Page 2 of The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid

It wasn’t the first time Mafu had thought about pressing charges against his sticky-fingered son-in-law, so I recalled his name. ‘Svestri Donovan?’ I asked. I pulled out my notepad and wrote the time, date and location at the top of the page then scribbled down the name.

‘Yeah, that’s him,’ Mafu said, when Donovan didn’t answer for himself.

‘What happened? Talk me through it.’

‘I called the Nomo’s office because I caught him trying to take my boat again and I wanted to press charges. And this time, I reallycanpress charges because my daughter has finally come to her senses and decided to divorce this asshole.’

‘She’ll change her mind,’ Donovan smirked. ‘She always does.’

‘Not this time,’ Mafu growled. ‘This time, you’re done. You come near her again and I’ll kill you myself.’

I sighed. ‘Can we not make death threats when the police are present? Or maybe not at all,’ I added belatedly. Mafu gave me a flat look but nodded. ‘Right, go on,’ I continued. ‘What happened?’

‘Sidnee answered the call,’ Mafu explained.

Gunnar had walked Sidnee away from Donovan and she was kneeling now, hugging Fluffy whilst he licked her face repeatedlyin an effort to make her laugh. She didn’t laugh but she did dredge up a small smile from somewhere just for him. The tightness in me eased a little more, although her smile didn’t reach her – now thankfully brown – eyes.

Mafu continued. ‘I hauled him off my boat and told him to stay put. When I saw the Nomo SUV arrive, I turned away. I don’t know what was said between them because I was checking the boat over. Next thing I knew, there was shouting and Sidnee and Donovan were swinging at each other. I couldn’t let him hit that tiny little thing – plus she’s an officer – but before I could pull him back she had him on the boards with her hands around his throat.’

He looked at me, his eyes serious. ‘I honestly thought she was going to kill him. He has superior size and weight, yet somehow she got the drop on him.’

That would be the academy training; nowadays Sidnee could kick butt and take names.

‘She fucking cheated,’ Donovan snarled. ‘I would have beaten her in a fair fight.’

‘You tell yourself that,’ Mafu said to his son-in-law. ‘Anyway, Gunnar got here shortly after the throwdown and he called you. We managed to pull Sidnee off Donovan, but we were at a stalemate. Each of us took one of them but it was like wrestling with the tide.’

It hadn’t looked like wrestling with the tide: Mafu had looked comfortable holding Donovan back and I wondered if it was a well-practised move. How often did he feel the need to restrain his son-in-law – and what the hell did his daughter think about it all?

‘Are you in control of yourself now, Donovan?’ I asked the huge man. He grunted but nodded. ‘All right. Let him go, Mafu.’

Mafu released him and Donovan rolled his shoulders to work out the painful knots from the protracted hold. I let him have a moment or two to get his head straight then said, ‘Tell me in your own words what happened.’

His expression was haughty and condescending. He hadn’t had the same sneer when he’d looked at Gunnar so either he had a vamp problem or a woman problem. Given that he’d started things with Sidnee, I was betting on the latter.

‘That half-breed bitch tried to arrest me! I didn’t do anything wrong. I have a right to touch this boat.’

‘Not anymore, you fucking don’t,’ Mafu snarled.

‘This isn’t your boat,’ I interceded before things could kick off again. ‘Regardless of your relationship with its owner, attempting to take it without permission is stealing. And in these parts, we think stealing is wrong. If I ask Officer Fletcher what happened, will I get the same answer?’

According to Mafu’s account, Sidnee had used rather more than reasonable force. If I arrested Donovan for attempted theft he’d likely bring a counter case against her, and right now she couldn’t handle that. We needed this whole thing to go away, no questions asked.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ Donovan repeated stubbornly.

‘Yeah? So why were you wrestling on the dock?’

‘She just came at me!’

‘Was she holding handcuffs at the time?’ I asked pointedly.

He became sullen. ‘Maybe.’

I sighed. ‘Alright, how about this? Both of you go home, and don’t call us again unless something isreallystolen. Got it?’

They both nodded, Mafu begrudgingly. As Donovan stalked off he glared at me and sent a venomous look at Sidnee. I’d have to warn her to watch her back because he hadn’t liked her getting the best of him. That sort of thing was emasculating, and men like him couldn’t cope with that.

I watched the two men skirt around Gunnar and Sidnee, avoiding Fluffy who bared his teeth and stood protectively between the two parties. Mafu collected a wheelbarrow full of his gear and pushed it up the ramp.

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