Deep Betrayal

tomorrow.”
    I bet he did . “Sounds great,” I said, wondering which of my friends would pose the greatest lure for a bloodthirsty mermaid with death on her mind.

26
BAIT
    T he next morning I stumbled into the kitchen, where Jules was already up making French toast and bacon. Phillip and Rob were at the table, shoveling food in as fast as Jules could cook it.
    “Are you two doing anything to help her?” I asked.
    Phillip answered with his mouth full. “I opened the orange juice.”
    “Where’s Calder?” Jules asked.
    “Probably down by the water,” I said. “I think he slept on the dock.”
    Jules raised her eyebrows and looked at Rob and Phillip, who stared at me for a long three seconds before going back to their food.
    “He likes to sleep outside,” I said.
    “Yeah, sure,” Jules said encouragingly. “That sounds great. We should all try that tonight.”
    Tonight . My stomach lurched at the word. Would they all be coming home tonight? What was I doing, using my friends as bait? This was twisted and wrong. They should at least be given the opportunity to choose. But who would choose to be a lure? I hated this plan. I had half a mind to call in sick.
    “Eat something,” Jules said.
    “I’m not hungry,” I said.
    Colleen and Scott came out next, Scott’s hair sticking up in the back and Colleen’s mascara smeared under her eyes.
    “Attractive, guys,” said Phillip.
    Zach trailed out behind them, scrubbing his finger over his teeth. “Did anyone bring an extra toothbrush?”
    “Hurry up and eat,” Jules said. “It’s already ten. Half the day will be wasted before we get out on the boat.” She flipped another eight pieces of toast onto a platter and blotted the bacon with a paper towel.
    “Calder and I can start loading the boat up. Do you have a cooler?” I asked.
    “Already packed,” Jules said. “It’s on the back porch.”
    “And my uncle said there are life jackets in a plastic bin out there,” said Phillip. “There should be enough for everyone.”
    “I’m on it,” I said, and I hustled out the back door. Calder was already waiting for me. He picked up the cooler without any effort, and I threaded eight life jackets onto my arms. Calder and I wouldn’t need them, but it was good to keep up appearances, not to mention comply with the law.
    “I’m going to have to get some of that breakfast,” Calder said. “It smells amazing.”
    “You’ll have to hurry,” I said, and then, “Are you sure about this? It doesn’t seem fair, not telling them what we’re doing.”
    “You’re going to have to trust me, Lily. I believe in you . You need to believe in me . I won’t let anything happen to them. You’ve got two jobs: First, to keep them happy. Keep them laughing if you can, it will make the emotions stronger. Second, to send the message to Maris. Two jobs, Lily, and neither of them is to worry.”
    “What’s the message going to be?”
    “I’ll wait to tell you that.”
    “Why?”
    “A little faith, please.”
    I wanted to push him on it. It would help if I had more time to get the message firmly planted in my mind, to repeat it to myself over and over until I could think of nothing else. But I didn’t have time to argue, because there was an explosion of laughter, followed by Rob, Phillip, and Zach pushing each other in a race down the stairs. Jules and Colleen walked serenely behind them. Scott brought up the rear, tripping occasionally because an armful of striped beach towels blocked his vision. A bee circled his head and then flew off toward the trees.
    Calder and I had already pulled the rain tarp off the boat and loaded the cooler and life jackets on board. Phillip had the key on a flotation ring. He pulled a thin instruction booklet from his back pocket and flipped through the pages nervously.
    “If you want,” Calder said, “I can manage the boat.”
    Phillip looked only too relieved. “Yeah, that sounds great, since you know where we’re going and all.”
    “That’s what I was thinking,” said Calder diplomatically. “You can drive us home at the end of the day.”
    Us , I thought again. Who would “us” be at the end of the day? Calder said to trust him. There was nothing else I could do. Well, yeah, I guess I could ix-nay this whole outing, but what explanation would I give at this point? Everyone had found their seat and kicked back. The guys were slathering on the sunscreen. Colleen dropped sunglasses over her eyes and tilted