Chapter 2

The stench of fish was overwhelming!

Ariel loved eating fish, so the kitchen always smelled fishy, but I had never smelled anything this strong before!

Then I saw Dad lying stiffly on the bed. He had been dead for some time.

A large pool of some unidentified liquid covered the floor, along with numerous bloodstained scales scattered across it.

Ariel had disappeared too.

I screamed in terror and eventually called the police.

Desmond listened to my statement and pondered for a moment.

"From the time you called the police until now, you didn't touch the body or anything at the crime scene, correct?"

I took a slow, shaky breath. "That's right. I was too afraid to touch anything."

Desmond nodded.

"I believe you.

"We've already taken statements from your neighbors. Around eleven last night, the neighbor next door also heard them arguing. Apparently, they were used to it.

"Moreover, Ariel is highly suspicious based on what we found at the crime scene. When we arrived, all the drawers in your father's bedroom were open, and everything inside was in disarray.

"Someone had clearly searched through them. Ariel was probably looking for something—a bank card, cash, or something else."

I clenched the fabric of my pants.

"She might have been looking for a transformation potion."

Desmond froze. "A transformation potion?"

I nodded and looked away.

"The truth is, she isn't human. She's a mermaid. She needed to take a transformation potion to regain her tail and return to the sea."

The moment I finished speaking, the entire interrogation room fell silent for three seconds.

Desmond's brows drew tightly together.

"Miss Scott, this is a police station. Don't make up nonsense."

"I'm not joking!"

My voice rose, trembling with fear.

"Mr. Lewis, Ariel really is a mermaid. She once told me that if my dad hit her, she would return to the sea…"

Desmond warned me, "Miss Scott, you will be held responsible for every word you say."

I looked at Desmond pleadingly.

"She really is a mermaid! The kind that can swim into the sea and escape!"

The interrogation room fell silent again.

Desmond's voice turned serious and cold.

"Are you talking about the mermaid performers at an aquarium?"

"No! She really was a mermaid! I saw her transform with my own eyes!"

A deathly silence filled the room.

Both officers looked at me strangely.

Desmond did not argue with me about it any longer. Instead, he returned to the case.

"Your father drowned, but there were no signs that he struggled violently while drowning. The medical examiner is conducting further tests to determine whether he was drugged and lost consciousness before he died.

"There had been a fierce fight before his death. His face and body were covered in scratches, and he had several superficial cuts from a knife.

"We found someone else's skin tissue beneath his fingernails. He probably scratched his attacker during the fight. We're testing the DNA to determine whether the tissue belongs to you or someone else.

"But we didn't find a single bloodstained weapon in your home. That means your father fought with someone, was drugged unconsciousness, and was then drowned."

He fixed his sharp gaze on me and asked slowly.

"The problem is that both the bathtub and the sink were completely dry. Even if the killer had cleaned up afterward, why would they leave a large puddle of water in the bedroom? It doesn't make sense.

"Besides, there was no need to use the bathtub. Once Steven Scott lost consciousness, a basin of water would have been enough to drown him. It would have been even easier to smother him with a pillow. Why go to all that trouble?

"You were at home the entire time, so I need to ask you this: What exactly do you know? Are you hiding anything?"

Before he entered the interrogation room, he had already investigated my family thoroughly.

He knew that my father abused my mother and that my biological mother fell into depression and died because of it.

He also knew that I hated my father.

That was why he suspected me. Either I killed my father myself, or I helped Ariel.

I bit my lip hard and tasted the faint tang of blood.

Desmond exchanged a glance with the policewoman before softening his tone. "I don't believe you would do something like this, so I want you to tell me the truth.

"Did someone tell you to do something? Or did you unknowingly do something that caused your father to lose consciousness? If you tell me the truth, I'll make sure you get my help."