Chapter 2

He had seen a mermaid! A real... live mermaid.

Or had it been a trick of the light? The sun was behind that figure on the rocks, blinding him, not letting him see clearly...

But who would be out there, swimming in this cold weather? It could not have been Megan, not in daylight.

It had been a mermaid, just like in the stories...

Why couldn't it be a mermaid? There had been so many other things in this town.. Witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts... the whole shebang. Why not something as beautiful and magical as a mermaid?

It could well be true. There could be a mermaid out there.

If he kept coming to the beach and watching, he would see her again. Maybe even get close enough..

To do what? To touch it? No, not it. Her. To touch her...

It was easy to fall in love with her. He was maybe, half in love with her already.

In love with what might well be an optical illusion, a trick of the light in his eyes:?

Yet...

Maybe Charles had created her. Why couldn't Charles have painted a mermaid? In fact, he had mentioned that he had painted one once... And now the mermaid had come looking for her creator.

But when had Charles painted her? Before or after Petofi had given him that loaded, dangerous gift?'"

Either way, there was a mermaid out there, and if he kept coming, he would find out more about her and...

Some cautionary words came to him. To beware of the water spirits, as they could be treacherous and deadly. Like the Each Uisge, the Celtic Water Horse, which lured men away by offering a back to ride on, then plunging into the water, only to turn on the riders and devour them.

But she was not a horse. She was lovely. And she certainly as not a devourer of human flesh.

And it would be so lovely with her. No cold stares, no murder attempts by Roger, no surliness from Edmund., no disapproving looks from Edmund's teacher. None of the things that he had to put up with.

He laughed at himself. Falling in love with a fantasy because of his problems with Carolyn...

But he could start painting again. He wanted to try his hand at it, reawaken the talent that Charles had seen in him. And he could paint the mermaid...

"So you think that Iris will get herself in trouble?" Angelique asked Julia.

"She will, as soon as I turn my head."

"Got any idea what the trouble might be?"

"She might get violent with Delia. Or she might have a breakdown and take it on someone else. Trouble will find its way to happen."

"It always does."

"Just when we thing that we are going to enjoy some well deserved peace and quiet from our labors, it starts all over again when we least expect it."

"What is Iris' problem?"

"She is very bitter about Delia being released. She still blames Delia for her sister's death."

"Well, Delia had something to do with it."

"Yes, she did. But it was still Violet's choice. Delia had nothing to do with Violet's escape, nor her attempt on Iris."

"Still, had it not been for her, nothing of the sort would have happened."

"Maybe. And maybe not. There is no telling about these things. In any case, there is no reason for me not to release Delia."

"You can change that."

"I already told Iris that Wyncliffe is not run for her convenience. If it is run for anyone's convenience it is mine. And I will not risk a lawsuit these days."

"I could fix it so that Delia had a relapse."

"You will do nothing of the sort. I already put it in writing that she is fully recovered. What will it do to my reputation if she relapses right after I release her?"

"Still, it would allow us some breathing room."

"It would damage my reputation and my institution and solve nothing,."

"Why?"

"Because it only postpones the moment of truth for Iris, not makes it go away. Delia will be released. That is what is bothering her, and it will bother her just as much two months from now. the last think Iris needs is to believe that she has the power to make me change my decisions. What she really needs is to face reality."

"So all that you want from me is that I keep an eye on her?"

"You and Megan."

"We are not going to stay here forever. You want a shadowing job, long term as it sounds, talk to Tammy and Joe."

"I don't think that it will be long term. I believe that if Iris gets over it in the first two weeks, things wills settle down."

"And if you are wrong about that, what then?

"Then I will have to make other arrangements, that's all."

"Megan." Phillip looked abashed. "I want to apologize."

"What for?"

"The names I called you when you would not help us, or so it seemed."

"Phillip, you do not need to. Number one, you helped me keep my cover, and number two, if it had been real what I said, then I deserved those names... You did well. One thing bothers me is how easily you tracked me down."

"It was the word nook. I remembered when you used it."

"Yes. I thought it would be safe to use that old memory, because the only person who knew what it meant was dead... Well, that will be a lesson to me.."

"Megan..."

Megan shook her head. "Phillip. You are married, and have a child. You have a family who wants you very much. And I... I am only a memory to you. Let's keep it that way."

Little Eliot slept on the seat next to his.

David looked at him briefly, then looked back ahead to the road. "You must miss mother, don't you?" he said under his breath. "So do I. But she's not here. She's left both of us."

And he was alone, studying, trying to take care of the baby, and working. He could not do it all. That was why he was coming to Collinsport. If he had to let others care for his baby, they should be family. He could ask Barnabas for help. Or Carolyn. Carolyn would not reject her nephew. Later, when he was not so n busy, he could come take Eliot back.

He nodded to himself. Yes, he was doing the right thing. What did he know about caring for a baby? And hiring a stranger to do it... not, it was better that Eliot be with family.

Why had Hallie left them? Was he at fault? Had he done something, said something that he should not? Was he the one who should apologize?... She had not even complained, just left.

He wondered again if he was doing the right thing. If he was not abandoning Eliot, as Hallie had abandoned both of them.

Yet, what kind of a father would he be? He was already irritable and short tempered. He remembered how unwilling he had been to become a father, how he had resented it when Hallie had told him that she was pregnant. he could easily end up being the same kind of a father that Roger had been. And Eliot deserved better than that. Let him be raised by people who loved him.