Read Online Real Mermaids 2 - Don't Hold Their Breath by Helene Boudreau - Free Book Online Page B

the fence. The evening sun glittered off what looked like water through the brush. Could that be the tidal pool?
    â€œThere are mermaids in Talisman Lake?” Cori cried. “I learned to swim in that lake!”
    â€œAnd you lived to tell the tale.” I laughed to reassure her and checked the height of the fence to see if we could climb it, but it was about ten feet high and topped with a coil of barbed wire. “How big is this mall expansion going to be, anyway?”
    Just then, a frighteningly loud rumble made us plaster ourselves against the fence as a large truck passed, followed by a huge cloud of dust. We coughed and waved our hands in front of our faces as it passed. The truck kept following the road for another hundred feet or so, then disappeared as someone swung open a large gate to let it through at the far end of the fencing.
    â€œCome on!” I yelled. “That’s got to be the way in.”
    We ran to the gate just as a beefy security guard clanged it shut and secured it with a large lock. He must not have noticed us, because he turned back to the orange and white construction trailer and started climbing the steps to go inside.
    â€œHey, wait!” I yelled, and coughed away the dirt cloud kicked up by the heavy truck.
    The security guard paused at the top of the steps. “Can I help you?”
    â€œWe need to get in there!” I called.
    â€œThis is private property, miss,” he answered. “Only authorized personnel allowed.” He reached for the trailer door.
    â€œJust a second!” I yelled. But what could I say? That my mermaid mother might be stuck in there? How was I supposed to wheedle my way into a locked construction area, skirted by a ten-foot barbed wire fence? And why such tight security, I wondered.
    The security guard opened the trailer door midway. A television blared in the background. He turned to glare at me. “Look, all I want is to watch the last ten minutes of Ultimate Survivor , and for the last truckload of dirt to get here so I can finish my shift and go home. So whatever you want, make it quick.”
    â€œUh.” I looked to Luke, Trey, and Cori, but they shrugged hopelessly. I turned back to Grumpy McGrumpypants. “How much space is this mall expansion going to take, anyway?”
    â€œThe whole darn thing,” the security guard answered, waving his arm back and forth to show that he meant everything. “They’re putting in a new wing off Hyde’s then landfilling the rest to plant some sort of urban garden or something. Now, unless you wanna get mowed over by a truck, I’d suggest you scram.” He went into the trailer and slammed the door.
    â€œThe whole thing?” I whispered. I leaned on the fence next to Luke, wishing I could just walk through it, or under it or over it, but each option was as hopeless as the next.
    â€œThey’re hiding something in there. I just know it,” Luke said. “Why else would they have such tight security?”
    Luke’s phone rang. He stepped away to answer it, then put his hand over the receiver to talk to Trey. “It’s Mrs. Clarke. She wants to know when we’re going to go back to finish the raking.”
    Trey slapped his forehead. “Oh no. I completely forgot when you called me about the girl shorts.” He put his hand out for the phone. “Here, let me talk to her.”
    â€œHello, Mrs. Clarke?” Trey said. The rumble of a truck sounded in the distance. “Just a second, I’ll move somewhere where I can hear you better.” He covered his ear with his hand, and he and Luke moved down the road to try to sort out their lawn-mowing customer.
    Cori and I sat on the rocks at the edge of the road by the ocean. “We need to get in there,” I muttered.
    â€œYou really think your mom’s in there?” Cori asked.
    â€œI won’t know until I can have a look,” I replied.
    â€œWow.” Cori