“Mermaids were all anybody talked about for weeks,” Pip continued. “The town’s tourism board offered an award of one million dollars to anyone who caught one on film. No one ever did.”

“Because it wasn’t real, Pip.”

“No, it was not,” she agreed. “But the power of suggestion and imagination is very strong. I became caught up in the craze too. I convinced my sister to stay in a hostel near the beach so I could look for the mermaid myself. Eventually I came to the conclusion the sightings were innocent mistakes that were exploited for tourism. But that experience did not stop me from believing in mermaids in general. I was as convinced then as I am now that they exist, and I realized I had found my calling. I would dedicate my life to proving they are real. When I returned to France, I completed a master’s degree in marine science. I became involved in a small community of sirentologists. I even traveled to London to attend a lecture of yours at the University of Cambridge.”

“You never told me that!”

“I went to many of your lectures, if you want the truth.”

Marty had a revelation. “Did you follow me to Sri Lanka, Pip?” he asked, stunned.

“When I saw in the news that you were hiding in Sri Lanka—”

“I wasn’t hiding. I came here to—”

“I would hide too, mon capitaine, if I had been in your position. The things people were saying about you were not very nice. But did I follow you? I do not know if I would say that. One of my sirentologist friends is from Calcutta. She was returning home for a few weeks and asked if I wanted to join her. I had not been traveling since the Europe trip with my sister, so I agreed. That is where we were—Calcutta—when we heard the news that you were in Sri Lanka. It was so close, we decided to go looking for you.”

“Whatever the bloody hell for?”

“Because you were the biggest sirentologist on the planet, and we were nerdy groupies. You seem to be getting upset, Marty. Should I finish my story?”

“Please do, Pip,” he said sternly.

“We went to the Daily Mirror and spoke to Jacky, who had just written the story about you—”

“Jacky!”

“She said you lived on a big boat in Galle Port. We couldn’t find it and figured you must be out at sea. My friend went back to India, but I stayed behind to wait for you. When you returned, and I saw that the ‘boat’ you lived on was a research vessel, and I realized you were not just hiding here but searching for merfolk, I decided you might need an assistant. And look! Now we are living happy and everlasting.”

“Happily ever after?”

“That is what I said.”

Marty was staring at Pip, gobsmacked. He’d had no idea about any of this. Admittedly he hadn’t asked many questions when he’d initially hired her. She’d told him she was impressed by his ship, she was a marine biologist, and she was looking for work. Some preliminary questions confirmed she was familiar with the operation and analysis of sonar, and that had been good enough for him. After all, he’d never thought she would be anything more than a temporary assistant, sticking around for a few weeks at tops. It had been months before he’d confessed to her that he was searching for merfolk—something it was now clear she had known the entire time!