Chapter 14
“We should stop by the Triton’s first,” Bel said as signs for the highway entrance came into view.
She’d picked Olivia up bright and early so they could visit The Espresso Shot for lattes and breakfast, but before they left Bajka’s town limits, an idea popped into her head. “Ariella’s parents knew Erik.”
“And they aren’t nineteen,” Olivia added. “They might be more discerning in their judgment of him.”
“Do you think it’s too early?”
“It’s a weekday. I don’t think so.”
Bel ignored the highway entrance and aimed the SUV toward the family’s secluded home. “Their cars are here,” she said as she parked, her memory flashing back to the last time she’d entered this house. Mrs. Triton had driven them from her home. Would they still find themselves unwelcome guests?
“Let’s hope we don’t get kicked out again.” Olivia’s words mimicked her thoughts.
“I hate that we have to be here,” Bel said as she climbed the front porch. “We’ve put this family through enough.”
“But if we never arrest men like the mermaid killer, they disappear, alter their M.O., and continue stealing innocent lives. If we don’t find this guy, he’ll never stop.
” Olivia raised her hand, her knuckles grazing the door.
“It doesn’t matter if Ariella isn’t connected to the mermaids.
We can’t let her fate befall any other girls.
” And with that, she knocked on the front door.
And no one answered.
“Mr. and Mrs. Triton?” Bel pounded on the door after two silent minutes. “It’s Detectives Emerson and Gold. Is anyone home?”
Nothing.
“They did just lose their daughter,” Olivia said. “Maybe they’re still sleeping.”
“Good point. I guess we can swing by on our way home.” Bel knocked on the door one more time for good measure without expecting an answer, so both detectives flinched when it flew open.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Triton slurred as she swayed unsteadily over the threshold.
“Mrs. Triton, are you all right?” Bel extended a hand to catch the woman.
“Who are you?” The grieving mother stared at the officers as if they hadn’t stood in her living room a few nights ago.
“Mrs. Triton, it’s Detective Isobel Emerson and Olivia Gold.” Bel gently gripped the woman’s elbow to stop her from swaying.
“Oh… do I know you?” she asked, and the detectives exchanged a concerned look.
“Mrs. Triton, did you take something?” Bel slipped an arm around her waist and guided her into the house. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“Okay.” The woman let Bel settle her on the couch, and as she released the mother, Bel subtly sniffed her. No alcohol on her breath. She must have swallowed pills.
“Mrs. Triton, what did you take?” Bel repeated.
“I didn’t take anything,” the woman insisted. “Why are you here? Do I know you?”
“Some sleeping pills like Ambien can cause memory loss,” Olivia whispered, “especially if taken in high doses.”
“I didn’t take anything,” Mrs. Triton reiterated. “I don’t take things.”
“Okay. How about I go make some coffee?” Bel asked. “Does that sound good?”
“Yeah…” Mrs. Triton leaned her head on the cushions as she muttered unintelligible words.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Olivia whispered, the color drained from her face at the woman’s unnatural behavior. “Should we call the EMTs in case she took something serious?”
“Let’s see if coffee helps first. She might be on heavy medication that hasn’t worn off yet,” Bel said.
“I didn’t take anything,” Mrs. Triton moaned.
“Okay.” Bel gripped the woman’s hand with gentle comfort as she and Olivia shared a wordless conversation.
“I’ll be quick.” She rushed into the kitchen, finding the coffee and mugs with ease.
It took her seconds to start the brew, and while she knew she should return to the living room, her intrusive thoughts won control of her actions.
Scanning the hallways, she slipped into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet.
This wasn’t an investigation. This wasn’t an illegal search.
It was just one woman showing concern for another.
If she found what their host had taken, she’d know how to help her.
To her expected dismay, the hallway bathroom held no secrets.
If Mrs. Triton had swallowed any pills, they’d most likely be hiding in the privacy of the master bedroom, but to venture into someone’s sanctuary uninvited was a line not even her curiosity would cross.
So Bel shut the cabinet doors and turned around.
“Mr. Triton!” She flinched at the sudden appearance of the imposing man. “I…” she trailed off because what could she say? He’d caught her snooping red-handed, and as a cop, she should know better.
“Sorry if I scared you,” he said, his mass still barring the doorway. “My wife.” He looked at her with intent. “She just lost her daughter.”
And Bel understood. Mrs. Triton had swallowed pills before she’d gone to bed, but based on her husband’s reaction, they were either drugs not prescribed to her or drugs that she hadn’t known she’d ingested.
Triton clearly didn’t have any intention of elaborating, telling Bel all she needed to know about how his wife had consumed the drugs, but she also had no interest in pushing the issue.
Grief was a wicked master, and the Tritons had lost their entire world.
Their lives would never be normal again.
“I didn’t realize you were home,” Bel said, and the man moved aside as if he suddenly realized he was blocking her in the bathroom.
“I was doing yard work.”
“I was just making coffee.” She walked back to the kitchen, thankful that the house’s owner hadn’t reprimanded her for snooping. “We stopped by to ask your wife some questions, but perhaps it would be best if I asked you, considering the topic. It might upset her further.”
“Please tell me.”
“How well did you know Erik?”
“Not well. We thought he was Ondine’s boyfriend until they confessed to the lie two months ago.”
“So you didn’t know how old he was?” Bel cringed at the questions. This wasn’t a revelation she wanted to bring to this distraught family.
“No.” The man cocked his head. “Why?”
“We assumed Erik Prince was the same age as your daughter. He certainly looks young enough.”
“I don’t want to know where you’re going with this,” Mr. Triton muttered.
“Your daughter’s boyfriend is twenty-eight.” Bel tried and failed not to imagine how her dad would react to this news. “He started dating Ariella last year, meaning that he was twenty-seven when he first asked out your eighteen-year-old daughter.”
Mr. Triton didn’t move. He just stood there staring at her without a thread of emotion weaving through his features.
“We worry that—”
Mr. Triton whirled on the counter and slammed a fist against the surface before collapsing forward. Bel shrieked at the sudden violence, shocked by how fast such a large man could move, and she hovered out of his reach as he heaved over the sink.
“A grown man.” His voice shook, rattling the kitchen with his rage. “A grown man put his hands on my baby! She was a child.” He jerked to a stand, and Bel feared he’d storm from this house and hunt Mr. Prince down himself.
“I realize this is upsetting,” she soothed, hoping to disarm his fury. “But unfortunately, it isn’t illegal. Eighteen is the legal age of consent, regardless of whether it’s tasteless.”
“He was a grown man,” Mr. Triton growled. “My daughter was sweet and innocent. She didn’t understand the depravity of this world, and that man… he violated my baby.”
“Ariella loved you very much, and she didn’t want to disappoint you. According to Ondine, she never let her relationship with Erik progress to a physical nature.”
“Thank God my girl had some sense, but what was a grown man doing with my teenage daughter?”
“We’re hoping you can help us with that.” Bel cringed again. How much more stress must she add to these parents’ lives?
“What?” Mr. Triton clearly noticed her hesitation. “You don’t…” He stumbled backward until his back hit the counter. “You think he killed her.”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Bel said. “We spotted him with Ondine… he seduced her much the way he seduced Ariella, and we’re wondering if it’s possible that she caught them cheating.”
“If he put his hands on my daughter, I will—”
“Mr. Triton,” Bel interrupted. “I am an officer of the law. Please. Be careful what you say in front of me. I don’t want it to come back to haunt you.
” She placed a comforting palm on his forearm.
“Right now, Erik Prince is merely a person of interest, and I’m here to ask if you noticed anything that might help our investigation.
Even if it’s small, did your interactions with him raise any red flags?
Did he say or do anything that could point us toward evidence? ”
“My little girl. He put his hands on my little girl.”
Bel was losing him.
“I was her father. How could she not tell me she was dating him… although I see why she hid it. I would’ve exploded if I’d known he was almost thirty…
but why?” He looked at her with a plea in his eyes.
“Why would my perfect princess date someone like him? She knew better. We loved her. We gave her everything. What point was she trying to prove with him? Was she punishing me? Wasn’t I a good father? ”
“I think you were a great father. That’s why she didn’t tell you,” Bel said.
“She loved you so much that she couldn’t endure your disappointment, but men like Erik—older guys who go for barely legal girls—they’re expert manipulators.
They convince young women to fall in love with them, then twist their emotions to get their way.
This isn’t your fault, and it isn’t Ariella’s either.
It’s easy to fall for the handsome, sweet talker. ”
“I want to strangle him.”
“Mr. Triton…” Bel warned.
“I know. I know.”
“I understand your anger, trust me, but words like that have a way of being taken out of context when problems arise. I’m just trying to protect you.”