aisling grimlock 03 - grim discovery (13 page)

I tamped down the urge to shake Fox and tell him my father never struggled with anything, wisely keeping my temper in check. “We all struggled,” I said. “You’d think people who deal with death on a regular basis would be better prepared to lose one of our own. We weren’t ready.”

“No one is ever ready to lose someone they love,” Fox said. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not the one who reaped your mother.”

My heart sank. “You’re not? I would’ve thought … once you saw who it was … I … .” Crap on toast.

“I had an important teleconference that night,” Fox said. “Your father was on it, too. I had to send Everett to reap your mother.”

Everett Grimpond was something of a snake, if I remembered correctly. It’s difficult to say a teenager is oily, but I always felt greasy when the little toad was around. Even though he was several years older than me – and I was underage – he often tried to look down my shirt. That lasted until Redmond got a hold of him, ran his pants up a flagpole and made Everett finish the rest of one very memorable reaper reunion in his underwear. Everett wasn’t going to be helpful.

“Did Everett ever tell you anything about my mother’s crossover?”

Fox rubbed his cheek, giving the appearance of searching his memory. For some reason, it gave me the impression that everything he did was for show. Of course, there was no way to know for certain.

“Everett said your mother seemed surprised at what happened but very resigned about what was to come,” Fox replied. “She wasn’t happy about leaving all of you, but she knew there was no option. She thanked Everett for collecting her soul and … that was it.”

He was a filthy liar. I was absolutely sure of it now. “Where did she go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Where did she go?” I pressed. “Did she go to Heaven? I don’t remember her expressing Christian beliefs and Dad never talks about it. Did she go to limbo?” Where you go in death – even reapers – depends on what you believe in life. I didn’t know what I believed let alone where my mother placed her faith. That was an odd realization.

“I’m … not sure.” Fox looked uncomfortable with the question.

I decided to change tactics. I was sure Fox was lying. He obviously wouldn’t break from the lie now. I had to throw him off his game. “What do you think about all the wraiths that have been hanging around the past few months?”

Fox visibly blanched. “I … what … um … what are you talking about?” Fox tried to collect himself as I studied him.

“The area is crawling with wraiths,” I replied, nonplussed. “They’ve been all over the place. Duke Fontaine was working with them. He died in a mausoleum fire almost two weeks ago. You must have heard about that. I saw the memo Dad sent out.”

“I do remember reading something about it.” Fox’s chair creaked as he shifted.

“Have you seen an increase of wraiths down here?”

“No.”

“Huh. I wonder why they’re only hanging around Detroit.”

“I have no idea,” Fox said. “I … what do the wraiths have to do with your mother?”

He was testing me. “Nothing. I just … I decided I was being unfair asking you about my mother. I just wanted to erase the nightmares. I’ve always been afraid that she was awake when she burned. You can’t answer those questions for me. I didn’t know what else to talk about. I babble when I’m nervous. So … .”

Fox smiled, although the expression didn’t make it all the way up to his eyes. He knew I was lying. I was fine with that. I knew he was lying, too. We were in different boats on the same small lake. “Well, sadly I can’t help you on either front. I think your trip was for nothing.”

“Oh, no,” I shot back, smiling widely. “I got everything I was looking for.”

Twelve

I hoped to beat everyone home so I could hide my clothes and take two painkillers for my hip without admitting what happened at the Travers house. I thought I’d accomplished just that when I walked into the townhouse and found it empty. I was in full pathetic-limp mode when I hobbled into my bedroom, whining to myself with each step.

“What happened to you?”

I cringed at Griffin’s voice. He stood in the doorway that separated my private bathroom and bedroom when I turned. “Hi!” I forced a bright smile and opened my arms to beckon him for a hug. “I missed you all day.”

“Yeah, I’m not falling for that,” Griffin snapped, wiping his hands on the towel he clutched and then tossing it on the counter. “Why are you limping?”

“Um … .”

Griffin narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even think about lying to me.”

“Don’t you want to give me a hug?” I was desperate to avoid an argument.

“No.”

Apparently Griffin was keen on having one. “Fine,” I snapped, carefully lowering myself to the bed. “Shut the door in case Jerry and Aidan show up. I have more to tell you than how this happened.”

“Oh, well, I can’t wait.”

Griffin strode to the door, slamming it shut and then pressing the button to lock it before turning back to me. “Spill.”

“What do you want to hear about first?” I asked, grimacing as I shifted. “Do you want to hear about my lunch with Fox Grimpond, who is a big, fat liar, or do you want to hear the really minor story of how I injured myself? Either way, I need to get these pants off, and I think I need your help. I haven’t been able to look at this yet and I’m afraid it’s going to be gross.”

Griffin tilted his head to the side, his eyes flashing. “You’re going to tell me about lunch while I help you take your pants off and treat whatever wound that is. Then I have a feeling we’re going to have a huge fight.”

I had the same feeling. “Great.” I reclined on the bed and unbuttoned my pants. “I’m going to lift my butt and I need you to pull these off. For the love of all that’s holy, do not touch my hip.”

“This is like a dirty game without any promise of a payoff,” Griffin grumbled, climbing onto the mattress next to me. “Lay flat on your back.”

“How are you going to get my pants off if I do that?”

“Do what I say,” Griffin ordered.

“You’re so bossy.” I did as instructed, watching as Griffin kneed his way up between my legs and lifted them so the soles of my feet rested against his chest.

“Lift your bottom and I’ll pull these off as fast as I can.”

“Now you sound like one of the tools I dated in high school,” I muttered.

Griffin ignored the jab. The second I lifted my hips he yanked on the denim, causing me to whimper as the jeans slid down my thighs. Griffin pulled them completely off, furrowing his brow as he zeroed in on the torn flesh on my hip. “That looks horrible.”

“It feels worse.”

Griffin sighed as he lowered my legs to the mattress. “Don’t move. I’ll get some peroxide and bandages. You’re a walking calamity. You know that, right?”

“You’re not the first person to tell me that.”

Griffin returned with the first aid supplies a few moments later. He turned me on my side so he could get at the wound. “Tell me about your lunch.”

“You’re trying to distract me because this is going to hurt, aren’t you?”

“I want you to tell me about your lunch so we can get to the fighting portion of today’s festivities,” Griffin countered.

“Well, that’s something to look forward to. Ow!”

Griffin scorched me with a look. “Hold still and tell me about your lunch,” he said, his tone dark. “Then we’re going to fight. Then we’re going to make up. Then I’m going to buy you dinner. How does that sound?”

“Better than the straight-out fighting,” I admitted. “Well, first off, I should warn you that the Grimlocks and Grimponds didn’t exactly get along when we were growing up.”

“Why not? Hold still, baby. This is going to sting.”

“I … ugh … .” I gripped the comforter as Griffin poured hydrogen peroxide into the open wound.

“I’m sorry,” Griffin murmured. “I have to clean this out. Tell me why you fought with the Grimponds.”

I related the entire sordid history between out families, including my tendency to dance when we won and Redmond’s inability to ignore the pervert Everett was.

“I’m starting to like Redmond more and more with each passing story,” Griffin said. “What kind of disgusting piece of crap goes after a fifteen-year-old girl?”

“One who probably couldn’t get noticed in his own age group,” I replied, gritting my teeth as Griffin dabbed at the wound. “Anyway, Fox said he didn’t reap my mother. He said Everett did.”

“And you think he’s lying?”

“I think he’s definitely lying,” I said. “He couldn’t tell me where my mother’s soul was put to rest and when I asked him about the wraiths he played dumb.”

“Maybe he didn’t really know about the wraiths.”

“He turned white and was nervous. He knew.”

“Okay, let me bandage this,” Griffin said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “I’m putting Neosporin on it, too. When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?”

“About six months ago when Aidan knocked me down the stairs and I cut my foot open on the metal rungs of the banister.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” Griffin said. “Why did Aidan knock you down the stairs?”

“We were playing keep away with Jerry and things got out of hand.”

“Of course they did,” Griffin said. “Did anything else happen at your lunch?”

“No. He’s never going to tell me the truth.”

“Then we have to have to find the kid and question him,” Griffin said. “You can’t go alone, though. If he tries to look down your shirt now I’ll beat him.”

“Oh, well, that will be worth the cost of a shared meal by itself.”

“Done,” Griffin said, taping the bandage in place and helping me roll onto my back. “Now, tell me how you did this.”

There had to be a way out of this. “Hey, I’m already half naked. Let’s have sex instead.”

“Yeah, nice try. Tell me.”

“You’re going to be extremely angry when I tell you how this happened.”

“I’ve braced myself for that inevitability,” Griffin said. “Come on. Get it over with.”

“Fine. I just want it noted for the record that you didn’t have to hear this and all the screaming you’re about to do is completely unnecessary.”

Griffin sighed and rolled back on his haunches until he landed in a sitting position. “Aisling, if you don’t tell me how this happened I’ll tell your father to put you back on probation.”

“You suck.”

“Aisling!” Griffin practically growled.

“My lone job of the day was a forty-year-old woman named Nancy Travers. Her husband stabbed her twenty times in the chest. I didn’t realize he was still in the house when I went to collect her soul. He went after me, so I tried to climb out of a window and got snagged by a nail when he tried to pull me back in by my feet. Then he tried to crawl out after me and got stuck in the window. Satisfied?”

Instead of freaking out and flying off the handle, Griffin burst into a laughing fit.

“Why aren’t you yelling at me?”

“I already kind of knew,” Griffin replied after he collected himself.

“How?”

“Who do you think got called to the scene?”

Whoops! I hadn’t even considered that. “What did Fred say?”

“Well, the good news is that he was drunk as a skunk and said that a black-haired devil with white streaks in her hair and a magic glowstick of death sneaked into his house and killed his wife,” Griffin said. “He said she also told him that he was going to be raped in prison and she looked forward to it. Luckily, Andrea wasn’t around for that part of the confession and I didn’t include it in my report. He has a record of beating Nancy. It was open and shut. No one will believe him about someone else being there – if he even remembers it when he sobers up.”

“She was kind of sad,” I admitted. “I had to sneak into Grimlock Manor to deposit her soul before coming home. Luckily, Dad was on a conference call, so he didn’t see me, and none of my brothers were there. She’s going to a better place. She thought I was lying when I told her that.”

“You were lucky Fred didn’t kill you,” Griffin said, his expression serious. “You know that, right?”

“I know that I was distracted by my lunch with Fox and I shouldn’t have let that interfere with my job,” I said. “I … know better. I was so keyed up, though. I knew he was lying from the start. It kind of took the wind out of my sails.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Griffin said. “What we need to do is come up with an excuse for how this happened.”

“I’ll just say I tripped. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Yeah, that’s the excuse abused women use,” Griffin argued. “There have been times where I’ve been tempted to strangle you. I’d prefer it if people didn’t think I beat you, though.”

“We’ll say I slammed my car door on it,” I suggested.

“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Griffin said. “The good news is that your injury will definitely get us out of Saturday’s softball game.”

“I wasn’t going to that regardless.”

“Not even to do your little dance again?” Griffin teased.

“I’ll do that dance for you when I have my full range of motion back,” I offered. I opened my arms and gestured toward him.

“What?”

“You haven’t given me my hug yet,” I reminded him. “I kind of need it.”

Griffin rolled his eyes but carefully moved so he was on top of me. He rested his head against my shoulder as he pulled me close. “Please be more careful when you’re out on jobs. I don’t think I could take it if something happens to you.”

“It was negligence on my part,” I said. “I won’t let that happen again. Trust me. I learned my lesson.”

“That would be a nice change of pace.” Griffin kissed my cheek. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the answers you were looking for regarding your mom.”

“I did, though,” I said. “He was lying. I’m not sure who he’s trying to protect – whether it’s Everett or someone else – but I know he’s lying. He never reaped my mother.”

“What do you want to do now?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I need to think. For now I’m just going to do this.”

“What? Have me lay on top of you all night? Your family already thinks we’re animals.”

I snorted. “I was hoping for five more minutes of this and then some dinner. I’m starving. I didn’t get to eat lunch because Fox was so keen to escape the restaurant.”