A Fishy Tale, The Sequel - Fanfiction for H2O Just Add Water

Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Katya, Cleo and Lewis met Vera at her office the following morning. When Vera was told that Cleo was a mermaid, she was totally unphased. It was like she had suspected all along. With Cleo's consent, Katya then informed Vera about the case with Ryan and Detective Griffin.

Vera processed quietly for a moment, and then she replied, talking directly to Cleo.

"Thank you for telling me and trusting me with this secret," Vera smiled warmly. "While this kind of case is not my forte, I would be more than happy to be your legal advocate in court. There will be other lawyers for the defense and prosecution, but I can be there to support and be your witness, if they need any rationale about your 'humanity' and why this was definitely kidnapping. The prosecution will be in touch with you again to solidify their case and organise who will be testifying against Ryan. I will talk to them on your behalf and see what they have built into their case – I'll find out if they plan to touch on mermaids. I'll navigate through it with you, so that you are making informed choices about if we are sharing the mer secret with the lawyers. When they reach out to you, get them to contact me."

"Thank you," Cleo replied sincerely. She was surprised at the grace in Vera's response.

"I like that plan," Lewis said. "Vera, the incident that Detective Griffin is investigating is one that involved our Andy and another three children. We believe you are trustworthy, so we will tell you about the other mers as well. Before we get to that, can we run another thing past you?"

"Go ahead," Vera replied.

"Before Andy and the boys were taken, there was another incident where Ryan kidnapped Jenny, with the help of Katya here. We have not mentioned this incident to the police, and since neither we nor Katya have been questioned about it, we're assuming that Ryan hasn't brought it up. What are your thoughts on this being shared in relation to the case?"

Vera pondered for a moment before she responded.

"That is definitely something that should be considered carefully. It could be very powerful for the prosecution – they could use it to show Ryan's premeditation, repeat offending and his targeting of specific families, etcetera. It also could be powerful on the defence side. The defence could question why this was not reported sooner and ask for evidence. It would also bring Katya's role into it, and it would definitely lead to your mermaid identities being highlighted. I was involved in the legal agreement between Katya and Ryan, so I can always discuss this with the Detective when needed. I would advise you to discuss the previous kidnapping with Detective Griffin in more detail to get her take on it. We don't want to hide something that could undo the prosecution's case later on."

"Okay, that makes sense," Lewis nodded.

"So, you wanted to tell me about the other mers?" Vera asked patiently.

"Yes, all us women who live on Mako are mermaids and our children are mers as well. Ben is the only merman. So, anything that impacts on our family as mers, impacts on quite a few others," Cleo explained.

"That makes sense," Vera replied. "Thanks for telling me."

"You don't seem surprised?" Cleo queried.

"Not at all," Vera said smiling. "I have suspected for some time, but it wasn't my place to pry. I really appreciate you trusting me with your secret."

"Wow," Cleo said, surprised. "Thank you."

OoOoO

Following the meeting, Cleo called Detective Griffin. The detective was surprised to receive a phone call so soon, but was pleased that the mers understood that she meant them no harm. She was even more surprised to hear where Cleo wanted them to meet; Mako Island. She was being invited to their home, their safe space. She felt honored and very quickly accepted. They booked the meeting for Sunday afternoon when everyone would be at home.