1 Grim Tidings (4 page)

“I’m not going to say this is your fault.”

“That’s probably wise.”

“It’s your fault, though.”

I cast a scathing look in Aidan’s direction. “I thought you weren’t going to say this was my fault?”

“I changed my mind.”

Thirty minutes later and we were still searching for
Mitch Johnson – something frowned upon in the reaper community. When a soul escapes, they prolong the inevitable. It may sound great – in theory, at least – to run and prolong your afterlife in the only world you’ve ever known. The problem is, though, that when it happens your soul slowly starts to lose cohesiveness with the real world and all that is left is an empty shell that goes through the motions. That’s where ghosts come from. No, seriously. Sometimes a soul is just lost – and that’s when we’ve failed at our jobs.

“Dad is going to be pissed.”

Aidan’s sympathetic eyes met mine. “This happens all the time. He can’t blame you for this. I’ll tell him that.”

“Like that matters.”

“I’ll make it matter.”

I reached over and squeezed Aidan’s hand
; the comfort was for him as well as myself. “So, how long do we look?”

Aidan seemed unsure. “I don’t know. We might get lucky. If that jerk thinks he’s shaken us he might circle back and return to his home. He might still be hoping this is a nightmare and he’ll wake up and he can go back to his date-raping ways.”

That didn’t sound so bad – not the date-rape stuff, but the returning to his apartment stuff. “And if we’re not lucky?”

“Then we’re going to be in trouble when we get back to the house.” Aidan looked grim.

“What do you think he will do?” I didn’t say who the “he” was, but Aidan knew who I meant.

“Yell.”

“And then?”

Aidan shrugged. “And then?
And then nothing. He’s a blowhard. He can yell. He can stomp. He can scream. He can pout. This is a danger of what we do. No one has a perfect recovery rate.”

“He does.”

“So he says,” Aidan scoffed. “I don’t believe it.”

“Why would he lie?”

“He’s a man,” Aidan replied. “He likes to inflate his numbers. It’s a man thing.”

I smiled, despite myself, at Aidan’s jovial smirk. I didn’t believe him, though. He was just trying to put
on a brave face for my benefit. “So, what? We should hide behind the trash cans or something?”

Aidan didn’t look thrilled with
my suggestion. “Let’s circle around the block again. I’m not quite ready to give up.”

I wordlessly fell into step with Aidan, letting him choose the direction. We were in downtown Detroit – one of the sections on Woodward that had seen some revitalization in recent years
rather than the continuing dilapidation that seemed to be claiming a larger foothold in the city.

Aidan, never one for uncomfortable silence, couldn’t help from trying to fill the dead air. “Are you sorry you agreed to go into the family business?”

I considered the question. Was I? I still didn’t know. “Ask me that question again in a week.”

“You’re doing fine,” Aidan said. “You’re a little earnest; you need to build up a colder exterior. That’s normal for novices. Don’t sweat it.”

“I shouldn’t be a novice, though, should I?”

Aidan furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I grew up in this life,” I explained. “I’ve always known what this life entails. This stuff shouldn’t surprise me.”

“You don’t seem surprised,” Aidan hedged. “It’s more like you’re conflicted. That’s not the same as being surprised.”

“Conflicted?”

“Like you don’t know
whether you really want to be claiming these souls.”

“I don’t think that’s what I’m feeling,” I replied. “I know that these souls have to move on; otherwise they’ll be tortured for eternity. I know it’s an important job. It’s just that … there’s something off.”

“Then what are you feeling? That this is an important job … and then what?”

“Honestly?”

Aidan nodded, spurring me on.

“I feel like I’m disappointing myself.”

Aidan moved his lips to the side, biting the inside of chis cheek. It was a familiar expression, one I’d seen for twenty-odd years. “Because you’re doing what Dad wants us to do?”

Did that make me shallow? Did I care? “Yes.”

Aidan’s charming smile graced his handsome face. “I know the feeling.”

This was news. “You do?”

“Do you think I wanted to join this business?”

“Why did you?”

“It seemed like the easiest avenue.”

That didn’t sound like my brother – any of my brothers, for that matter.
“Really? That’s why you did it?”

“We were bred for this,
Aisling,” Aidan replied. “It’s not like a family law firm or a family restaurant. We’re born with special abilities. They’re minor, but they’re still special. When I thought about doing something else, the idea of shirking my responsibilities was too much to bear. So I did what I was born to do.”

“Do you regret it?”

Aidan considered the question. “No.”

“Do you think I’ll regret it?”

Aidan wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pressed a quick kiss to my temple. “That’s my biggest worry right now.”

That wasn’t an answer. I didn’t point it out, though. “Do you think Dad is really happy that I finally joined the fold?”

“No.”

I cracked my neck, mostly because I was looking for something to do that didn’t include ripping my own hair out, and tried to fight my aggravation.
“Why not?”

“Because you got out.”

His answer stunned me. “What?”

“Cormack
Grimlock is many things, Aisling,” Aidan explained. “He’s a reaper. He’s a leader. He’s a bureaucrat.”

Tell me something I don’t know.

“He’s also a father. He doesn’t want you to die like Mom did.” Aidan’s words were simple, but his tone was heavy. “He’s all for family pride, but he’s more for family safety. If you were to die … if something were to happen to you … well, he barely survived mom’s death.”

Aidan’s sentiment stunned me. I couldn’t form words.

“He couldn’t survive your death.” Aidan’s voice was barely a whisper. He tightened his arm around me and then forced the serious look from his face. “Let’s cut through this alley, check the apartment again, and then call it a day, shall we? I need a drink.”

It took me a second to find words – and the ones I discovered weren’t going to
help our situation – so I grasped for something to lighten the mood. “You’re smarter than you look.”

“That’s not possible. I look like Socrates.”

I snorted derisively and followed Aidan into the alley, my thoughts jumbled and my heart clenched in my chest. Sometimes I wonder whether I’m reading the situation wrong -- where my dad is concerned anyway. Most of the time, though, I think he’s in the wrong. When someone like Aidan stands up for him, though, I wonder whether I’m not as perceptive as I think I am.

Aidan picked his way around a pile of garbage as we navigated between two apartment buildings. I had lost my bearings fifteen minutes ago. I had no idea where we were. I could only hope Aidan wasn’t in the same boat.

“Gross, what is that smell?”

Aidan glanced at the rusty metal door to our right
and sniffed. “Day-old Chinese?’

“That killed my appetite for broccoli and beef for a week.”

“How about egg rolls?”

My gag reflex reared up and I clamped my hand over my nose to fight the stench. “Don’t be cute.”

“I was born cute.”

“Says you.”

“Says everyone.”

I wasn’t going to feed his delusions. “I say we call it a day. The rancid Chinese is making it a necessity.”

“What do you think we’re doing?”

“I don’t … oomph!”

With my attention focused on Aidan, I hadn’t been watching where I was going. I found myself momentarily suspended in the air, the ground rushing toward me, before I crashed to the pavement and grunted in pain as the gritty cement ripped through the knee of my jeans.

It took me a second to recover once I hit the ground.
It took me a few seconds to gather my senses, and when I finally got my bearings, I wished I hadn’t. I was on the ground, favoring my left side, when my gaze fell on what I had tripped over.

It was a body – and not the one I had initially been sent to investigate.

“Is that … ? Oh crap.”

“We should go.”

Aidan’s hand was in my face and he was waving it around in an attempt to snap me back to reality.

He wasn’t entirely successful. “I just tripped over a dead body.”

“Bummer.
We should still go.”

“We can’t go,” I protested, finally taking his hand and letting him pull me back to my feet. I dusted
off my jeans, checking carefully to make sure there weren’t any errant bodily fluids marring their blue surface. “We have to call the police.”

Aidan raised his eyebrows and fixed me with his best “are you crazy” glare. “That’s a really bad idea.”

“We can’t pretend we didn’t find him,” I argued. “He’s obviously been … cripes, are those stab wounds or burn marks? That’s really nasty.”

“Yes.” Aidan seethed through gritted teeth, trying to pull me from my spot and move me out of the alley. “We don’t want to be part of this.”

“I think it’s too late.”

Aidan and I froze, slowly t
urning in unison to see who had joined our nightmare.

The man standing
right behind us looked interested in our conversation – and mildly suspicious. His brown hair was several inches long and brushed back from his angular face. His dark eyes, the color of molten chocolate, were sharp and curious, while his mouth puckered in an unreadable expression. He was dressed in simple blue jeans and a brown leather jacket that was as rich in color as his eyes. His hands, which looked like they were always busy, were placed firmly on his narrow hips as he waited for an explanation.

He was obviously a cop – or possibly a drug dealer. I looked him up and down again, zeroing in his shoes. Nope, he was definitely a cop. Sometimes you just know. Crap.

“Um, hi,” I greeted him lamely. “We, um, we found a body.”

The cop glanced to the ground behind us, taking in the entire scene, before shifting his gaze back
to us. “I see that.”

I didn’t dare glance at Aidan, but I could feel his unease as he shifted next to me. “We didn’t do it,” he said. “I just thought you should know.”

“That was going to be my next question, so I’m glad you cleared that up.” The cop’s tone was droll. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

Don’t answer. Don’t answer. Don’t answer. “I think he was stabbed – or possibly burned,” I offered. Crap. Why did I answer?

Aidan kicked me, but I had already realized the stupidity behind my statement on my own.

“What makes you think he was stabbed?”

I looked the cop over again. He didn’t have any identifying marks that proved he was one of Detroit’s finest, but I was still sure I had pegged him right. He was playing it awful cool, though. “Those holes in his chest were my first hint.” Two could play that game.

“And who are you?”

“Aisling Grimlock,” I replied, squaring my shoulders. I refused to let his dour nature freak me out.

“And your boyfriend?”

Aidan and I exchanged a look. “Gross,” we said in unison.

The
cop waited for further explanation, clearly not amused with our twin response.

“This is my brother, Aidan.”

“Ah,” the cop said, turning his full attention to the body on the ground. “I guess that would explain why you look alike.”

“I’m much better looking than her,” Aidan said.

I rolled my eyes. “Is that really important now?”

“It’s always important.”

“Yeah, I see the family connection now,” the cop said, squatting next to the body and using a pen to poke around on the ground next to him. “He was definitely stabbed. You were right about that. I guess you got up close and personal with the victim?”

I ignored the question and watched him for a few more minutes, my impatience finally getting the better of me. “And who are you?”

The cop straightened back up. “My name is Griffin Taylor. I’m a detective with the Detroit Police Department.”

“Yeah, we figured that out.”

“You figured out I was a detective?” Taylor rubbed his hand over his square jaw. “How did you do that?”

“Well, given our location – and the fact that there’s a dead body here – it was either cop or drug dealer, and a drug dealer wouldn’t be caught dead in those shoes.” Sometimes I babble when I’m nervous.

Taylor glanced down at his black New Balance sneakers. “What’s wrong with my shoes?”

Oh, where to begin. “Nothing,” I lied. “If you’re going to the gym,” I muttered under my breath.

He looked me up and down a second and then smiled. “Are you wearing zombie Converse?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re making fun of my shoes?”

“I’ve told her about the shoes,” Aidan agreed. “She doesn’t get it.”

Taylor narrowed his eyes as he regarded Aidan. “You told her about the shoes?”

Aidan scowled, which only made me smirk harder. He couldn’t hide the fact that he was gay even when he tried – which wasn’t very often. “Can we go? This clearly doesn’t involve us, and we have plans for the night.”

Detective Taylor snorted. “What do you think?”

“I think we’re going to be late for dinner,” Aidan replied.

“Well … I have a few questions.”

Taylor was playing a game, I realized. He was waiting to see how we
reacted, and I think we were giving him a real show. Most people would be freaking out after stumbling over a body. Since we saw at least three a day, though, it wasn’t exactly traumatic for either of us.

“Questions about what?”
Aidan’s incredulous tone is pretty impressive when you consider the fact that a frowning cop is facing him down, practically daring him to make a fuss.

“Well, for starters, how about the body?”

“We didn’t do that,” Aidan said. “We just cut through the alley and my clumsy sister tripped over that guy’s foot. We probably wouldn’t even have noticed him if she would watch where she was going. I can’t take her anywhere.”

“Hey!”

“Well, you’re clumsy,” Aidan grumbled, but he looked apologetic.

“You tripped over the body?” Detective Taylor focused on me.

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“Did you touch the body?”

“No. Gross.”

“Did you get any evidence on you?” Taylor was circling me, looking me up and down.

“I better not have,” I said. “That would totally bum me out.”

“And we can’t have that,” Aidan said. “We are going to be in so much trouble when Dad finds out about this.”

I hadn’t thought of that. If he thought my first day on the job was a disaster, this was going to send him through the roof.

“What does your father have to do with this?” Taylor asked.

“He’s our boss.” I realized my mistake too late.

“Your boss?”
Detective Taylor looked interested in my slip-up. “And what do you do?”

Crap.

“We’re antiquities dealers,” Aidan said hurriedly.

“Antiquities dealers?
In Detroit?”

“
There are a lot of older homes here and some of the belongings in them are worth money.”

Taylor didn’t look convinced.
“In this neighborhood? You were working in this neighborhood?”

“We work all over the region,” I said, stalling for time.

“And you had an appointment around here?”

“No,” Aidan broke in. “We were going to have lunch down here after we finished up an estate job in Grosse Pointe Park.”

“In an alley?”

“No, we were actually going to have lunch at Giuseppe’s.” My brother can lie with the best of them. Giuseppe’s Italian Bistro is a gem in this neighborhood
, and people are known to go miles out of their way for their baked lasagna.

“Giuseppe’s is two blocks over.”

“We were taking a shortcut.”

“Why would you park over here?”

“The parking lot at Giuseppe’s is really small and I didn’t want to risk my car being dinged.”

“What kind of car do you drive?”

“It’s a vintage Corvette.”

It was like watching a Wimbledon final. Detective Taylor still looked suspicious. “I think, just to be on the safe side, we should all go into the precinct and get all of this on record. You know, just to make sure things are on the up and up – not that I don’t believe you or anything.”

Double crap.

“Why?” Aidan was starting to get his hackles up. He hated all authority, but Taylor’s attitude was chafing more than usual.

“Because you’re the first on the scene of a murder. That’s just standard operating procedure.”

“You don’t know it’s a murder,” Aidan pointed out. “He could have killed himself.”

“He stabbed himself in the chest four times?”

Aidan shrugged. “You don’t know; he could have been dedicated.”

Now that I looked at the wounds more closely – which was the last thing I wanted to do – the stab marks looked more like really long claw marks. That was a disheartening thought.

Taylor’s lips thinned into a cross between a sneer and a grin. “Well, I still think that some questions are in order.”

“Well I think … .”

“Let it go, Aidan.” I accepted the inevitable defeat. “We don’t have a lot of choices here. Let’s just get it over with.”

“You should listen to your sister.”

“Not if I can help it,” Aidan grumbled.

Aidan and I took an involuntary step back as the alley suddenly flooded with emergency personnel. Detective Taylor kept his eyes on us while he issued a few orders and then motioned for us to follow him. Aidan and I fell into place behind him and trudged back out of the alley.

It was going to be a long night.