Page 79 of Midnight Waters

“It was a dumb confrontation,” I said. “They all are, don’t you think? Adrian went after me because he was worried about you, and my family would have freaked out and gone after your family because they were worried about me. I just didn’t want to see this spiral, like it always does.”

I mean, I wasn’t lying. It was just a close second to not wanting to tell my family I was secretly a mermaid.

Ben released my arm and heaved a sigh. He beckoned for the key and I reluctantly handed it to him.

You’re welcome?

Without another word, Ben unlocked the door, and we slipped into the kitchen.

The scent of old food and garbage filled the air. I wondered if they had even opened a window since Tyler’s death.

“Where shall we start?” I asked.

“Tyler’s room.”

He sounded certain. Almost as if he suspected something was awry up there.

“So, what were you going to tell me?” I asked as I followed him up the stairs. “What did you find out?”

“It’s about this house.” Ben didn’t turn around to talk to me. “I don’t think Tyler knew.”

“What?”

“There’s a vein of red diamond running under this property. Crystal manufacturers have been contacting Michaela for years, trying to get her to sell, but she turns them down every time.”

“Really? Why?”

“Tyler’s dad built this place,” Ben said. “Michaela would never leave here, especially not to give it to people who would destroy it.”

“Do you think that’s why Tyler thought his mum was in danger? Did someone want her out of the way so this place would have to go on the market?”

“That’s my running theory.”

I swallowed hard as we walked along the upstairs landing.

Getting rid of Michaela and Tyler was the only surefire way to clear the property. The real question was, did George have any ties to the manufacturers desperate to get their hands on this place?

That was the next thread to unravel.

Ben led the way into Tyler’s room.

Tyler’s pyjamas lay on his unmade bed. An eclectic selection of shirts and trousers hung in the open wardrobe, alongside what looked like a bunch of party costumes.

He and Ben must have had some pretty fun ragers.

An askew laptop sat on top of his desk, a notebook, and a pen next to it. Truly, it was the snapshot of a room Tyler had expected to return to. Michaela couldn’t have touched it since he died.

As Ben started looking in many nooks and crannies, I walked up to the corkboard above Tyler’s desk. Apart from the dentist appointment reminder, the board was a collage of photos. Tyler, Ben, and their many friends at the beach, on nights out, and at birthday parties, at various stages of their lives.

Some of the baby-faced versions of them even wore school uniforms.

“You two were close,” I said.

“Yeah? What’s it to you?” Ben poked his head over the top of the bed, interrupting his rummaging around underneath it.

I held up my hands in defeat. Apparently, I couldn’t even make a heartfelt observation without it being construed as an attack.

“I was just trying to be nice,” I said. “I won’t bother next time.”

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