Read Online Siren by Tricia Rayburn - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tricia Rayburn
Tags: United States, Fiction, General, People & Places, Family, Horror, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction, Maine, Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12), Social Issues, Interpersonal relations, supernatural, Horror & Ghost Stories, Siblings, Visionary & Metaphysical, Sisters, Ghost Stories (Young Adult), Family - Siblings, Sirens (Mythology)
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he'd felt he could've told me himself."
"If you don't mind me asking, if Caleb didn't tell you himself ... who did?"
Captain Monty raised his eyes to Simon's. "You know Carsons? That guy they just found washed up on Mercury Isle?"
"Yes," Simon and I said at once.
Captain Monty nodded. "It was him. He was one of the main Lighthouse backers, and he came in at the end of last summer, the third day Cal hadn't shown without a single phone call. He wanted to introduce himself and thank me for the great dockhand I'd sent over as a welcome gift from the town. Can you believe that?" He sighed, exasperated. "Anyway, that's apparently what Cal told them. That's what he wanted them to believe. So ... I let them believe it."
"Sorry."
I held my breath.
"Carsons came in to thank you for Caleb at the end of last summer?"
"August twentieth," Captain Monty said. "The day of the
70
shark tournament--I remember because your brother always loved measuring the catches."
Simon was looking at Captain Monty expectantly, as though waiting for the punch line, the "gotcha." But none came. And I knew what Simon had to be thinking-- How? How had he not known? How had Caleb not told him? How had an entire year gone by without someone cluing him in?
They were the kinds of questions I was all too familiar with.
Captain Monty looked at Simon. "Is everything okay? I mean, outside of the fact that you had no idea what your little brother was doing with his spare time all year?"
I looked down. I knew he now had to be wondering if Caleb was really missing at all, or just off doing something else he hadn't bothered to tell anyone about.
"Everything's fine," Simon said. "Just a little miscommunication, I guess."
"Happens to the best of us. Just wait till things get serious with this one here--then you'll be miscommunicating all the time."
I smiled politely when he winked at me.
"You take care of yourselves," Captain Monty called after us as we pushed open the office door. "And watch out for the sharks!"
I froze at Captain Monty's warning. "Sharks?"
"They've been busy this summer," he said. "Fish carcasses are littering the beaches, and boaters have been reporting sightings. Some folks even think that's what happened to Carsons--he wasn't too banged up, but they think a shark
71
might've dragged him out before losing its grip in the current. If he was in deep enough water, it would've been impossible for him to swim back to shore in that storm."
I shook my head against the dull alarm sounding inside as we left the building and started across the parking lot. By the time we reached the Subaru, I'd managed to muffle it enough to focus on our current task.
"I don't get it," Simon said once we were in the car. "This wasn't just some summer job to Caleb. He never worked here for the money--if that was what mattered, he would've gotten in at one of the restaurants, parking cars or busing tables."
"Do you have any idea why he didn't tell you?" I asked gently.
He stared through the windshield. "No," he said finally. "I don't. I mean, we didn't talk that much while I was at school, but if he quit on August twentieth, I was still here. I didn't leave for orientation until the following week. We did a lot of fishing those last few days ... he didn't say anything."
"Maybe he didn't want you to worry? Or think something was wrong when you were about to leave and had enough going on?"
"Maybe," he said, his voice doubtful.
"Do you want to check around some more? See if any of the other guys know anything else?"
He shook his head and started the car. "You've seen the shrine to Monty in Caleb's room. All those pictures and charts. He wouldn't have told anyone anything he didn't tell Monty first."
72
I paused. "Except Carsons."
"Except Carsons." Sighing, he put the car in drive.
Fifteen minutes later the view through the Subaru's windshield changed from commercial fishing boats and modest motorboats to two-story ivory yachts sitting so still on the
"If you don't mind me asking, if Caleb didn't tell you himself ... who did?"
Captain Monty raised his eyes to Simon's. "You know Carsons? That guy they just found washed up on Mercury Isle?"
"Yes," Simon and I said at once.
Captain Monty nodded. "It was him. He was one of the main Lighthouse backers, and he came in at the end of last summer, the third day Cal hadn't shown without a single phone call. He wanted to introduce himself and thank me for the great dockhand I'd sent over as a welcome gift from the town. Can you believe that?" He sighed, exasperated. "Anyway, that's apparently what Cal told them. That's what he wanted them to believe. So ... I let them believe it."
"Sorry."
I held my breath.
"Carsons came in to thank you for Caleb at the end of last summer?"
"August twentieth," Captain Monty said. "The day of the
70
shark tournament--I remember because your brother always loved measuring the catches."
Simon was looking at Captain Monty expectantly, as though waiting for the punch line, the "gotcha." But none came. And I knew what Simon had to be thinking-- How? How had he not known? How had Caleb not told him? How had an entire year gone by without someone cluing him in?
They were the kinds of questions I was all too familiar with.
Captain Monty looked at Simon. "Is everything okay? I mean, outside of the fact that you had no idea what your little brother was doing with his spare time all year?"
I looked down. I knew he now had to be wondering if Caleb was really missing at all, or just off doing something else he hadn't bothered to tell anyone about.
"Everything's fine," Simon said. "Just a little miscommunication, I guess."
"Happens to the best of us. Just wait till things get serious with this one here--then you'll be miscommunicating all the time."
I smiled politely when he winked at me.
"You take care of yourselves," Captain Monty called after us as we pushed open the office door. "And watch out for the sharks!"
I froze at Captain Monty's warning. "Sharks?"
"They've been busy this summer," he said. "Fish carcasses are littering the beaches, and boaters have been reporting sightings. Some folks even think that's what happened to Carsons--he wasn't too banged up, but they think a shark
71
might've dragged him out before losing its grip in the current. If he was in deep enough water, it would've been impossible for him to swim back to shore in that storm."
I shook my head against the dull alarm sounding inside as we left the building and started across the parking lot. By the time we reached the Subaru, I'd managed to muffle it enough to focus on our current task.
"I don't get it," Simon said once we were in the car. "This wasn't just some summer job to Caleb. He never worked here for the money--if that was what mattered, he would've gotten in at one of the restaurants, parking cars or busing tables."
"Do you have any idea why he didn't tell you?" I asked gently.
He stared through the windshield. "No," he said finally. "I don't. I mean, we didn't talk that much while I was at school, but if he quit on August twentieth, I was still here. I didn't leave for orientation until the following week. We did a lot of fishing those last few days ... he didn't say anything."
"Maybe he didn't want you to worry? Or think something was wrong when you were about to leave and had enough going on?"
"Maybe," he said, his voice doubtful.
"Do you want to check around some more? See if any of the other guys know anything else?"
He shook his head and started the car. "You've seen the shrine to Monty in Caleb's room. All those pictures and charts. He wouldn't have told anyone anything he didn't tell Monty first."
72
I paused. "Except Carsons."
"Except Carsons." Sighing, he put the car in drive.
Fifteen minutes later the view through the Subaru's windshield changed from commercial fishing boats and modest motorboats to two-story ivory yachts sitting so still on the
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