaid like creature, that's where I'd be during the day."
"How could someone with a fish tail climb these rocks?" she questioned him.
"They have legs too. They're only mermaids when they're in the water."
"How do you know that?"
"I read about it, Scully. And I'm certain this is the place. Unfortunately my brilliant plan to investigate it is turning up nothing. But I know I'm right," he told her seriously.
"Say you are right. How do we capture this creature. What do we do? Kill it? Can you shoot it? Is there some legendary way of conquering such a thing?" she asked him with exasperated curiosity.
"The only thing I read is that if someone resists their song, they die. Or go away. I'm not sure which. But they aren't a problem anymore."
"How do we make this next guy resist her song?"
"I have no idea. But I'm guessing that shooting it would work just as well. After all in ancient mythology they didn't have guns so they could have forgotten to mention that would work too," he told her with a grin.
"I'm all for shooting it then. That is if we ever see it."
"Maybe tonight. I know we'll be on the boat but it has some pretty powerful lights. I hope we can find what we're looking for before she strikes again."
"I hope so too. Now can we get down off this island? I'm freezing and there's nothing here to see," she complained.
"Yeah, let's get down."
They had no idea how they would get down without falling. It was awfully steep. But they did their best. Scully lost her footing towards the end though and fell down hard into the water. She landed on her back and she felt a cut open up.
"Scully! Are you alright?" Mulder called down to her.
She worked hard to get herself up and out of the water and held her back.
"I'm okay. I think I cut my back."
She looked at her hand and noticed the blood. She definitely cut it. But otherwise she was unharmed and down to the raft. Mulder followed soon after and he slipped too in the same spot, but managed to hang on. They got back into the raft and Scully winced as she sat down.
"You're gonna have to let me look at that cut, Scully."
"It's fine, really. I'm sure I'll live. But I am freezing and wet so lets hurry up and get out of here."
They made their way back to the boat and the sheriff looked at them like they were crazy.
"Did you find anything?"
"No, but I think tonight we'll get lucky," Mulder told her.
And he hoped he was right. They needed to actually catch a glimpse of this creature if it existed. And then they needed to stop it. If they needed seven victims, Mulder was going to do everything in his power to make sure they didn't get their wish. He put his arms around Scully to warm her up as they rode back towards the shore. She was shivering and he felt bad that his stupid adventure got her hurt. But that made it all the more imperative that they see something tonight. Something to prove his crazy theory. Otherwise he feared Scully would never go on an adventure with him again.
To be continued...
