Two days later

Fia and I have fun with the kids down there and they love it. Their eyes have recently been opened and they are extremely curious about everything they see. Fia really has to keep an eye on them.

I think I hear some strange noise from upstairs but don't think much of it. It's like a light scratching. It's a bit windy outside so there may be a branch from the tree closest to the kitchen rubbing against the window or wall.

The cubs are hungry and Fia squirts her milk into their mouths with high pressure from the two teats that are above the large hole where the cubs came out. A little of the milk ends up in the water, but it doesn't matter. There has been feces from both Fia and the kids, so I will still have to change the water soon. Just open the cellar door and let everything drain out and then flush with a hose and it will be clean.

Actually, Fia and the kids could have been in the huge plastic pool, but I feel that it will be heavy to carry them back and forth during water changes. Now they don't need to be carried at all. Enough because I'm strong enough but sometimes it's easier to make it as simple as possible for everyone. Fia doesn't seem to care if she's in the pool or not. Possibly she would have liked the plastic in the pool better instead of the hard concrete floor in the basement.

Something is heard from upstairs again and I try to sharpen my hearing. Surely I locked the front door before I went downstairs? Maybe someone is working on the front door. Whoever it is, in that case, I hope they disappear from there as soon as possible.

I'm not sure if I should go up and check, but I choose to cuddle with Fia and the kids. They are a little tired after drinking milk. Fia makes cooing noises to them and they respond with a much thinner but still similar cooing. So cute!

There is a creak in the distance by the stairs to the basement. There is a special sound that is heard when walking on the fourth step which is before the last three. Someone is in our house. Fia also hears the sound and gets scared.

I wade through the water to where the sounds are coming from. Yep. There is someone uninvited here. Because of the darkness in the hall, I can't see who it is at first. The person throws something at me. It lands in the water.

Is it a bomb or what? No, it's just the metal tray that I used when I got into Sverker's industry where the dead mermaid and her child were. I was so sure I took it with me when Tony and I ran away but either I forgot it or I dropped it and someone caught it. This someone is here in front of me. He towers in the darkness.

- You would only dare to hurt me and Fia!

A happy laugh is heard and I almost immediately recognize the voice; Joran Joran. It is a great pity that he has found us, but neither Fia nor I intend to give up against him. We intend to fight to the last drop of blood.

Sverker comes forward a little more and I can see him in the light falling through the basement door window. I've never met him in real life before. I've only seen him on TV and in magazines. He actually doesn't look like a scoundrel, but rather well-groomed.

Sverker has taken off his trousers and is standing here now in some bright underpants. They are really ugly. He could have chosen a little nicer.

- Good burglary tools, I must say. Works well both in my premises and your house. Thanks so damn much for the fire you started.

I can see that Sverker has a larger plastic bottle and an A4 paper in his hand. He puts the bottle down and puts the paper on the steel bench.

The cubs make a small noise. They are curious about who is coming to visit. Fia is frozen with terror but she growls muffled with anger. Sverker walks forward a little more and sees Fia and the kids.

- Well, isn't it the former Fia Svanroth? Daughter of Hans and Edith Svanroth? Like I've been looking for you. Also together with Kenneth Elroth. What a bonus day for me today. And you also have newborns, I can see. How fun!

Fia seems to become even more rigid with fear. I feel her scent of fear wafting through the room. The cubs are right behind her

- How do you know her parents?
- You could say that I met them at some point.
- Oh really? When then?
- It must have been about eight years ago now if I'm not counting wrong.
- What happened then?
- Just a small fire

Fia catches her breath and growls louder. Her eyes gleam with hatred.

- Was it you who caused them to burn inside?
- Both yes and no. They chose to be a mermaid and a merman. If they became common, they could have made it out of the house but were burned. They screamed quite loudly in pain down in the basement. Smelled pretty good too. They smelled like grilled meat with a hint of grilled fish.

Sverker stands and snuggles to the memory and I can see a rapidly growing erection under his underwear.

- How did you do?
- I poured waste oil everywhere in the water and lit it when I was standing right at the bottom step. It was a violent fire, I promise.

Fia's growl has increased even more and echoes ghostly throughout the room. Sverker seems to be laughing at her.

- Why the hell did you do that?
- Because you are bastards that shouldn't exist.
- It is not your business to decide that.
- No. But now it is. Speaking of fire, by the way. I quickly realized that it was you who started the fire in our premises and destroyed the computers. Too bad for you and Fia that we had a backup of everything. So what you did was of no use. Oh by the way, if you had looked in the binders that were at the bottom of the tin bookshelf closest to the tub with the two dead, you could have read about what happened to Fia's parents, but now that evidence is destroyed forever. We hadn't had time to transfer that information to our computers, but we had intended to scan the papers later after we found you.
- How did you find me?
- I found information about the water damage at your address at 10 Admiralty Square, Kenneth. What were you really thinking when you flooded the apartment? Your landlord was very helpful and talked about you. He mentioned that he saw you with Fia and that she was obviously pregnant then. It wasn't hard to piece together one by one and understand the whole thing. I also have spies almost everywhere keeping an eye on things. Cleo is one of them.

Of course, Sverker had managed to get in touch with the landlord. Sverker himself has several fastighets in town and there were headlines about my water damage, but somehow I had hoped that he somehow missed this. What surprises me, however, is that Cleo has connections to Sverker. One can really wonder how it comes about.

- Yes, but Fia then?
- I checked for name changes of surnames that have taken place since 2016 and then searched for people with Fia as their first name. Finally I found you as Fia Svantesson. I searched Eniro and soon found a person who matched your information.

Sverkar takes out the paper he placed next to the large bottle on the steel bench and reads aloud.

Name: Fia Svantesson
Address: Björkhagavägen 7 Ekeberg Karlskrona.
Age: 53 years
Birthday: 5 June
Other information: Married to Kenneth Elroth on August 27, 2023.

- And your information, Kenneth, reads like this

Name: Kenneth Elroth
Address: Björkhagavägen 7 Ekeberg Karlskrona.
Age: 50 years
Birthday: July 2
Other information: Married to Fia Svantesson on 27 August 2023.

Sverker puts the paper back on the bench and reaches for the large bottle on the table.

- Nice to meet, but now I think it's time for a bonfire. There's enough waste oil here for a big fire. Probably as big as your parents Fia or when you, Kenneth, burned the two corpses in my premises. We all must die at some point.

Sverker's fully erection is clearly visible through the bright underpants. He enjoys hurting us merfolk. The realization that this is so infuriates me but I brace myself and growl at him. He looks at me like I'm crazy.

He opens the cap on the bottle and starts to lean on it when Fia attacks him. She manages to pull him over with her strong arms. He lands heavily on his back in the water and the bottle flies out of his hand and lands in the water with a thud. I'm quick and pick it up so none of the spilled oil ends up in the water. I place the bottle on the steel bench where it was before. Sverker's face is soon below the surface but he struggles to get out of the water and get air.

Both Fia and I get the same idea when we see Sverker lying there in the water and fighting. We're going to drown him. Fia starts waving her hand in the water so there are big waves while I push Sverker down so he can't come up to the surface for air. He starts to kick and buck but I hold him rock hard.

Sverker is fighting well in the water. I didn't think he would be such a fighter. But finally I see his life leaving my eyes and I ease the pressure. Fia waves her hand a little more before she stops. Sverker no longer exists. He is stone dead.

There is just one small problem. What do we do with his body? We could call the police and explain that it was an accident. That he lost his footing down in the basement, hit his head hard and drowned.

The big problem in that case is that the police always do an investigation. Our explanation would probably work, but having the police there when Fia is a mermaid and has newborn babies? No, that wouldn't be a good idea at all, We'll have to solve this in another way.

I see the plastic bottle on the steel bench and get an idea. Why not fire him up like he intended to do with us. But I don't have a driver's license so I can't drive Sverker's body to where he lives.

But Tony might be able to. The only question is if Tony is up for it, There's only one thing to do. I'll call Tony.

- Hi Tony. It's Kenneth. I would like to ask you a favor.
- Hey man. What do you want help with?
- Sverker has just been here and he took water over his head, if you say so. But we have to get rid of his body in a good way.
- Okay. This isn't something I usually do, but I'm standing up, because it's you. I'll be with you in about 20 minutes. Is that good?
- Super good.

I go up to the bathroom and get some plastic gloves that I put on to avoid making fingerprints that can be traced back to me. The police have no fingerprints on me but it's better to be careful than not at all.

I pull Sverker's body up from the basement so it's up in the hall ready to be transported to Tony's car. I get two garbage bags that the body can lie in during the transport from my house to Tony's car and probably also to Sverker's house. He lives alone, but the neighbors can see something.

Sverker's clothes are on the floor in the hall and I take out another garbage bag and put his clothes in there. I take his house key out of my jeans pocket. I put on clean and dry clothes.

It takes a while but finally Tony knocks on the front door. I open the door and Tony steps in. He looks at Sverker's body and starts imitating some English detective story or something like that.

- So, what do we have then, Commissioner?
- I firmly believe we have a drowning here.
- Maybe it. He probably no longer needs any water.

Tony and I both start laughing. The situation feels awkward, but it feels like it eased up a bit now that we were joking with each other.

I close Sverker's eyes and place the garbage bags above and below him. Tony and I take each end and walk over to the car. We put Sverker in the back seat and close the door. The garbage bag with his clothes is also in the back.

I know where Sverker lives and Tony drives there. We don't say anything during the journey. It is dark in Sverker's house and it seems that the nearest neighbors are not home either. We still have to be careful, of course.

Tony and I carry in Sverker's lifeless body, which is wrapped in garbage bags. I'm looking for the best place to put him and light it. The basement is the best. There are several different cans of waste oil here. Guaranteed to be a good bonfire.

Tony and I carry Sverker's body down and put it closest to the boiler room. In here is a large oil tank. I open several bottles of waste oil and pour it liberally over Sverker.

I find a suitable lighter in the kitchen and light it. It starts to burn quickly and Tony and I rush out of the house and away to the car. We don't want to be there when it really takes off.

Tony drives me home to Fia again but stops at a gas station and buys today's paper. There is nothing interesting on the slip.

When I get home after burning Sverker's body in his own house, I go down the stairs and to Fia and the kids.

They are okay although Fia is still upset. The kids seem to have forgotten the incident and are playing with each other to the fullest. I open the cellar door and the dirty water is flushed out. Then I take out the water hose and rinse thoroughly. Then I start filling up with water down there using the water hose and the shower in the bathroom and from the sink.

When there is enough water in the basement, I turn off the water hose and faucets in the bathroom. Then I transform and swim away to Fia and the cubs. It's something I want to talk to Fia about and then it's easier if I'm transformed too.

- Fia. I thought of one thing. What will our kids be called?
- I want the girl to be named Edith anyway, after my mother. You get to decide what the boy's name will be.
- Hmm okay. Then I choose that he should be called Tony, after my best friend. It will be good, right? His name could be Håkan, but I'm not sure how my father would react to that.
- It's going perfectly fine for me.
- Well, then we say so. Welcome to the world Edith and Tony.

I drum with my webbed fingers on the steel bench so it's like a drum solo. Fia laughs a little at that, but I think it goes well with a drum solo right now.

The day goes by and we eat fish for lunch and dinner. Later in the day I buy more fish so we have a lot at home. There will be some meat too.

Fia and I continue to have fun with the kids and they are as happy as can be. We are also happy that we no longer have to worry about Sverker any more. We decide to keep the whole story a secret from my parents. It feels better that way.

Tony comes towards the evening and has a little coffee with me and Fia. He has bought coffee bread and is sitting on the steel bench drinking coffee. Tony stays for a few hours before going home again.
When it's almost pitch black outside, I go to bed.