Chapter Three: A Shot in The Dark
I couldn't tell you,
why it hurts so bad!
There's so many words,
for the broken hearted!
Now you know what it's like,
to scream and have no one to hear...
It's the nature of nature:
If you're strong, you'll live.
If you're weak, you'll die.
What would you do?
The next DAY, Renoir made her way into town; using crutches to get around town. Her grandfather had given her some money to spend on things that would keep her busy when he would work on the lighthouse. As much as the albino girl wanted to help, there was only so much a young woman could do when it came to the lighthouse before she would simply get in the way. The old man was happy to give his granddaughter the money. She had turned down the offer at first, but the old man insisted that she go into the city. If not to spend the money given to her; then for the sake of learning how to get around the city without getting lost.
So, right now, Renoir was walking down Eleventh and Bleeker; looking for something that she could do. She had been worried about the gargoyles since it had started to storm just after they were out of sight. She had hoped they had made it home before it got too bad for them to fly home. She actually enjoyed their company, but Brooklyn was the one who had caught her attention. Even though he hadn't truly said as much as the smaller one. She had been in a dream-like state the whole morning, and now she was walking in broad daylight-in New York of all places. Somewhere in her mind, she knew she would be in trouble if she wasn't on guard. Especially with one hundred fifty dollars in her pocket.
She wasn't aware that someone had been trying to stop her. "Huh? What do you want?" She asked in a defensive tone; turning around and putting up her fists to attack.
"Whoa! Take it easy, Renoir!" Eliza said in a surprised tone; taking her hand back and holding it up with the other in surrender.
Renoir sighed and relaxed her body; blushing in embarrassment. "Oh, Detective Maza," she said in a relieved tone; smiling nervously at the older woman before her, "I thought you might have been someone else..."
Eliza chuckled and lowered her arms. "Were you expecting someone? Where's your grandfather?" She asked in a curious tone; looking around for the old man she met at the police station the other night. "Isn't he here with you?"
Renoir grinned and pulled her cap over her brows. "He's at work. He thought it would be best if I should go into the city to "get the flow of it", as he put it. Wanted me to get some things to keep me busy while he worked at the lighthouse. He was a little shaken up when I told him I was out by the docks last night."
Eliza looked the girl over, and gave a slight smile. "Well, my shift is over," she said in a suggestive tone; looking down at her watch, "why don't we go grab something to eat or something? Maybe I could show you around town while we're at it?"
Renoir gasped and took a slight step back; falling flat on her back in the process. Eliza chuckled politely, and held out her hand for the younger woman to take.
"But I NEED to talk to you, Renoir. It's about the "friends" you made last night!" Eliza spoke up in a more urgent tone; grabbing Renoir's shoulder.
Renoir turned around on her heels, and gave Eliza a sharp look. "Am I in some kind of trouble? Did I do something wrong?"
Eliza chuckled in reply, and shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to talk to you about them." She replied in an honest tone; giving Renoir a sweet smile. "Why don't we go and grab a bite? My Treat?"
After the two walked a little with Renoir giving little information about herself, she guessed that she was just shy. They had settled on a small hamburger stand, and took their food to the park; sitting at the Balto Memorial.
"I remember coming to see this memorial whenever I'd spend the holidays with my grandfather... There's something about this place that makes me think I can do anything." Renoir said in a thoughtful tone; looking to the proud wolf-dog perched beside her. "He kind of reminds me a little of Bronx."
Eliza looked from her meal, and swallowed her food. "I want to know what you know about the gargoyles." She said in a flat tone; going back to her burger.
Renoir took a drink of her soda, and looked over at Eliza with a blank stare. "I know what you really want to know." She said in an accusing tone; narrowing her eyes through her sunglasses. "You want to know what my intent towards the gargoyles are."
Eliza choked on her meal, and pounded on her chest to get the food to go down her throat. "How did you figure that out so quickly?" She asked in disbelief; her eyes wide with shock.
Renoir looked away and munched on her food. "It's a gift. I can tell what a body is thinking at the slightest gesture or tone." She said hotly as she finished off her burger. "And with all due respect, Detective Maza, but I doubt they'll ever want to see me again. I could tell the one called, "Brooklyn" was tense the whole time we sat together and talked." She said in a hollow tone; wadding up the wrapper, and standing up. "Not that I blame them. I do look a bit on the "wicked side" as my family used to put it. I can never fit in with neither the humans nor the gargoyles..."
Eliza shook her head at the younger woman, and gave her a weak smile. "So what if people discriminate against you for being albino, Renoir. That shouldn't alter what makes you who you are."
Renoir turned to Eliza with a faint smile, and turning back around; throwing the ball into the trash can across the path way. "Your words may be true to some degree, detective, but it doesn't change the things those people did to me... Not by a long shot!"
After a few moments of looking down at the ground, Renoir sighed and turned back to Eliza with a tired look in her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about, detective," she told the law enforcer with a passive glance, "...your gargoyle friends' secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul. And even if I told, I'd be risking the exposure of my family as well... and that, I can not have..."
"Wait! What do you mean, Renoir? What secret? What are you hiding from me?" Eliza called out in a protesting tone; reaching out for the girl; only to find her too far away to touch.
And with that, Renoir made her way back into town; ready to go back to the boat house...
Later on that day, Renoir found her way back home; carrying two large paper bags. One was of her things, and the other was of some food to make dinner with. It was a hot day today and it was getting late in the evening. So the day was only going to get worse.
Her grandfather was out moping up the side deck of the boathouse; whistling some old tune as he went. Renoir smiled warmly at the man, and walked over towards the port that lead to her new home.
"I thought you were going to work at the lighthouse today, grandfather." Renoir called out to the elderly man.
Her grandfather looked down to see Renoir standing on the port; holding two large paper bags in her arms. He smiled down at the girl, and jumped down to help her. "Some of the other workers of mine couldn't make it to work tonight, so I have to go back later on tonight to take their shifts. And while I was here, I thought the decks needed cleaning. So, after eight hours of working, here I am, working on our home."
Renoir smiled at her grandfather and took her bags back from him; going back into the watery house. "I'll put these up, and I'll come back out here to finish this up for you." She suggested in a polite tone; giving her grandfather a happy smile. "That way, you can catch a few winks before you start the night shift, deal?"
The elderly man wiped some sweat from his brow. "That be the best news I've heard all day." He said in a tired tone; leaning the mop against the door frame.
And so there was Renoir; outside of the boathouse; cleaning the deck. She let out a loose cough, but showed no sign of stopping. She sighed and wiped some sweat from her brow; wishing she could just drop her mop and jump into the ocean sitting under the boathouse. But that would be too dangerous. It would put her family's secret on the line. And no matter how much she hates her family, she couldn't risk exposing their secret.
The elderly man came out of the boat, and looked around to see his granddaughter was still cleaning up the deck. "You still at it, girl? I thought you would sitting out here drinking lemonade and reading a book or something."
Renoir shrugged her shoulders, and continued to scrub the deck. "I finished washing it a while ago. All I'm doing now is drying it." She responded in a lazy tone; getting down on all fours to finish drying the floor.
The old man sighed and kicked the rag out of Renoir's hands; causing her to look up. "You've done enough as it stands, child." He spoke in a firm tone; giving her a warm smile. "Why don't you go take a swim? It'll be good exorcize for you."
Renoir looked up at her grandfather with shock on her face. "At sundown? Are you insane? Fisherman will be coming in any minute now! I won't risk exposing myself to them!"
Her grandfather simply pulled her up off the floor, and pushed her towards the inside of the boat. "You'll be fine if you just stay towards the bottom floor, Renoir. Now, go on and have fun. You might even be able to find some shells down there while you're at it."
Renoir pouted for a moment, but then, surrendered to her grandfather's wishes. "Fine. I'm blaming you if I get caught by a mortal. Remember that when mother finds out."
The man waved the girl's threat off, and began walking off towards bow of the boat; getting ready to climb down. "I've got to go to work now, Renoir. Stay out of trouble."
Renoir waved her grandfather off and turned back towards the lower portion of the boat; getting ready to jump in.
Once she made it to the opening of the boat, she stepped off in the water and a soft sigh escaped her lips, when she felt the water around her feet. She knew was would come shortly, so she had to move further into the water.
There was a slight red light shining into the waters, and all of a sudden, Renoir's legs began to glow as well. She closed her eyes; lavishing in the familiar numbing sensation and jumped into the waters below.
Once the lights faded away, Renoir's legs were now joined together and a long, stoned gray tail. She straightened her body upwards and freed her hair from its braid, and shook it loose. She then looked around, and swam back up to the opening of the boat, and reached on the first step to grab a bag she had placed there when she stepped out into the water. She pulled herself up onto the step, grabbed the bag; throwing it over her head before she dived back down into the waters below.
She had been on the ocean floor for a few hours now, and she already had her bag filled with things she found down there. She was now lying on a broken kelp when she looked up at the sky; seeing the moon slowly rising above the waters above her. She gasped and held onto her necklace in panic, she grabbed her bag and pushed herself up into the water; making a beeline in the direction of her home above water. She had lost track of time, and it was time to return to her home above the water. She sighed and swam quickly; flapping her tail as hard as she could to make it up to the boat.
When she close to the surface, she saw that her boat wasn't where she left it. She gasped and looked around for the boat. She broke the surface, and looked around; seeing that she had ventured a good distance from home. She hadn't realized that the fishermen boats were now making port, and ducked down low; keeping out of their sights, and swimming towards them. Her boathouse would be further down from the docks, and that meant she would have to go past them.
She actually avoided the first set of boats, but once she broke surface to make sure she was getting close, a middle-aged fisherman had spotted her. Renoir gasped and looked at the man when she heard him screaming about a monster in the water, and running off to tell everyone there. She then yelped in fear, and quickly jumped back into the water; going as deep as she could to get away. The only time she broke surface was when she was behind the rock formation that divided the fish market and the residential area. She looked over the edge of the rocks to see if anyone was looking for her. When she saw the captain yelling at the fisherman about daydreaming or something,, she leaned her back against the rock wall and let out a shaky sigh of relief. She caught her breath, and jumped back into the water below; not stopping until she got under her houseboat...
Eliza and Matt just walked back into the station to clock in for their shift, when their captain caught them at the time clock. They clocked in and followed her into her office; sitting back down into her seat.
"The reason why I called you in here is because I need you to check out the docks for me." The captain said in an urgent tone;pulling out a file from the top of the files already on her desk and sliding it over towards the two.
Matt picked up the file and began reading it; Eliza read over her partner's shoulder. "This is a joke, right, captain?" He asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Monsters? In the ocean? Please, captain! Save that for the harbor patrol." Eliza stated in a flat tone; waving the captain's commands off.
The woman sitting at her desk sighed and looked Eliza in the eye. "I can't having my division look bad if we don't look into anything that may be a potential threat to the city. You will be going on their patrol tonight. Just for argument's sake. And besides, it'll put the fishermen at ease about going back out to sea."
Eliza looked over at Matt, and shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Alright, captain. You win." She said before she walked over towards the door; letting herself out.
The gargoyles had been hanging around the castle for a few moments. They had woken up a few moments ago and were just about to kick back when Eliza came in; looking frustrated and stressed.
Goliath had made his way over towards her. "Is something troubling you, Eliza?" He asked in a curious tone.
Eliza sighed and looked up at the large gargoyle. "I have harbor duty tonight, and I am so not in the mood to freeze my butt off. I'd much rather avoid catching a cold or something." She said in a tired sigh.
"Why are you going to the harbor?" Brooklyn asked as he joined the two in conversation; looking up at Eliza from his crouched position.
Eliza looked down at Brooklyn with a stressed out look. "There were reports of a monster by the docks where the fishermen make port."
Brooklyn took a slight bounce back. "Monsters? That's about as crazy as alligators in the sewers!" He declared in a joking tone.
Eliza smiled down at the beaked gargoyle. "I know, right? Oh, and by the by, I ran into Renoir today when I got off work." She said in a friendly tone, " and boy, that girl is some piece of work since the last time I met her when she and her grandfather were in the station filing reports."
Brooklyn's ears perked up at the mention of Renoir's name, and gave Eliza a mildly excited look. "You saw her? What was she doing in town? Did she say anything about us?" He asked with excitement.
Eliza chuckled and relaxed her body at the young male's excitement and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Her grandfather sent her on a shopping spree and we just kinda bumped into each other. We grabbed a bite to eat and started talking. And let's just say that I found out more than I really wanted to know."
Goliath raised a brow at the woman before him, and folded his wings over his broad shoulders. "Oh? And what exactly DID you find out, Eliza?" He asked in a curious tone; watching the woman closely.
"She's smart as a whip. She knew from the start I was beating around the bush when I was asking her what she knew about you guys. I think I stirred up some unpleasant feelings when I was asking her about her family, too." Eliza said in a sharp tone; folding her arms over her chest.
Brooklyn hopped up on one of the perches, and faced them with a submissive look on his face. "Hey, wouldn't YOU be a little defensice if you had to go through everything she's went through? I mean, how else would she have gotten those scars? I'm sure some of them were accidents or something, but the other ones look like they might have been from defending herself from an attack, right? I'm sure she'll come around if we spend a little time with her."
Eliza sighed and shook her head in defeat. "I'm afraid that won't be as easy as you think, Brooklyn." She said in worried tone as she gave him a concerned look. "She thinks she looks like freakish. That no one will ever like her because of the way she looks."
"What? How is that even possible? I thought we were actually getting along last night!" Brooklyn cried out in protest before he turned around on his perch. "I'm going to go with you so I can stop by to talk Renoir." He declared in a final tone; pausing only to look over his shoulder towards Goliath. "Uh, if that's alright with you, Goliath."
Goliath gave a short chuckle and waved his second in command off. "You can go, Brooklyn. Just remember to come back before sunrise, and be careful."
Brooklyn smiled brightly at his leader and gave him a happy nod before he jumped off his perch; gliding on the currents that led to the docks.
Eliza waited until the beaked gargoyle was out of sight before she turned back to Goliath. "I guess I better be heading off, too. We gotta get to the bottom of this wild goose chase." She said in a ready tone; turning around to walk back into the castle...