Deep Betrayal

doesn’t think she’s welcome in Cornucopia anymore.”
    Christian and Bernard exchanged a look while Daniel asked, “It’s that other dude’s fault, isn’t it?”
    I glanced again at Calder, who rolled his lips inward and jerked his head toward the door.
    “You mean Jack Pettit?” I asked.
    “Last summer Pavati was looking for …  a mate . Don’t look at me like that, I know what we are to you.”
    “Do tell,” I said.
    “Us guys, we’re either mermaid Prozac or the Baby Daddy. That’s what she told me. I know how this works. I thought it was going to be me, but then she met that Pettit kid, and I never saw her again. I don’t know what happened between them, but something bad. She’d probably come back if it wasn’t for him.”
    I held one finger up at Calder and leaned across the table toward the brothers. They inhaled sharply and leaned toward me, their eyes half closed, drinking it in. I knew they were only smelling Calder on me, but I used it to my advantage.
    “What do you know about that, Danny ?” I asked, imitating Pavati’s seductive voice as best I could.
    Daniel swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know that Pettit kid’s not doing himself any favors. Pavati’s not going to go anywhere near someone putting off that much negative energy. We all saw him on the news, and then on the island. I made a point of pumping him for information. He’s got the wrong approach.”
    “You know us pretty well, don’t you.” I meant it to flatter him, and it seemed to work. His cheeks flushed until his skin look like a roasted chestnut.
    “I told you. There was a reason I was so messed up.”
    “Lily,” Calder said. “Let’s go.”
    Daniel turned around at the sound of Calder’s voice. He grimaced, saying, “That’s no summer-school partner.”
    Bernard and Christian turned, too. One of them said, “Ah, man. There are dudes, too? We’ll have to lock up the women.”
    I ran to the door to meet Calder. “What’s the rush? Where are we going?”
    “Copper Falls.”
    “You mean now ? Wait. You heard all that?”
    “Of course. And if there’s any truth to Maris’s theory, we’ve got to hurry. Chief Eaton’s fishing vacation ended badly. His body just washed up on the beach.”

30
MYTH
    I t took a second for my eyes to adjust from the dark restaurant to the midday sun. I squinted at the back of Calder’s head as he led me to the car parked half a block away.
    “Wait,” I said. “What are you saying? Chief Eaton’s dead?”
    “I don’t think I can say it more plainly, Lily. We’ve got to get moving.”
    “You mean we’re going looking for this … this thing now? As in now , now? Don’t we need to prepare?” I stopped walking and pulled back on Calder’s hand. His expression was more serious than I’d ever seen it, and that was saying something.
    “Calder, we need … well, I don’t really know what we need. A plan, I guess.”
    “We don’t have time for planning.”
    “But I’m not ready. What do we do on the off chance she’s real?”
    He pulled me the rest of the way to the car and pushed me into the passenger seat. Paper crunched under me, and I pulled out the road map.
    “It’s a ninety-minute drive to the falls,” he said, putting the car in gear. “That’ll have to be enough time for you to get ready.”
    I pulled my knees up to my chin and inspected the map. “Copper Falls. Didn’t you say you were supposed to offer her pennies? Is it possible this is just some made-up legend to get people to throw coins into the lake? Like a giant wishing well? I bet the City Council would love to harvest that every fall. Maybe it’s just a scam—”
    “Lily.”
    “What?” I asked.
    “You’re not making sense.”
    “Like any of this makes sense!”
    “Settle down,” Calder said.
    “Settle down? Awesome. I’ll get to work on that. I’m trying really hard to believe you, but there’s not exactly a winning option here. Either Maris is wrong and my dad’s turned into a serial killer—”
    Calder shot me a scathing look.
    “—or she’s right and, at least, according to Daniel—”
    “Who?”
    “The wood-carver’s son. According to him, this thing could get us killed!”
    “Not us,” he said. “This is the only way to know for sure what’s going on. It’s the only way of stopping it, but I’m doing this alone.” Calder clenched his teeth, and bands of muscles flexed across his jaw.
    “Alone? Then why are